Down a stone but tummy area still a problem? Honest advice!

balancedbrunette
balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know you can't target fat loss in any way, shape or form but lately I've noticed and even family and friends have begun to notice my weight loss, i was never extremely heavy just 'skinny fat' really, ive gone from a little over 9 stone last february i guess til 8 stone 2 as of today, i know it seems like ages but this was as a result of gradual changes, learning, making mistakes and this site has helped me so much over the past year.

However, I am at the stage now where I am happy with the shape of my arms and legs yet the fat particularly around the area of my upper tummy although it has gone down significantly and i notice this a lot more now its still a little more pronounced than i would like, what do i do now...i'm quite happy with my weight however, how can i reduce the fat even more around my upper tummy area if i'm not cutting.....i figure this is where a lot of people may advice proper strength training?...I have been doing some of the at-home workouts on nerdfitness and julian michaels and find it has helped tone me a lot but is it enough?

Any advice would be much appreciated, by the way i usually eat between 1300-1600 calories a day, normally around 1400 and this can be higher some days but it has balanced out well over the week and i've been loosing steadily. :)

Replies

  • Lovely_at_any_size
    Lovely_at_any_size Posts: 94 Member
    This might sound dumb but how much is a stone?
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
    6.3kg or 14 pounds :)
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
    I think from whay ive read on here its not possible to target fat on a specific area like that - i lm sure someone will correct that if im wrong. I rrally want to loose off my belly inner thighs and 'love handles' i had a personal trainer and she advised cutting fats and sugars down in diet and keepig up cardio to keep metabolism moving, then doing resistance training to target areas, so for belly i suppose ab crunches, twists, planks.
    I dobt know if youre at a gym but if you are check out the classes i go to body blitz/pump which is amazing for toning and good motivation as its a class :))
  • colletteduck
    colletteduck Posts: 3 Member
    In the before and after pics on this site, you see a lot of people with dramatic changes to their bellies from doing different exercise routines. Even though you can't really target the fat, firming up the underlying muscles can really give you dramatic results and building muscle helps you burn more fat, so its a win win situation.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    How tall are you? And do you know your body fat. But there are really two scenarios. First, the likely one, you will just need to continue to continue what you are doing. Strength training will help with muscle retention, which is key to a tight body. The second scenario would be you do not have enough muscle for good definition and would require a bulk/cut cycle.


    For those people who haven't done the conversion, it's about 115 lbs.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    How tall are you? And do you know your body fat. But there are really two scenarios. First, the likely one, you will just need to continue to continue what you are doing. Strength training will help with muscle retention, which is key to a tight body. The second scenario would be you do not have enough muscle for good definition and would require a bulk/cut cycle.


    For those people who haven't done the conversion, it's about 115 lbs.

    I'm 5 foot 3, at the beginning bf was around 25.9., in april was around 22.5 however I would need to do it again for accuracy.

    Thanks everyone for the replies, i do think the strength training will probably be of more benefit to me than the cardio at this stage so i'm going to incorporate as much resistence training as possible.

    Are macrro's key at this point aswell, should i be monitoring carbs more closely/cutting out sugar, sweet foods to get that tummy down or can these still be eaten in moderation? Its not like i have to have them everyday but i;m wondering are they hindering my goals...
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    bumping this
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    How tall are you? And do you know your body fat. But there are really two scenarios. First, the likely one, you will just need to continue to continue what you are doing. Strength training will help with muscle retention, which is key to a tight body. The second scenario would be you do not have enough muscle for good definition and would require a bulk/cut cycle.


    For those people who haven't done the conversion, it's about 115 lbs.

    I'm 5 foot 3, at the beginning bf was around 25.9., in april was around 22.5 however I would need to do it again for accuracy.

    Thanks everyone for the replies, i do think the strength training will probably be of more benefit to me than the cardio at this stage so i'm going to incorporate as much resistence training as possible.

