fitness

crystalc27

How do i lose the tummy ? Tone and tighten it? Help!!

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shadus

To get a toned tummy there are several things to consider:

1) Is it fat? - There is no such thing as targeted fat loss. You lose fat roughly in reverse of how you put it on. Getting a higher lean body mass ratio to fat ratio will help if it's fat.
2) Is it loose skin? - Give this two years after you've lost weight, especially if you did it rapidly. Keep your self well hydrated and keep using lotion with vitamin e on it. At the two year mark, it's as good as its going to get ~skin wise~. (mostly an issue for people losing large amounts of weight.)
3) Is it lack of muscle tone? - No matter how low your body fat gets and no matter how tight your skin is... if you lack muscle tone your belly isn't going to look good. Do your core exercises and strengthen your core muscles.

Long and short... figure the problem, resolve it as appropriate.

crystalc27

Indeed it is fat, a circle of fat around the middle lol. I have lost 12lbs since I started working out but i can assure you that most of it has not come from my waistline I've only lost about 2 inches from the middle. Its by far the most frustrating.

BigGuy47

Be disciplined with your diet and practice patience.

Over time (months and years) the belly fat will gradually shrink. To pass the time while waiting you should do some resistance training to preserve your existing muscles.

stroutman81

Ditto bigguy

crystalc27

What type of resistance training?

BigGuy47

There's no specific resistance training required. Body-weight exercises or lifting weights, it's a matter of personal preference.

The book Body By You by Mark Lauren is a good reference book for bodyweight exercises.

Or have a look at nerdfitness.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/

The most import thing is to develop a routine that you can sustain. This most likely means building up your routine over time - again patience comes into play here. If you come out of the gate at 100mph you will probably get discouraged and quit.

I started out by doing a few lunges and a few push ups. Pretty lame I know, but it was easy enough that I could knock it out in the morning and get on with my day. After a few weeks I added in more reps and another exercise. Over a period of a few months I built up to a regular full body routine (3 days a week with light cardio on rest days).

You have to start somewhere. Just start something and see what happens.

MsEndomorph

I have the same problem with my hips. Those are the first place my body likes to store fat and the absolute last to lose. It sucks, but just gotta keep focused on what I AM losing and know it will eventually move as well!

Good luck!

crystalc27

Yes I hear @ Bigguy I appteciate the advice. :-) @MsEndomorph yes all my weight seems to end up on the hips,thighs,buttox and waist ughh

stroutman81

Here are a few articles I've written on my mfp blog that might help you out:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stroutman81/view/resistance-training-foundation-19725

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stroutman81/view/more-random-thoughts-on-resistance-training-19945

nerdfitness is a great resource also.

You can also check out some of Lyle Mcdonald's articles on bodyrecomposition.com

The bottom line is, start someplace. Bodyweight is perfectly fine for beginners. Eventually you'll likely need to add some external resistance to fuel ongoing improvements. Don't get me wrong, there are some awesome bodyweight gurus out there like Ross over at rosstraining.com that can keep you going all the way through advanced training. For the average person though, adding in some external resistance eventually is a ideal though.

There are endless ways of setting things up... but doing a handful of sessions per week that focus on your full body is how I'd suggest starting. Big exercises like squat variations, hip hinge variations, horizontal pushing and pulling, and vertical pushing and pulling should be the nucleus of each session.

nonstopper

Simple .

WATER WATER WATER. Running is the best cardio for you , because its doesnt mess with muscle build up and burns fat faster.
TIP: the faster & harder you run the faster that BF% will drop! If yuo drink soda then forget about it! Not only will you have the hardest time dropping BF% but it will make yuo very tired fast.
As for the belly of tone and great shape. Hanging LEG LIFTS are your friend! Theres much more but start with this and you will see results in no time.
( quick tip)

stroutman81

What do you mean by the statement, "running is the best cardio for you." Best for what?