Losing Belly Fat with a bad back...

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d_fedish
d_fedish Posts: 10
in Fitness and Exercise
I have 3 degenerative disks in my lower back as well as spinal stenosis. I bought an elliptical trainer awhile back and got myself into a rhythm of using it pretty consistently. I started out slowly adding more time to each workout (I used it as a cardio jumpstart before doing my toning exercises). A few months ago, when I got my elliptical exercise up to 45 minutes+ consistently I noticed after about 20 minutes my toes and feet would start to go numb from the stenosis. I have been to the doctor and they said there isn't much I can do outside of surgery and I am only 28 so he doesn't want to do that yet. What else can I try to help lose my belly?? I can get on the elliptical and push thru the pain/numbness, but it is uncomfortable and kind of scary. I also have a problem with water retention that we can't seem to figure out, I hold water better than a camel and barely sweat even with intense cardio. I don't know if my tummy is actually fat or retained water. I need help!! :sad:
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Replies

  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
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    Just eat less. Srs.
  • d_fedish
    d_fedish Posts: 10
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    I have changed my diet, have a 1200 calorie goal and don't usually hit it. The foods I am eating are also healthier, fruits and veggies, less sodium, etc. I don't drink pop or caffeinated beverages anymore. I've lost weight, I need to lose inches.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
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    Just eat less. Srs.

    What this guy said, Srs
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Just eat less. Srs.

    What this guy said, Srs

    What they said. Srs.
  • d_fedish
    d_fedish Posts: 10
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    If you have no interest in actually helping go to another post.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
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    If you have no interest in actually helping go to another post.

    no no...they have interest. srs.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    If you have no interest in actually helping go to another post.

    If you have no interest in listening, go to another forum.
  • d_fedish
    d_fedish Posts: 10
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    I posted a topic looking for someone to actually give me some insight on alternate exercises I can try, not being told to eat less food (like I haven't tried that) by someone only to have that restated like it's some game by others. If you have a tip, exercise or some magical food that I can eat to get rid of belly fat then fine, if you don't, why even post? Or do you mean to tell me that eating less itself will actually burn the belly fat? Srs.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
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    Not hitting 1200 is probably just as bad as eating three times that.

    Go here, run your numbers and use that as your calorie goal daily instead.

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Then, can you incorporate non-weight bearing exercises like swimming into your workout? Can you walk on a normal surface, not the elliptical? My toes and lower legs sometimes go numb on the elliptical and arc trainer too, in fact, I've heard it's quite common.

    Also, there are ways to do strength training whilst protecting your back. I normally would *never* recommend a www.livestrong.com article but this one suggests the same workarounds my chiropractor recommended.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/332240-how-to-lift-weights-with-a-back-injury/

    Good luck!
  • d_fedish
    d_fedish Posts: 10
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    Thank you, I will look into that!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Your question, from your post:
    What else can I try to help lose my belly??

    You can eat less/better. You don't need exercise to lose weight. Period. All that is needed to lose wight is a healthy deficit with reasonable macros. You can get to the deficit with diet alone, or with diet + exercise. They both work. So if exercise is a problem for you (which as you posted, it is), then just put more emphasis on eating right.

    As for the water retention... how are your sodium and potassium levels?

    And people agree to support the point, so that people looking for advice (you or other people reading the thread) see that more than 1 person agrees. Since very few of us are actual experts, having a point/suggestion supported by multiple people can be very helpful when trying to sift through the volumes of advice on this board.

    .
  • starryskies89
    starryskies89 Posts: 35 Member
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    I think she said she already eats 1200 calories a day, that is already very low, eating less than that is what the others are recommending? Whatever, LOL :/

    I would say be patient, your body will lose fat all over, or basically where ever it wants to when you are eating at a deficit, there is no cure for belly fat. If you are retaining water is your abdomen hard even when you don't flex it? Perhaps go on a low sodium diet?
    There is a lot of good information on the forum about eating above your BMR which is your basal metabolic rate, usually it's a few hundred calories higher than 1200 for most people, just google BMR calculator. But research and reading and then trying different things is what I would recommend..
    Also, if you can only do a small amount of cardio at a time, just do that, 20 minutes daily is much better than nothing for your health.
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
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    I posted a topic looking for someone to actually give me some insight on alternate exercises I can try, not being told to eat less food (like I haven't tried that) by someone only to have that restated like it's some game by others. If you have a tip, exercise or some magical food that I can eat to get rid of belly fat then fine, if you don't, why even post? Or do you mean to tell me that eating less itself will actually burn the belly fat? Srs.

    Losing weight is a result of burning more calories than you eat. You can create this scenario with a combonation of diet and exercise or one or the other alone. Normally I also suggest some form of resistance training, but I am not qualified to say what would be safe for you. The best place to go for that would be a sports oriented medical professional. Not a forum on the internet.
  • trixiemou
    trixiemou Posts: 554 Member
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    No now guys, behave!!

    Don't know how much this will help but you may be able to check out the exercises and see which you can do. I downloaded an app for my ipod called absolute abs. I know there willl be some that may not be suitable but find the glute bridge is particularly good for that area.

    Cheers
  • rarobe01
    rarobe01 Posts: 3 Member
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    My feet will go numb using the eliptical trainer as well. I make it a point to make a fist with my toes about every 5 minutes and it seems to work well for me.
  • newhabit
    newhabit Posts: 426 Member
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    so you can't really lift weights at all then? maybe you can do something in the form of strength training? i have to tell you, that has really helped me more than anything. lifting weights really helps cut down on body fat. because more muscle on the body is good for your metabolism so then you can eat more and not gain.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    Basically what everyone is saying that you can't target what fat you're body is going to lose. You can't target just belly fat regardless of what you try to do. Exercise doesn't lose inches or weight, your calorie deficit does. Exercise will just increase that deficit. You said you're goal is 1200 calories and you don't even reach that most days, is that the number you came up with or did MFP give you that goal?
  • d_fedish
    d_fedish Posts: 10
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    Your question, from your post:
    What else can I try to help lose my belly??

    You can eat less/better. You don't need exercise to lose weight. Period. All that is needed to lose wight is a healthy deficit with reasonable macros. You can get to the deficit with diet alone, or with diet + exercise. They both work. So if exercise is a problem for you (which as you posted, it is), then just put more emphasis on eating right.

    As for the water retention... how are your sodium and potassium levels?

    And people agree to support the point, so that people looking for advice (you or other people reading the thread) see that more than 1 person agrees. Since very few of us are actual experts, having a point/suggestion supported by multiple people can be very helpful when trying to sift through the volumes of advice on this board.

    .

    I appreciate the information. Thank you.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
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    Are you sure the toe numbness is a result of your back issues? I have found that a lot of the machines angle the foot pads down, so the toes are pressing on the top of the shoes. If I use my elliptical at home, I wear flip flops.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Feet going numb on the elliptical is very common, are you sure it's caused by your back problems?

    Try riding on your heels for 1 minute, every 5 minutes. As in, lift your toes right off of the platforms. If the numbness/tingling fades then you know what the problem is. Most people tend to put a lot of weight on the balls of their feet on the elliptical and it causes this problem.

    Other than that, listen to what everyone else has already said. There is no secret or magic to losing belly fat. It's just calorie deficit + time. You can create that calorie deficit via diet alone, exercise alone, or a combination of the two. Simple!

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