Maybe I want to be skinny fat

2

Replies

  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
    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.
    I was about to say the same thing. Heavy lifting isn't always the answer. I would definitely incorporate some weights into your moves, especially ab and body weight moves, but it doesn't have to be a million pounds. Just challenge yourself a bit.
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    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.)

    Thank you for that article. Its very interesting...I think I am going to lay off of the ab exercises for now because I did have a bad habbit of doing a zillion crunches everyday and thats probably half of my problem. Its not necessarily tummy "flab" but more like a tummy bulge that I have.
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

    why would you want to?! You can't get the results you want without doing the work. period.
  • karae16
    karae16 Posts: 13 Member
    I know you said you wanted to lay off the crunches, but have you tried the dead bug kind? From what I understand this is supposed to be a good kind for women as it creates more of a flat stomach ab affect than the bulge abs you can get with regular crunches.

    There's a picture of them somewhat down the page on this site
    http://www.60dayswithnatjones.com/fitnessbuilder-day-60/

    Just make sure you keep your back flat on the ground to prevent any strain/injuries
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

    why would you want to?! You can't get the results you want without doing the work. period.

    I understand hard work, trust me...after losing 70lbs I understand it very well. However, you're suggesting that in order to get a flat stomach I MUST do heavy lifting. That may be one way to get it but I doubt its the only way.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    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.

    agreed. Stop focussing on the scale so much.

    Re you're macros. What are they in grams not %?

    Create a calorie deficit through diet (and preferably exercise)

    Fat loss requires
    calorie deficit through diet and exercise
    adequate protein (I aim for 1g/lb of LBM minimum)
    resistance training (progressively increasing weights to challenge yourself, you can do bw exercises also but it is much harder to slighly increase the difficulty of exercises & quite easy to push past the limit of strength training and into muscular endurance & cardio)

    These are to promote the preservation of lean body mass.

    Also, google lordosis. Possibility that you may have. Various stretching & strength training to help fix this.
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
    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.

    agreed. Stop focussing on the scale so much.

    Re you're macros. What are they in grams not %?

    Create a calorie deficit through diet (and preferably exercise)

    Fat loss requires
    calorie deficit through diet and exercise
    adequate protein (I aim for 1g/lb of LBM minimum)
    resistance training (progressively increasing weights to challenge yourself, you can do bw exercises also but it is much harder to slighly increase the difficulty of exercises & quite easy to push past the limit of strength training and into muscular endurance & cardio)

    These are to promote the preservation of lean body mass.

    Also, google lordosis. Possibility that you may have. Various stretching & strength training to help fix this.

    what Chris said. He knows. :)
  • xoyasminxo
    xoyasminxo Posts: 132
    cardio and diet will help you lose the weight. The ab exercises will strengthen the muscle. Being toned is better than being skinny fat in the long run for your health.
  • schpanks
    schpanks Posts: 468 Member
    Girl, you look great. Do what you want and don't stress. :wink:
  • KaleidoscopeEyes1056
    KaleidoscopeEyes1056 Posts: 2,996 Member
    argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

    Lifting can actually be fun! At least i think so.
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
    Dropped the processed carbs...
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    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.

    agreed. Stop focussing on the scale so much.

    Re you're macros. What are they in grams not %?

    Create a calorie deficit through diet (and preferably exercise)

    Fat loss requires
    calorie deficit through diet and exercise
    adequate protein (I aim for 1g/lb of LBM minimum)
    resistance training (progressively increasing weights to challenge yourself, you can do bw exercises also but it is much harder to slighly increase the difficulty of exercises & quite easy to push past the limit of strength training and into muscular endurance & cardio)

    These are to promote the preservation of lean body mass.

    Also, google lordosis. Possibility that you may have. Various stretching & strength training to help fix this.


    Um yeah I googled lordosis and it looks pretty similar to my situation. I thought it was just bad posture from my overweight pregnancy.

    Here's an embarrassing side shot of my problem.

    j14sif.jpg
  • Barbellerella
    Barbellerella Posts: 1,838 Member
    argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

    Lifting can actually be fun! At least i think so.

    Exactly my thoughts! Cardio is sooo boring to me but lifting weights is a blast!
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

    Lifting can actually be fun! At least i think so.

