Belly Fat - here is my theory...

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iyermanoj
iyermanoj Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been struggling with belly fat for years, although I do moderate amount of cardio and strength training I still dont have a 6pack but rather looks like a mini-keg. :) Here is my theory:

I think the issue is if you burn away most of the calories you eat, the body goes into a starvation mode and stores any food ingested as fat. The area where most fat is stored is around the belly area. So lets say I need 2000 calories a day for my BMI at rest conditions, and I burn 1500 calories by working out, then at the end of the day I am only left with 500 calories, that need to last for the whole night of rest and recovery. My guess is the body thinks that I am starving and need to store the excess and the next food intake as fat rather than muscle. So, if my theory is correct, CALORIE_INPUT minus CALORIE_BURNED should be equal to CALORIES_NEEDED ?

Am I correct ?

Replies

  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    I think you've got the right idea, you need to have a net calorie intake that is the same as your original goal, so basically calorie intake minus exercise calories should equal your original calorie daily goal.
  • mzenzer
    mzenzer Posts: 503 Member
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    That's more than just a theory that's accepted doctrine in the fitness community, and it's why when you put your weight loss goals in here at MFP, then add your exercise, you have a higher total of calories you can consume. There are tons of threads here about it but just search "eating exercise calories" for some very detailed explanations on the concept.
  • rebbecarose
    rebbecarose Posts: 48
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    What are you doing that's burning 1500 calories? My workouts usually burn around 400 calories max. To calculate your daily caloric needs :

    Men

    66 + (6.23 x your weight) + (12.7 x your height) - (6.8 x your age)

    Women

    655 + (4.35 x your weight) + (4.7 x your height) - (4.7 x your age)

    For how much you're burning you should get a Heart rate monitor. Or for a general idea there are plenty of websites that can tell you pretty closely how much you are burning.

    To lose weight you should calculate your daily caloric needs and subtract 500. Then you should eat back what you burn off in exercise to prevent starvation mode.

    This will help you lose about a lb a week.

    Good luck :)
  • Funnybunnyboo
    Funnybunnyboo Posts: 87
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    u know also, that if you put your body under stress, such as excercising,then not eating enough back, your body will burn muscle, as it is trying to source glycogen, and the stress hormone, will put that layer of fat down...round your belly!!
    thats why any kind of stress will make you bigger round the middle, despite hours in the gym. they also say stressed people tend to suffer more heart problems, diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol.. guess where most of the fat that can cause this is stored...round your belly...
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    My guess is the body thinks that I am starving and need to store the excess and the next food intake as fat rather than muscle.
    The body can't store food as muscle. And the body deposits and burns fat differently on different people.
  • iyermanoj
    iyermanoj Posts: 5
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    Yes I use a heart rate monitor and it counts calories counted too. I do an hour of strength training and an hour and half of cardio and try to eat five meals a day. Being a diabetic I cannot eat certain type of foods like high carbs which is needed to boost calorie intake, I guess I need to cut back on the work out or eat more protein. Thanks for confirming my suspicion/theory.

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