Question About Losing A Little Bellyfat

We're about the same height and weight and I had the same problem. But it seems like I have a couple more pounds to lose from the midsection. My approach on how to get rid of it is to follow a bodybuilder's regimen. Right now I am doing cardio 3 -5 times per week and hitting the weights and nautilus machines pretty hard, alternating body areas each visit to the gym. I try and work the midsection (back, abs) each day since these areas seem to recover faster than the extremities. Additionally I am working hard to eat clean--lots of protein and no carbs, 5 - 6 times per day. I am pretty happy with the results, I don't know what is the biggest contributing factor--the diet or the workout.

 

My best advice.... fat is not site specific.

If you have any extra fat on your body, it is like gas in a gas tank... don't get hung-up on where it's at.

Until you increase your exercise, or decrease your calorie intake... that fat will not leave your belly.

I'm sure this is just common sense... but I hate watching guys kill themselves with sit-ups thinking they have to hit the problem area to get rid of belly fat.

I needed to lose 20 pounds, so I.... tweaked a few things.
I was riding 10 miles a day. Now I ride 15 miles.
I was eating 2200 calories a day, now I eat 1800.
Problem solved. It took about 120 days.

If I had to do just one? Diet is 3 times more important than exercise. But a balance of both is always the best choice.

Weight lifting burns the fewest calories per hour. Running, bike, cardio are all better for weight loss.

 

Mark (Study) gives some great advice, I agree 100%. Calories in need to be reduced if you want to lose the fat (weight). Excercise helps, but it's eating that really makes the difference.

For example: Average guy running burns 10 cal/min. So, 1 hour of running equals 600 calories burned. But, 1 Whopper with cheese at burger king= 760 calories. Add fries and a coke, and you see that you need alot of excercise just to burn off the food.

Eat less and excercise is the key.

Dom

 

There are some online calculators that help you calculate how much you would burn in a day. Just google it. I wouldn't say that they are totally accurate, but they would at least give you a starting point.

I calculated that for my height and weight, I need less than 2000 calories/day, which seems to work Ok with me.


Edit: Here's a quick link I just found:

http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/calsburned.htm

http://nutrition.about.com/od/changeyourdiet/a/calguide.htm

Dom

 

Fat is not exactly just fat. For example, men and women accumulate (store) fat in somewhat different areas, fat differs (is more or less fibrous) in different parts of the body, and men will accumulate fat in different places based somewhat on genetics (for example, external to or internal to the abdominal muscles). So, in your case, you belly may be your problem area. But Mark is exactly correct in that you can't do abdominal exercises to get rid of belly fat (or maybe you could, if you could do 2 hours of crunches and eat less, in which case it would be based on the amount, not the type, of exercise)--but exercise cannot specifically target fat removal from one area versus another.

The problem for some folks is that they can get down to a healthy body fat percentage and fitness level, but still have "annoying" small accumulations of fat in places that are visible. Losing that fat can require severe dietary restrictions that may require blood chemistry monitoring. So one suggestion might be to have your body fat percentage checked by some very accurate means (such as a water tank) and then buy one of the scales that also checks body fat. From what I have read, those scales (if used correctly) are reasonably accurate at tracking changes in body fat composition, and can be accurate in tracking true fat loss or gain as long as you have a baseline number to calibrate what the scale is telling you.

I've read a lot (but I'm not sure I've reached any level of understanding) about exercise intensity and weight loss. But my current "thought" is that lower intensity exercise may be better for getting your body trained to use fat as an energy source (also known as long slow distance). This may require a heart rate monitor, as many folks exercise to a certain perceived exertion level (they want to feel that they are working hard) and this tends to be above this "fat burning zone".

Lastly, distance. Running a mile burns about as many calories as walking a mile (it mostly simple physics). But in terms of calories/minute, running is more efficient.

Good luck--this subject is actually very complicated, and I'm sure there are people on this board that know more than I do about it.

