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Annadel
Annadel Posts: 146 Member
i am 122lbs now 5'3. I have been doing zumba, bar method classes and Jillian michaels's DVD . I do at least 1hr of something 5 days / week. My diet is relatively controlled with cheat days on weekends. Not too bad but I guess bad enough . Everything decreased for me except my tummy. Now I look slim overall with this lower tummy sticking out. I have had 2 pregnancies too. What should I enhance? More cardio or more strength or less food ? So confused!!

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  • GGMarie1501
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    I have the same problem and I find that doing crunches helps... Good luck..
  • tassles
    tassles Posts: 172
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    I have the same problem....apparently they say that cardio is the only thing that will reduce it... tummy flab is often the last place to lose the fat ( and the first place to put it on in my case )

    I guess we need to persevere with the cardio and not give up! and strength train to build up as we will continue to lose where we don't want to!

    good luck with it...I'm interested to hear others thoughts on this subject too!
  • oravavaara
    oravavaara Posts: 29
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    Do you do exercises targeting your abs? If you do, try doing them less than you do (maybe twice a week instead of three times) and move to low-weight, high-rep exercise. Try doing a lot of stretching or take up yoga. Those things will tone your abs without producing the thick bulky muscle mass that makes things stick out.

    Another potential culprit is trans-fat consumption. Trans fat is a product of hydrogenated oils (found peanut butter, microwave popcorn, stick margarine, comercial bakery... don't trust if something says "0g trans fat per serving"-look for hydrogenated oil in the ingredients). Trans fats are really hard for your body to get rid of and have a tendency to form hard "visceral" fat around your organs. If this sounds bad, it's because it is. If this is the case, the way you look in a bathing suit is the least of your worries. The good news is you can make the visceral fat go away if you cut down on your total fat consumption (your body will have no choice but to try to use the highly stable visceral fat) and exercise.

    Without looking at you and poking your belly, it's hard to say what will help your specific body type. Your body needs to store some fat, and unfortunately some people's bodies just decide the belly is the best place to put it. There might not be anything you can do about it. If it makes you feel better, the type of fat that you can pinch is actually not really bad for you in small quantities, and can help you with all sorts of things from storing vitamins to regulating body temperature.
  • MoonShadow_1au
    MoonShadow_1au Posts: 149 Member
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    I am starting to believe the "starvation" mode theory. After comming off a light food weekend I have increased %Body Fat (and I know it is going on around my middle).

    The theory is you need to eat enough fat / carbs etc. for your daily limit AND workouts to ensure your body does not panic and store fat and eat muscle.

    Will be commenting in my New Feed so if you are interested friend me to see how I go.
  • OliveLucas
    OliveLucas Posts: 84
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    I recommend this book "The New Abs Diet for Women" (by David Zinczenko).

    The principles behind this book is that good abs begin in the kitchen more than in the gym. You really have to eat right; a variety of foods, healthy fats, good carbs, lean proteins and foods that speed up your metabolism.

    Borrow it from your local library, i think it can help you. :wink:
  • coxy1968
    coxy1968 Posts: 77
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    bump