    Exactly my thoughts! Cardio is sooo boring to me but lifting weights is a blast!

    Well its not so much that I really don't want to lift, its that I'm a stay at home mom, on a budget and I live in a tiny town without a gym. It would just be a huge hassle for me to start going to one
  • reneelee
    reneelee Posts: 877 Member
    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.


    You are right, it is 80% diet. You cannot exercise enough to burn off the calories consummed durring a day of over eating.
  • Megooo19
    Megooo19 Posts: 199
    I think looking into the primal blueprint diet like the other person suggested is worth your time. I love Marks daily apple. Lots of interesting information on his site. I have not gone 100% paleo (oh how I love peanut butter!) but I have incorporated a lot more protein and a lot less carbs as well as avoiding wheat products. I've been doing it since the 16th of July and as of today I've lost 9.5 lbs and my stomach is looking so much better!
  • AsellusReborn
    AsellusReborn Posts: 1,112 Member
    Most people gain a little when they start an intense workout like the shred. I gained a pound. But unless you're overeating it is not real weight. There's a thread around with an article by Chalean Johnson about why you gain when you start an intense new workout your body isn't used to - your muscles retain water and glycogen to -heal- from the workout. AKA, it's just water weight as your body's way of protecting your muscles. It goes away. 2 weeks into the shred I lost the pound I gained. 3 weeks in weight started fall off - within a week I lost 5 additional pounds according to the scale. Did I actually lose those 5lbs that week? No, I lost them over the course of the month - but I lost the water weight my muscles were retaining.


    Keep doing what you're doing - exercise will help.
  • Barbellerella
    Barbellerella Posts: 1,838 Member
    argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

    Lifting can actually be fun! At least i think so.

    Exactly my thoughts! Cardio is sooo boring to me but lifting weights is a blast!

    Well its not so much that I really don't want to lift, its that I'm a stay at home mom, on a budget and I live in a tiny town without a gym. It would just be a huge hassle for me to start going to one

    I understand. My husband does all his lifting at home. Maybe you could try to get a few pieces of equipment here and there on Craigslist so you can lift weights at home? I know a girl who slowly built a gym in her garage, one piece at a time off of Craigslist. At a huge discount. Just a thought.
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    I think looking into the primal blueprint diet like the other person suggested is worth your time. I love Marks daily apple. Lots of interesting information on his site. I have not gone 100% paleo (oh how I love peanut butter!) but I have incorporated a lot more protein and a lot less carbs as well as avoiding wheat products. I've been doing it since the 16th of July and as of today I've lost 9.5 lbs and my stomach is looking so much better!

    I'm thinking of dropping wheat. What are your macros set at and how many calories do you eat? What exercises do you do? Your stomach looks fantastic. I want it!
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    You don't need to cut any particular food group out to reduce body fat.

    It looks like you're stubborn fat is abdominal whereas most females is butt/thighs so that will be the last place to lose it.

    Keep going with a moderate cal deficit with adequate proteins & fats and try to include any sort of resistance training you can at home.

    Pushups, inverted rows, lunges, stiff leg deadlifts, planks are good ones. Be creative with what you can use for resistance ie. start with cans of food then get heavier stuff.
  • Megooo19
    Megooo19 Posts: 199
    I think looking into the primal blueprint diet like the other person suggested is worth your time. I love Marks daily apple. Lots of interesting information on his site. I have not gone 100% paleo (oh how I love peanut butter!) but I have incorporated a lot more protein and a lot less carbs as well as avoiding wheat products. I've been doing it since the 16th of July and as of today I've lost 9.5 lbs and my stomach is looking so much better!

    I'm thinking of dropping wheat. What are your macros set at and how many calories do you eat? What exercises do you do? Your stomach looks fantastic. I want it!



    Thank you! My calories fluctuate depending on how hungry I am that particular day but I aim for between 1200-1500. Sometimes I'm under and sometimes I'm over. Right now I'm aiming for 100+ grams of protein a day and between 50-100 carbs. I'm not really watching fat but I am aiming for 10+ grams of fiber a day. My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating.