Scott

 

i am 5'11 workout 3x a week..watch what i eat...enjoy food..but still "watch"..love my arms, back, shoulders...but my 40 yr old "gut"...sits there...ya know what i mean??..welll..one word .."lyposuction"..end of story...

 

As Mark already said, diet plays a much larger role than the exercise.

I never like no-carb diets. They always work for a while, but then backfire when the person resorts back to eating carbs again. I also believe that carbs are an important part of the diet and should't be skipped. Just my $0.02 and probably overpriced at that.

 

Yea, no-carb is nonsense. Just moderate your intake of refined sugars and starches. I personally aim for a 40/30/30 caloric ratio of carb/fat/protein and it has served me well and is very very doable. Heck, I still enjoy a nice bowl of ice cream several times per week.

If you're really dedicated and looking to get lean very quickly, some great diet advice I once received is to fill your plate with veggies, add in some lean protein, and if you still have space in your stomach, feel free to augment with some complex carbs.

Also, exercise comes down to power. As gearheads we all know about horsepower. More power means you can go faster, or in the purest sense, do more work in less time. So there are several ways to achieve this: keeping time constant, you can increase LOAD or DISTANCE. If you keep load and distance constant, you should DECREASE the TIME.

Not being able to burn calories with weights is a total myth. Obviously doing bicep curls won't burn lots of calories because you're moving low weight over a small distance at a slow pace. However, if you look around the 'net a bit (I personally follow and highly recommend the Crossfit program which is simple and fun) you can find weight exercises that will stimulate metabolic and aerobic conditioning, core strength, balance, agility, as well as increasing musculature which has the added benefit of a higher basal metabolic rate while at rest. Things like snatches, burpees, thrusters, deadlifts, pullups, etc, when done correctly and rapidly, will absolutely exhaust you in no time flat. It all comes down to moving heavier weights over a large distance as quickly as possible.

That being said, I still do enjoy a couple good runs or bike ride each week. Just don't settle into a routine.

Two years ago I was 250 lbs. Now I'm 180 lbs but stronger than before. Resting heart rate of 50. Though I never really cared about the abs that much, I've developed that "six pack" look that everyone seems to want. The best part is that I've settled into a weight maintenance intake of about 3500 calories a day, which is plenty for me to enjoy all the tasty steak, cheese, and sausage that I want.

 

I feel your pain, my fellow Osgood Schlatter's AKA tibial tubercle apophyseal traction injury sufferer.

I walk quite a bit, as well. If you have access to a pool, swim. Whether or not you do...

For ONE month;

Do not eat potato products or drink soda.

Isometric exercises... like the Leg raise.

 

You're not doing it right if lyposuction is your only option.

For the OP hop in the pool, it's a great full body cardio workout, and count those calories and watch what types of food you intake. Specifically your ratio of carbs/protein/fat.

 

I was at 168 and dropped down to 154 in 2 months just from walking 1 hour everyday. I also dropped my calorie intake to 1800.

 

Not only is it more dangerous than open heart surgery, the fat will return somewhere else in your body that you never expected!

 

Seriously, the last thing anyone needs is complications from a dangerous elective surgery.

Those last pounds are the most stubborn, for sure. But the satisfaction from taking them on is amazing. For me (late 30's and everyone's different), it really became about calorie intake. Increasing my workouts wasn't working so I had to become *mindful* of not only what I was eating but why ("hunger or boredom?"). Eating bananas and apples (filling) became a necessary routine.

This worked well but I also made time to get into a pool -- A mile swim is surprisingly quick and before long, it'll get you into tip top shape. If you mix it in with weights and other cardio, it's truly amazing how quick things change, for body and mind alike.

 

If you are a man this statement matters.

3500 calories PER DAY just to stay even.

This guys got some muscles. Muscles burn calories sitting on ones ass.

Women are outta luck but us guys have a killer advantage.