get out of my belly!

funnygrrl

Hi Everyone,

I've lost 35 pounds so now i'm 134, standing 5'5". I'm fantastically happy with my weight, but my only problem that I don't like is that my belly isn't nice and flatter as I'd like... i don't want to be apple shape, does anyone have any tips on how to lose on the belly? thanks :blushing:

addisondisease

You can not choose where to lose fat on your body. Your body decided where the fat was going to be put on, it will decide where it wants to take it off first. Just keep cutting cal, exercising cardio and strength training your whole body. Give it time.

Lesa_Sass

My trainer says belly fat is burned in the kitchen not in the gym. As do many other professionals I have heard and talked to in person.

I have a little bit of it myself I need to work off, and I have exercised my *kitten* off, literally. It is my understanding that pretty much all sugar needs to be cut out of a diet to achieve this and I do not know if I am willing to cut out all my fruit and carrots.

addisondisease

My trainer says belly fat is burned in the kitchen not in the gym. As do many other professionals I have heard and talked to in person.

I have a little bit of it myself I need to work off, and I have exercised my *kitten* off, literally. It is my understanding that pretty much all sugar needs to be cut out of a diet to achieve this and I do not know if I am willing to cut out all my fruit and carrots.

You're trainer is right, though you are wrong on your sugar thought its all calories in vs out. Sure cutting sugar can help but it isn't the key.

Lesa_Sass

My trainer says belly fat is burned in the kitchen not in the gym. As do many other professionals I have heard and talked to in person.

I have a little bit of it myself I need to work off, and I have exercised my *kitten* off, literally. It is my understanding that pretty much all sugar needs to be cut out of a diet to achieve this and I do not know if I am willing to cut out all my fruit and carrots.

You're trainer is right, though you are wrong on your sugar thought its all calories in vs out. Sure cutting sugar can help but it isn't the key.

What is the key?

MrDude_1

My trainer says belly fat is burned in the kitchen not in the gym. As do many other professionals I have heard and talked to in person.

I have a little bit of it myself I need to work off, and I have exercised my *kitten* off, literally. It is my understanding that pretty much all sugar needs to be cut out of a diet to achieve this and I do not know if I am willing to cut out all my fruit and carrots.

You're trainer is right, though you are wrong on your sugar thought its all calories in vs out. Sure cutting sugar can help but it isn't the key.

What is the key?

eat less calories then you burn, and hit your macros.

toasterlisa

Stay with it, be patient. Remember that you don't have to just get rid of belly fat, you also have to wait for your skin to shrink back to size :-)

I've been at the same weight for three weeks (yes, an annoying plateau that I WILL break through this week), but I was able to button a pair of jeans this weekend that I couldn't two weeks ago.

Best wishes on your health and wellness journey,

lauragoat

what are macros? I know what it is when I am using Excel and I have seen it referenced several times. Thanks!

Lesa_Sass

My trainer says belly fat is burned in the kitchen not in the gym. As do many other professionals I have heard and talked to in person.

I have a little bit of it myself I need to work off, and I have exercised my *kitten* off, literally. It is my understanding that pretty much all sugar needs to be cut out of a diet to achieve this and I do not know if I am willing to cut out all my fruit and carrots.

You're trainer is right, though you are wrong on your sugar thought its all calories in vs out. Sure cutting sugar can help but it isn't the key.

What is the key?

eat less calories then you burn, and hit your macros.

I do that. I am also 43 with a teeny bit of belly fat that I do not think is going to come off unless I get down to 89 lbs. Same with the saddle bags I have. I think the only way I ( I mean me personally) am going to be able to get rid of this stuff is by smart lipo. I eat very healthy and exercise a great deal. I am actually pretty fit for a gal my age and at a size 2, I do not see me wanting to get any smaller, which I would have to do to get rid of it.

Please feel free to check out my food diary and give any suggestions you think would help me.

addisondisease

Macro-nutrients

Protien
Fat
Carbs

Micro-nutrients
sodium
sugar
fiber
iron
vitamins
etc
etc
etc

Dragonwolf

As others have said, you can't "spot-reduce" fat, unfortunately.

