How to get rid of belly fat over muscle *pics*

TheFitnessTutor

A little background:

I am 34 and 5'2". I have had three kids (all naturally, no c-sec). I currently weigh 110.5. I started the 30 Day Shred 10 days ago and just completed Day 8 on Level 1. Here are some pics:




I can feel my ab muscles but they are covered by a pouch of fat. I want to get rid of this the fastest way possible!! What can I do in addition to the current workout to melt the fat away?? I eat fairly well and count all of my calories. I was hoping to wear a bikini when we go to Los Cabos on March 8. Please help!

March 8 is a month away! Inbox me or send me a message if you want to know I would do if you were my client.

TheFitnessTutor

A little background:

I am 34 and 5'2". I have had three kids (all naturally, no c-sec). I currently weigh 110.5. I started the 30 Day Shred 10 days ago and just completed Day 8 on Level 1. Here are some pics:




I can feel my ab muscles but they are covered by a pouch of fat. I want to get rid of this the fastest way possible!! What can I do in addition to the current workout to melt the fat away?? I eat fairly well and count all of my calories. I was hoping to wear a bikini when we go to Los Cabos on March 8. Please help!

Why can't I edit these posts? It's only been a minute. Oh well...more bandwidth!
anyways...you're not really that bad off in my book. I think you might get the wrong impression from some of these posts. So like I said friend me, send me a message, etc. * ok now I see edit buttons. I guess I still had a post pending or something. Oh well sue me!

sammielealea

As a mother of 3, I totally get where you are coming from. Diet is key, eat clean, unprocessed foods (processed foods are made with sugar and salt and all the good things to bloat), and exercise. Unfortunately spot training does not work, however, eat clean and train your core 3x's a week and it will come off (I had the same thing and it took about a year with my second, my youngest is 5 months and I am working on it). Make sure you include planks in your core routine - it works the transverse abdominis, which acts like a corset. And when you work core, remember, core is the abs, obliques, low back, butt and hams (the muscles that help stabilize the spine). Plus, I am a personal trainer and core strength is my passion.

Sorry, I do not endorse plastic surgery. From your photos, I think you truly need to clean up your diet and give it several months. Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Recharged is a great resource.

Great Advise! OP - Try not to get discouraged . . . You're doing great!

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

How do I burn body fat the fastest? Heavy lifting? I can't join a gym and don't have heavy weights at home. Also, I have no idea what to do so I would need a trainer. This is so difficult. It was so much easier just losing the weight.

You don't have to join a gym or need to buy expensive equipment for that. You can use your own bodyweight such as push-ups, pull-ups, bodyweight squats & lunges. THe good thing about these exercises is that they are compound movements that targets multiple muscles.

PercivalHackworth

Seriously 34 % body fat? You must have bad vision and / or guesstimating skills... I'm still a newbie but assuming she has 33 lbs of fat to lose is beyond ridiculous. She looks good she probably just wants to lose around 5-7 lbs of belly fat. Geez anything else you wanna try and make her feel self conscious about? Lord. :noway: I'm sure you're just trying to help but please consider how people may feel about your comments. I read these posts to get helpful advice and information but that just didn't. make sense all to me.

Hehe, she was asking for advices, so I gave her
I know there is an emotional part to take in account - maybe I didn't (May I apologize for that) but since she's doing great, and wants to move forward - I'd rather be pragmatic, tell her what she COULD - not MUST do in order to get rid of it.
And yah, a lot of people don't know how low you have to go on body fat in order to see the abs. You can make them harder, and shaped - but also create insane fat burn if you want to see them. The only solution remains the clean diet.
At the beginning I also said that she wouldn't to that if she wouldn't affect her family, diets can be tricky sometimes hehe :flowerforyou:

h0t_m0m

Can someone please tell me where I can go to get an accurate body fat reading? I had the caliper test done almost 3 years ago and my BF% was 28 at that time. However, I am fairly certain that isn't the most accurate. Since then, I have cut out all processed foods, eat all whole grain or whole wheat carbs, buy organic as much as possible and get as much lean protein as possible. I was talking to my husband last night and he said that most of it is extra skin. For what it is worth, I only gained 31, 22 and 18 pounds while preggo. I have a very short torso and the stretch marks to prove how much my tummy did stretch for those beautiful babies.

