Maybe I want to be skinny fat

hippietofugirl

Over the course of the past 2 years, I've had a baby, and then I dropped 75lbs. As I expected the last few lbs are the hardest to drop. I go up and down and up and down the same 5-6lbs over and over. I started doing 30 Day Shred (for those of you that don't know, its circuit training with weights, cardio and ab work) and after doing it for a few weeks, noticed that my weight actually went up higher than its been in a while. I attribute this to muscle gain. THEN I went on vacation, didn't work out the whole time and finally started to lose again. I was so happy with the loss I didn't know what to do with myself, but as soon as I came back home and started working out again the weight crept back up. Maybe my goal weight isn't attainable, but to be honest I really just want a completely flat stomach. It seems the ab workouts I've been doing have had the opposite effect and make my stomach stick out even more! I'm about ready to just quit exercising and eat the bare minimum and maybe start some serious cardio because I'm sick and tired of this stupid belly fat.

McLifterPants

Ab workouts do not burn belly fat, they build the muscle underneath it so that when you DO burn the fat, there is muscle tone underneath. Unfortunately there is no way to spot reduce fat, you just have to keep a moderate caloric deficit, work out, and your body will burn in whatever places it so chooses, hopefully eventually including your belly.

*edit* Also, I do not recommend eating "the bare minimum," as your body will eat the muscle, not the fat, which I'm pretty sure is not what you want, even if you do joke about wanting to be skinny-fat! Skinny fat girls still have tummy pudge

ahmommy

How tall are you? That makes a difference for whether your goal weight is attainable or not.

In general, combining weight training with a calorie deficit will cause you to retain muscle mass and lose only fat. This is a good thing, but the result is that you lose more slowly. If you want to lose faster, focus on cardio and diet, but realize you'll lose muscle tone as well. Then once you get to your target weight, you can work on the muscles. But then that might cause you to gain weight.

In the end, it's not your weight that really matters. But how you look and how you feel. I'm working on worrying less about the scale and more about the mirror and how my clothes fit. And getting rid of that belly fat, too. I'm skinny fat, 5'10" and 145. It's not where I want to be and I don't really believe its where you want to be, either.

amy1612

If you want to burn fat start lifting heavier weights, cardio will NOT give you the flat stomach you desire. Try ignoring the scale, and go read New rules of lifting for women or something like it. There are some women on these boards with SERIOUS results from lifting, especially in the ab area

DontStopB_Leakin

If you want to burn fat start lifting heavier weights, cardio will NOT give you the flat stomach you desire. Try ignoring the scale, and go read New rules of lifting for women or something like it. There are some women on these boards with SERIOUS results from lifting, especially in the ab area

See what the above poster said. Cardio WILL give you the flat tum tum. You just have to do strength training as well. Neither one on it's own is going to achieve the flat tum tum.

hippietofugirl

argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

leopard_barbie

argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

Doing some strength training will help, even if it's body weight exercises rather than heavy lifting. I haven't done any heavy lifting as of yet & my stomach's got a lot flatter from cardio/Jillian Michaels DVDs. Nearly 100% happy with it & definitely very proud of my progress.

runnerchick69

My abs are pretty solid so it does make my stomach look like it sticks out a tiny bit from the side BUT what I have is solid muscle and not worth losing for the sake of a 'perfectly' flat tummy I've watched a lot of other women who have a muscular build like myself and their midsection looks great! I was a little bit put off by this at first but with the honks, waves and hollers I get when I run in shorts a sports bra I'm thinking it looks pretty good Don't worry about it, I have no doubt others are thinking they wish they had your 'problem'.

ashlinmarie

My mom is your height and 115lbs. She looks sickly thin and STILL has belly fat. All she did was cardio...walking, elliptical and roller blading. I keep telling her to incorporate strength training to lose her belly, but she doesn't want to gain any weight from muscle. You might want to settle for a slightly higher number on the scale and build some muscle. NO you will not bulk up from lifting weights. In fact, it is possible to look thinner at a higher weight if you have muscle.

I do alternating strength training and running days. I started wearing size 10s at 183lbs. Last year when I tried losing weight, all I did was bike and I could barely squeeze into size 10s at 173 lbs and I used to wear them comfortably at 160 lbs. At 177, one pair of my 10s are falling off of me and I have to wash them to shrink them enough to fit O.o I have lost about 5 inches off of my belly, 4 off of each thigh and dropped two pant sizes and I am not even at my halfway point.

