So you want a nice stomach
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I am looking to get my body back after a work spine injury 10 yrs ago. Meds caused a 110lb weight gain I am down to 138.5 want to be 125lb. Eating green training hard.,0
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I feel like the only part of my body is taking FOREVER to change is my stomach. The area right below my belly button is flat and firm, but the area just above it is flub.
Just perfect for hanging over the waistband of jeans. It's getting smaller, but it's rather frustrating.
I do a lot of cardio (anywhere from 35-2 hours, 6 days a week), one day of rest, and five days of strength training. I haven't worked up the courage (or knowledge) to venture over to the free weight area of my gym other than doing planks. But I have to wonder if my extremely late start into the world of strength training is the cause of my stomach not shrinking faster than I hoped.
I do plan to add in some heavy lifting, something like the Stronglifts 5x5 workout, after I finish my half-marathons next month.
I'll keep working at it, and hope to see more progress. The only issue I have is the crazy deficit I've kept, but I'm getting better at shrinking it.
Thanks, again, for the tips. It's pretty encouraging to see that perhaps I'm not wandering in the dark in trying to flatten my stomach out.
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Thanks for all the info OP!0
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I am eating really green and training 7 days a wk weights and cardio, because I know my abs get started in the kitchen0
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I am eating really green and training 7 days a wk weights and cardio, because I know my abs get started in the kitchen
You posted that already. There wasn't a question, so I didn't reply. Abs aren't made in the kitchen, they are revealed through diet. Abs are made in the gym. Eating green isn't necessarily superior for getting abs, but if that's what you want to do and you get adequate protein then knock yourself out.0 -
Hello OP, I am in the middle of my 4th week of Stronglifts 5x5 now....and I occadionaly do 15-20 mins cardio after it..a total of 35-40 mins cardio plus 3x week SL. I am definitely seeing the result in strength as I never thought I could squat 1lbs more than my body weight....Do you suggest stronglifts over the long term? I mean it is designed for 3 months but many people suggest to keep doing it even for an year..and then switch to another weight training once I stall on adding weights...0
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giannigreco83 wrote: »Hello OP, I am in the middle of my 4th week of Stronglifts 5x5 now....and I occadionaly do 15-20 mins cardio after it..a total of 35-40 mins cardio plus 3x week SL. I am definitely seeing the result in strength as I never thought I could squat 1lbs more than my body weight....Do you suggest stronglifts over the long term? I mean it is designed for 3 months but many people suggest to keep doing it even for an year..and then switch to another weight training once I stall on adding weights...
Not the OP, but you can absolutely keep doing it for a year and beyond. If you are still progressing and are enjoying it, then keep going. In fact I would often recommend sticking to a program for more than 3 months (with necessary tweaks as you go) - but it depends on your goals, preferences and other circumstances.
Edited to fix as apparently I cannot type!!
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Not the OP, but you can absolutely keep doing it for a year and beyond. If you are still progressing and are enjoying it, then keep going. In fact I would often recommend sticking to a program for more than 3 months (with necessary tweaks as you go) - but it depends on your goals, preferences and other circumstances.
Edited to fix as apparently I cannot type!!
Goal is weight loss now as I have gone from 275 to 242 and weight is pretty much coming down now. I just had a stall right after I began Stronglifts less than a month ago. my journey is long but I also wanna be ready for when the fat will be gone...avoiding the skinny fat situation, trying to preserve muscle so that I can be able to build it later.....and yes i do want the six-pack cuz I have never had one...there is no way im not having a six-pack before dying lol....hope im doing the right thing with SL
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giannigreco83 wrote: »Not the OP, but you can absolutely keep doing it for a year and beyond. If you are still progressing and are enjoying it, then keep going. In fact I would often recommend sticking to a program for more than 3 months (with necessary tweaks as you go) - but it depends on your goals, preferences and other circumstances.
Edited to fix as apparently I cannot type!!
