you can't lose stomach fat if you don't eat "clean"?

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  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    There is a lot of varying advice here. Basically I am of the opinion if I see someone that has something I want, I do what they do to get it. So, if you see someones body on here you like, check out their diet and exercise diaries to see what they do.

    You will see some people that eat 1200 calories a day, no exercise.
    You will see people that eat 3000 calories a day but burn 1500 calories through exercise
    Then you will see people that eat a moderate amount of food and burn a moderate amount of calories.

    So, there will be people that tell you that you can eat pizza and drink soda, but spend 3 hours a day in the gym (nothing wrong with that, better than spending 3 hour a day in the bar) There will be people that tell you to eat clean and the only exercise they log is 120 minutes of "light to moderate cleaning" in their house. Its all about what you want and what fits into your lifestyle, and macros.

    As far as the ground turkey vs beef debate, it depends on what exactly you are eating. Ground turkey can have more fat than beef. I like to get organic chicken breast from costco and put it in my food processor.

    Good luck and try not to get all these conflicting answers confuse you. No one is necessarily wrong, you just need to find out what is right for you.
  • Laquincy
    Laquincy Posts: 76 Member
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    It's all body fat %...how can muscles show if they are covered by layers of fat...proper diet(stay away from sugars), and exercising and you should see results.

    I'm almost always over on my sugar intake, but only because I eat quite a bit of fruit.

    Don't listen to him. There's nothing wrong with sugar. Quit tracking sugar entirely.

    When i meant sugars, I meant sucrose and high fructose corn syrup(i.e. cakes, cookies, etc) Even though fructose is in fruit. Fructose Is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

    I eat cake, cookies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc. I have visible abs (and am a competitive female bodybuilder).

    I also know your profile picture is not a picture of you.

    So you would give a 20 yr old girl who wants a little defintion in her abs the same advice youd give a competitve bodybuilder....
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    for me it's all about deficit
  • Laquincy
    Laquincy Posts: 76 Member
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    It clearly states in my profile desciption that its not me...I'm not pretending to be anyone, I have personal pic as well up as well. That's just motivation.

    Just FYI, your profile and pictures are private so people who are not your friends see this image and nothing else.

    I know that, if they wanted to see others they would send a request.
  • MaryMBacon
    MaryMBacon Posts: 94 Member
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    you cannot spot reduce and anyone who claims this is selling you snake oil
    if you strengthen your abs you will appear slimmer by "sucking in your gut" but you will NOT lose fat
    Having said that stronger abs also help reduce the risk of back injuries so by all means work the abs but these belly fat cleansers and supplements that melt away belly fat are all scams.
    the ONLY way to lose belly fat is to lose weight, the body picks where it comes from and usually it chooses to lose all over evenly.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    It's all body fat %...how can muscles show if they are covered by layers of fat...proper diet(stay away from sugars), and exercising and you should see results.

    I'm almost always over on my sugar intake, but only because I eat quite a bit of fruit.

    Don't listen to him. There's nothing wrong with sugar. Quit tracking sugar entirely.

    When i meant sugars, I meant sucrose and high fructose corn syrup(i.e. cakes, cookies, etc) Even though fructose is in fruit. Fructose Is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

    I eat cake, cookies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc. I have visible abs (and am a competitive female bodybuilder).

    I also know your profile picture is not a picture of you.

    So you would give a 20 yr old girl who wants a little defintion in her abs the same advice youd give a competitve bodybuilder....

    I wasn't always a bodybuilder. I used to be obese. I gave advice on page one that I used to drop body fat.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1161603-so-you-want-a-nice-stomach
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
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    It's all body fat %...how can muscles show if they are covered by layers of fat...proper diet(stay away from sugars), and exercising and you should see results.

    I'm almost always over on my sugar intake, but only because I eat quite a bit of fruit.

    Don't listen to him. There's nothing wrong with sugar. Quit tracking sugar entirely.

    When i meant sugars, I meant sucrose and high fructose corn syrup(i.e. cakes, cookies, etc) Even though fructose is in fruit. Fructose Is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

    I eat cake, cookies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc. I have visible abs (and am a competitive female bodybuilder).

    I also know your profile picture is not a picture of you.

    Of course it's not him. It's an NFL player who has been using HGH and steroids for 10 years.

    It clearly states in my profile desciption that its not me...I'm not pretending to be anyone, I have personal pic as well up as well. That's just motivation.

    as a friend on my list, I can vouch for the fact that he states he uses his profile picture as motivation.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    It's all body fat %...how can muscles show if they are covered by layers of fat...proper diet(stay away from sugars), and exercising and you should see results.

    I'm almost always over on my sugar intake, but only because I eat quite a bit of fruit.

    Don't listen to him. There's nothing wrong with sugar. Quit tracking sugar entirely.

    When i meant sugars, I meant sucrose and high fructose corn syrup(i.e. cakes, cookies, etc) Even though fructose is in fruit. Fructose Is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

    I eat cake, cookies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc. I have visible abs (and am a competitive female bodybuilder).

    I also know your profile picture is not a picture of you.

    So you would give a 20 yr old girl who wants a little defintion in her abs the same advice youd give a competitve bodybuilder....

    I would, yeah. Turns out that a 20 year old female's body works pretty much the same way as a bodybuilder's.

    I'm following the exact same principles at 10% body fat that I did at 40%.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    It's all body fat %...how can muscles show if they are covered by layers of fat...proper diet(stay away from sugars), and exercising and you should see results.

    I'm almost always over on my sugar intake, but only because I eat quite a bit of fruit.

    Don't listen to him. There's nothing wrong with sugar. Quit tracking sugar entirely.

    When i meant sugars, I meant sucrose and high fructose corn syrup(i.e. cakes, cookies, etc) Even though fructose is in fruit. Fructose Is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

    I eat cake, cookies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc. I have visible abs (and am a competitive female bodybuilder).

    I also know your profile picture is not a picture of you.

    Of course it's not him. It's an NFL player who has been using HGH and steroids for 10 years.

    It clearly states in my profile desciption that its not me...I'm not pretending to be anyone, I have personal pic as well up as well. That's just motivation.

    as a friend on my list, I can vouch for the fact that he states he uses his profile picture as motivation.

    I don't doubt that he's telling the truth, just pointing out that this is not apparent to someone who is not his friend.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    So you would give a 20 yr old girl who wants a little defintion in her abs the same advice youd give a competitve bodybuilder....

    Yes...
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
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    I don't doubt that he's telling the truth, just pointing out that this is not apparent to someone who is not his friend.

    I know. I was just saying he does state that.

    Also, I'm a bikini competitor and aspiring fitness model and would also tell a 20 year the same thing as the others and I came from the anorexic side, but still had to lose body fat.
  • ajaxe432
    ajaxe432 Posts: 608 Member
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    It's all body fat %...how can muscles show if they are covered by layers of fat...proper diet(stay away from sugars), and exercising and you should see results.

    I'm almost always over on my sugar intake, but only because I eat quite a bit of fruit.

    Don't listen to him. There's nothing wrong with sugar. Quit tracking sugar entirely.

    When i meant sugars, I meant sucrose and high fructose corn syrup(i.e. cakes, cookies, etc) Even though fructose is in fruit. Fructose Is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

    I eat cake, cookies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc. I have visible abs (and am a competitive female bodybuilder).

    I also know your profile picture is not a picture of you.

    So you would give a 20 yr old girl who wants a little defintion in her abs the same advice youd give a competitve bodybuilder....

    I would, yeah. Turns out that a 20 year old female's body works pretty much the same way as a bodybuilder's.
    Oh boy.....
  • Laquincy
    Laquincy Posts: 76 Member
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    Realize that everyone metabolism/body fuctions and responds completely different. Not everyone is the same. What works for you may not work for the next person. You can't tell a normal indivdual who has basic diet/exercise princapls to eat they same way/things a competive athlete does...but that's JMO.
  • Laquincy
    Laquincy Posts: 76 Member
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    It's all body fat %...how can muscles show if they are covered by layers of fat...proper diet(stay away from sugars), and exercising and you should see results.

    Thank you ma'am
    I'm almost always over on my sugar intake, but only because I eat quite a bit of fruit.

    Don't listen to him. There's nothing wrong with sugar. Quit tracking sugar entirely.

    When i meant sugars, I meant sucrose and high fructose corn syrup(i.e. cakes, cookies, etc) Even though fructose is in fruit. Fructose Is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

    I eat cake, cookies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc. I have visible abs (and am a competitive female bodybuilder).

    I also know your profile picture is not a picture of you.

    Of course it's not him. It's an NFL player who has been using HGH and steroids for 10 years.

    It clearly states in my profile desciption that its not me...I'm not pretending to be anyone, I have personal pic as well up as well. That's just motivation.

    as a friend on my list, I can vouch for the fact that he states he uses his profile picture as motivation.
  • Laquincy
    Laquincy Posts: 76 Member
    Options
    It's all body fat %...how can muscles show if they are covered by layers of fat...proper diet(stay away from sugars), and exercising and you should see results.

    Thank you

    I'm almost always over on my sugar intake, but only because I eat quite a bit of fruit.

    Don't listen to him. There's nothing wrong with sugar. Quit tracking sugar entirely.

    When i meant sugars, I meant sucrose and high fructose corn syrup(i.e. cakes, cookies, etc) Even though fructose is in fruit. Fructose Is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

    I eat cake, cookies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc. I have visible abs (and am a competitive female bodybuilder).

    I also know your profile picture is not a picture of you.

    Of course it's not him. It's an NFL player who has been using HGH and steroids for 10 years.

