Losing Belly Fat with a bad back...

Just eat less. Srs.

Just eat less. Srs.

What this guy said, Srs

If you have no interest in actually helping go to another post.

If you have no interest in listening, go to another forum.

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!

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.

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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.

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.

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?

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.

One other thing my trainer recommended one time - just to mix things up a bit - is to do the elliptical with a backward motion. I don't mean turn around on the machine, I just mean move your legs in the opposite direction. It takes a good amount of the pressure off your toes and works your muscles a bit differently. I find it to be much more challenging, too. I don't typically do it for long periods at a time, but it's nice to mix it up.

It's not just on the elliptical that my toes and feet go numb. If I stand too long or walk it will as well. I will try wearing open shoes though, anything that might work is worth trying! I've given up on the elliptical because of the numbness.

I also tried wearing a wrap on my belly to help me lose more water weight, and when I do that the sweat pours off of my midsection. Without it my skin barely even gets damp.

Don't use those wraps, they are pointless and useless. Losing water weight has no purpose, you'll gain it back the second you take a drink of water. You want to lose fat, not water.

I haven't read through all the other posts so I may repeat something. Sorry in advance if I do. I also have spinal stenosis, scolosis, two herniated disks, and a complete collapse of part of my spine. He won't even discuss surgical options with me even though I have so much difficulty moving, bending down, sleeping, etc. If that weren't enough, I have osteoarthritis in my hips bilaterally that will require quarterly steriod injections. Apparently, my doctor thinks I'm too young for any surgery at this pint. Anyway, I spin for cardio. Have you ever tried a spinning class? If you learn to set your bike up correctly, the bike is great because your spine stays straight and your hips are level. I used to love the elliptical but can't do it anymore. The elliptical causes an unevenness in your spine with the up and down motion and I always paid dearly the next day. It's not worth it. Listen to your body because you want to avoid further injury.

With a bad back, one of the main things you have to do is have a strong core. You need gentle core exercises. I would recommend going to see the PT associated with your orthopedic spine surgeon and get educated on the best types of exercises for you. For example, with my back issues, I can't do any spinal twisting, but front and side planks are great for me. The dead bug is also great! You'lll have to google it as I don't know if I can describe it. I know it would be good for you as well. The key is making sure your low spine never lefts up off the floor.

Lastly, I would recommend the pool. Sometimes to ease the pressure on my low back, I will place a pull bouy between my inner thighs. Swimming is excellent cardio as well.

Have you had any epidural spine injections? They relieve the inflammation and take pressure off the nerve, which may help with your numbness.

What I do know is that movement is key so keep it up as much as possible even if you have to take short walks several times a day.

I know how hard it is to be compromised when you want to be active. Express gratitude and give thanks for all that you can do because it could be worse. I have to remind myself of that everyday.

Are your meds making you retain water ? Or not sweat ? I was on topomax and had all that as well as the numb feet. Try 5mins on elliptical & 5mins lifting some weights . It helped me ! Good luck to you !