    Are macrro's key at this point aswell, should i be monitoring carbs more closely/cutting out sugar, sweet foods to get that tummy down or can these still be eaten in moderation? Its not like i have to have them everyday but i;m wondering are they hindering my goals...

    The only macro that is really important is protein. At 115, you shoudl be aiming for around 100g per day or a bit more. There is no need to cut out sugar or anything else. Calories are more important. But depending how much you workout, I would suspect you would benefit from another 300 calories daily, as 1400 is generally light. What and for how long is your workout routine?

    What I would generally suggest is do 4 days of weight training and 2 days of HIIT/Cardio. Also, monitor your progress for a few months. If you still don't see much definition and it's close to winter months I would do a bulk. You are on the low end of a good weight for your height and could benefit from an additional 10-15 lbs of muscle, IMO.


    BTW, what is your age.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    How tall are you? And do you know your body fat. But there are really two scenarios. First, the likely one, you will just need to continue to continue what you are doing. Strength training will help with muscle retention, which is key to a tight body. The second scenario would be you do not have enough muscle for good definition and would require a bulk/cut cycle.


    For those people who haven't done the conversion, it's about 115 lbs.

    I'm 5 foot 3, at the beginning bf was around 25.9., in april was around 22.5 however I would need to do it again for accuracy.

    Thanks everyone for the replies, i do think the strength training will probably be of more benefit to me than the cardio at this stage so i'm going to incorporate as much resistence training as possible.

    Are macrro's key at this point aswell, should i be monitoring carbs more closely/cutting out sugar, sweet foods to get that tummy down or can these still be eaten in moderation? Its not like i have to have them everyday but i;m wondering are they hindering my goals...

    What and for how long is your workout routine?

    What I would generally suggest is do 4 days of weight training and 2 days of HIIT/Cardio. Also, monitor your progress for a few months. If you still don't see much definition and it's close to winter months I would do a bulk. You are on the low end of a good weight for your height and could benefit from an additional 10-15 lbs of muscle, IMO.


    BTW, what is your age.

    I usually do half and hour of the 30 day shred 5 days a week mixed in with one hour kickboxing and just general walking on the weekends. Thanks very much for your advice think I need to do some reading up on the weight training and focus more on this perhaps to tone up seen as I've got down to my desired weight at this stage. I'm 20 btw.
  • pesigrandi
    pesigrandi Posts: 74 Member
    Doing speed intervals is what is generally accepted (from my copious amounts of reading on the subject) as the best way to lose belly fat. In the past I was thin but with a bit of a belly from too much sitting (I have a desk job). I did the speed intervals on my treadmill nearly everyday for months and it did diminish the belly slowly.

    If you don't belong to a gym or have a treadmill you can still do a form of this at home, running in place at a job rate for a minute and then as fast as you can for a minute, alternating for 20-30 minutes a day.
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    I'm in exactly the same boat - the only way to go is just keep on with the logging and eating at a modest deficit. Do weight training and just be patient - it's the last bit of fat to go but it will come off eventually.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    ^Thank you for the advice, makes sense just got to stick with it I suppose :). At least something has come off.
    Doing speed intervals is what is generally accepted (from my copious amounts of reading on the subject) as the best way to lose belly fat. In the past I was thin but with a bit of a belly from too much sitting (I have a desk job). I did the speed intervals on my treadmill nearly everyday for months and it did diminish the belly slowly.

    If you don't belong to a gym or have a treadmill you can still do a form of this at home, running in place at a job rate for a minute and then as fast as you can for a minute, alternating for 20-30 minutes a day.

    Have a treadmill actually so perhaps could get some interval training going now over the summer and incorporate it in my routine just to mix things up a bit, cheers for the advice!
  • adybaby29
    adybaby29 Posts: 1
    Have you tried the squat and crunches challenge? I've just started it 2day so I cant personally speak of the results yet but my friend has just finished it and she has lost so many inches around her waist and stomach you can find the challenge on facebook and online.
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member

    Have a treadmill actually so perhaps could get some interval training going now over the summer and incorporate it in my routine just to mix things up a bit, cheers for the advice!
    Do it in incline.
  • pesigrandi
    pesigrandi Posts: 74 Member
    If you don't belong to a gym or have a treadmill you can still do a form of this at home, running in place at a job rate for a minute and then as fast as you can for a minute, alternating for 20-30 minutes a day.

