Guy with soft stomach and love handles

russellvolk

Hey gang,

I have a question. My whole life I've been struggling with weight. I would lose some weight and then would gain it back. All these times that I would lose weight, I would do it the wrong way. Now I'm doing it the right way. I eat clean, within my calories and I exercise daily. I'm 6'1", 214 lbs. Overall, I'm not fat. My biggest problem is my stomach. I have a spare tire. Many guys have spare tires, but mine is very soft. It feels like a woman's breast. It's the only way I can describe it.

So far, I've lost 22 lbs and my stomach and love handles are getting smaller, but I can't imagine them completely going away no matter how much I lose. I'm currently at 20% body fat. Even if I go down to 10% body fat, I can't image my stomach and love handles disappearing.

Is there anything I can do help myself? I eat around 2,000 calories per day. I eat around 170 g of protein per day, which is about 1g per 1lb of lean body weight. I eat about 0.4 g of fat per pound of lean body weight. The rest is carbs. Should I be using a different ratio? Are there certain things that I can do to get rid of this darn thing?

Thanks

Francl27

It will go away eventually. If that's the only place where you have to lose, you'll have to lose from there!

russellvolk

My stomach is not the only place where I have to lose. I have to lose from all over the body, but my stomach is my biggest problem. I wouldn't mind if it was harder, but it's soft and it kind of hangs. When I do my pushups, it hangs. I don't like that.

Timshel_

It will go away eventually. If that's the only place where you have to lose, you'll have to lose from there!

Exactly. For most guys anything over 10% body fat will not give you six pack abs or completely get rid of love handles (general rule I've read).

It just takes time and consistency.

tyrsnbdr

Stay on target, stay on target!!

It will come, you may need to do a bulk period, then cut again, but you can do it.

russellvolk

Actually, I can see my abs. My upper abs that is. When I workout, I workout in front of the mirror and I can see the upper abs very little. But that damn spare tire is killing me.

fast_eddie_72

It feels like a woman's breast. It's the only way I can describe it.

And you want to get rid of it? lol

Sorry.

Yeah, it comes up a lot. And the answer is always the same, which sucks. I'm in the same boat. Pretty happy with how I look except for the belly. But it *is* getting smaller as I keep losing weight. I guess *eventually* it will go away.

michael300891

Your spare tire is fat. You are losing Fat. You will lose your spare tire. Just keep going its a nightmare we all face!

hill8570

Assuming you're doing some sort of overall workout regimen (i.e, not just jamming on a treadmill or bike, but working as many muscles as possible on a rotating basis), they'll eventually disappear...you just happen to store most of your fat in one location. It's sort of like unwrapping a christmas present really slowly -- eventually all the wrapping is off and you've got this really nice six pack.

You'll still lose the handles even if you're not working the abs, but once the wrapping is off the six pack won't be nearly as cool.

Caterpillar_17

My stomach is not the only place where I have to lose. I have to lose from all over the body, but my stomach is my biggest problem. I wouldn't mind if it was harder, but it's soft and it kind of hangs. When I do my pushups, it hangs. I don't like that.

Be happy it's not harder! There are two kinds of fat, visceral and subcutaneous. Visceral is the hard fat that can be extremely dangerous to organs in your abdominal area. Subcutaneous, like what you have, is the much better option (even if it's not aesthetically pleasing) because of its lessened health risks.

russellvolk

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm actually doing Power 90 by BeachBody. It's a 90 day program, which is a mix of cardio and resistance training. I'm about 3 weeks away from finishing it. My next step is Power 90 Master Series, which is just a more intense version of Power 90. So I've been gaining muscle and losing fat, but I wish that spare tire would disappear.