Goal is weight loss now as I have gone from 275 to 242 and weight is pretty much coming down now. I just had a stall right after I began Stronglifts less than a month ago. my journey is long but I also wanna be ready for when the fat will be gone...avoiding the skinny fat situation, trying to preserve muscle so that I can be able to build it later.....and yes i do want the six-pack cuz I have never had one...there is no way im not having a six-pack before dying lol....hope im doing the right thing with SL
Stall could well have been water weight - when starting to lift/changing routines/intensity, you can retain more fluid in your muscle due to repair than usual - it can last a few weeks (water weight is offsetting fat loss).
SL is a good alround routine - there are quite a few out there but to be honest, most similar ones (full body with emphasis on compounds with decent volume/frequency and progression baked in) will give you more or less the same results with those pretty new to lifting (and by pretty new, we are looking at up to a year, and sometimes longer) or with more general goals such as LBM retention. The important thing is to pick the one you enjoy and will do it more consistently.0 -
I was directed here after posting in another thread about my belly fat. Frankly, I don't understand how a bench press or pull ups will help flatten the tummy. Crunches?
Also, how can a good cardio routine NOT help with calorie burn?
I think this advice is helpful, and I am already doing all of these things, but can't find the patient "button."
Thanks!0 -
I was directed here after posting in another thread about my belly fat. Frankly, I don't understand how a bench press or pull ups will help flatten the tummy. Crunches?
Also, how can a good cardio routine NOT help with calorie burn?
I think this advice is helpful, and I am already doing all of these things, but can't find the patient "button."
Thanks!
OP didn't say that bench press and pull ups will directly correlate to a flattened tummy. Op Also didn't didnt't say that cardio will not aid in calorie burn.
Strength training will aid in improving body composition and retaining/increasing LBM (provided that your overall diet is on point and in line with you particular goals i.e. in a deficit if looking for fat loss). Cardio will aid in caloric burn, but isn't necessary for fat loss or obtaining an aesthetic midsection.
As for the patience button.... if it took you that long to reach a point of where you were not happy with you current body composition, you can't expect to undo it over night as well.0 -
I was directed here after posting in another thread about my belly fat. Frankly, I don't understand how a bench press or pull ups will help flatten the tummy. Crunches?
Also, how can a good cardio routine NOT help with calorie burn?
I think this advice is helpful, and I am already doing all of these things, but can't find the patient "button."
Thanks!
LolBroScience nailed it.
Those moves (along with lifting and working the rest of your muscles) is for lean mass retention, not spot reducing belly fat. You can't spot reduce. The goal of lifting is so when you get close to your goal your body composition is better. You lose more weight as fat, instead of fat and lean mass. That means you actually have to lose less weight in the long run.
I didn't say cardio doesn't help. Too many people place emphasis on cardio. Cardio is a tool to aid in a calorie deficit. Keeping your diet in check and retaining lean mass are more important than worrying about burning more calories.0 -
krissyreminisce wrote: »I feel like the only part of my body is taking FOREVER to change is my stomach. The area right below my belly button is flat and firm, but the area just above it is flub. Just perfect for hanging over the waistband of jeans. It's getting smaller, but it's rather frustrating.
I do a lot of cardio (anywhere from 35-2 hours, 6 days a week), one day of rest, and five days of strength training. I haven't worked up the courage (or knowledge) to venture over to the free weight area of my gym other than doing planks. But I have to wonder if my extremely late start into the world of strength training is the cause of my stomach not shrinking faster than I hoped.
I do plan to add in some heavy lifting, something like the Stronglifts 5x5 workout, after I finish my half-marathons next month.
I'll keep working at it, and hope to see more progress. The only issue I have is the crazy deficit I've kept, but I'm getting better at shrinking it.
Thanks, again, for the tips. It's pretty encouraging to see that perhaps I'm not wandering in the dark in trying to flatten my stomach out.
I know exactly how you're feeling! Keep at it and I'm sure you will be seeing the results soon Don't get discouraged! 0 -
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I really really want to give you a thumbs up but your number 4 is making me cringe.
Yes...this. ^^^
What's your reason for not liking #4? My reply to him is that if diet is on point you don't need much cardio. You can add more, but it isn't necessarily helpful. All good programs should include some cardio. I also said that food logging should be accurate, but it isn't always and doing cardio can help make up for inaccuracy (like going out to eat, the dishes can vary up to 500 calories depending on restaurant).