    I meant at a jog rate ...
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    ^Yea thought so and will do it at incline.
    Have you tried the squat and crunches challenge? I've just started it 2day so I cant personally speak of the results yet but my friend has just finished it and she has lost so many inches around her waist and stomach you can find the challenge on facebook and online.

    no but i've seen a lot of posts about it floating around the forum,s will look it up. :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    Doing speed intervals is what is generally accepted (from my copious amounts of reading on the subject) as the best way to lose belly fat. In the past I was thin but with a bit of a belly from too much sitting (I have a desk job). I did the speed intervals on my treadmill nearly everyday for months and it did diminish the belly slowly.

    If you don't belong to a gym or have a treadmill you can still do a form of this at home, running in place at a job rate for a minute and then as fast as you can for a minute, alternating for 20-30 minutes a day.
    The only way to lose belly fat is to lose body fat all over. Speed intervals nor any other specific exercise will increase that. Only a calorie deficit will cause a body to lose body fat. But strength training will maintain muscle during weight loss.

    OP, I would definitely look to do a bulk... it really could benefit you. No only will you become leaner but adding mass will increase your metabolic allowing to eat more and significantly increase your tdee making it harder to regain weight. Also, more lean body mass means greater support for your body.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    Doing speed intervals is what is generally accepted (from my copious amounts of reading on the subject) as the best way to lose belly fat. In the past I was thin but with a bit of a belly from too much sitting (I have a desk job). I did the speed intervals on my treadmill nearly everyday for months and it did diminish the belly slowly.

    If you don't belong to a gym or have a treadmill you can still do a form of this at home, running in place at a job rate for a minute and then as fast as you can for a minute, alternating for 20-30 minutes a day.
    The only way to lose belly fat is to lose body fat all over. Speed intervals nor any other specific exercise will increase that. Only a calorie deficit will cause a body to lose body fat. But strength training will maintain muscle during weight loss.

    OP, I would definitely look to do a bulk... it really could benefit you. No only will you become leaner but adding mass will increase your metabolic allowing to eat more and significantly increase your tdee making it harder to regain weight. Also, more lean body mass means greater support for your body.

    Going to read up around the forum about doing a bulk - want to do it the right way, thanks very much for the advice.
  • sally_jeffswife
    sally_jeffswife Posts: 766 Member
    I recommend Kettlebells.....The Michelle Khai Kettlenetic workout is a great overall aerobic workout with the kettlebells and it comes with a starter kettlebell so its a great value if you get it on amazon and then if the kettlebells are too light can always pick up a heavier one later once you get used to the workout. Or Jari Love...you will for sure get results with Jari Love and the cool thing is her workouts tell you how much the excercises burn thru out them too while you are working out and they are just a hardcore really good weight with cardio workout. or Tae Bo or Billy Blanks Lower Body bootcamp also will help alot with the hips lower ab area. Or the best just targeting Ab workout I have done is if you go on Madonna grimes personal website and order her Sexy Fit Ab workout that one is excellent.
  • robdel302
    robdel302 Posts: 292 Member
    I'm in exactly the same boat - the only way to go is just keep on with the logging and eating at a modest deficit. Do weight training and just be patient - it's the last bit of fat to go but it will come off eventually.

    This is correct, in order to lose fat around the waist, you have to lose it everywhere. The midsection is the last place where we see fat come off. You could try incorporating high intensity interval training (HIIT) as it's believed to burn fat more efficiently than regular cardio.

    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/06/04/high-intensity-interval-training-hiit-best-cardio-to-burn-fat/

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