Can you lose belly fat eating at maintenance?

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jaysiekemso
jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hey guys
So I'm 20 years old
Weigh 56kgs (127lbs)
165cm (5"4)
BF: 19%

I have lost a lot of weight recently from eating at a deficit. I'm now quite toned. I have been trying to cut still but in the last 5 or 6 weeks I have not changed much. I do about 3 hours of intense cardio a week and lift weights 6 days a week. I'm only still cutting because I still have a bit of belly fat.

So question is should I keep eating at a deficit? Will that make me lose more fat a long with the belly?
Or should I eat at maintenance? will that slowly get rid of the stubborn fat around the tummy and will that tone me up more by doing weights? Help please!
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Replies

  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    I recommend eating at a modest deficit. Keep doing what you are doing. Tiny fat (from your photo there isnt much there), will eventually come off when it wants to, where it wants to (spot reducing doesn't work). Sound like you are doing well but I didnt have time to check your diary.
  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    riffraff2112 wrote: »
    I recommend eating at a modest deficit. Keep doing what you are doing. Tiny fat (from your photo there isnt much there), will eventually come off when it wants to, where it wants to (spot reducing doesn't work). Sound like you are doing well but I didnt have time to check your diary.

    Thanks :)
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I lost belly fat at maintenance over time. It all toned away eventually. It was exercise.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    Maybe, but I don't see the point when eating a deficit is so much better.
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
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    That's not possible. Exercising created a deficit. What's really going on is that it is difficult to estimate small changes in energy expenditure when you have so little to lose. It's an enviable problem to have.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    Netting a little under maintenance helped me in that area.
  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    20yearsyounger wrote: »
    Netting a little under maintenance helped me in that area.

    My maintenance is about 1850 lol im eating 1610 a day atm :) hopefully it works

  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    alanlmarshall wrote: »
    That's not possible. Exercising created a deficit. What's really going on is that it is difficult to estimate small changes in energy expenditure when you have so little to lose. It's an enviable problem to have.

    What do you suggest then? :)
  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    nxd10 wrote: »
    I lost belly fat at maintenance over time. It all toned away eventually. It was exercise.

    How long did that take ? :)
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    How I got my waist down to 25", eat at about 100 cals under my maintenance, lift heavy, swim, run and cycle as fast as I can. Eat all the exercise cals back, but at 127lb I had to work all mine out as all the machines and estimates are too much for me. Get my nutrition right.

    Really all you need is a deficit and a plan to hold on to the muscle
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    nxd10 wrote: »
    I lost belly fat at maintenance over time. It all toned away eventually. It was exercise.

    ^^ I'm really hoping this is true @nxd10 could you say how long it takes? I'm 5 months into maintenance and can't say that mine has reduced much yet :neutral_face: /
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    You can recomp but it takes a long time. That's what I did when I was new to lifting and had just reached my goal weight. I was getting too thin on top but still had lower body fat that I wanted to lose. Eat at maintenance, lift, get enough protein, but most importantly you have to be patient. Think in terms of months, not weeks. It'll work best if you're a newbie.

    If patience is a problem for you then just keep eating at a deficit. It's harder when your body fat is already low because your margin of error is small, so you'll need patience for this approach too.

    Tbh I don't see any belly fat in your picture.
  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    How I got my waist down to 25", eat at about 100 cals under my maintenance, lift heavy, swim, run and cycle as fast as I can. Eat all the exercise cals back, but at 127lb I had to work all mine out as all the machines and estimates are too much for me. Get my nutrition right.

    Really all you need is a deficit and a plan to hold on to the muscle

    Hey thanks for that :) you look great btw. I've been eating about 500 calories under my maintenance. It worked at first but hasn't changed for 2 months now. A trainer at the gym said that I've been in a deficit for too long and my metabolism has slowed down. So now I'm eating about 200 calories under maintenance and still do the same amount of work out. Do you reckon this will work ?

  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    nxd10 wrote: »
    I lost belly fat at maintenance over time. It all toned away eventually. It was exercise.

    ^^ I'm really hoping this is true @nxd10 could you say how long it takes? I'm 5 months into maintenance and can't say that mine has reduced much yet :neutral_face: /

    I want to know as well :)
  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    How I got my waist down to 25", eat at about 100 cals under my maintenance, lift heavy, swim, run and cycle as fast as I can. Eat all the exercise cals back, but at 127lb I had to work all mine out as all the machines and estimates are too much for me. Get my nutrition right.

    Really all you need is a deficit and a plan to hold on to the muscle
    And how are you eating? :) macros?

  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
    You can recomp but it takes a long time. That's what I did when I was new to lifting and had just reached my goal weight. I was getting too thin on top but still had lower body fat that I wanted to lose. Eat at maintenance, lift, get enough protein, but most importantly you have to be patient. Think in terms of months, not weeks. It'll work best if you're a newbie.

    If patience is a problem for you then just keep eating at a deficit. It's harder when your body fat is already low because your margin of error is small, so you'll need patience for this approach too.

    Tbh I don't see any belly fat in your picture.

    Atm im eating about 200 under maintenance. Hopefully it works lol thanks haha but trust me it's just a good picture
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    alanlmarshall wrote: »
    That's not possible. Exercising created a deficit. What's really going on is that it is difficult to estimate small changes in energy expenditure when you have so little to lose. It's an enviable problem to have.

    Not true - it's called recomp.
    Your body doesn't stop responding to the stimulus of training just because you are maintaining weight.
  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    alanlmarshall wrote: »
    That's not possible. Exercising created a deficit. What's really going on is that it is difficult to estimate small changes in energy expenditure when you have so little to lose. It's an enviable problem to have.

    Not true - it's called recomp.
    Your body doesn't stop responding to the stimulus of training just because you are maintaining weight.

    Hey do you mind explaining exactly what recomp means? :) so you can still tone up and stuff while eating at maintenance?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Recomp is simply eating at (or around) maintenance calories while training. You can gradually reduce fat and add muscle.
    It's the alternative to bulk/cut cycles.

    It can be as simple as just eating at maintenance and training - your physique will change over time to reflect your performance. Or there are more complex routines involving calorie cycling which are more for those people with specific physique priorities.

    Worth a read
    http://bretcontreras.com/to-bulk-and-cut-or-not/
  • jaysiekemso
    jaysiekemso Posts: 101 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    Recomp is simply eating at (or around) maintenance calories while training. You can gradually reduce fat and add muscle.
    It's the alternative to bulk/cut cycles.

    It can be as simple as just eating at maintenance and training - your physique will change over time to reflect your performance. Or there are more complex routines involving calorie cycling which are more for those people with specific physique priorities.

    Worth a read
    http://bretcontreras.com/to-bulk-and-cut-or-not/

    Cool just gave it a quick read :) I used to wonder if there was a way to not choose to either bulk or cut haha so to summarise it, you can still improve your body and look better eating at maintenance and training hard over time

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