Back and stomach fat just won't get smaller :(
Options
Replies
-
Randomtai, I have to disagree with you because I have gained muscle from both programs!!!
Plus, I had advice from a professional trainer and he states you can use those programs until your body is used to it and then go on to something else..
If you don't have any advice tips or encouragement, I appreciate that you do not respond to my post.. Thank you
Well, I was going to give you some good advice, but you certainly changed my mind with this attitude.
*nod nod*0 -
Certified Pilates instructor here. Pilates is not a progressive resistance program, especially if you're just doing Mat work, so it's not going to result in muscle growth. If you are doing Reformer or Chair work, AND your instructor has designed a program that focuses on increasing resistance over time, you may get a very small amount of muscle gain, BUT that's in terms of ounces, not pounds, of muscle. (There are a small number of Pilates exercises that can be performed in that way, and the machines only allow for a small amount of increased resistance).
My instructor has me doing some pilates movements with resistance bands and dumb bells.. So my question now: "Is Pilates even worth to do then?" I would hate that I am spending money on something that won't help me out at all..
Do you enjoy it? Then it's worth doing.
Exercise helps you lose body fat. You're not going to be "building" much muscle on any program you do....even heavy lifting....since you are eating at a deficit. It's hard to build muscle. Hard, hard, hard.
What you want is to reduce your body fat percentage so the muscle you have shows through and you are firm instead of jiggly. Right?
The quickest way to get there is through a progressively loading program. Heavy lifting gets you the most bang for your buck. Body weight programs are good too (You Are Your Own Gym, for example). Pilates and yoga can get you *some* results. Cardio - very minimal results. So, it's really about your preferences and the amount of time you want to spend working towards your final goal.
And Insanity is not strength. It's cardio. P90X is barely strength training either. The same goes for body pump. These programs might be building "muscle endurance" (the ability to do work over a period of time) but they aren't building strength the same way a lifting program would.0 -
Randomtai, I have to disagree with you because I have gained muscle from both programs!!!
Plus, I had advice from a professional trainer and he states you can use those programs until your body is used to it and then go on to something else..
If you don't have any advice tips or encouragement, I appreciate that you do not respond to my post.. Thank you
Well, I was going to give you some good advice, but you certainly changed my mind with this attitude.
If you believe I have an attitude, that's your opinion. I do not appreciate someone replying to my thread with "lol" or starting drama.... I would not do that to anyone else.. If I can offer advice, I would do it a courteous way. Like the famous phrase " if you do not have anything nice to say, don't say it at all".
I made this thread for advice, tips and encouragement...0 -
I was way into my weight lose before I could tell that my enormous beer gut was shrinking. The funny thing is that as I was making progress, people could see it in my face like when I was in the car (gut hidden). I didn't realize that I had fat everywhere. Just like the towel roll it really picked up when I got near my proper weight.
I so much like that analogy. I will always remember that one.0 -
Be patient.
It sucks, but be patient.0 -
I think it's definitely worth doing. You'll get some cardio benefit, it increases flexibility and improves posture, so you'll look taller and slimmer (everyone looks better when you "carry" yourself more like a dancer). Depending on what you're doing, it can help you maintain the muscle that you do have, so the muscle shows through as you strip away the fat. Plus, I think it's a lot of fun. However, it's not going to build muscle. Muscle building only happens under a very specific set of circumstances (eating at a surplus and doing a progressive resistance program -- meaning that you're lifting heavy things and those things get heavier over time).Certified Pilates instructor here. Pilates is not a progressive resistance program, especially if you're just doing Mat work, so it's not going to result in muscle growth. If you are doing Reformer or Chair work, AND your instructor has designed a program that focuses on increasing resistance over time, you may get a very small amount of muscle gain, BUT that's in terms of ounces, not pounds, of muscle. (There are a small number of Pilates exercises that can be performed in that way, and the machines only allow for a small amount of increased resistance).
My instructor has me doing some pilates movements with resistance bands and dumb bells.. So my question now: "Is Pilates even worth to do then?" I would hate that I am spending money on something that won't help me out at all..
The bottom line is that if you enjoy it, if it feels good, keep doing it, but it's important to understand what it can and cannot do for your body.0 -
Certified Pilates instructor here. Pilates is not a progressive resistance program, especially if you're just doing Mat work, so it's not going to result in muscle growth. If you are doing Reformer or Chair work, AND your instructor has designed a program that focuses on increasing resistance over time, you may get a very small amount of muscle gain, BUT that's in terms of ounces, not pounds, of muscle. (There are a small number of Pilates exercises that can be performed in that way, and the machines only allow for a small amount of increased resistance).
My instructor has me doing some pilates movements with resistance bands and dumb bells.. So my question now: "Is Pilates even worth to do then?" I would hate that I am spending money on something that won't help me out at all..
Do you enjoy it? Then it's worth doing.
Exercise helps you lose body fat. You're not going to be "building" much muscle on any program you do....even heavy lifting....since you are eating at a deficit. It's hard to build muscle. Hard, hard, hard.
What you want is to reduce your body fat percentage so the muscle you have shows through and you are firm instead of jiggly. Right?
