Best abs exercises for losing belly fat?

I have been doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred off of you tube. Works in cardio and abs. So far I have lost 2 inches off of hips and waist. Stomach is flatter:) All 3 levels are on you tube. You do level 1 10 days, level 2 10 days ect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pc-NizMgg8

I like that one!

Cardio : )

Why? How does cardio reduce belly fat?

If you are doing cardio that, in my humble opinion, is the best thing you can do for belly fat. I carry most of my weight around my middle, too, and while any ab exercise will help tone the muscles, it's the cardio that will burn the fat off the top of them

If you are doing cardio that, in my humble opinion, is the best thing you can do for belly fat. I carry most of my weight around my middle, too, and while any ab exercise will help tone the muscles, it's the cardio that will burn the fat off the top of them

Wrong. On a couple of levels.

Exercise (regardless of the type) doesn't burn fat (or muscle). It burns energy (cals). What cals your body uses for the energy will depend on a variety of things, but mostly yoru diet the last 12-24 hours.

To "burn the fat off muscles" you have to lose weight. To do that, you HAVE TO MAINTAIN A CALORIE DEFICIT. If you do that with exercise, great. If you do it with diet, great. But it's the deficit that causes the weight loss, not the exercise. It's very easy to out-eat an exercise program, but it's very hard to "out-lazy" a good diet.

as a 1000 people have already said cant burn fat in just one area.. however i have seen and heard of people doing lots of back excersizes. strengthening and increasing muscle mass in your back will tighten the skin around your core, however any fat layers in the abdomen will still mask your ab muscles.

So much BS in this thread.

Here is an awesome article on general eating towards a healthy diet, losing fat and gaining sixpackabs

http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-abs-diet-and-six-pack-abs?fullpage=true

Really? Carry on if you think menshealth is the corner stone to weight loss!

Not to mention -- this thread started with a woman asking how she can shed the belly fat, not a man. Women and men ARE different, and will lose weight and tone differently. Their needs simply are not the same. There may be some basic principles that apply to both in this area, but it would be so nice if there were as much good information out there for women as there is for men. (Menshealth, notwithstanding, as there's too much conflicting info there.)

"It's very easy to out-eat an exercise program, but it's very hard to "out-lazy" a good diet."

LOVE this quote, Jacksonpt!

I had an issue getting abs, so I started 6 week 6 pack with Jillian before my wedding a year ago...and at the end of 6 weeks I had a four pack...seriously it does wonders! Try it out! I'm restarting it now...I've got two and I want at least 4 by October So Week 1 day 1 was yesterday

first, as many have said, what you eat/drink controls how much body fat you burn. Good abs are 90% made in the kitchen.

second, as several have said, you are better off doing compound exercises that engage the core muscles, but only in conjunction with other moves. Doing compound exercises will burn more calories. Also, if you do high intensity interval training (such as bodyrock.tv), you can burn visceral fat (which is the toughest fat to burn...but its the fat you will need to burn to flatten your tummy). great compound exercises involving the core involve various forms of burpees, squats, dead lifts, pike jumps, plank jax, chin ups.

third, doing some core strengthening exercises is not a bad idea (just don't expect those exercises alone...without proper nutrition and other compound exercise work...to flatten your belly). However, you should avoid/limit those core exercises that put an undue strain on your lower back like sit-ups and crunches. Here's a link to a tough core workout that should not put strain on your lower back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyF-WjSdCE4&feature=youtu.be

The easiest ab exercise is walking... out of the kitchen.

^ this

but mostly abs come from diet....get rid of sugar and all breads...

Not necessary.

Yup i'm gonna have to agree here with Matt.

It's genetics which influences hormones which makes fat get stored in certain areas. These predominantly with women are hips, bum, and stomach (and in certain cases, boobs).

With men, it's predominantly stomach (though in some cases, can be very similar to women depending on their hormone levels).

The mechanism for losing fat is exactly the same.

The hard and fast rule is:

1g fat = 9 kcals.

So to burn a kilo of fat off, it's 9000 kcals that needs to be burned - there are no exceptions to this rule and you can't choose where to lose it from.

Your math is a bit off. It is 1kg of fat = 7700 calories, or 1lb fat = 3500 calories.

Either way the point stands, we all lose fat in the same way - and its generally expressed 3500 cals per 1lb of fat.

Women will take longer to lose fat then men simply because estrogen - Estrogenic fat is a form of adipose tissue (or subcutaneous fat) which develops under the influence of estrogen, and particularly estradiol, in women. Its also the reason why women put on extra body fat when they go on the pill or similar as their estrogen levels are increased making them more carb senstive.

Estrogen will tell the body layer fat more readily (and is why men when fat, deposit fat more readily due to being more estrogenic than a leaner man). Alcohol will also increase estrogen levels as testosterone levels drop, especially with beer.

Its all quite simple and is easy to understand if you take 5 mins to investigate

Ps - The reason for 3500 rather than 4086 cals discrepancy is that body fat, or adipose tissue, contains not only fat, but also other substances including protein, connective tissue, and water. The dietary fat referred to in the nutritional analysis of food is pure.

Either way the point stands, we all lose fat in the same way - and its generally expressed 3500 cals per 1lb of fat.

Women will take longer to lose fat then men simply because estrogen - Estrogenic fat is a form of adipose tissue (or subcutaneous fat) which develops under the influence of estrogen, and particularly estradiol, in women. Its also the reason why women put on extra body fat when they go on the pill or similar as their estrogen levels are increased making them more carb senstive.

Estrogen will tell the body layer fat more readily (and is why men when fat, deposit fat more readily due to being more estrogenic than a leaner man). Alcohol will also increase estrogen levels as testosterone levels drop, especially with beer.

Its all quite simple and is easy to understand if you take 5 mins to investigate

Ps - The reason for 3500 rather than 4086 cals discrepancy is that body fat, or adipose tissue, contains not only fat, but also other substances including protein, connective tissue, and water. The dietary fat referred to in the nutritional analysis of food is pure.

Good point re: adipose tissues composition - didn't think of that specifically. D'oh.

So in summary - Matt is right and I agree. Lol!

Its not a bad idea to restrict simple food stuffs, simply to prevent snacking. For most not a hard and fast rule mind you.

Also as a body builder it will create a significant difference, I tell you, on stage.