You can, however, strengthen your muscles, which can help keep you from looking "flabby." A lot of people call it "skinny fat," when someone is technically "skinny," but has no muscle definition, and thus, look "flabby." If you haven't already, add in strength training. You might need to adjust your diet (more protein, possibly a smaller caloric deficit overall), but the benefits are well worth it.

No gym membership? No problem! There are a ton of bodyweight exercises that require no equipment, and minimal equipment when you start surpassing what you can do with nothing (which takes quite some time if you do the progressions correctly).

And no, you won't "bulk up" like a guy. You don't have the testosterone to do that, and probably aren't taking the supplements that female body builders take.

Also, check your posture. Not standing up straight can make you look "fatter". Keeping your core engaged also helps to strengthen it (to an extent, it does get to a point where you can do it all day without issue) and make you look leaner. Lift your ribs away from your hip and see how much of a difference it makes!

Gt3ch

Yes ab toning and continuing to reduce overall body fat are obvious answers and are probably most or all of your situation. But some of it could be abdominal distention if you aren't getting enough fiber or eating foods that disagree with you. A high fiber diet, vegetable juices, and eliminating whatever is your problem like dairy could help. Also if you are under a lot of stress and cortisol is high you will put on more visceral fat. In that case anything that reduces your stress level, helps you sleep better, or deals with cortisol directly would help. If the issues is hormonal or allergy/intolerance you would ABSOLUTELY spot add or reduce fat. Dealing with them could also help you get over a plateau.

Shaneekwa

bump

funnygrrl

As others have said, you can't "spot-reduce" fat, unfortunately.

You can, however, strengthen your muscles, which can help keep you from looking "flabby." A lot of people call it "skinny fat," when someone is technically "skinny," but has no muscle definition, and thus, look "flabby." If you haven't already, add in strength training. You might need to adjust your diet (more protein, possibly a smaller caloric deficit overall), but the benefits are well worth it.

No gym membership? No problem! There are a ton of bodyweight exercises that require no equipment, and minimal equipment when you start surpassing what you can do with nothing (which takes quite some time if you do the progressions correctly).

And no, you won't "bulk up" like a guy. You don't have the testosterone to do that, and probably aren't taking the supplements that female body builders take.

Also, check your posture. Not standing up straight can make you look "fatter". Keeping your core engaged also helps to strengthen it (to an extent, it does get to a point where you can do it all day without issue) and make you look leaner. Lift your ribs away from your hip and see how much of a difference it makes!

i will take a look at my posture, i agree it's easy to change the wayou look and feel just by that... and the bit about giving my skin some time to bounce back also makes sense. as for the taking in less calories and working out more, i already work out 5-6 days a week at the gym and almost always have calorie deficits so ill just keep that part up. when i'm at the gym, i'm doing 3 boot camp classes a week, that combines strength and cardio, a body attack class, which is mostly strength and abs and then the rest is zumba so a good mix up....

thanks for the tips everyone!

EMarvie

I agree with others.. you cant spot treat... but try Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.. it's awsome and quick - every day for 30 days.. or split things up.. might help tone.

addisondisease2

I agree with others.. you cant spot treat... but try Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.. it's awsome and quick - every day for 30 days.. or split things up.. might help tone.

It is physically impossible to "tone" a muscle, please do more research.

Gt3ch

It is physically impossible to "tone" a muscle, please do more research.

Not sure I follow completely. There is such a thing as muscle tone or tonus. It's a residual, passive, partial contraction of the muscle and it helps maintain body posture. It can be affected by mental state and activity. OTOH body composition (i.e. body fat) dictates what you can see (or is hidden) of the muscle. Therefore body composition is essentially all that matters when it comes to showing muscular development.

Is that what you mean? Am i way off?

JanieJack

I don't know... my maintenance plan includes keeping my weight off for 5 years and then rewarding myself for that maintenance with lipo for what didn't shrink back down.

MrDude_1

It is physically impossible to "tone" a muscle, please do more research.

