Need advice for shifting stomach fat

Kudos to you for finding time to workout between the kids and wife. You obviously have the dedication. I am more or less in the same boat as you in terms of fitness. I've spent the last 4 months doing a lot of weight training. I've gained a considerable amount of muscle (6 lbs heavier) and everyone tells me that I've lost weight (which I really haven't, but I've definitely lost fat). However, I'm not very happy about my belly fat. I am trying to flatten out my abs. The one thing I regret about the last 4 months is that I wish I had done more cardio than lifting. Definitely a lesson learned.

Here's my recommendations to you. There are 2 different types of fat that affect your body. One is visceral fat that is mainly around organs and is not visible outside and the other is subcutaneous fat which is just below the skin and is visible. I was reading in Mens Fitness and also WebMD that if you have a lot of belly fat, more than likely you also have a lot of visceral fat around the organs and deep within your belly. So even if you lose the subcutaneous fat, you're having trouble losing the visceral fat within your belly. Visceral fat is dangerous especially around the heart and liver. The best thing for you, is a combination of weight training (for muscle retention/gain) and HIIT (for fat loss). HIIT is very good at eliminating both types of fat, especially visceral.

HIIT can be something like tabata intervals where you work 4-5 sets over a period of atleast 8 cycles. I normally do 10. Here's an example:
10 cycles of 5 exercises
20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest
1. pushups or burpees
2. mountain climbers
3. squat jumps
4. pullups or planks
5. jumping jacks

There are tons of HIIT examples on the web. You can even do sprint intervals or cycling intervals. The object is to push yourself to 100% in those 20 seconds. Try HIIT workouts 3x a week.

For the weight training, try switching to full body workouts 2x week and absolutely include squats, deadlifts, benchpress, cleans, pullups, dips, and dumbell rows. These are compound exercises that activate multiple muscles at the same time. Forget biceps curls, tricep extensions, etc. Forget the small stuff and focus on the intense exercises. Do something like a 5set x 5rep routine for each exercise. Lift heavy so it's intense, but don't kill yourself.

Diet...
Fruits, Vegetables, Low carbs, Protein, Plenty of WATER. Reduce salt intake and limit your real ale. Sugar is gonna turn into fat around your belly so no more weekends of getting buzzed off ale. Diet is exponentially more important than exercise. You are what you eat! You should be eating at least 5x a day. Stop eating out. Count your calories on this website and eat atleast 1800 calories/day.

Links:
Visceral fat from Harvard Med School: http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it.shtml
HIIT article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/18/get-in-shape-fast-hiit-workout_n_3276623.html
HIIT workout: http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/workout-detail/Body-Firming-HIIT-Workout-for-Beginners-Beginner-HIIT-Home-Workout-Routine/a5/


Now, with all this said... remember to take BABY STEPS. Acclimate yourself to these changes.

Weights (1hr) 2x a week and HIIT (30min) 3x a week. Good luck and remember the three D's. Determination, Dedication, Discipline.

Your thread title Just brought this to mind:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ueq6Qw0y20&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D0Ueq6Qw0y20

Shifting Stomach Fat