belly fat work out routine??? HELP!!!

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madkins9545
madkins9545 Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so im 5'7 171lbs female. I have really done great so far on my diet I weighed 208lbs when I started!! So here is the problem the more weight I lose I actually look fatter! I know it sounds impossible but my belly is way out of proportion with the rest of my body! That is and always has been my problem area so I need a work out plan that will help with this problem!! I do 80 crunches a day 40 mins on the elliptical everyday and still have a big belly about 39 inches around. Also I know everyone says that its about what you eat mostly but I do not have time to cook meals so mostly I just hit up Subway, salads, cereal, yogurt, fruit (always sticking to my calories and yes im counting right!) Please tell me what im doing wrong. Thank so much!
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Replies

  • AlicesNirvanaHealthWellness
    AlicesNirvanaHealthWellness Posts: 112 Member
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    Bump
  • fatfudgery
    fatfudgery Posts: 449 Member
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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot_reduction

    Sorry. :-\
  • KateK8LoseW8
    KateK8LoseW8 Posts: 824 Member
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    You're not doing anything wrong, you just haven't lost enough fat for your body to need to use fat stores on your belly. No amount of crunches will make it go away without general weight loss.
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
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    You can't spot reduce. Keep working and your belly will tone up eventually. Cardio, weights and yes, clean eating. All will help you reach your goal.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    You cannot spot reduce or target fat; anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a bill of goods. Your body takes fat from wherever it wants to take fat from. For many, the belly is primary fat storage...this is the case for just about every man I know and many women. All you can do is continue to reduce your overall BF% and eventually it will start coming off the belly. It's pretty normal to have an "awkward" stage during weight loss...where you're a little out of proportion as you say.

    That said, as far as your body composition goes, you're going to be a whole hell of a lot better off getting into an actual resistance/weight lifting program. Doing **** tons of crunches is pretty much a waste of your time and you could accomplish so much more in that amount of time. You really want to kill your mid section and affect body composition start doing squats and dead lifts...these work the whole body, including your core.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    You're not doing anything wrong. Just keep doing what you are doing and it will go away in time. Just like we all had an awkward phase during the teen years, this is your awkward phase of weight loss. Don't let it get you down!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,615 Member
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    Circuit training is great! You don't even need a gym, just some hand weights, a dvd (like 30 DS, RI 30, Body Boot Camp), and eat under your calorie goal. Increase the weights and impact as it gets easier.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    You're not doing anything wrong, you just haven't lost enough fat for your body to need to use fat stores on your belly. No amount of crunches will make it go away without general weight loss.

    She speaks truth.
    Lifting weights/strength training can help your muscles to burn more calories.
    But the bottom line is, you need to lower your body fat more to lose the belly fat.
  • FauxAngel13
    FauxAngel13 Posts: 156 Member
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    70% of abs is made in the kitchen...unless you eat really clean and maintain a good balance of marcos no amount of exercise will get you what you want... it is important to focus on a healthy lifestyle which includes taking responsibility for how, what, when you eat, if you want add me and I'll try and help with answering any questions and helping with motivation
  • madkins9545
    madkins9545 Posts: 2
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    Ok I guess I just figured after 8 months of dieting eating right and working out weigh lifting/
    Cardio I would be at my goal. Im starting to really get discouraged. Thanks for the advice! I do know you can not spot reduce I just think its very unusual how my body is losing fat. Everyone I diet with looks really good and proportional and I just still look fat lol
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Ok I guess I just figured after 8 months of dieting eating right and working out weigh lifting/
    Cardio I would be at my goal. Im starting to really get discouraged. Thanks for the advice! I do know you can not spot reduce I just think its very unusual how my body is losing fat. Everyone I diet with looks really good and proportional and I just still look fat lol

    It's comes down to genetics in regards to where you lose first and last. Just keep gong at it with heavy lifting and your other workouts :)
  • jsuaccounting
    jsuaccounting Posts: 193 Member
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    A friend of mine told me after you lose the weight, it takes a little while for everything to redistribute.
  • greenskpr
    greenskpr Posts: 11 Member
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    Working on same and it's finally starting to melt. Takes a while. Here's what made the biggest difference for me.