Also, I'm not sure what you eat on a daily basis, but if you consume a lot of sodium and not a lot of water, you can bloat in your belly a lot.

hpsnickers1

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chronic-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-relationship-between-exercise-and-inflammation-and-what-it-means-for-your-workouts/

I dropped 10lbs following a high-carb (i.e. high-sugar equivalent), low-fat, low-calorie diet. I had to do lots of exercise. I had to eat constantly because I was constantly hungry. I had to weigh and log food, count calories, etc. But I was still bloated. I still had a belly. (I'm 41 years old and have always had a belly. 33-35" at the smallest part of my waist). After 10lbs it had dropped 31". Wow...

I went Primal (started Primal Blueprint over at Mark's Daily Apple). Within the month I had gone down to a 26" waist and got a flat belly (for the first time in my entire life). I got to cut back on the exercise. I got to stop with the eating 5-6 times a day. Three eggs and 4 pieces of uncured bacon and I had no interest in food for at least 6 hours - and the daytime energy!!!! WOW!!! Turns out all those healthy grains were the cause of my belly and every digestive issue I've had to deal with my entire life. All that fiber was destroying my gut and bloating me up. Every doctor I went to said more whole grains and fiber to cure your IBS. I did the opposite as pure experiment and fixed a whole lot of things that were wrong with me (and the Fibromyalgia they told me I had turned out to be blood sugar highs and lows. Reactive Hypoglycemia aka prediabetes. I have never been overweight or obese - just a little chubby and always had a bloated belly. I was at a normal weight with high blood sugars). This is why I was hungry every 2-3 hours.
But N=1...this worked for me.

hippietofugirl

Even when I do my Jillian dvds, like I said my weight increases and thats all fine and good but the inches sometimes increase and I feel thats a problem especially around my midsection

hippietofugirl

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chronic-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-relationship-between-exercise-and-inflammation-and-what-it-means-for-your-workouts/

I dropped 10lbs following a high-carb (i.e. high-sugar equivalent), low-fat, low-calorie diet. I had to do lots of exercise. I had to eat constantly because I was constantly hungry. I had to weigh and log food, count calories, etc. But I was still bloated. I still had a belly. (I'm 41 years old and have always had a belly. 33-35" at the smallest part of my waist). After 10lbs it had dropped 31". Wow...

I went Primal (started Primal Blueprint over at Mark's Daily Apple). Within the month I had gone down to a 26" waist and got a flat belly (for the first time in my entire life). I got to cut back on the exercise. I got to stop with the eating 5-6 times a day. Three eggs and 4 pieces of uncured bacon and I had no interest in food for at least 6 hours - and the daytime energy!!!! WOW!!! Turns out all those healthy grains were the cause of my belly and every digestive issue I've had to deal with my entire life. All that fiber was destroying my gut and bloating me up. Every doctor I went to said more whole grains and fiber to cure your IBS. I did the opposite as pure experiment and fixed a whole lot of things that were wrong with me (and the Fibromyalgia they told me I had turned out to be blood sugar highs and lows. Reactive Hypoglycemia aka prediabetes. I have never been overweight or obese - just a little chubby and always had a bloated belly. I was at a normal weight with high blood sugars). This is why I was hungry every 2-3 hours.
But N=1...this worked for me.

Thank you, I am getting ready to read those articles, but are you suggesting that I do the paleo diet?

amy1612

See what the above poster said. Cardio WILL give you the flat tum tum. You just have to do strength training as well. Neither one on it's own is going to achieve the flat tum tum.

I really do disagree with this. Building muscle means you burns more fat, you dont NEED to do cardio, it will help, but its not necessary. Ive been lifting heavy for 10 weeks, with barely any cardio (I occasionally go to a dance class like zumba) and Ive seen dramatic differences. Especially around my stomach area.

Not trying to be facetious, just saying.

acep07

horsebackring gave me a small stomach with abs, if you dont like lifting, also be careful what you are eating, lots of carby startchy foods might seem like a good idea if you are working out more, but I find eating less of that and more protein calories instead keeps my weight from going up. Find a happy medium of workout calories you can eat back, if I ate all of mine back i would gain, but if I didnt eat any I would plateau.

pinthin87

I too hate my belly...sticks out no matter how much the scale says I have lost. I have found for me that cutting back on sugars helps mine go down. I also just started lifting. I do kettlebells. The first week I did cicuits with a 5 pounder and now have moved up to a 10...dying to get to the 15 so I can start getting the tummy I want. Everything that I have been reading/seeing on MFP girls who lift heavy have flat, cute tummies. The Victoria Secret models all lift and you have seen their gorgeous abs! It's hard at first but I think the lifting gets easier.

ellie319

if your saying that your stomach sticks out,perhaps try to eat less bloating food..ie carbs,brocoili..

hippietofugirl

so it seems that everyone agrees that too many carbs are bad. My macros are set at 40/30/30, and I only count net carbs. Does anyone suggest a different macro ratio?

bcattoes

If you want to burn fat start lifting heavier weights, cardio will NOT give you the flat stomach you desire.

This statement may be false, depending on what type of flat stomach you desire and your genetics. Everyone is different so I won't assume that what worked for me will work for everyone.

I kept a flat stomach most of my life, including after giving birth to 2 children within 3 years, withot lifting weights. I did not have a "six pack" nor did I desire one. I had a flat, smooth, soft belly. At age 51, though it's a little bigger around than it was when I was in my 30's, it is still pretty flat.

I'm not knocking weights though. If you like that type of exercise it is very good for you. I'm just saying it's not the one and only way to get a flat tummy. Aerobics will get you there as well. The biggest difference is whether you want the "ripped" muscles or a soft flat look.

bcattoes

so it seems that everyone agrees that too many carbs are bad. My macros are set at 40/30/30, and I only count net carbs. Does anyone suggest a different macro ratio?

I don't agree that carbs are bad. Though I think the source of the carbs is very important for health, I don't believe it makes much difference for a flat tummy unless you have problems digesting certain carbs that causes bloating. Anything that bloats you is obviously going to derail a flat stomach.

PaveGurl

my weight increases when I exercise too, because my muscle mass is increasing - and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

bcattoes

and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

That is so silly. Exercise burns calories. Depending on how much you ate before starting, you can lose weight with no diet changes whatsoever by simply adding/increasing exercise.

hippietofugirl

my weight increases when I exercise too, because my muscle mass is increasing - and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

Well I'm open for suggestions of what I need to change about my diet in order to attain a flat stomach. I don't care if its ripped or not, I just don't want this god awful pooch.

hippietofugirl

and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

That is so silly. Exercise burns calories. Depending on how much you ate before starting, you can lose weight with no diet changes whatsoever by simply adding/increasing exercise.

and yeah I agree, exercise obviously helps people lose weight. Her post doesn't make sense.

Dragonwolf

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chronic-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-relationship-between-exercise-and-inflammation-and-what-it-means-for-your-workouts/

I dropped 10lbs following a high-carb (i.e. high-sugar equivalent), low-fat, low-calorie diet. I had to do lots of exercise. I had to eat constantly because I was constantly hungry. I had to weigh and log food, count calories, etc. But I was still bloated. I still had a belly. (I'm 41 years old and have always had a belly. 33-35" at the smallest part of my waist). After 10lbs it had dropped 31". Wow...

I went Primal (started Primal Blueprint over at Mark's Daily Apple). Within the month I had gone down to a 26" waist and got a flat belly (for the first time in my entire life). I got to cut back on the exercise. I got to stop with the eating 5-6 times a day. Three eggs and 4 pieces of uncured bacon and I had no interest in food for at least 6 hours - and the daytime energy!!!! WOW!!! Turns out all those healthy grains were the cause of my belly and every digestive issue I've had to deal with my entire life. All that fiber was destroying my gut and bloating me up. Every doctor I went to said more whole grains and fiber to cure your IBS. I did the opposite as pure experiment and fixed a whole lot of things that were wrong with me (and the Fibromyalgia they told me I had turned out to be blood sugar highs and lows. Reactive Hypoglycemia aka prediabetes. I have never been overweight or obese - just a little chubby and always had a bloated belly. I was at a normal weight with high blood sugars). This is why I was hungry every 2-3 hours.
But N=1...this worked for me.