And, like the previous poster stated, I can't do anything extreme because I do have a family to take care of. I am already experiencing some tiredness so am worried I am not eating enough. Thought I would have increased energy when I started exercising in addition to eating right.

LorinaLynn

You said you can't join a gym, but do you have a friend who's a member at a gym that allows members to bring guests? And pull another favor with someone else to watch the kids for an hour here or there? Even going twice a week, with home workouts in between, can make a big difference.

I agree that you don't need to do anything extreme. Maybe even raising your calories (and especially protein) would make a difference. I've become leaner while on maintenance, getting more protein and amping up my strength training, even though my weight went up a little. In my profile pic, I weigh about the same in June as I did last month, but my body changed.

daveainsworth

If you were to drop 10lbs you'd be in the ideal shape for your height. I'd set that as your first goal and then see what you look like.

You can check your body fat percentage accurately using bioeletrical impedance scales (very affordable, available from Amazon). Less accurate but indicative, you can just Google body-fat calculator and enter your waist and hip measurements.

If you want to lose fat without losing muscle, your best bet is to do it slowly (aim for no more than 1lb a week). Use MFP. Writing down every calorie you eat, as MFP recommends, is tedious but it does work.

You say you're already exercising, so that's good. If you're not doing a lot of walking already, I recommend adding that. You can do it with kids, and when catching up with friends. It doesn't feel like exercise, but you can easily rack up quite a lot of miles.

You will need to do some weights, otherwise you risk losing muscle, not fat. But you do not need to do heavy lifting.

You can achieve everything you need with just a 3kg dumbbell and some resistance training. Google one simple exercise for each of the following areas: lower back, upper back, shoulders, pecs, abs, biceps and triceps.

Once you've got your exercise, start with your weaker arm. Repeat that exercise until you can't do it again. Write down how often you managed. Aim to do one more next time. If you can manage more than 30 reps, get the next heavier weight.

Doing seven sets of weights doesn't take more than half an hour, and twice a week is enough to get you going in the right direction (although three times a week is ideal, if you can manage). My advice is to leave the weights by the TV, and do your exercises gradually, while you're watching a show.

If you can eat a high-protein snack straight after (a chicken sandwich is ideal, although peanut butter is actually pretty good) that will help you build strength.

h0t_m0m

I called a nutrition center and it cost $75 for a body composition analysis.

I found a calculator online using measurements and this is what I got. So much better than the 33% as suggested.

Body Fat %: 22.37

Lbs/Kgs of Body Fat: 24.72

Lean Body Weight: 85.78

I guess I will add in more weight training and resistance training and keep logging my calories. Do you think I should do the 40-30-30 or something different? MFP has my calories at 1200. Should I change this? Thank you so much for all of the advice and input. Hope this works until I can afford some sessions with a personal trainer (come on tax refund)!

namutsch

http://www.leangains.com/

h0t_m0m

I joined a gym and have my first session with the personal trainer tomorrow. I got evaluated today and my body fat percentage is actually 20.47!! My first goal is to get down to 18%. Thanks so much for the advice and I hope to have some awesome before and after pics soon!!

FitForLife81

It was the last place for me to lose!!! I am 5'3" and weigh 110 and it was the last stubborn area to move. I have now switched from cardio to more strenght training and I think that definately helped!!! Keep at it and it will shed off eventually!!

SWEETS1234

I hope it all falls into place for you. Strength training is always good for the overal body but I'm sure your trainer will get you on the right track. Just remember it isn't all about the number on the scale. I'm only 5'1 and weight 121 lbs (my pic is current). Good luck.