    Exercise wise I do cardio for about 20-40 minutes per day (usually elliptical, bike, or stairstepper) I also do 3-5 days of strength training one day chest and tris, one day bis and back and one day legs and bum. I personally don't like Jillian Micheal's dvds I feel like she rushes the movements too much but that's just me and they are a great workout. So I would stick with them and see what happens! Plus when you start lifting your body retains water to help heal your muscles.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    You don't need to cut any particular food group out to reduce body fat.

    It looks like you're stubborn fat is abdominal whereas most females is butt/thighs so that will be the last place to lose it.

    Keep going with a moderate cal deficit with adequate proteins & fats and try to include any sort of resistance training you can at home.

    Pushups, inverted rows, lunges, stiff leg deadlifts, planks are good ones. Be creative with what you can use for resistance ie. start with cans of food then get heavier stuff.

    I agree with Chris. Unless you have some specific allergy/ intolerance, it will probably have little effect to elimiate foods. And that is just where you stubborn fat is. Mine is over the back of my hips! Whoopee! I think you've done a great job with the pregnancy weight and looks great. I think resistance work will help you in whatever form you can do it. Someone may have mentioned this but Mark Rippletoe says that a lot of ab work develops the abs, as in makes them bigger. Some is good, like once a week to keep a certain amount of muscle development but you can work 'em til the cows come home and it won't do much until you lose the last little bit of stubbborn fat.
  • Gwoman2012
    Gwoman2012 Posts: 163 Member
    From looking at your picture that is the belly of someone who has had a baby. Some of it is probably excess skin from gaining 70 lbs, and that isn't going anywhere without surgery.

    I'm not trying to discourage you, and I would KILL for your body right now (I had 2 babies in 2 years and gained 40 and 50 lbs respectively, I have lost 40 lbs but I have another 20 to go for my goal weight).

    The only way to reduce the pooch is through a calorie deficit, i.e. losing a few more lbs. I love heavy lifting but that and/or 30 DS and/or lots of cardio are not going to get rid of the belly.
  • PaveGurl
    PaveGurl Posts: 244 Member
    So, I haven't been back to this post in a few days, but I saw some people saying my last post ("it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help you lose weight") doesn't make sense.

    So, I thought I'd offer some resources:
    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html

    http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500165_162-5269114.html

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/dieting-vs-exercise-for-weight-loss/?ref=health

    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0040503

    http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

    II say again: it's pretty well documented. Weight loss is most affected by diet.
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    Dropping scale weight and looking better do not always go together, Stop stressing about every single 1lb increase or decrease.

    Set a small calorie deficit, hit this every day and lift weights (im mean proper weights not jillian michaels)

    come back in a years time and tell me you don't look 10x better.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    argh I was hoping I would be able to bypass the heavy lifting. I guess I just need to suck it up...

    why would you want to?! You can't get the results you want without doing the work. period.

    I understand hard work, trust me...after losing 70lbs I understand it very well. However, you're suggesting that in order to get a flat stomach I MUST do heavy lifting. That may be one way to get it but I doubt its the only way.

    I promise you that it is not the only way.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Here's an embarrassing side shot of my problem.

    j14sif.jpg

    Seriously? What's so embarrassing about that?

    You look great, and I think you might have unreal expectations... maybe you're comparing yourself to professionally photographed and digitally altered images.
  • Meggles63
    Meggles63 Posts: 916 Member
    Here's an embarrassing side shot of my problem.

    j14sif.jpg

    Seriously? What's so embarrassing about that?

    You look great, and I think you might have unreal expectations... maybe you're comparing yourself to professionally photographed and digitally altered images.
    I gotta agree with Lorina! The way you described yourself is NOTHING like this picture.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    So, I haven't been back to this post in a few days, but I saw some people saying my last post ("it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help you lose weight") doesn't make sense.

    So, I thought I'd offer some resources:
    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html

    http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500165_162-5269114.html

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/dieting-vs-exercise-for-weight-loss/?ref=health

    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0040503

    http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

    II say again: it's pretty well documented. Weight loss is most affected by diet.

    80% diet, 20% exercise. Losing weight is one thing, being fit & strong (and looking like it) is another.
  • Zombi35tev3
    Zombi35tev3 Posts: 1 Member
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