Training & Nutrition - Stomache flab????

Ive got my stamina back. Ive got my legs and lungs back. How do I get rid of that last bit of fat in my mid-section? No matter what I do, I cant seem to burn it off. I could use some advice. :(

You can't spot reduce fat from one section of your body, the only way it is going to disappear is to reduce the overall fat on your body. The usual techniques are get excercise and a mild ( less than 500) daily calorie deficit.

Ive been on that. Im probably not being patient enough. My legs, glutes, arms, and chest have reduced a ton, but my stomache and back are being stubborn. All in time, I guess.

Originally posted by ~LongRider~
Ive been on that. Im probably not being patient enough. My legs, glutes, arms, and chest have reduced a ton, but my stomache and back are being stubborn. All in time, I guess.

Where it comes off first may vary from person to person, but you cannot just do a lot of ab exercises and expect to reduce stomac fat. As long as you are seeing a difference, it will happen eventually.

It has taken me 2 months to get rid of 3 lbs. of extra flab on my belly from the winter. Spire has it right about getting the 500 calorie deficit. I cut out my morning donut stop and am doing hard 35 minute hill climbs at almost max heart rate, that really takes off the flab>

If you're looking to lose fat, it is right- you cannot spot reduce. Your body will lose fat where it wants to, and there's nothing you can do. What you can do instead is continue to burn the fat- a calorie defecit combined with aerobic activity will help you to continue losing the fat. It sounds like your body is almost there, but you just need to give it more time.

In the meantime, you'll want to start doing abdominal exercises. The important thing to remember is that when the body does begin losing the fat in that area, you need to have something there to replace the fat with, or else it's still going to have that "pouchy", saggy, unimpressive look. You want to look impressive when the fat comes off, right? So do the basic crunches, leg lifts, reverse curls, etc. and hit them especially hard when you start seeing the fat come off. And take it slow- you know by now that losing fat takes time, so the abdominal fat won't be any faster either, right?

Good luck. Check back with us in 3- 4 months.

Koffee

Im gonna keep on going like I am. It is just strange how your mind messes with you while you are losing weight. One day you think you are really going well, and the next you dont. By the end of the summer, I should be right where I want to be.

Yeah- think of the long term, not the short term.

I'm in a constant battle with myself too. I'm trying to get a bit of weight off, and I've learned also to not get on the scale either- because I do quite a bit of weightlifting, and since muscle weighs more than fat, and I do heavy weights, there are times when there are no changes on the scale, even though I've slimmed down. The slimming down is not as obvious, so I'm just now at the point where I'm not reaching for the scale but once a month.

Just keep doing what you've been doing, and set a longer term goal, and at the end of the summer, I'm sure when you start looking at yourself a bit closer, you'll see a BIG change- and THAT is real motivation!

Good luck!

Koffee

High impact exericise will tone the area enough to satisfy most. JUmp rope, running sprints and anything else that "bounces" the fat will cause a "firimng" of vthe surrounding supporting tissues, effectively hiding most of the fact.

I don't beleive the "ab-work" crap, unless involves movement of the upper leag/hip area. Building "ab-muscles" does that, but it's second rate to "bouncing around" to hide fat..... Sprinting with full strides define upper leg muscles to the point that the hip area flab is acceptable to most.....

Again, I emphasize that its the calorie deficit as well as the aerobic workouts that will burn the fat in that area- and the fat will only be burned as a result of an overall loss in body fat. Just continue doing what you've been doing.

Abwork is NOT USED TO GET RID OF THE FAT- it is used to tone up the area so that when the fat comes off, you will have a more toned and muscular appearance, rather than a saggy pouch of flab and skin. If you just did the ab work by itself without the cardio and calorie deficit, you may end up doing more harm than good, as the fat will go nowhere, and you will build the muscle underneath the fat, which will result in a thicker midsection. So please, do the cardio and continue to eat healthy to get the results you want to achieve.

I sometimes see that people confuse the issues with what happens to fat when you are building muscle. Fat is not CONVERTED to muscle when exercising in the manner I described- rather, fat cells are different than the muscle cells, so as the fat cells shrink from the exercise and nutrition regime, the muscle cells will grow from the weight training regime, resulting in the "six pack" (we hope), that so many people crave...

Koffee

Everyone's body has places it likes to store fat. And some people are unfortunate to have bodies that like certain places. The tummy tends to be where I lose my fat last. I know a competitive body builder and he says that losing the last little tummy is the hardest thing to do. To do that, some people have to get their percent body fat down to say 5%. Getting down to 5% is very hard because if you diet too much you will burn up muscle and if you eat too much you will gain fat.

You could do sit ups. It wont get rid of that fat on your tummy. But boy will you have hard abs under that layer of fat!

The others have given you good advice .One point I would emphasis is that to get rid of those last stubborn deposits you need to adapt a high (aerobic)activity level/high calorie intake approach while still creating a modest 500 or less calorie deficit to very gradually "sneak" the last fat off.Small frequent meals help here as the body will easier give up that last fat if it has no concerns about becoming starved.Also at this stage mixing in high intensity and weight training can be helpful .

I'm in the same boat. I've even considered liposuction :D . I've gotten my body toned down pretty well over the past year but there is still a sack of fat from my sides to my belly. I'm taking the slow approach too since the fast approach tends to burn muscle, which defeats the purpose. I suspect it will be another 6 months before I get rid of it. Every time I lose motivation to ride, I look at that pathetic flab of junk and go and ride harder!