Belly Fat

Cainesjunior

Any tips, ideas and reccomendations on ways to burn belly fat?

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crisanderson27

To specifically answer your question. Eat less than your maintenance calories, eat .85g protein/lb of bodyweight, and heavy strength train 3x a week (be sure to include squats at minimum, preferably squats and deadlifts for a well rounded program). If you feel the need, do cardio 2x a week...but this is unnecessary for fat loss.

wookiemouse

Cut out refined sugar and white carbs. I was toned everywhere except my abs, that diet change made the difference for me. Oh, and more strength work and less cardio!

Mindmovesbody

There is no way to spot reduce. Losing body fat is the key to losing the tummy. I have lost a lot of body fat and I still have a tummy. Granted, I am a mother of three which hasn't helped my case. I can tell you that both lifting and cardio have helped me. Also, anything that works my core/ obliques helps as well when it is paired with lifting. Some say cut all processed foods, eat clean. Some say eat whatever you want but meet your macro nutrient goals everyday and make sure you have a caloric deficit. Bottom line - When you lose body fat, you will lose all over and eventually the belly will go as well. You have to concentrate on getting as much of the extra weight off as possible and find what works for you to do that! Good Luck to you!

DavPul

Yep, lose weight. I wish there was a more mystical answer I could give you because if there was, I'd be all over that ish and would be at the beach THIS SECOND with my shirt off so all the tourists could take photos of my amazing abs. And they ARE amazing, if only they weren't covered by all this belly fat, I swear.

So hunker down and get to work on changing you diet and adding some exercise. Not a sexy answer, I know, but 60% of the time it works 100% of the time. If you'd like to see how well it works, take a peek at a couple of pages of posts on the Success Thread.

edited to add: it would be a good idea for *everyone* on this site to give the Search function a whirl or two. I understand that if you've been around for a while you'll see the same topic posted by someone that didn't see it posted yesterday and the day before and before and before, but a quick search is considered good form. Heck, don't search, just go back 2 or 3 pages and I bet the same topic is covered. Twice.

Gt3ch

That's true. Yes belly fat, esp deep visceral fat, is typically associated with high levels of stress hormones like cortisol. Reducing stress, systemic inflammation, and increasing and improving sleep & sleep quality are important for reducing belly fat. But you're not really going to get anywhere without running a caloric deficit. More importantly most people want to target their belly fat specifically because they don't appreciate how fat they are in other places as well. Also as you loose fat you will naturally reduce systemic inflammation and hormonal imbalances and will often improve sleep quality (if your fat is affecting your breathing). Basically it starts and ends with a calorie deficit. Anything else is a minor tweak that might help you get over a plateau or make the loss a little more efficient.

Gt3ch

And you know my objective wasn't to be unwelcoming to a newb but on the other hand, it does become somewhat irriating to have the same questions asked over and over and over and over. I mean come on! Use the FAQa, the search function, look around for similar threads. It just kind of seems lazy to me.

That's the other part of it. Why should forum regulars be expected to work hard (for free I might add) educating newcomers when they are only asking because they don't want to invest any effort or time looking up a topic? It's rude because the newcomer is being lazy & caviler with someone else's valuable time and effort. For some reason, though, it seems to be a common practice here.


STAFF NOTE - We encourage our user to ask repeat question. This foster a community atmosphere and creates new relationships.

Gt3ch

Actually it really does become work if you have to wade through 99/100 questions to find one that is interesting or has depth of comes from someone who is actually interested in the topic and your response. It also absolutely becomes work if you frequently help lots of people that can't be bothered to spend 2-3 minutes searching for at least a starting point to the answer. You will often spend much more time than that composing a response. It's wasteful. The poster doesn't have to be an expert or have the complete answer. But it's always better if they can show they're starting to look into something and they ask a question about a real confusion or problem instead of just asking to be spoon fed.