The quickest way to get there is through a progressively loading program. Heavy lifting gets you the most bang for your buck. Body weight programs are good too (You Are Your Own Gym, for example). Pilates and yoga can get you *some* results. Cardio - very minimal results. So, it's really about your preferences and the amount of time you want to spend working towards your final goal.
And Insanity is not strength. It's cardio. P90X is barely strength training either. The same goes for body pump. These programs might be building "muscle endurance" (the ability to do work over a period of time) but they aren't building strength the same way a lifting program would.
Thank you for your advice... Looks like I will look into lifting weights...0 -
Randomtai, I have to disagree with you because I have gained muscle from both programs!!!
Plus, I had advice from a professional trainer and he states you can use those programs until your body is used to it and then go on to something else..
If you don't have any advice tips or encouragement, I appreciate that you do not respond to my post.. Thank you
Well, I was going to give you some good advice, but you certainly changed my mind with this attitude.
If you believe I have an attitude, that's your opinion. I do not appreciate someone replying to my thread with "lol" or starting drama.... I would not do that to anyone else.. If I can offer advice, I would do it a courteous way. Like the famous phrase " if you do not have anything nice to say, don't say it at all".
I made this thread for advice, tips and encouragement...
On a public forum... and since when is lol rude? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
You were told the programs you were doing were not strength programs. Then you got all huffy unnecessarily. Yeah ok no drama.0 -
Of course it will go down when you lose all the weight. Super skinny girls have no belly. It's usually the last place to disappear. If you want a flat stomach, your bodyfat has to be 18% or lower (for females; under 8% bodyfat for males) and that is just going to take more time. Keep going, it will eventually happen.0
-
it can help you maintain the muscle that you do have, so the muscle shows through as you strip away the fat. Plus, I think it's a lot of fun. However, it's not going to build muscle. Muscle building only happens under a very specific set of circumstances (eating at a surplus and doing a progressive resistance program -- meaning that you're lifting heavy things and those things get heavier over time).
thats actually an extreamly accurate description of the workout you get from insanity btw0 -
Have you lost pant sizes? If so, it is getting smaller. It's just that if your midsection was bigger in proportion to the rest of you, it's going to look "the same" until the body is done losing from the areas that held less fat and the belly catches up. The midsection can hold quite a bit of fat.
I am apple shaped and carry most of my excess fat in my middle. At the beginning of the year, I was a TIGHT size 12 (14 in denial). Over the weekend, I tried on a pair of size 8 jeans and they fit. However, I still have a belly and back rolls. I look in the mirror and wonder when I'm going to lose the gut even though I know intellectually that I *am* losing the gut. My clothes are smaller, I have two not so full back folds instead of three plump ones, and I can see my abs peeking through. However, though my pooch and back fat are obviously smaller than they used to be, in proportion to the rest of me, they still look "big" because I've lost weight all over.
I didn't have back fat at all until I hit the high 160s in weight, so I figure it will go away when I get below that weight again. Time and patience.0 -
It's possible that you've lost some already and didn't notice. When you look at yourself daily, there are never big changes. It's just like we don't see our children growing on a daily basis and stop sometimes and say, "Wow."
I know that if I didn't have scale weights and clothing size changes, I'd never believe I'd lost sixty pounds. I'd guess 15-20, at most. I just don't see sixty pounds worth of change! Especially my thighs, God send them to hell. Other people see it, though. Especially out-of-town relatives.
So you might be making more progress than you see!
If it's not enough, join the club.
It's so hard to do so much work for so long...and accomplish so much!...and still look in the mirror and see all that fat. Depressing, if you think about it. So, I don't, lol. I just say, "I have to wait. It will happen."
It's so hard to wait. Sometimes I think, "Screw this. It isn't worth it." But it will be worth it. It's what I want. So, I keep going...and waiting.
I don't know if that helped. It was certainly long! 0 -
Randomtai, I have to disagree with you because I have gained muscle from both programs!!!
Plus, I had advice from a professional trainer and he states you can use those programs until your body is used to it and then go on to something else..
If you don't have any advice tips or encouragement, I appreciate that you do not respond to my post.. Thank you
It is doubtful you have gained any appreciable muscle from either program. Probably what you have done is reduced fat covering your exisiting muscle.
I have been heavy lifting for almost a year and I haven't built any muscle...just to give you perspective...I have however reduced fat and it now shows nicely.
On the last note you can't decide who posts on your thread and who doesn't...and random would have great advice if you hadn't slapped her with this post...0 -
Have you measured it?
If you lose faster in other areas, the problem area may seem larger in proportion, but it may have actually gotten smaller, just not as fast.0 -
Just going to continue to say what everyone else is saying- lift heavy! My back has smoothed out dramatically (and I didn't really consider it a huge trouble zone) and I don't even have any rolls when I turn sideways to take a profile progress pic at 200+ pounds
do it!0 -
I heard once (well, a bunch of times as it's on an exercise DVD I use) that the places you put weight on last will be the places it comes off of first, and vice versa. So I expect to have skinny thighs by next week, and wide hips for the next year 0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.5K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 392 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 926 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions