How can I get rid of my lower belly fat?

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jaina08
jaina08 Posts: 561 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've always had belly fat for about 6 years now. It's mostly on my lower stomach and I really want to get flat firm abs. Would it be a better idea to do lots of cardio and healthy eating first to at least get a flat stomach? Once I get a flat stomach should I then start doing ab workouts? Or should I do both even though I still have some flab? I am actually at a plateau right now and it's about to be 2 months with no weight or inches lost... Pretty frustrating.
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  • newmelady
    newmelady Posts: 132 Member
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    Haha:smile: I would like the answer too.:laugh:
  • stines72
    stines72 Posts: 853 Member
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    i tend to store fat in my lower belly as well. i dont have a before picture but this is now
    30431538_3064.jpg

    it took a while. i lost it everywhere else but my lower belly until it started falling off. you just have to be very good about keeping a deficit. cardio = deficit creator. i recommend strength training too. just do the ab workouts now. use those muscles or lose them. and another thing - your body gains and loses fat wherever the heck it wants to unfortunately. keep at it and you will eventually lose that belly fat.

    that pic was after i stopped doing cardio months before and started solely lifting weights, and just making sure i was eating right. also get a food scale if you dont have one so you know exactly how much youre consuming.
  • jaina08
    jaina08 Posts: 561 Member
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    i tend to store fat in my lower belly as well. i dont have a before picture but this is now
    30431538_3064.jpg

    it took a while. i lost it everywhere else but my lower belly until it started falling off. you just have to be very good about keeping a deficit. cardio = deficit creator. i recommend strength training too. just do the ab workouts now. use those muscles or lose them.

    that pic was after i stopped doing cardio months before and started solely lifting weights, and just making sure i was eating right. also get a food scale if you dont have one so you know exactly how much youre consuming.

    Wow really nice abs, how long did it take you to get it flat?
  • ashleymm625
    ashleymm625 Posts: 86
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    i got rid of my pooch before by doing lower ab exercises like laying down on the floor, lift both of my legs straight and hover about 2 inches above floor, lift til legs were straight in air, and repeat. that did it for me
  • stines72
    stines72 Posts: 853 Member
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    i tend to store fat in my lower belly as well. i dont have a before picture but this is now
    30431538_3064.jpg

    it took a while. i lost it everywhere else but my lower belly until it started falling off. you just have to be very good about keeping a deficit. cardio = deficit creator. i recommend strength training too. just do the ab workouts now. use those muscles or lose them.

    that pic was after i stopped doing cardio months before and started solely lifting weights, and just making sure i was eating right. also get a food scale if you dont have one so you know exactly how much youre consuming.

    Wow really nice abs, how long did it take you to get it flat?

    started this journey on july 4th 2012, started losing the belly fat around november/december
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Ab workouts won't give you a flat stomach. Losing body fat will. It can be one place women tend to store fat - genetics plays a big role.
  • tmblastquads
    tmblastquads Posts: 32
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    unfortunately, you cannot target fat loss. It has to come off from overall fat mass.
  • ang3li
    ang3li Posts: 69 Member
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    Wow what an amazing stomach..


    I believe its all about eating clean! Eat clean all week and just have one cheat meal per week..
  • newmelady
    newmelady Posts: 132 Member
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    i got rid of my pooch before by doing lower ab exercises like laying down on the floor, lift both of my legs straight and hover about 2 inches above floor, lift til legs were straight in air, and repeat. that did it for me

    Thanks! ! !:flowerforyou:
    I am doing pilates and have noticed my transverse and oblique muscles are quite noticeable. But the lower belly is still there. I will do the leg raise along with pilates now. :smile:
    It will be very tough for me, but I will find a way.
  • TheFitnessTutor
    TheFitnessTutor Posts: 356 Member
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    YOU CAN'T SPOT REDUCE!!!! Stop telling people you lost any part of fat by doing an exercise in that area. It confuses them. If you lost weight in that area, you lost it because you created a caloric deficit through eating and/or exercise in general and your genes were PREDISPOSED to move more fat from your stomach than some other area. Just like you might see a lady who is well over weight, but still holds a nice shape, or has a flatter stomach, or better shaped but. Some girls are more jiggly than others in different places. Some have more muscle in other places. Some have bigger boobs. Do you think you can target Boob-fat? If so how? Do more chest work?

    AGAIN...LETS REVIEW....

    Lower ab work will NOT help you get rid of lower ab fat.
    Same thing with arms.

    Now you can do a butt load of ab work so that it burns more calories to help you have a higher caloric deficit. But that would be ill advised.

    You just need to keep burning fat. You can't target it. Don't forget that it's harder for females and you guys are BURDENED with the tendency to store belly fat for this crazy little idea of CHILD BIRTH!!! Sorry that a little extra fat isn't in the medias lesson of what's acceptable.

    Learn how to squat. Way better exercise than ab work.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    i got rid of my pooch before by doing lower ab exercises like laying down on the floor, lift both of my legs straight and hover about 2 inches above floor, lift til legs were straight in air, and repeat. that did it for me

    of course you did
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Wow what an amazing stomach..


    I believe its all about eating clean! Eat clean all week and just have one cheat meal per week..

    <--- eats really rather grubbily. (pic taken 10lbs into a bulk also)

    Its all about genetics, a caloric deficit, with some strength training thrown in preferably.
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
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    You may not be able to target fat, but strengthening the musculature goes a long way toward attaining the goals of looking "toned".

    Weight lifting is key. I can't do much, because of a bad arm injury, but I know strength training is the way to go. I do unweighted squats, too.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    I believe its all about eating clean! Eat clean all week and just have one cheat meal per week..

    <--- eats really rather grubbily. (pic taken 10lbs into a bulk also)

    Its all about a caloric deficit, with some strength training thrown in preferably.
    ^ Exaaaactly. You can eat "clean" (whatever that means to each individual person) and do ab exercises until you're doubled over with cramps - you'll have some really nice abs that are still hidden under a layer of fat until you remove the fat via caloric deficit.

    Fat is inert. It has no contractile fibers. You can't exercise it. Leg raises, sit-ups and/or any other abdominal exercises work the ab muscles, but do absolutely nothing to the fat atop them.
  • 122ish
    122ish Posts: 339 Member
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    I believe its all about eating clean! Eat clean all week and just have one cheat meal per week..

    <--- eats really rather grubbily. (pic taken 10lbs into a bulk also)

    Its all about a caloric deficit, with some strength training thrown in preferably.
    ^ Exaaaactly. You can eat "clean" (whatever that means to each individual person) and do ab exercises until you're doubled over with cramps - you'll have some really nice abs that are still hidden under a layer of fat until you remove the fat via caloric deficit.

    Fat is inert. It has no contractile fibers. You can't exercise it. Leg raises, sit-ups and/or any other abdominal exercises work the ab muscles, but do absolutely nothing to the fat atop them.

    Ok so does that mean for someone like me who has reached goal I have to lose more weight cause I really don't want to, i think my mothers apron is some what loose skin.

    To the op. I did cardio and ate healthy while losing and my lower belly did shrink quite a bit but I still have enough where I wouldn't wear a bikini. I have been strength training and doing like 20 different types of crunches ones specifically said to work lower abdomen and I am not getting the results I want. I know u cant spot reduce but wont stop me from trying.I guess my stomach is not too bad compared to how it used to just hang on the bottom. Just keep trying despite all the negative responseses what do u have to lose nothing but your tummy if not u gain ab muscles even if u can't see them
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    I believe its all about eating clean! Eat clean all week and just have one cheat meal per week..

    <--- eats really rather grubbily. (pic taken 10lbs into a bulk also)

    Its all about a caloric deficit, with some strength training thrown in preferably.
    ^ Exaaaactly. You can eat "clean" (whatever that means to each individual person) and do ab exercises until you're doubled over with cramps - you'll have some really nice abs that are still hidden under a layer of fat until you remove the fat via caloric deficit.

    Fat is inert. It has no contractile fibers. You can't exercise it. Leg raises, sit-ups and/or any other abdominal exercises work the ab muscles, but do absolutely nothing to the fat atop them.

    Ok so does that mean for someone like me who has reached goal I have to lose more weight cause I really don't want to, i think my mothers apron is some what loose skin.

    To the op. I did cardio and ate healthy while losing and my lower belly did shrink quite a bit but I still have enough where I wouldn't wear a bikini. I have been strength training and doing like 20 different types of crunches ones specifically said to work lower abdomen and I am not getting the results I want. I know u cant spot reduce but wont stop me from trying.I guess my stomach is not too bad compared to how it used to just hang on the bottom. Just keep trying despite all the negative responseses what do u have to lose nothing but your tummy if not u gain ab muscles even if u can't see them

    If it is loose skin, then time is your best ally tbh.

    Your best approach really depends on how much muscle mass you want. You can continue to lose weigh as some is probably still fat, but you may not be comfortable getting leaner, depending on how the rest of your body composition is, or you can recomp, where you eat at maintenance, do a progressive loading strength routine, and slowly gain some muscle and lose some fat, but stay at the same weight.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
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    When I was 88 lbs at 5'4", I still had a little bit of a pooch. Yay genetics!
  • 122ish
    122ish Posts: 339 Member
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    [/quote]

    If it is loose skin, then time is your best ally tbh.

    Your best approach really depends on how much muscle mass you want. You can continue to lose weigh as some is probably still fat, but you may not be comfortable getting leaner, depending on how the rest of your body composition is, or you can recomp, where you eat at maintenance, do a progressive loading strength routine, and slowly gain some muscle and lose some fat, but stay at the same weight.
    [/quote]
    Oops top part was the quote I must have messed it up deleting the other stuff

    Man losing weight was the easy part this all gets so confusing. I am adding more protein, staying at my maintenance cals and lifting doing crunches more often like 3-4 times a week while trying to increase the weights I use and doing more minuites of crunches with different styles. Hope that's what u meant and I only started this a week ago after realizing after 3 months tat I was getting no where. Well that's a lie been taking bikini pics and I see a bit of a differnce but at this rate I will reach my potential in 3 years.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    If it is loose skin, then time is your best ally tbh.

    Your best approach really depends on how much muscle mass you want. You can continue to lose weigh as some is probably still fat, but you may not be comfortable getting leaner, depending on how the rest of your body composition is, or you can recomp, where you eat at maintenance, do a progressive loading strength routine, and slowly gain some muscle and lose some fat, but stay at the same weight.
    Oops top part was the quote I must have messed it up deleting the other stuff

    Man losing weight was the easy part this all gets so confusing. I am adding more protein, staying at my maintenance cals and lifting doing crunches more often like 3-4 times a week while trying to increase the weights I use and doing more minuites of crunches with different styles. Hope that's what u meant and I only started this a week ago after realizing after 3 months tat I was getting no where. Well that's a lie been taking bikini pics and I see a bit of a differnce but at this rate I will reach my potential in 3 years.

    Fixed the quotes (I think)

    Are you doing anything else except crunches? What strength training are you doing?
  • pig2201
    pig2201 Posts: 31 Member
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    i got rid of my pooch before by doing lower ab exercises like laying down on the floor, lift both of my legs straight and hover about 2 inches above floor, lift til legs were straight in air, and repeat. that did it for me






    I will be trying that

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