You're completely wrong that there isn't a longstanding etiquette for group communications on the internet. It was beaten into me in many forums. Even a professor I had in college took a whole lecture to explain internet etiquette in one of my comp-sci classes. The thing is year by year there is an exponential growth of groups & users that don't really understand this decades old etiquette. So in a way you're right. If most people want to behave a certain way in a certain forum that's what the etiquette becomes. That's why I'm speaking generally and trying to not beat up the OP too much. I only caution that ignoring this longstanding internet etiquette dumbs down the discussion and tends to frustrate dedicated regulars who really want to contribute regularly to interesting and deep discussions. Personally I think those dedicated users are more important for the health of a group. But perhaps in a place like MFP you have to expect a revolving door of users and lots of frustrated people looking for a quick fix or someone to reach out to them and be supportive even if they're too overwhelmed to do their homework.

Indeed the forums here aren't authoritative so you're right a simple search can be confusing. Whenever I research something I simply never rely on a single source. Maybe I just take that for granted. I thank you for the compliment on my info. I'm glad it was helpful. Visceral fat is uber important and has significant health risks attached. If you search outside of MFP in good sources you should absolutely be stumbling on it. If you look up belly fat you should absolutely find the term "adipose tissue." If you even go to wikipedia for "adipose tissue" you will stumble on "visceral fat" in that entry. I don't think everybody does or should know these terms but FWIW you should/could find them in 2 keyword searches or less.

You can tell if you have a lot of fat around your organs by your belly's appearance when you lay on your side. A healthy fat belly will follow gravity, sag, and be soft. Caffeine spikes cortisol so it's another thing to think about. Alpha Lipoic Acid is a safe antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that can help aid loosing belly fat. But honestly 98% of it is just running a caloric deficit with healthy foods and exercising and getting your compliment of sleep. So really this has been a kinda weird, long tangent for a simple question/answer (not that I mind).

Hezzietiger1

Cut out refined sugar and white carbs. I was toned everywhere except my abs, that diet change made the difference for me. Oh, and more strength work and less cardio!

This.. except not less cardio. Keep the cardio. Add the strength. Carbs- fruits and veggies, minimal light dairy. Leave the rest alone. I've lost a lot of belly fat over the last few weeks switching my diet up this way.

casandralemons

Wow I never thought this place would be some mean. We are here to support each other in weight loss. Support being the key word. Come guys settle down. If you have a problem with what the person posts then don't comment. We all should be on the weight loss band wagon. I hope you found the answer to your question. Smile you are on your way to healthy living!

crisanderson27

I'm sorry, cardio is completely irrelevant for fat loss. It's been beat to death on these forums and elsewhere. Do some research.

Or better yet...here, I'll give you proof. When you show me someone who has gone from this:



To this:

]

Losing 40lbs in 3mos...on a purely cardio exercise routine, like I did on a PURELY strength training routine...

THEN I'll listen to you about how effective doing more cardio is for fat loss.

ETA....that was also only exercising 3x a week, for less than an hour a day. NO other exercise, and NO cardio. Again...please provide me a single example providing those results, or even ANY real results period within a 3 month time frame, and I'll concede your point 100%.

Wonderob

You can tell if you have a lot of fat around your organs by your belly's appearance when you lay on your side. A healthy fat belly will follow gravity, sag, and be soft. Caffeine spikes cortisol so it's another thing to think about. Alpha Lipoic Acid is a safe antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that can help aid loosing belly fat. But honestly 98% of it is just running a caloric deficit with healthy foods and exercising and getting your compliment of sleep. So really this has been a kinda weird, long tangent for a simple question/answer (not that I mind).

Actually that is damn interesting, not to mention a tad worrying. I was only 14lbs overweight but it seemed all around my stomach and was very firm. I was fast approaching 'unhealthy' if not already there. I will save this and add it to my list of motivations.

I owe you an apology, and a debt of gratitude. Thank you

djlstanley

I'm female, 5ft 7" and weigh 114 lbs but still can't get rid of that last belly fat/love handles.

According to websites I'm underweight and below my BMI.

What's the best plan for me?

Im currently eating 1400 cals a day plus excersise cals.

