I can't seem to tone my stomach..

isabelle128
isabelle128 Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi so I'm 124 pounds and 5 foot 9 and my only problem area I feel is my stomach. I've been doing 40 minutes of Zumba every other day + Strength training the days between for a while and nothing is working. However, doing the zumba is making me lose weight which is making me underweight . I don't know what to do. I eat healthy, avocado and apple for breakfast, pumpernickle breat with turkey and tomatoe for lunch and either fish or chicken for dinner. I have no idea what to do because I don't want to lose weight .

Thanks

Replies

  • KateK8LoseW8
    KateK8LoseW8 Posts: 824 Member
    You are probably skinny fat - you are at a low weight, but you have a high body fat percentage. I can't say for sure, because I can't see your body, but this is my guess. Building some muscle will help you out. Eat at a modest calorie surplus (200-300 calories) and lift heavy weights. If you can do more than 12 reps with it, it's too light kind of heavy. You'll gain muscle this way, but also put on a bit of fat, so be aware of that. You can always get the fat back off later with a calorie deficit and continuing to lift weights in order to preserve the muscle you've built.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    How fortuitous! Someone started a thread on how to achieve a good stomach just today!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1161603-so-you-want-a-nice-stomach

    If you're worried about being underweight, eat a calorie surplus and do a series of bulk/cuts.
  • kmartinko
    kmartinko Posts: 114
    Make sure you are eating enough calories for the amount you are burning through exercise. If you do core exercises, you will get toned abs. Try going to Beachbody.com. They have lots of great workouts. Turbo Jam and Turbo fire have great core workouts.
  • Crumpet_Girl
    Crumpet_Girl Posts: 276 Member
    They say "abs are made in the kitchen". I'd guess your body fat % is still high even though your not overweight. Might need to tweek those macros and see if that helps :-) Good luck!
  • Ainar
    Ainar Posts: 858 Member
    Hi so I'm 124 pounds and 5 foot 9 and my only problem area I feel is my stomach. I've been doing 40 minutes of Zumba every other day + Strength training the days between for a while and nothing is working. However, doing the zumba is making me lose weight which is making me underweight . I don't know what to do. I eat healthy, avocado and apple for breakfast, pumpernickle breat with turkey and tomatoe for lunch and either fish or chicken for dinner. I have no idea what to do because I don't want to lose weight .

    Thanks
    If you don't want to lose weight count calories you ate and how much calories you burn and ate at maintenance. You can do as much Zumba as you want and if you do not go in calorie deficit you will never lose weight. Zumba is not the best way to build muscle, and by "not the best way" I mean it's awful for building muscle. You need to do ab exercises such as crunches, sit ups, leg rises, weighted crunches, etc.

    MFP gives you approximate calories for your goal. It calculates calorie needs for you. Just go to My Home > Goals > Change Goals > Guided... and it will do everything for you. Now just log all your food you ate and ate as much cals you need.

    If you wanna tone or build muscle, abs or whatever, you will probably need to ate around 200 - 300 cals above your maintenance calories.

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