Thank you, I am getting ready to read those articles, but are you suggesting that I do the paleo diet?

Why not? If what you're doing isn't getting the results you want, it might be time to try something new. Even if you choose not to, the articles on cardio (and the information on grains/legumes) that were linked, and that are found throughout the paleo/primal circles have some merit to them and are worth at least exploring.

Dragonwolf

and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

That is so silly. Exercise burns calories. Depending on how much you ate before starting, you can lose weight with no diet changes whatsoever by simply adding/increasing exercise.

and yeah I agree, exercise obviously helps people lose weight. Her post doesn't make sense.

Diet has a far greater effect on weight loss than exercise. You can drastically lose weight just by changing your diet. Doing the same with just exercise is a far cry harder.

bcattoes

my weight increases when I exercise too, because my muscle mass is increasing - and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

Well I'm open for suggestions of what I need to change about my diet in order to attain a flat stomach. I don't care if its ripped or not, I just don't want this god awful pooch.

If you stick with the 30 day shred it will likely get you there. I've never done that but I've read of good results on here. Things that have worked best for me over the years are running, fast walking (at least 4 mph), step aerobics and Zumba. But I can only say these worked for me. Your body could be different.

Oh, and drink plenty of fluids and don't go too low fat. This will help keep your skin supple so it's doesn't sag (probably more of a problem for a 51 you than you).

runnerchick69

and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

That is so silly. Exercise burns calories. Depending on how much you ate before starting, you can lose weight with no diet changes whatsoever by simply adding/increasing exercise.

and yeah I agree, exercise obviously helps people lose weight. Her post doesn't make sense.

Diet has a far greater effect on weight loss than exercise. You can drastically lose weight just by changing your diet. Doing the same with just exercise is a far cry harder.

You beat me to it I have read studies that show diet is far more important in the battle against obesity than exercise. Certainly exercise helps to tone your body and it will help you burn calories but diet really does have a far greater impact. I am a huge advocate of exercise and running in particular but for anyone that asks me about my weight loss one of the very first things I tell them is get your diet under control. I lost nearly 30 pounds before I ever started exercising and even when I started I walked a few times a week for about a half hour. What I ate and how much I ate is why I was so succesful in finally losing the weight!

digitalalchemy

I tried the Jillian Michael's, the P90x, Insanity, Bodyrock.tv, but NONE of them got me the results that heavy lifting has. When I say heavy lifting, I mean squats, deadlifts, pullups, overhead press, bench press, etc. I only lift 2x a week. Do each exercise 5 reps 3x, then lower the weight by 10%. Do 5 reps 3x then lower the weight 10% again. The weight should be heavy enough that 4-5 reps is hard. I noticed a huge difference the first week. Just make sure the deadlifts and squats are at least 3 days apart (don't do them on the same day).

If you lift high reps low weight, that's when you bulk up and gain more muslce. Heavy weigh and low reps leans you out and won't bulk you up. Good luck!

mcarter99

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1305014

Scroll down to the "Britney Spears Syndrome" section if you don't want to read it all.

If you believe him, ab exercises are bad for a slim waist. (I take no stance. I think a strong core is important for life and I doubt you can really thicken yourself up much with crunches anyway. Do those ab muscles really even grow? Then again, Chalene Johnson's a little thick through the middle.)

SpazzyMal

As for the weight that seems to happen when you start working out, that's likely water retention! When you start throwing something new at your body, the body reacts by holding on to some extra water to help heal itself and protect it. This will eventually drop back off once your body gets comfortable again. I suggest you continue to work out and drop the scale for a month or two, but take your measurements instead. Working out often leads to inches lost but the pounds don't always show on the scale at first. But really, would you rather lose 10 pounds, or 2 sizes? Nobody sees the scale but you, but everyone notices you when you get smaller!

mmapags

When you lost weight on vacation and then regained it back on your exercise routine that was all water and glycogen. When you stopped working out, after a week or so, your body decided that it didn't need the ability and energy to restore muscles because they weren't working hard. So it released water and glycogen. You went back to your workout and the opposite happend. Maybe you want to reconsider whether weight is the measureing stick you want and see what's happening with your measurements. You could be maintianing muscle and losing fat and it's not reflecting in the scale.