    It clearly states in my profile desciption that its not me...I'm not pretending to be anyone, I have personal pic as well up as well. That's just motivation.

    as a friend on my list, I can vouch for the fact that he states he uses his profile picture as motivation.
  • bloodhoundlady
    bloodhoundlady Posts: 80 Member
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    It does matter what you eat. I am a RN, a clean eater and that is my opinion. To get the skinny abs you want yes it is important to exercise but 90% of it is nutrition. Granted you can get fat eating clean if you calories go over your defecit but I myself have a hard time getting in my calories. I don't do low carb, not paleo or vegetarian. I eat non processed 80-90% of the time and when I eat processed like mc donalds it makes me ill. So you are saying the calories in a mcdonalds whopper is the same of eating whole like foods, really???
    My story- I was over 100 pounds overweight in june when I walked into a gym near my job. My blood pressure was very high, and I felt horrible. I could barely get through my job of being an Intensive care nurse and knew I needed to do something. A new gym opened and our hospital insurance offered a 6 month free membership. I walked in and met a trainer who was kind and motivating he got me started on a cardio and weight training program and a clean eating program to follow.
    I by December lost 60 pounds. I lost 32 inches overall. This was on my bust, waist (10inches), hips (6 inches) and arms and thighs. I went from a size 24 to a size 16. I am only around halfway there.
    Over the holidays I went back to my old habits, not crazy but eating junk and cookies and hamburgers out and the weight piled on. I just got back to it last week and losing what I gained so I can continue.
    Clean eating does matter. I have done every diet there is, nutrisystem, weight watchers, jenny craig but clean eating is the only thing that worked. I am not saying if you did ww or jc or another diet it won't work but it did not for me.
    how much do I exercise??? 3-4 days a week around 60 min. So you don't have to exercise like a crazy person.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    It does matter what you eat. I am a RN, a clean eater and that is my opinion. To get the skinny abs you want yes it is important to exercise but 90% of it is nutrition. Granted you can get fat eating clean if you calories go over your defecit but I myself have a hard time getting in my calories. I don't do low carb, not paleo or vegetarian. I eat non processed 80-90% of the time and when I eat processed like mc donalds it makes me ill. So you are saying the calories in a mcdonalds whopper is the same of eating whole like foods, really???
    My story- I was over 100 pounds overweight in june when I walked into a gym near my job. My blood pressure was very high, and I felt horrible. I could barely get through my job of being an Intensive care nurse and knew I needed to do something. A new gym opened and our hospital insurance offered a 6 month free membership. I walked in and met a trainer who was kind and motivating he got me started on a cardio and weight training program and a clean eating program to follow. I by December lost 60 pounds. I lost 32 inches. on my bust, waist (10inches), hips (6 inches) and arms and thighs. I went from a size 24 to a size 16. I am only around halfway there.
    Over the holidays I went back to my old habits, not crazy but eating junk and cookies and hamburgers out and the weight piled on. I just got back to it last week and losing what I gained so I can continue.
    Clean eating does matter. I have done every diet there is, nutrisystem, weight watchers, jenny craig but clean eating is the only thing that worked.
    how much do I exercise??? 3-4 days a week around 60 min. So you don't have to exercise like a crazy person.

    Define what it means to eat clean... good luck.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Over the holidays I went back to my old habits, not crazy but eating junk and cookies and hamburgers out and the weight piled on. I just got back to it last week and losing what I gained so I can continue.

    Did you log the food during that time frame? I'm willing to bet you were eating more than your body burns. Much of the "junk food" tends to be calorie dense and not filling. We aren't saying she can get away with eating fast food burgers and fries for every meal plus a huge bowl of ice cream at the end of the day. We're saying if a treat keeps her in a calorie deficit and she hits her macros there is no reason to eat chicken, rice and vegetables all day every day.
  • stefaniemazz
    stefaniemazz Posts: 179 Member
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    It does matter what you eat. I am a RN, a clean eater and that is my opinion. To get the skinny abs you want yes it is important to exercise but 90% of it is nutrition. Granted you can get fat eating clean if you calories go over your defecit but I myself have a hard time getting in my calories. I don't do low carb, not paleo or vegetarian. I eat non processed 80-90% of the time and when I eat processed like mc donalds it makes me ill. So you are saying the calories in a mcdonalds whopper is the same of eating whole like foods, really???
    My story- I was over 100 pounds overweight in june when I walked into a gym near my job. My blood pressure was very high, and I felt horrible. I could barely get through my job of being an Intensive care nurse and knew I needed to do something. A new gym opened and our hospital insurance offered a 6 month free membership. I walked in and met a trainer who was kind and motivating he got me started on a cardio and weight training program and a clean eating program to follow.
    I by December lost 60 pounds. I lost 32 inches overall. This was on my bust, waist (10inches), hips (6 inches) and arms and thighs. I went from a size 24 to a size 16. I am only around halfway there.
    Over the holidays I went back to my old habits, not crazy but eating junk and cookies and hamburgers out and the weight piled on. I just got back to it last week and losing what I gained so I can continue.
    Clean eating does matter. I have done every diet there is, nutrisystem, weight watchers, jenny craig but clean eating is the only thing that worked. I am not saying if you did ww or jc or another diet it won't work but it did not for me.
    how much do I exercise??? 3-4 days a week around 60 min. So you don't have to exercise like a crazy person.

    Eh, I like my weekly trip to McDonalds, tastes delicious.
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
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    What they mean is eating at a deficit.

    What I have personally noticed with myself is that eating clean(er) is actually a by-product of more carefully planning my nutrition to get the macro levels I want in order to physically perform better which in turn helps get lower body fat around my stomach as a secondary effect.

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