my muffin top wont go away. . . HELP

Get pants that fit your waist

You probably know you cannot spot-reduce--your body's composition is determined by your genes, so where you lose fat is not something you can control. If you want to save time, though, I suggest lifting heavy weights or doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) and eating at a deficit; that seems to be the quickest way to reduce the overall amount of fat on your body.

Keep doing what you're doing with 1 minor change... be more patient.

I'm pretty new to all this fitness stuff what do you mean by High intensity interval training? Lol I just read your first comment and I would probably look like a gangster if I got pants to fit my muffin top So I use ten pound weights and do curls etc. Would doing like squats or anything like that help? I have a weight bench but like I said I'm really new at this stuff.

There are a couple of groups dedicated to this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/7741-high-intensity-interval-taining-hiit

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

HIIT means you do some sort of cardio at your top speed for a short amount of time, say, 30 seconds or a minute, followed by an interval of lower-intensity activity. For example, sprint at 9 mph for 1 minute, then jog at 5 mph for 3, then repeat. Or whatever is appropriate for you. The point is that HIIT works much quicker for fat reduction than steady-state cardio; you can accomplish the same results in something like half the time.

Lifting heavy works similarly (for reasons I won't get into): you lift the heaviest weight you can, then rest, then repeat. I would guess you can probably try something heavier than 10 lb weights. If you have access to a gym with barbells, those are the standard equipment, although you can get a lot done with dumbbells, too (look up the book New Rules of Lifting for Women). You will gain a lot of strength, and don't worry about gaining big muscles--it's hard for a woman.

Good luck--and I was serious about better-fitting pants. You should always have at least one pair of pants that does not make your skin bulge above the waistline, even if it means buying a size you don't want to admit to being.

Second on logging your food. I'm much more successful when I'm accurately tracking what I eat. I try to focus on staying below the macros especially sugar and sodium. I'm adding more exercise and that seems to help a great deal with feeling better. Hoping the scale will reflect this soon.

There is plenty of advice on this site. See what works for you.

Vitamin D helps. Try a good D3K2 supplement if absolutely nothing else is working.

Also leg lifts. Leg lifts are good.

I have been doing good at losing weight but I can't seem to get rid of this muffin top. Any suggestions? I run, do crunches, planks, have tried burpees (although I'm not sure I understand them) Also the flab on my upper arm, I do weights. . .if anyone has suggestions Id appreciate it:drinker:

My friend got this wrap that really helped her. It was just a tight wrap that she wore while doing crunches, and other ab workouts. She said saran wrap would do the same thing.

I have been doing good at losing weight but I can't seem to get rid of this muffin top. Any suggestions? I run, do crunches, planks, have tried burpees (although I'm not sure I understand them) Also the flab on my upper arm, I do weights. . .if anyone has suggestions Id appreciate it:drinker:

My friend got this wrap that really helped her. It was just a tight wrap that she wore while doing crunches, and other ab workouts. She said saran wrap would do the same thing.

I am logging my food intake I just switched it to public. . .I just started using this site so its only today. I am under eating at the end of the day I should typically be getting 900 more calories. Which let me say I'm not starving myself I have Graves disease and the medications are messing with my appetite. I will have to check on different pants. . . maybe I should get higher cut ones. Thank you all for the responses

I would start with eliminating the soda and french fries. Increase your protein and switch to a low sugar high protein yogurt. Yoplait has added sugar.

I don't 100% agree with "you can't spot reduce". I know you can't with cardio, but with strength training I think you can. You wont see a difference in your arms from doing crunches... That, to me, counts as spot-reduction.

I don't 100% agree with "you can't spot reduce". I know you can't with cardio, but with strength training I think you can. You wont see a difference in your arms from doing crunches... That, to me, counts as spot-reduction.

youre misunderstanding what spot reduction means. It means losing fat in a particular area. You cant do that by working out that particular area. you are talking about muscle growth in a particular region, and yes of course thats how it works

you cant spot reduce. Everything you want to change is made in the kitchen. Diet will affect your BF% and fix these issues. One thing I will say is dont do so much ab work. One common complaint I hear is, I dont understand why my belly is getting larger i do abs all the time. Well the larger your abdominal muscles grow, if your bf% is not dropping your stomach will appear to stick out more. Id work on your calories and start lifting heavy weights

Thanks! As in you mean I need to be eating more calories?

No I mean you need to find out your current caloric budget for your weightloss goals, and stick to that for an extended period. And possibly pair that with some heavy lifting or cardio.

I guess that makes sense. But you can target a specific area to look better that way. That's what I meant by that.

I don't 100% agree with "you can't spot reduce". I know you can't with cardio, but with strength training I think you can. You wont see a difference in your arms from doing crunches... That, to me, counts as spot-reduction.

That's not reduction though... that's spot strengthening.

Right. You can definitely spot-increase.

Damnit... kids and their stupid cell phones. That pic will haunt me for ever.

((I can't do HIIT... Sad Face for me.))

Longer shirts? Dresses? Overalls?(that last one was a joke)

Like others have said, you can't spot reduce. Stay committed and you will reach your goal. In the meantime, tweak your wardrobe, log your food constantly, try HIIT and/or weight lifting.