I think their reason for that comment was because you said "Cardio doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week." Do you mean that if you are getting about 400 calories less than your TDEE each day, and 4 times a week you are burning about 700-800 calories through cardio each time, you won't burn off fat even faster? Wouldn't 700-800 calories burned off 4 times a week substantially add to the calorie burn?0 -
I really really want to give you a thumbs up but your number 4 is making me cringe.
Yes...this. ^^^
What's your reason for not liking #4? My reply to him is that if diet is on point you don't need much cardio. You can add more, but it isn't necessarily helpful. All good programs should include some cardio. I also said that food logging should be accurate, but it isn't always and doing cardio can help make up for inaccuracy (like going out to eat, the dishes can vary up to 500 calories depending on restaurant).
I think their reason for that comment was because you said "Cardio doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week." Do you mean that if you are getting about 400 calories less than your TDEE each day, and 4 times a week you are burning about 700-800 calories through cardio each time, you won't burn off fat even faster? Wouldn't 700-800 calories burned off 4 times a week substantially add to the calorie burn?
I addressed that many many many times through the last 45 pages.
I didn't say cardio doesn't add much, I said that my suggestions for cardio doesn't add much. Preserving muscle is the main goal of the article, so nutrition and resistance training should take priority over burning 3200 calories doing cardio every week.
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Looking at all the flabby pears in my family, sometimes i think i just don't have the genetics for it 0
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So question....I jumped from the 1st post to the last page so this might be answered somewhere in the 45 pages of this thread. :-)
Can you or someone explain TDEE to me or how I'm supposed to use the calculator in the original post? I did it and I got my rest calories and workout but I dont' know what it means. TIA!0 -
JessicaThompson12 wrote: »So question....I jumped from the 1st post to the last page so this might be answered somewhere in the 45 pages of this thread. :-)
Can you or someone explain TDEE to me or how I'm supposed to use the calculator in the original post? I did it and I got my rest calories and workout but I dont' know what it means. TIA!
TDEE is the total amount of calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This includes when you are sleeping, doing normal activity, working and working out. Eating at 20% below that number ensures you are at an appropriate deficit, so you fuel your body well while losing weight. This calculator is a bit easier: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/0 -
Looking at all the flabby pears in my family, sometimes i think i just don't have the genetics for it
My family carries their weight in their belly. I "don't have the genetics for it" plus I had kids. It's okay to say that the effort required to have a flat stomach or low body fat isn't worth it, but genetics doesn't mean you can never have it.0 -
JessicaThompson12 wrote: »So question....I jumped from the 1st post to the last page so this might be answered somewhere in the 45 pages of this thread. :-)
Can you or someone explain TDEE to me or how I'm supposed to use the calculator in the original post? I did it and I got my rest calories and workout but I dont' know what it means. TIA!
TDEE is the total amount of calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This includes when you are sleeping, doing normal activity, working and working out. Eating at 20% below that number ensures you are at an appropriate deficit, so you fuel your body well while losing weight. This calculator is a bit easier: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
So my TDEE is 1725 so I should be eating 1380 calories a day versus the 1200 MFP recommends? Sorry for the questions but I'm new to this and you are a wealth of knowledge. :-)1 -
JessicaThompson12 wrote: »JessicaThompson12 wrote: »So question....I jumped from the 1st post to the last page so this might be answered somewhere in the 45 pages of this thread. :-)
Can you or someone explain TDEE to me or how I'm supposed to use the calculator in the original post? I did it and I got my rest calories and workout but I dont' know what it means. TIA!
TDEE is the total amount of calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This includes when you are sleeping, doing normal activity, working and working out. Eating at 20% below that number ensures you are at an appropriate deficit, so you fuel your body well while losing weight. This calculator is a bit easier: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
So my TDEE is 1725 so I should be eating 1380 calories a day versus the 1200 MFP recommends? Sorry for the questions but I'm new to this and you are a wealth of knowledge. :-)
With MFP's method they want you to eat back your exercise calories. With the TDEE method your exercise is counted in, unless you start increasing your exercise significantly, which would increase your TDEE.
