So you want a nice stomach

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Replies

  • cosmonew
    cosmonew Posts: 513 Member
    I appreciate real advice from someone who has DONE it. Which the OP has. Of course it doesn't work for everyone... it SURE worked for her and she is sharing and THANKS for that. I hate to lift weights, I still do it.... I'll think about those ABS when Im doing it...cause I need some work in that department.
  • Geloza
    Geloza Posts: 315 Member
    I LOVE weight lifting also and am steadily working toward losing this mid section!! Thank you for the post, it appears I am on the right road already and it's working for me. Great job to you and thank you sharing. :drinker:
  • JeriAnne84
    JeriAnne84 Posts: 543 Member
    I'm so confused about the calculator. I used the link provided in the original post. I put that I work out 6 days a week and it said to reach my goal to lose 106 lbs it would take me from today till December 13, 2017. But, then I messed around with it and put that I work out one day a week and it said I'd reach my 106 lb weight loss in August of 2016. Why does me working out less make me lose weight faster? Is that because I'm not putting on as much muscle and I'm eating less calories more often than if I work out more? I'm a bit of an uber noob at this calculating BMR and TDEE so be gentle.

    I guess in the end it doesn't matter what my weight is as long as I'm healthy and don't feel like I look like Jabba the Hut anymore. But still, I don't get why it will take me longer if I work out more days.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I'm so confused about the calculator. I used the link provided in the original post. I put that I work out 6 days a week and it said to reach my goal to lose 106 lbs it would take me from today till December 13, 2017. But, then I messed around with it and put that I work out one day a week and it said I'd reach my 106 lb weight loss in August of 2016. Why does me working out less make me lose weight faster? Is that because I'm not putting on as much muscle and I'm eating less calories more often than if I work out more? I'm a bit of an uber noob at this calculating BMR and TDEE so be gentle.

    I guess in the end it doesn't matter what my weight is as long as I'm healthy and don't feel like I look like Jabba the Hut anymore. But still, I don't get why it will take me longer if I work out more days.

    Because the third page is set up for recomposition, not weight loss. It has you eating more than you burn on your workout days (over your TDEE) with the thought that you will be fueling the muscles to grow and less on days you don't workout to help promote fat loss. I'll send you a private message to try to help you better.
  • JeriAnne84
    JeriAnne84 Posts: 543 Member
    OH okay. And thank you!
  • missdibs1
    missdibs1 Posts: 1,092 Member
    :drinker:
    4. Cardio. I like cardio once or twice a week for 30 minutes. It's good for the heart and lungs. It doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week, but it helps even things out in case you haven't been completely accurate weighing food.


    Err... what? Cardio sessions do not add "much" to the calorie burn for the week? Hard to take the OP seriously after reading that

    Would you like to know why I said I personally only do a limited amount of cardio?

    It's because my entire life I have been told that the way to lose weight is to go run. I was never told to eat less, just go run. As I have learned it's impossible to out run a bad diet. Even more than that if you are carefully monitoring food intake (like you would on a calorie counting website such as this) then cardio is great for the heart, but absolutely unnecessary for fat loss because you can create a calorie deficit through diet alone.

    This post is to show others that they don't have to go run every day to get a nice stomach or lose belly fat. The main objectors to the point about cardio and enjoying some treats are women in their 40's or 50's who have been lead to believe that cardio and clean eating is essential for fat loss.

    I'm not saying that we don't burn calories doing cardio, but monitoring our intake is FAR more important.


    I agree that diet and exercise are both required in order to succeed in the weight loss. Furthermore you are absolutely correct that monitoring your diet far more important.

    However that is completely besides the point, which is that the OP is factually incorrect and is essentially spouting broscience "Cardio killz gainz lolz" nonsense.

    I do 5 x 1hour elliptical per week and the remaining two days I go for a nice walk just to get the heart rate going a bit. That's approx. 6000 calories in just cardio per week for me. It is ludicrous to suggest that is an insignificant amount of calories.

    I stand by my statement that it's hard to take the OP seriously when I know for a fact that his point 4 is just broscience wrong.

    Also it is worth noting that the current accepted math is 1 pound of muscle burns 6-10 calories per day at rest. So if you gained 20 pounds of muscle you would burn an extra ~120-200 calories per day. You understand how hard it is to gain 20 pounds of muscle naturally? I just laugh out at the stupidity.

    Please everyone take the OP with a grain of salt and keep doing your cardio.

    I am the OP (I am also a woman, not a man as you indicated) and just because you don't agree with one point (in which I said I personally) doesn't mean that any of my post is invalid. Feel free to do more cardio. That point was about how I personally do things and had success with. I have gone from obese to competitive bodybuilder and I personally do not do more than an hour of cardio total in a week (which comes out to a total of around 500 calories since my body has become efficient at cardio).

    Also, most people don't have an hour to spend doing cardio 5 days a week like you do. In general many people have 30-45 minutes 4-5 days a week to workout. If they just do cardio and no resistance training they will be losing lean body mass in the long run. I don't say that because "cardio kills gains" as you put it, but as you lose weight you lose fat mass and lean mass (generally the body is organ sparing, so we can assume that a large portion of that lean mass is muscle). The greater your calorie deficit (through diet or cardio) the more likely you are to burn lean mass. Resistance training assists in retaining lean mass.

    Nowhere in my post did I claim that someone who is lifting weights will gain 20 pounds of lean mass (I have achieved 20 pound lean mass gains in the last two years naturally as a woman). Although people won't gain tons of muscle, they will spare their muscle through resistance training. Why is that important? Because when you get closer to your goal body composition matters. You aren't there yet, but when you get to your goal and maintain it for over a year I'd like to have this talk again.

    Edited to paste the rest of what I wrote back into my above reply since he edited it out and I feel that it is important.