    - More weight training, less cardio. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/cardio-vs-strength-training-workouts
    - If you must do cardio do some form of HIIT
    - carbs BELOW 100g per day
    - sugars below 50g per day
    - cut out drinking, or limit to one serving per week.

    The more muscle you can create the more cals you'll burn passively as well as actively - this adds up
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
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    I agree with the posts about weight training helping and crunches not so much, but want to mention this because nobody else has. I would suggest you see your gyno to rule out fibroids or other uterine issues.
  • TheEffort
    TheEffort Posts: 1,028 Member
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    You cannot spot reduce or target fat; anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a bill of goods. Your body takes fat from wherever it wants to take fat from. For many, the belly is primary fat storage...this is the case for just about every man I know and many women. All you can do is continue to reduce your overall BF% and eventually it will start coming off the belly. It's pretty normal to have an "awkward" stage during weight loss...where you're a little out of proportion as you say.

    That said, as far as your body composition goes, you're going to be a whole hell of a lot better off getting into an actual resistance/weight lifting program. Doing **** tons of crunches is pretty much a waste of your time and you could accomplish so much more in that amount of time. You really want to kill your mid section and affect body composition start doing squats and dead lifts...these work the whole body, including your core.

    This ^^^
  • ames105
    ames105 Posts: 288 Member
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    Certain foods cause me to bloat, you may be having the same problem. I have to avoid breads, certain carbs (like pasta), sugar and dairy. I still eat them when I want, I just know its going to cause some bloating when I do. I try to avoid them when I know I have something coming up that I want to look good for.

    Other than that, as others have mentioned, you can't spot reduce. If that were possible, all of us would have flat bellys.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Ok I guess I just figured after 8 months of dieting eating right and working out weigh lifting/
    Cardio I would be at my goal. Im starting to really get discouraged. Thanks for the advice! I do know you can not spot reduce I just think its very unusual how my body is losing fat. Everyone I diet with looks really good and proportional and I just still look fat lol

    I've got news for you...it's never over...that's what "lifestyle" means. I'm at goal and have been maintaining for 5 months...I'm still constantly trying to better myself in some RE. Even though I'm at my goal weight and BF % I still have a little belly...it's stubborn...it doesn't matter, I'm in this forever. I lift and continue to get my fitness on and my nutrition on and I love it...I'm a little better every day than I was the day before, and the day before that....

    Particularly when it comes to body composition...it's just a lot of work and patience. Also, I'd seriously recommend doing some actual lifting...it will do far more to alter you body composition than just doing cardio and random crunches and what not...seriously...lifting is the only thing that is going to make a substantial difference in your body composition.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    You cannot spot reduce or target fat; anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a bill of goods. Your body takes fat from wherever it wants to take fat from. For many, the belly is primary fat storage...this is the case for just about every man I know and many women. All you can do is continue to reduce your overall BF% and eventually it will start coming off the belly. It's pretty normal to have an "awkward" stage during weight loss...where you're a little out of proportion as you say.

    That said, as far as your body composition goes, you're going to be a whole hell of a lot better off getting into an actual resistance/weight lifting program. Doing **** tons of crunches is pretty much a waste of your time and you could accomplish so much more in that amount of time. You really want to kill your mid section and affect body composition start doing squats and dead lifts...these work the whole body, including your core.

    This ^^^

    +2

    You can do 10,000 crunches a day, but if you have fat in your arms or legs to use, your body will take it from there first. I see so many people in the gym that do exactly what you do.....cardio and than ball crunches....I want to give them advice because I have a pretty good idea what they're after, but it's not my place.

    A smaller midsection=

    Caloric Deficit (Reduced overall BF%) + Work (Cardio with Compound movement strength training) + Patience.

    What you will notice on here, many individuals with midsections you desire do very little to no isolated ab exercises.
  • BelleVegan77
    BelleVegan77 Posts: 70 Member
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    This sounds like a gimic I know and maybe it was completely in my mind but it really seemed to work for me...cabbage. Raw cabbage and I guess horse radish works too, are suppose to shrink the intestines and when they intestines shrink...so does the tummy. I liked it...now mind you I love cabbage too lol so it wasn't a real challange for me.

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