If you change to the TDEE method you set your goal to 1400 and don't worry about calories burned working out. Most of us log exercise as 1 calorie burned.0 -
JessicaThompson12 wrote: »JessicaThompson12 wrote: »So question....I jumped from the 1st post to the last page so this might be answered somewhere in the 45 pages of this thread. :-)
Can you or someone explain TDEE to me or how I'm supposed to use the calculator in the original post? I did it and I got my rest calories and workout but I dont' know what it means. TIA!
TDEE is the total amount of calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This includes when you are sleeping, doing normal activity, working and working out. Eating at 20% below that number ensures you are at an appropriate deficit, so you fuel your body well while losing weight. This calculator is a bit easier: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
So my TDEE is 1725 so I should be eating 1380 calories a day versus the 1200 MFP recommends? Sorry for the questions but I'm new to this and you are a wealth of knowledge. :-)
With MFP's method they want you to eat back your exercise calories. With the TDEE method your exercise is counted in, unless you start increasing your exercise significantly, which would increase your TDEE.
If you change to the TDEE method you set your goal to 1400 and don't worry about calories burned working out. Most of us log exercise as 1 calorie burned.
Ah gotcha. Thank you!! I've started doing the Couch to 5k again and when I do that I 9 times out of 10 don't eat the extra exercise calories unless I'm hungry.0 -
That link TDEE link won't work for me. No idea why it isn't loading.0
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http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/kashago2226 wrote: »That link TDEE link won't work for me. No idea why it isn't loading.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
kashago2226 wrote: »That link TDEE link won't work for me. No idea why it isn't loading.
Do you have AdBlocker on? I think this is he calculator that won't work if AdBlocker is on. I could be wrong.0 -
i eat about 800 calories a day and workout for an hour to 2 hours a day, is there something wrong with that?-2 -
sydney1199 wrote: »
i eat about 800 calories a day and workout for an hour to 2 hours a day, is there something wrong with that?
Yes. It's unhealthy and could cause damage to your metabolism and your body.0 -
Sorry I posted this before and another user gave me an answer which I Appreciate... I would also love to have your opinion...thank you)
Hello OP, I am in the middle of my 4th week of Stronglifts 5x5 now....and I occadionaly do 15-20 mins cardio after it..a total of 35-40 mins cardio plus 3x week SL. I am definitely seeing the result in strength as I never thought I could squat 1lbs more than my body weight....Do you suggest stronglifts over the long term? I mean it is designed for 3 months but many people suggest to keep doing it even for an year..and then switch to another weight training once I stall on adding weights...Consider I am in the middle of my weight loss and currently weighing 242 pounds...eating 1700-1800 cals a day... I manage a restaurant so I walk like crazy everyday...probably I Should add some more calories for the workouts days since I get to gym already tired?0 -
giannigreco83 wrote: »Sorry I posted this before and another user gave me an answer which I Appreciate... I would also love to have your opinion...thank you)
Hello OP, I am in the middle of my 4th week of Stronglifts 5x5 now....and I occadionaly do 15-20 mins cardio after it..a total of 35-40 mins cardio plus 3x week SL. I am definitely seeing the result in strength as I never thought I could squat 1lbs more than my body weight....Do you suggest stronglifts over the long term? I mean it is designed for 3 months but many people suggest to keep doing it even for an year..and then switch to another weight training once I stall on adding weights...Consider I am in the middle of my weight loss and currently weighing 242 pounds...eating 1700-1800 cals a day... I manage a restaurant so I walk like crazy everyday...probably I Should add some more calories for the workouts days since I get to gym already tired?
Stronglifts is fine for a long term program. When you stall on lifts for a while you could consider swapping to a new program, but there's nothing wrong with staying on a program you are comfortable with.
I think for calories you should run your numbers through the IIFYM calculator. It will give you an appropriate deficit. Based on the data you've given me and assuming some data about you I'm going to say that 1800 calories isn't enough if you aren't eating your exercise calories. Remember with the IIFYM settings you count exercise as 1 calorie burned since their method adds in exercise already.
http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/0
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