So you want a nice stomach

FabFit40Nat

Thank you for the info! If anyone would like to add me to be friends, feel free to do so.

Kenda2427

I am just amazed that "the average person can do a 10 min mile" I guess I dont know more than 2 average people. My best time on a treadmill and I almost puked was 11 mins 20 secs and I thought that was pretty damn good. Guess I have a long way to go before I hit average. I would like to pick a 100 random people and ask them to run a mile. I'm thinking that 10 min mile average would go out the door.
That said I would love a flatter stomach and am working towards that goal.

usmcmp

Kenda2427 wrote: »

I am just amazed that "the average person can do a 10 min mile" I guess I dont know more than 2 average people. My best time on a treadmill and I almost puked was 11 mins 20 secs and I thought that was pretty damn good. Guess I have a long way to go before I hit average. I would like to pick a 100 random people and ask them to run a mile. I'm thinking that 10 min mile average would go out the door.
That said I would love a flatter stomach and am working towards that goal.

I don't think that I claimed an average person has a 10 minute mile. I don't ever just run, so I would have no idea what my mile time is unless I signed up for a 5k. I do HIIT or sprints or some sort of heart rate interval run. The variety of difference in pace is actually why most cardiovascular activity suggestions are done in time units and not distance.

arykah3luvsya

usmcmp wrote: »

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 you haven't been completely accurate weighing food.

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!

arykah3luvsya

I don't get what you mean when you say that doing cardio doesn't add to your calorie burn. Can you please explain that to me? I feel like that's where I get MOST of my burn from. Right now I'm calorie counting, staying under 1450 per myfitnesspal, and doing 35 minutes of cardio 4-6 times a week burning at least 500-800 calories per workout. I have an extremely sedintary job and I haven't incorporated weights yet as I'm saving that for when I plateau as I did last year. So are you saying that cardio isn't really doing much?

50sthenew30

Please re read usmcmp's posts. She has a huge amount of knowledge and proof is in the pictures. Lifting weights will burn more calories for longer than cardio.
Cardio is doing you some good, but when you stop so does your metabolism after a very short while.
Have a read of this, it might help.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fat_loss_training_wars.htm

pebbleslaura1

great info i need to gain weight but want killer abs how can i achieve this?????

usmcmp

arykah3luvsya wrote: »

I don't get what you mean when you say that doing cardio doesn't add to your calorie burn. Can you please explain that to me? I feel like that's where I get MOST of my burn from. Right now I'm calorie counting, staying under 1450 per myfitnesspal, and doing 35 minutes of cardio 4-6 times a week burning at least 500-800 calories per workout. I have an extremely sedintary job and I haven't incorporated weights yet as I'm saving that for when I plateau as I did last year. So are you saying that cardio isn't really doing much?

I was saying that doing two days of cardio doesn't add much because it doesn't. You stated that you don't incorporate weights, but you really should. Don't wait to do it. Strength training helps you retain lean mass, meaning more of the weight you lose is from fat. Cardio and diet alone means fat and lean mass loss. Diet and strength training mean fat loss and little lean mass loss (or for many beginners no lean mass loss at all).

There are many different ways to lose weight. You could continue cardio and diet, but if you scan many of the posts in the maintaining weight and general weight loss sections you'll find people who got to their goal and aren't happy with how they look. Most of the time it has to do with lean mass and the fix is for them to lift. Why not lift now. You'll have better body composition at the end. I suggest prioritizing strength training now.

usmcmp

pebbleslaura1 wrote: »

great info i need to gain weight but want killer abs how can i achieve this?????

If you are under weight (you said you need to gain, so I'm going to assume this is the case) you're going to need to eat and lift. You could follow the path that many do when they bulk. Find your approximate TDEE and slowly add 100 calories to it until you start slowly gaining.

To build the abs you're probably going to need a combination of heavy compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) and a bit of abdominal work. If you are new to lifting pick a strength program like Stronglifts or even New Rules of Lifting. Once you've built a foundation then a hypertrophy program could be a good option for you (HST or PHAT are examples of that). The compound lifts as well as pull ups and overhead press work will work to engage your core. Ab focused work could be done one or two days a week, but would be more to help fill in weak areas (my abs have tons of volume, so I do obliques since they are the only part that lag).

myheartsabattleground

usmcmp wrote: »

How much cardio should I add to compensate for Olive Garden Never Ending Pasta? Would three 30 minutes sessions do it?