Do I carry on loosing weight then bulk? I normally weight train 3x a week and do a few HIIT sessions a week but have switched over to the 30 day shred (am about to start level 2). I don't really want the scale to go down any further but would like that last bit of fat off. I'm fairly new to all this and have learnt loads reading the forums and researching, but this is confusing me a little.

Thnx in advance.

sirromqoyr

I was reading a article today that suggests cycling or bike riding can help with reducing visceral fat due to the fast movement of the legs boosting the body's number of fat-burning hormones catocholamines. This study was done at the University of New South wales Australia by Associate Professor Steve Boutcher. He states that if you sprint for 8 seconds and recover for 12 seconds and do this for 20 minutes three times a week with a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down. The article states it is has the same fat burning as jogging for seven hours a week. Worth a try...if it doesn't work all you have lost is time and gained a lot of fitness. As a bike rider I know this would be hard work.

Wonderob

I was reading a article today that suggests cycling or bike riding can help with reducing visceral fat due to the fast movement of the legs boosting the body's number of fat-burning hormones catocholamines. This study was done at the University of New South wales Australia by Associate Professor Steve Boutcher. He states that if you sprint for 8 seconds and recover for 12 seconds and do this for 20 minutes three times a week with a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down. The article states it is has the same fat burning as jogging for seven hours a week. Worth a try...if it doesn't work all you have lost is time and gained a lot of fitness. As a bike rider I know this would be hard work.

More interesting stuff

Warrants further investigation I reckon

KristinaMarieOH

Ignore all the "rude" answers and just focus on those that are here to help others and themselves...that's what being a part of a community should be about. Welcome to MFP and good luck with your journey!

KristinaMarieOH

You can tell if you have a lot of fat around your organs by your belly's appearance when you lay on your side. A healthy fat belly will follow gravity, sag, and be soft. Caffeine spikes cortisol so it's another thing to think about. Alpha Lipoic Acid is a safe antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that can help aid loosing belly fat. But honestly 98% of it is just running a caloric deficit with healthy foods and exercising and getting your compliment of sleep. So really this has been a kinda weird, long tangent for a simple question/answer (not that I mind).

This makes me worry for my husband. His belly is somewhat large and very hard and I don't mean muscular hard. I knew his large belly wasn't a good thing but didn't know it was a measurement of fat content surrounding his organs. I also never thought of my saggy belly as being ok...lol. I'd love to have more information on this to pass along to my husband to motivate him to take care of his health.

mmapags

Yup! That's how I see it. Obviously, the delicate flower disagrees. Oh well (shrug). I'll somehow have to learn to live with that.

Meh. Frankly it's a little of a culture shock for me here. Everybody's always asking the same questions and ignoring the FAQ. Newbs aren't supposed to be coddled. They're supposed to get slammed so they learn. It's not just better for the group. It forces the newb to take an interest, to learn, to explore, to dig deeper, to think, and to ask deeper questions. I don't really understand why so few get that here.

I didn't realize this forum was Marine Corps bootcamp and not a place for support and advice.

Try to imagine how much more effective this place could be for support and advice if people followed basic forum protocols.

As I type this, there are two threads titled "Fitbit? on page 1. Go back 6 more pages and "Fitbit" is the title of no less than 13 threads. What if all the great info and advice in those 13 recently started threads were all on the same thread?

Someone started a second thread about the BBC doc on sports supplements. The one started yesterday has some excellent info. What if instead of starting a new thread for the second day, the OP added info to an already informative thread?

Think of all the good info that gets missed because we won't cut and paste a well crafted response 20x in different threads on the same topic. How much deeper could the discussion get if instead of posting "Somebody pls recommend a good book for a new lifter" the newb did a quick search, read the first dozen posts, and then asked specific questions about NROLFL or SL5x5 or SS?

Just like there are simple rules of the road to keep us moving along and out each others way, there are simple rules for making internet forums more efficient.

Word DavPul! And you expressed it so much more diplomatically than I did. Nice going!

Scott

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