What kind of exercise is good for belly fat that does not hu

kparks770

Also,anyone gain weight even though you think your doing good? I have had a few slips on the diet/exercise but have been pretty good.

wildeone4

The best for belly fat is cardio, cardio, and more cardio...PLUS eating nutritious foods!

bjohs

Going by your food diary, I would try to cut back on the high carb dinners. Your sodium column is not listed, but I can imagine by the high number of carbs in the list that the sodium level is fairly high too. Try to cut down on sodium if you can. Cardio will help reduce fat from all over your body, while core exercises will help strengthen stomach muscles and start creating some definition.

kparks770

Like aerobics and elliptical? Ive lost a good bit but Its where a lot of my weight is that and my boobs unfortunately

kparks770

yeah lately Ive been having a hard time with some carbs.Sometimes I stay hungry and its not boredom my stomach is actually growling and I get weak.

DawnA7230

You can't target one specific area of your body for weight loss. You can target toning, but not weight loss. And sadly, when losing weight, the belly is usually the last place to lose.

Your best bet is going to be to eat a healthy diet, watch your calorie intake, and get plenty of exercise. Cardio is great for weight loss.

Depending what kind of exercise you do, you may actually gain some weight. If you are building muscle, you need to keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat, so you may initially see an increase in your weight, but don't be discouraged. Keep working at eating well and exercising and the weight will start to come off.

Nomomush

Abs are made in the kitchen. That's what my trainer tells me. You can do all the exercise int he world but until you get rid of the layer of fat over those abs, you'll never see it. So with a good amount of cardio and low carb diet, flat abs are possible.

brattyworm

you can't really tell your body where to drop the fat from.. kinda sucks i know the best thing you can do is tone your muscles so they look good when the fat comes off.

DawnA7230

yeah lately Ive been having a hard time with some carbs.Sometimes I stay hungry and its not boredom my stomach is actually growling and I get weak.

Carbs give you a false sense of hunger. Let me see if I can explain this so that it makes sense.

There's two kinds of carbs; whole and refined. Whole carbs are good for you. Refined carbs are bad for you. The whole carbs breakdown and slowly release their sugar into your bloodstream gradually over time. Refined carbs kind of hit you all at once. You get a sugar-spike. You feel good for a while. When that wears off, you get tired and hungry. While you may have taken in enough calories, or more than enough calories, you have this false sense of hunger compelling you to eat again (and this plays a huge part in weight gain). The refined carbs make for a horrible roller coaster ride.

Try to choose good carbs: whole wheat breads, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and other whole grains. Make sure you have a good balance of carbs/(good)fat/protein.

Protein is great for helping you stay feeling full longer, and building muscle. Make sure your meals and snacks contain protein. When you combine your carbs and your protein you won't find yourself feeling hungry as often and overeating.

kparks770

yeah I found that greek yougart has protein and I really like it and I do all the whole grains and just discovered quinoa only tried it once not sure how to cook/flavor it.It was ok though.I dont think I like sweet potatoes but everyone talks about them so I may try again.Its been forever since I have tried them and taste buds change.I used to hate asparagus and now I love it could eat it everyday:) and I gained like maybe 3 pds but I think it may be muscle cause I was doing something and I flexed my arm and all of a sudden I got some popeye muscles lol and starting to in my legs too. Well,Maybe I should just watch carbs,try new foods,and different exercises. Thanks guys yall made me feel better.

stevemcknight

Going by your food diary, I would try to cut back on the high carb dinners. Your sodium column is not listed, but I can imagine by the high number of carbs in the list that the sodium level is fairly high too. Try to cut down on sodium if you can. Cardio will help reduce fat from all over your body, while core exercises will help strengthen stomach muscles and start creating some definition.

Yes!

Body fat is body fat - no matter where it is. The most sound way to reduce body fat is reduce your carbs. Think of carbs as sugar (uh-oh - here come the "you need carbs" people). When you eat carbs, your body creates insulin. When you produce insulin, you are getting fatter. Your blood is saturated with glucose and that is toxic. Insulin signals fat cells to take up this sugar out of the blood and into the fat cells forming fatty triglycerides. When this is happening, you get fatter. When there is no insulin being secreted in your body - the triglycerides break down and release some glucose (glycogen) into the blood for energy. Thus - you are getting thinner.

This is a super quick note and easy break down on what's going on, but here's the even easier way to look at it.

When you eat carbs - you get fatter. When you don't eat carbs - you get thinner. Try to maximize time spent getting thinner.

Here's my rule of thumb.

Eat: Meat/Fish/Eggs/Poultry/Veggies.

Don't Eat: anything else.

More info at:

www.whole9life.com
robbwolf.com
marksdailyapple.com

the book:

Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes
Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson
The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf

stevemcknight

Abs are made in the kitchen. That's what my trainer tells me. You can do all the exercise int he world but until you get rid of the layer of fat over those abs, you'll never see it. So with a good amount of cardio and low carb diet, flat abs are possible.

Yes.

Add in plenty of heavy lifting. Don't save the weight lifting for after you get thin - do it now. Lift heavy with good form and watch for results.

paintmelucky

Going by your food diary, I would try to cut back on the high carb dinners. Your sodium column is not listed, but I can imagine by the high number of carbs in the list that the sodium level is fairly high too. Try to cut down on sodium if you can. Cardio will help reduce fat from all over your body, while core exercises will help strengthen stomach muscles and start creating some definition.

Yes!

Body fat is body fat - no matter where it is. The most sound way to reduce body fat is reduce your carbs. Think of carbs as sugar (uh-oh - here come the "you need carbs" people). When you eat carbs, your body creates insulin. When you produce insulin, you are getting fatter. Your blood is saturated with glucose and that is toxic. Insulin signals fat cells to take up this sugar out of the blood and into the fat cells forming fatty triglycerides. When this is happening, you get fatter. When there is no insulin being secreted in your body - the triglycerides break down and release some glucose (glycogen) into the blood for energy. Thus - you are getting thinner.

This is a super quick note and easy break down on what's going on, but here's the even easier way to look at it.

When you eat carbs - you get fatter. When you don't eat carbs - you get thinner. Try to maximize time spent getting thinner.

Here's my rule of thumb.

Eat: Meat/Fish/Eggs/Poultry/Veggies.

Don't Eat: anything else.

More info at:

www.whole9life.com
robbwolf.com
marksdailyapple.com

the book:

Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes
Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson
The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf

very nice!

amanda_mh

You can't target specific areas of the body to lose fat. You can do situps till the sun comes up, but belly fat is mostly up to your diet.

alexbowser

Just looked at your food diary from today, so not sure how you eat everyday, but be careful about the ice cream. I thought I was doing great staying under on calories and eating ice cream, but then I hit a 2 week plateau. I cut out most of my sweets and changed my exercise, then the scale started moving in the right direction again.

stevemcknight

yeah lately Ive been having a hard time with some carbs.Sometimes I stay hungry and its not boredom my stomach is actually growling and I get weak.

Carbs give you a false sense of hunger. Let me see if I can explain this so that it makes sense.

There's two kinds of carbs; whole and refined. Whole carbs are good for you. Refined carbs are bad for you. The whole carbs breakdown and slowly release their sugar into your bloodstream gradually over time. Refined carbs kind of hit you all at once. You get a sugar-spike. You feel good for a while. When that wears off, you get tired and hungry. While you may have taken in enough calories, or more than enough calories, you have this false sense of hunger compelling you to eat again (and this plays a huge part in weight gain). The refined carbs make for a horrible roller coaster ride.

Try to choose good carbs: whole wheat breads, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and other whole grains. Make sure you have a good balance of carbs/(good)fat/protein.

Protein is great for helping you stay feeling full longer, and building muscle. Make sure your meals and snacks contain protein. When you combine your carbs and your protein you won't find yourself feeling hungry as often and overeating.

Well.... there's some kind of bad news for the good carb vs. bad carb point of view. The good news is - whole grains at least do have some nutrients left over. Nothing that isn't found plentiful in animals and vegetables, but at least some.

The bad news comes in two parts.

Wheat will cause most of our stomachs to leak. Yeah - that's fun stuff. Google "leaky gut". It's about enough to never have another "good carb" whole wheat sandwich again.

The other bad news is - carbs break down into the same thing, no matter if good or bad, whole or enriched flour. In the end, it's glucose and fructose. Honestly, I don't see a huge difference between good and bad. If you're pouring sugar in your blood, it's still sugar in your blood, regardless of if it's whole grain or white pasta. I'm not saying eat the crappy stuff, I'm saying don't eat either.

I'm also not saying don't eat carbs (although I will fight to the death in a steel cage match with anyone who claims there are any essential carbs.) By all means, eat all the veggies you want, peppers, onions, eggplant, celery, spinach, tomatoes (yeah - it's a fruit, I know.) - do it - eat them all, super good for you and filled with micro nutrients. Just stay clear of the empty calories - wheat/corn/rice. You'll do just fine with out that junk.

katschi

Well.... there's some kind of bad news for the good carb vs. bad carb point of view. The good news is - whole grains at least do have some nutrients left over. Nothing that isn't found plentiful in animals and vegetables, but at least some.

The bad news comes in two parts.

Wheat will cause most of our stomachs to leak. Yeah - that's fun stuff. Google "leaky gut". It's about enough to never have another "good carb" whole wheat sandwich again.

The other bad news is - carbs break down into the same thing, no matter if good or bad, whole or enriched flour. In the end, it's glucose and fructose. Honestly, I don't see a huge difference between good and bad. If you're pouring sugar in your blood, it's still sugar in your blood, regardless of if it's whole grain or white pasta. I'm not saying eat the crappy stuff, I'm saying don't eat either.

I'm also not saying don't eat carbs (although I will fight to the death in a steel cage match with anyone who claims there are any essential carbs.) By all means, eat all the veggies you want, peppers, onions, eggplant, celery, spinach, tomatoes (yeah - it's a fruit, I know.) - do it - eat them all, super good for you and filled with micro nutrients. Just stay clear of the empty calories - wheat/corn/rice. You'll do just fine with out that junk.

Best food related change I made for myself was to follow this advice.
I no longer suffer from gas or bloating.
No more out of control hunger. No more insane binges (although if I eat too much fruit, I can go that way but I just eat too much fruit)
I don't miss eating starchy carbs. Not one bit.
I finally feel in control when it comes to food and that will lead me to my ultimate success in losing the excess fat.

shreddingit

I love brown rice and ww pasta! Guess i better cut it to get a flat stomach..... :noway:

droppin_lbs

Bump

chrisdavey

When you eat carbs - you get fatter. When you don't eat carbs - you get thinner. Try to maximize time spent getting thinner.

That is a bit of a simple look at it IMO.

Insulin is also highly anabolic and there are good reasons to spike this around a heavy workout. Muscles require some carbs to be rebuilt also. (Yes, you're body can use protein for an energy source but it is not an efficient one)

Good article on it here. (much better than I can put into words)
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_insulin_advantage_how_to_bulk_and_cut_on_the_same_day

In saying that, I generally agree (especially for people who have been overweight that a lower carb diet can be helpful because of insulin sensitivity) and I pretty much only eat oats/fibrous veggies as carb sources.

Michelemybelle

Steve knows his stuff. I've been eating that way for 2 months and the weight is just falling off. 53 lbs. in 13 weeks.

KaraStara

Just read all the posts and agree with most of it. Personally, I really struggle cutting out ALL carbs, I find that I end up with insane cravings for sugar and carbs. So I have a rule that the only carbs I eat are for breakfast and only when I've had a workout. So I'll have porridge or museli.

The rest of the time I have salad with chicken or tuna and for dinner I'll have lots of veggies and some fish or meat. When I'm hungry for snacking I'll eat fresh fruit or nuts.

The one thing that I've not seen mentioned is what you drink. You need to first of all cut out alcohol for at least 2 weeks, on top of this cut out all fizzy drinks and up your water intake to 3.5 - 4 litres a day.

Basically, just make sure everything you eat is fresh and not processed. If you want carbs the best are sweet potatoes, quinoa, couscous, oats, brown rice. Don't have pasta or bread at all.

When in the gym you need to be doing cardio, but dont just run for 40mins as your body gets used to this. Do interval training, fartlek training and hill running. Try to mix up your cardio each day too as this will keep the body guessing.

Finally, although as people have said you can't spot reduce fat, adding an ab workout to the end of your cardio will help tone that area.

Good luck :-)

SolidGoaled

I really needed this reminder about the benefits/success rate of lower carb dieting. I've been venturing off into stupid eating and justifying all kinds of carbs these past few weeks.

stevemcknight

When you eat carbs - you get fatter. When you don't eat carbs - you get thinner. Try to maximize time spent getting thinner.

That is a bit of a simple look at it IMO.

Insulin is also highly anabolic and there are good reasons to spike this around a heavy workout. Muscles require some carbs to be rebuilt also. (Yes, you're body can use protein for an energy source but it is not an efficient one)

Good article on it here. (much better than I can put into words)
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_insulin_advantage_how_to_bulk_and_cut_on_the_same_day

In saying that, I generally agree (especially for people who have been overweight that a lower carb diet can be helpful because of insulin sensitivity) and I pretty much only eat oats/fibrous veggies as carb sources.

Yes - absolutely. It's the 2,000 yard view of the whole thing. There is a time you want insulin, post lifting workout, but I don't think that's what the OP is really talking about. When talking pretty serious weight loss, I always recommend very low carb, then start adding in post WO carbs (such as sweet potatoes) as the client gets to more of a normal body fat range. Good point.

SolidGoaled

When you eat carbs - you get fatter. When you don't eat carbs - you get thinner. Try to maximize time spent getting thinner.

That is a bit of a simple look at it IMO.

Insulin is also highly anabolic and there are good reasons to spike this around a heavy workout. Muscles require some carbs to be rebuilt also. (Yes, you're body can use protein for an energy source but it is not an efficient one)

Good article on it here. (much better than I can put into words)
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_insulin_advantage_how_to_bulk_and_cut_on_the_same_day

In saying that, I generally agree (especially for people who have been overweight that a lower carb diet can be helpful because of insulin sensitivity) and I pretty much only eat oats/fibrous veggies as carb sources.

Yes - absolutely. It's the 2,000 yard view of the whole thing. There is a time you want insulin, post lifting workout, but I don't think that's what the OP is really talking about. When talking pretty serious weight loss, I always recommend very low carb, then start adding in post WO carbs (such as sweet potatoes) as the client gets to more of a normal body fat range. Good point.

Hey Steve - can you reccomend any old threads where you've weighed in heavily on the low-carb eating template? I'm intrigued with your expertise on the topic.

chrisdavey

Yes - absolutely. It's the 2,000 yard view of the whole thing. There is a time you want insulin, post lifting workout, but I don't think that's what the OP is really talking about. When talking pretty serious weight loss, I always recommend very low carb, then start adding in post WO carbs (such as sweet potatoes) as the client gets to more of a normal body fat range. Good point.

Sounds like we are in agreeance then