    I personally find long cardio sessions boring and also do not do over 15 min of cardio a few days per week (max effort)

    Oh I forgot

    <
    <
    see profile pic

    There are many ways to skin a cat, but in this case I could not agree more with OP if I tried

    wow...like this skinned cat...(bad joke on me)
    :flowerforyou:
  • FightBackFit
    FightBackFit Posts: 5 Member
    I'm thinking of doing a liquid diet. Has anyone had any success with that?
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    The title of this thread cracks me up because to me a stomach is an organ. :tongue:

    It is to me as well. I had a hard time picking between belly, tummy or stomach (the usual thread titles we see on here contain those three names). I was going to post something about having nice abs, but not everyone wants visible abs. Oh well, we all get what I meant.
    Yeah, it's a toughie. I think we all have 'nice abs' (somewhere). Maybe 'midsection' or 'waist'.
  • rageginger
    rageginger Posts: 74 Member
    bookmarking for when I go stupid and forget truth...again.
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    I'm thinking of doing a liquid diet. Has anyone had any success with that?

    Nope

    49264-Nope-gif-qo2U.gif
  • Debmal77
    Debmal77 Posts: 4,770 Member
    I'm losing weight but still measure the same around the waist. Any great tips for someone older struggling with belly fat???
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    I'm thinking of doing a liquid diet. Has anyone had any success with that?

    You appear to be lost.

    Luckily you stumbled into the right thread. Go back and read the OP again. She tells you what you need to know.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I'm thinking of doing a liquid diet. Has anyone had any success with that?
    I'm losing weight but still measure the same around the waist. Any great tips for someone older struggling with belly fat???

    Both of you go back and read the very first post.
  • abigail659
    abigail659 Posts: 63 Member
    bump
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    We be rollin...
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Reposting for the roll! This was the original post for the first part of the thread.


    You want to lose belly fat and have a nice flat toned mid section? We see that a lot on this site. Hell, that was my goal for my birthday last year. We all want to be able to take our shirt off at the pool or beach and look great, but how do we do it?

    1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.

    2. Strength training. If you want that toned mid section look you have to put some muscle there. If you just want a nice flat stomach muscle will still help it look tight. You can begin with Strong Lifts, a hypertrophy routine or a strength program from bodybuilding.com (free!). One that includes compound lifts like deadlift, squat, bench press and pull ups will help. Work on increasing the amount of weight you use. When the weight gets heavier you engage your core more and it builds the muscle.

    3. Muscle insurance. There are a variety of studies done on the amount of protein the body needs. I like to think of higher protein as muscle insurance. My suggestion is about 1gram of protein per pound of lean mass. Make sure to get fat in your diet to help joints and metabolic processes. Make sure to get carbs in your diet to fuel workouts.

    4. Cardio. I like cardio once or twice a week for 30 minutes. It's good for the heart and lungs. It doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week, but it helps even things out in case I haven't been completely accurate weighing food. (I get a lot of questions about this part, this is what I personally do. Cardio is great for the heart and lungs. It is not necessary to go run for hours every day to have a lean mid section. Stick with your personal preference.)

    5. Patience! It is not going to happen overnight. If you stick with it you could lose around 1% body fat a month. We aren't going to be perfect all the time. Enjoy birthdays and holidays. It is life and things will happen. Don't stress, learn to love the process.

    FINALLY: Losing fat is like trying to dry out a sponge. You can't dry a corner while the rest of it is still wet. You won't magically lose belly fat or thigh fat or any other fat. It will come off where it wants to. Keep working at it! It is possible!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Bump.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    In for the roll! :drinker:
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    Back in.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    Love :heart:
    bumpity-doo-dah
  • weavernv
    weavernv Posts: 1,555 Member
    bump
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
    In for more epic awesomeness!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Strong info. :drinker:
  • dottydawn73
    dottydawn73 Posts: 18
    Bump
  • GraceCamD
    GraceCamD Posts: 128 Member
    Ummm....I don't care how skinny you get how much weight you lose or how many sit-ups, training you do, how much self discipline, self will you have, if you have had babies, especially 2-3+ there's no way you will have a ripped stomach EVER AGAIN, although it can be IMPROVED WITH EXERCISE AND MOSTLY IMPROVED BY SURGRY. There will always be that extra skin from STRETCHING.....but for me I am PROUD AND OF MY STRETCH MARKS those are my BATTLE SCARS and I would not have my BEAUTIFUL SONS WITHOUT THEM :)
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • Iron_Duchess
    Iron_Duchess Posts: 429 Member
    Bump, cause I want to promote the awesomeness of this thread.
  • DeeJayShank
    DeeJayShank Posts: 92 Member
    This post is the jam and 100% correct.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Ummm....I don't care how skinny you get how much weight you lose or how many sit-ups, training you do, how much self discipline, self will you have, if you have had babies, especially 2-3+ there's no way you will have a ripped stomach EVER AGAIN, although it can be IMPROVED WITH EXERCISE AND MOSTLY IMPROVED BY SURGRY. There will always be that extra skin from STRETCHING.....but for me I am PROUD AND OF MY STRETCH MARKS those are my BATTLE SCARS and I would not have my BEAUTIFUL SONS WITHOUT THEM :)

    This is about losing belly fat. Sure loose skin can be a problem for some people, but this thread is about losing the fat.

    I have two kids, while I was obese. Max weight while pregnant was 265 pounds. I have stretch marks and loose skin.
    Here's my story: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/971636-my-story-of-sweet-revenge-pics
    Here's a blog about my strech marks and loose skin: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/usmcmp/view/cellulite-stretch-marks-and-loose-skin-685055
  • mizzzc
    mizzzc Posts: 346 Member
    bump for the OP and the link to stretchy skin ;)

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