Can I lose my belly flab with weights?

weight training is a better option to loose wight then cardio as you continue to burn calories as the muscle repairs long after the workout. but you will actually have to lift weights to fatigue to make it work. That and you cant out work a bad diet so what you eat is the most important thing

I suggest reading this http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

Some of it will be fat, some loose skin, tightening the muscles below will help for when you've lost the fat and will help you look slimmer beforehand as you'll hold a better posture. Losing the fat though is going to be helped by cardio so I'd do both if I were you. Classes like Zumba are good allrounders.

@WaterBunnie Cardio is fine and all but it is not the reason for fat loss. Yes it does help but the reason it helps is ONLY because it helps people to create a calorie deficit. If a person is doing cardio without some form of weighted resistance then they are becoming the "smaller marshmallow" I mentioned earlier. If a person is eating at a calorie deficit then cardio is not needed. Lifting weights actually burns more calories overall and helps the body to "firm up." If a person is limited on time then lifting weights is the far better choice.

Of course Moderate Cardio is absolutely great for overall heart health though.

Great to hear you are considering weight training to help your goals out. My wife has recently started and shes seeing results, slowly but surely! What she does is a full-body circuit 3 times a week. We do NOT have any fancy equipment. Just a very basic bench & a bunch of dumbbells. Thats it. Here is what her routine looks like:

1 set of deadlifts
1 set of bench presses
1 set of shoulder presses
1 set of bent over rows
1 set of bicep curls
1 set of tricep extensions
1 set of squats
1 set of ab crunches

Repeat 3 times a session, 3 times a week. Mon, Wed, Fri works great if you can.

As for what weight to use? You want to ideally be able to just do about 8-12 reps for each exercise so you'll have to experiment to find out what weight to use. Start light and work your way up. No need to kil yourself but it should be reasonably challenging. Less reps than 8 means the weight is too heavy. More than 12 resp and its too light. 8-12 reps seems to be the "magic" number of reps for both strength & toning from what Ive read.

Hope that helps....

I like fitnessblender.com for strength training workouts, they have a ton of full-length workout videos for all training types and ability levels on their website, all for free (they also have a youtube channel, but I find the website lets you search the workouts better). they recently released a 4-week core program (abs, obliques and lower back) that you can buy (less than $10 american) if you want them to tell you what videos to use, or you can go through and find what you want for yourself completely for free.

A calorie deficit is the solution to fat loss. Strength training (especially heavy compound lifts) will improve your overall body composition. I've been working out with weights for 1 year + but as of January have been focusing on the 4 compound movements (squat, deadlift, bench, and overhead press) with progressively heavier weights.

I've seen a huge difference in my body composition in just over four months. I've had four kids and have loose flabby belly skin, too. It's not gone (and I may never loose it completely) but it's improved a lot!!! I have a flat stomach when I stand up and I can see the outline of my abs when I stretch or flex.

Yes, you may experience some slight thickening in your waist if you lift and eat maintenance or surplus calories. This happened to me but was not very visibly noticeable. Don't be alarmed - you can diet down later and reveal your fab abs!

Hope this helps!

You can even do weight lifting using your own body weight! For example, triceps lifts. Sit in a chair (I use my fireplace hearth, it's about 2 feet high). Grip the edge of the chair with both hands. Lower your body towards the ground, hold for a second or two, and sit back up (but don't sit down in the chair) and repeat. Try to do 8-10 reps, 3 times.

Another one is push ups, also good for triceps. Just remember to keep your elbows in. There are other versions of tricep work through push ups that work secondary muscles, but just a plain old push-up will do for now.

Lastly, squats. These work the front of your thighs. Pretend you're going to lower yourself into a chair. Hold for a second or two, then raise back up. Be sure to keep your back as straight as possible! You can also do squat pulses. That's where you go into a squat position and just pulse up and down. Try to do that for 20-30 seconds, 4-5 times.

Disclaimer: I am not a trainer, fitness expert or medical or physiology professional. I'm just a woman who works out. Google what I've mentioned here to get more professional instruction on how to perform these exercises, should they interest you.

Good luck!