Depends on how never ending it was for you.

haha

etoledo18

Good post. Compunds lifts are always best

terewilliams

Great advice

BabyDollSaxon

I find that cardio has been the best part of my weight loss. It's what has been helping lose the pounds. I do 40 mins of cardio everyday. I have lost 20 lbs from that. But then I hit my plateau and realized time to get the strength training going. Now I'm starting to lose inches and losing lbs. The key is eating properly. You don't have to go on a diet. You just have to eat properly. I hope this little info helped. It doesn't take much for some people. My fave tool for my weight loss is my fitbit cause it keeps me challenged and my fitness pal. Without these I couldn't have done this. My goal is 145 by July 3! My trainer and I have this all worked out. I'm going to be 145 by my birthday! Yay! Good luck everyone. If you feel discouraged just msg me and I'll help in anyway I can.

usmcmp

MrsPerfekt wrote: »

I find that cardio has been the best part of my weight loss. It's what has been helping lose the pounds. I do 40 mins of cardio everyday. I have lost 20 lbs from that. But then I hit my plateau and realized time to get the strength training going. Now I'm starting to lose inches and losing lbs. The key is eating properly. You don't have to go on a diet. You just have to eat properly. I hope this little info helped. It doesn't take much for some people. My fave tool for my weight loss is my fitbit cause it keeps me challenged and my fitness pal. Without these I couldn't have done this. My goal is 145 by July 3! My trainer and I have this all worked out. I'm going to be 145 by my birthday! Yay! Good luck everyone. If you feel discouraged just msg me and I'll help in anyway I can.

Yeah, that's why eating is my first point and my last point. Eat enough, enjoy life, but your intake is the most important part of fat loss.

I don't emphasis cardio because I am making a distinction between weight loss and fat loss. The number on the scale is irrelevant when your goal is a lean body. Many people with abs or flat mid sections weigh more than you think they do because they have higher lean mass. Cardio can help you lose weight when combined with an appropriate calorie intake. Strength training can help you lose fat when combined with an appropriate calorie and macro intake.

KimThoms

Since starting school I gained 40lbs. Now me and my 40lbs are getting ready to graduate and enter an even more demanding job. I need to shed this weigh and get in shape in 5 mnths so I can work on maintaining my former 122lbs

PammieSuzyQ

But seriously, with diet and exercise I have gone down to 100lbs, size 0, and still had the pooch in my belly from having birthed four children. Hell, I got back to this size after every pregnancy, (although it took longer every time). Don't promise things.

And don't forget to tell women past menopause that they will have to work 3x as hard to lose weight, and 2x as hard to maintain a weight, as they did when they were younger.

usmcmp

PammieSuzyQ wrote: »

But seriously, with diet and exercise I have gone down to 100lbs, size 0, and still had the pooch in my belly from having birthed four children. Hell, I got back to this size after every pregnancy, (although it took longer every time). Don't promise things.

And don't forget to tell women past menopause that they will have to work 3x as hard to lose weight, and 2x as hard to maintain a weight, as they did when they were younger.

Actually I can make promises and I will make promises. I promise that if you have enough muscle and your body fat is low enough you will have a flat stomach. Size 0 means nothing. I'm a size 12 and have visible abs. The absolute lowest size I could get is an 8.

Reading everything you wrote I can tell that your problem is actually that you don't have much muscle. If you went to the gym and lifted like a fitness model or even a man instead of just "exercising" you would find that combined with an appropriate calorie and macro intake you would start losing fat and it would actually be less work to maintain it at the end.

People have a hard time maintaining their weight because dieting burns fat and muscle. In the end they are the number they want on the scale, but they've lost lean mass and that's the key to looking great as well as maintaining their weight. If you actually followed my advice in the first post you may find that you'll weight more or wear a size 2, but you'll look better. Lifting and appropriate diet are the key to getting a flat belly.

anggoc

This answered some of my questions I asked in your other post. You are a great help and inspiration thanks

abigailhe

Bump!! Very good advice.

MTGirl4Life

Thank you for your post. Enjoyed reading your "why", as well as how you achieved your weight loss and healthy physique.