Age old question to the veterans...

dian1227

BELLY FAT! ok enough of the hype. For those of you who had a lot of it and conquered it, how??? I've lost 20lbs and have been treadmilling, and crunching my butt off and no real difference in the waist size. I have had 3 kids and have been heavy a long time.

There has to be a way to conquer this issue...Before I get discouraged, I need some advice. Is it diet? am I doing the wrong exercises? My diary is public.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Blessings,

Diane

NoAdditives

Try doing some exercises that target your transverse abdominals instead of doing crunches. The transverse abs are the deepest layer of muscle and they are the ones that hold in your organs, so if they are tight and flat, your tummy will be too. The only thing that will get rid of the fat is time and lots of cardio, but strengthening the transverse abs will help.

McKayMachina

I've lost 26 lbs. so far and my tummy's shrunk considerably. Still have a big donut around my bellybutton but no change in clothes sizes yet, either. They are just starting to actually FIT for once. haha I'm not squishing into stuff way too small. So, you're not the only one ready for the tummy to go.

taso42_DELETED

Belly fat is just like any other fat. Except that for many people it likes to linger around until last. Just stick to good discipline. As long as you're burning fat week after week, the belly fat will eventually surrender. By then you will be in wicked good shape.

PLUMSGRL

I've been reading more on MUFA's (monounsaturated fatty acids) and am going to incorporate them into each meal/snack for the next two weeks to see if they stand up to the hype...so nuts (almonds and walnuts for me), olives, olive oil, dark chocolate, and I'll even give avacados another shot (I've NEVER liked them). I'll see if there's a change in waist measurement (it usually takes me 4 weeks to loose 1/2 inch now that I'm closer to my goal). I'll let you know on April 2d

meggonkgonk

Sorry, I know this isn't going to be what you want to hear, but you can't spot lose or reduce fat- your body decides where/how to deposit fat stores. Just keep plugging along and you'll get there.

20lbs since Feb- you are definitely on track! IMO (and take the advice as you will) you could try to start working in some less processed foods, but don't super stress- make the changes slowly and so they'll stick (ie try working a veggie in to breakfast and maybe make a veggie a mid-morning snack) Things like that.

But you really are doing very well- don't get discouraged, Keep going and you will start to see a difference!

rileysowner

I was watching a very interesting series of videos by a trainer call John Romaniello. He points out that those stubborn areas of fat are not just fat related, but hormone related as well. Estrogen tends to put on lower body fat giving a person a big behind (or for men man boobs), Insulin resistance putting fat on the love handles, and Cortisol (the stress hormone) putting on belly fat. How you train has to take that into account. Now since you have had kids there may be physiological reasons as well beyond just stretched out muscles as pregnancy can move and separate muscles so no matter how much you train they will not go back where they were without surgery. They actually did a good segment on this the the Doctor's TV show this week. That does not happen to everyone though.

If your problem is Cortisol you need to do stuff to deal with it. The hormone to battle Cortisol is Growth Hormone, no not injections that would be unhealthy and illegal. Instead you need to encourage your natural growth hormone. First, get your 8 hours of sleep as during sleep your body produces growth hormone. Don't overdo it, but realize a good sleep is necessary.

Now here is the problem, Cortisol is produced by your body when it is stressed, and guess what exercise does . . . it stresses your body. The positive side is depending on the exercise it can also stimulates Growth Hormone. So what exercise type will stimulate Growth Hormone and produce less Cortisol. Cortisol is produced in large amounts in long, steady state cardio sessions, so doing that will not help belly fat a whole lot.

Instead you want to exercise in a way to produce lots of lactic acid, a byproduct of muscle metabolism. Lactic acid is what produces that burning sensation while you are lifting weights. No surprise, that means lifting weights is the answer to belly fat.

To maximize lactic acid production you need to focus on the lifting part of the exercise as it produces the most lactic acid. So lower weights relatively quickly (but in control) and raise them (contracting the muscles) very slowly for each repetition. This will make your muscles feel like they are on fire. Then your body will release Growth Hormone to neutralize the Lactic Acid. That will help with belly fat.

If you do not weight train right now I would suggest just plain old weight training at first to learn the exercises really well. That will take a while, maybe even a few months, but even that will stimulate some Growth Hormone release. Then when you know the exercises and know what how to control the weigh with proper form, you can try this. You will find you have to use less weight because of the fairly quick lowering of the weight among other things.

This is basically a summary of John Roman's stuff, but the reading I have done seems to agree with him, but I have just started looking into this.

Edit:
By the way, this is not spot reducing, fat will go from all your body, but counteracting the Cortisol will help that stubborn belly fat to burn with all the rest.

Also, crunches are fairly useless for abs. Abs are primarily meant to hold your core tight and stable, thus exercises like planks and side planks are much more useful for strengthening them.

carmelasergi

Bump

123456654321

There is no such thing as spot reduction. You can do stomach exercises to shape and tone, but as for the fat you will have to continue to eat a healthy diet and exercise. It might be the last thing to go, but if you keep but the hard work it will go! Good luck!

anubis609

As stated, you can't target specific areas to burn fat. You just have to do cardio to burn all over body fat. Certain areas tend to linger longer than others. Just keep it up, coupled with strength training/toning and maintain a healthy nutritional intake. It will come off eventually. Congrats on the loss so far. Much success on your journey.