Not sure I follow completely. There is such a thing as muscle tone or tonus. It's a residual, passive, partial contraction of the muscle and it helps maintain body posture. It can be affected by mental state and activity. OTOH body composition (i.e. body fat) dictates what you can see (or is hidden) of the muscle. Therefore body composition is essentially all that matters when it comes to showing muscular development.

Is that what you mean? Am i way off?

way off.
by tone in the context used above, they mean "looking good whatever muscle you see there looks perkier"

what they dont realize is "toned" is actually a combination of having enough muscle, and having a lower body fat percentage. thats it.
nothing else.


and because you cant spot reduce fat, you need to lower your overall body fat percentage to be "toned".... yet people in the 20 percent BF range will still do ab workouts to try to "get abs".... not realizing that they're made in the kitchen from your diet. not doing workouts.
same applies for toning arms. legs.. thighs...etc...

Gt3ch

I'm trying to parse his statement not the OP's. Read what I said again. It's not wrong or so different from what you're saying.

Men want want you're describing. Women want muscle tonus (that residual, passive, contraction) and to be lean. They don't need or want any or much hypertrophy.

Again yes you can't spot reduce fat with exercise but fat distribution is mainly hormonal. It is possible to have hormonal problems that give you a massive *kitten* or lots of deep visceral fat. Sometimes diet and exercise will have trouble making a dent in it- but it's treatable. It's also possible to have bowel distention that looks like fat but isn't. Many people have a combination of these.

funnygrrl

I agree with others.. you cant spot treat... but try Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.. it's awsome and quick - every day for 30 days.. or split things up.. might help tone.

good call on the 30 day shred,,, LOVE that dvd!! thanks

ALH1981

My trainer says belly fat is burned in the kitchen not in the gym. As do many other professionals I have heard and talked to in person.

I have a little bit of it myself I need to work off, and I have exercised my *kitten* off, literally. It is my understanding that pretty much all sugar needs to be cut out of a diet to achieve this and I do not know if I am willing to cut out all my fruit and carrots.

You're trainer is right, though you are wrong on your sugar thought its all calories in vs out. Sure cutting sugar can help but it isn't the key.

What is the key?

eat less calories then you burn, and hit your macros.

i cannot believe this. What if you had a 200 calorie salad - lots of healthy greens, protein etc or 200 calories of macdonalds - does that one meal seriously have the same value? And in the long run wouldn't it cause the body to function differently, eventually leading to weight gain anyway?

thats the principle i live on! IM willing to take a few extra calories for better quality food!

funnygrrl

eat less calories then you burn, and hit your macros.

i cannot believe this. What if you had a 200 calorie salad - lots of healthy greens, protein etc or 200 calories of macdonalds - does that one meal seriously have the same value? And in the long run wouldn't it cause the body to function differently, eventually leading to weight gain anyway?

thats the principle i live on! IM willing to take a few extra calories for better quality food!

if i was on facebook, i'd 'like' this comment

Dragonwolf

My trainer says belly fat is burned in the kitchen not in the gym. As do many other professionals I have heard and talked to in person.

I have a little bit of it myself I need to work off, and I have exercised my *kitten* off, literally. It is my understanding that pretty much all sugar needs to be cut out of a diet to achieve this and I do not know if I am willing to cut out all my fruit and carrots.

You're trainer is right, though you are wrong on your sugar thought its all calories in vs out. Sure cutting sugar can help but it isn't the key.

What is the key?

eat less calories then you burn, and hit your macros.

i cannot believe this. What if you had a 200 calorie salad - lots of healthy greens, protein etc or 200 calories of macdonalds - does that one meal seriously have the same value? And in the long run wouldn't it cause the body to function differently, eventually leading to weight gain anyway?

thats the principle i live on! IM willing to take a few extra calories for better quality food!

When talking solely about weight loss, all that matters is calories in vs calories out. It doesn't matter where those calories come from, as long as it's fewer than what's being burned.

When talking about overall health and benefits other than weight loss (lower cholesterol, more energy, stable blood sugar, etc), then food quality comes into play.