Belly fat, HELP please

geneisha88
geneisha88 Posts: 4 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey MFP users,

I'm on a diet now as I need to lose my stomach. It's got to the point where it's ridiculous but I'm petite everywhere else. I've cut fatty foods and gone to salads / veg. I'm jogging twice a week.

What is the best exercises to do (at home) and what foods should I eat / not eat? Help!!!

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach

    Just eat in a calorie deficit, do some strength training, and be patient
  • geneisha88
    geneisha88 Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you. I know it's going to take time but I'm just getting a little frustrated so thought I can get some tips as I know many of us on here for the same reasons.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    geneisha88 wrote: »
    Thank you. I know it's going to take time but I'm just getting a little frustrated so thought I can get some tips as I know many of us on here for the same reasons.

    Yeah, but controlling calories to burn fat is the only answer.
  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
    I have always heard that you could not "spot reduce'- however I have always heard to eat in a deficit and the weight will come off 'everywhere' -I am still in the slow losing stage so don't know how true it is(best wishes)
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    debtay123 wrote: »
    I have always heard that you could not "spot reduce'- however I have always heard to eat in a deficit and the weight will come off 'everywhere' -I am still in the slow losing stage so don't know how true it is(best wishes)

    It's true. Your body will lose fat where it decides to.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    It will come off everywhere but not at the same rate all over. You do not lose size in a proportional manner week to week or even month to month. Fat loss is a long term project. Much of what we strive for does not develop until months, sometimes years, into changing our habits.
  • pokorny212
    pokorny212 Posts: 1 Member
    geneisha88 wrote: »
    Thank you. I know it's going to take time but I'm just getting a little frustrated so thought I can get some tips as I know many of us on here for the same reasons.

    It'll always be frustrating by looking in the mirror keep in mind you see your self daily and since this is a slow change may not notice a difference the scale is what you really need to listen to
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    yes its slow. been at this 4 years and finally losing the rest of my belly fat although my saddlebags want to stick around and my thass(where my butt ends and my legs begin) still needs to come off.it comes off where it wants,when it wants. it sucks that it takes so long but I have nothing but time..
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited June 2016
    I'm a couple pounds away from goal weight and i still have a pot belly. I've given up trying to lose it!

    I'm married and in my 40's, having a flat belly isn't as important to me these days as it was when i was in my 20's.
  • chase8oliver
    chase8oliver Posts: 27 Member
    As previously mentioned, resistance training and a consistent goal oriented diet will be the key to your body fat reduction. Women are notorious for holding excess fat in their lower abdominals (along with their thighs and glutes). Much of where body fat is stored comes from your genetics. (However, that does not mean you are automatically going to be overweight simply because your mom or dad may have been.) You can not "spot reduce" either. Fat stores and burns wherever it decides to go first. It can be a SLOW process, but if you're doing things right over the next few months you should be able to see a visual change. Be sure to maintain your measurements for different body parts, monitor your body fat, and before I forget, make sure to keep PROTEIN in your diet. I have a lot of female clients who before they trained with me hardly touched protein. This is how you will develop lean muscle mass and is critical in your overall development.
  • chase8oliver
    chase8oliver Posts: 27 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from goal weight and i still have a pot belly. I've given up trying to lose it!

    I'm married and in my 40's, having a flat belly isn't as important to me these days as it was when i was in my 20's.

    Are you checking your body fat percentage? I advise every woman to monitor this because it just as important if not, more important than your weight. I always ask my female clients: how do you know if you're losing muscle or fat if you don't know what your body fat percentage is?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    chase8oliver wrote: »
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from goal weight and i still have a pot belly. I've given up trying to lose it!

    I'm married and in my 40's, having a flat belly isn't as important to me these days as it was when i was in my 20's.

    Are you checking your body fat percentage? I advise every woman to monitor this because it just as important if not, more important than your weight. I always ask my female clients: how do you know if you're losing muscle or fat if you don't know what your body fat percentage is?

    Nope not checking body fat %. There are no facilities anywhere near me that does them. My supplements store has one of those machines that you stand on and hold on to the handles. But I'm not paying $40 for something that's probably not accurate

  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    chase8oliver wrote: »
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from goal weight and i still have a pot belly. I've given up trying to lose it!

    I'm married and in my 40's, having a flat belly isn't as important to me these days as it was when i was in my 20's.

    Are you checking your body fat percentage? I advise every woman to monitor this because it just as important if not, more important than your weight. I always ask my female clients: how do you know if you're losing muscle or fat if you don't know what your body fat percentage is?

    Nope not checking body fat %. There are no facilities anywhere near me that does them. My supplements store has one of those machines that you stand on and hold on to the handles. But I'm not paying $40 for something that's probably not at all accurate
    FIFY.

    $40 for a BIA analysis??? :open_mouth: What a racket. Don't waste your money, you'll get a more accurate estimate by looking in the mirror.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    chase8oliver wrote: »
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from goal weight and i still have a pot belly. I've given up trying to lose it!

    I'm married and in my 40's, having a flat belly isn't as important to me these days as it was when i was in my 20's.

    Are you checking your body fat percentage? I advise every woman to monitor this because it just as important if not, more important than your weight. I always ask my female clients: how do you know if you're losing muscle or fat if you don't know what your body fat percentage is?

    Nope not checking body fat %. There are no facilities anywhere near me that does them. My supplements store has one of those machines that you stand on and hold on to the handles. But I'm not paying $40 for something that's probably not at all accurate
    FIFY.

    $40 for a BIA analysis??? :open_mouth: What a racket. Don't waste your money, you'll get a more accurate estimate by looking in the mirror.

    Thanks. I don't need to know my exact stats. Like you said, the mirror tells me everything i need to know :smile:

  • chase8oliver
    chase8oliver Posts: 27 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    chase8oliver wrote: »
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from goal weight and i still have a pot belly. I've given up trying to lose it!

    I'm married and in my 40's, having a flat belly isn't as important to me these days as it was when i was in my 20's.

    Are you checking your body fat percentage? I advise every woman to monitor this because it just as important if not, more important than your weight. I always ask my female clients: how do you know if you're losing muscle or fat if you don't know what your body fat percentage is?

    Nope not checking body fat %. There are no facilities anywhere near me that does them. My supplements store has one of those machines that you stand on and hold on to the handles. But I'm not paying $40 for something that's probably not accurate

    You might be referring to the Omron handheld monitor or something similar. I use it for my own clients as do many other trainers. It's pretty darn close in terms of accuracy if you're putting in the correct settings. I've even tested it by using the old school skin caliper method (where your fat is pinched at different points of the body) on myself and other clients just to make sure. Results were legit. A person can get frustrated verrrrry quickly if they're not monitoring the body fat and only checking their weight. Again, you will not know whether it's muscle you're losing or fat you're losing unless you keep tabs on your body fat percentage.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    bio impedance devices are inaccurate and so can calipers be inaccurate. the only way to tell is by getting a dexa scan,bod pod,or hydrostatic weighing. they arent 100% either but are more accurate ways to tell then the devices you mentioned
  • chase8oliver
    chase8oliver Posts: 27 Member
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    bio impedance devices are inaccurate and so can calipers be inaccurate. the only way to tell is by getting a dexa scan,bod pod,or hydrostatic weighing. they arent 100% either but are more accurate ways to tell then the devices you mentioned

    While I agree hydrostatic weighing is a much better method of checking body fat, it requires a lot more effort to get that done. (Making an appointment, driving to the location, waiting for the results, etc.) In regards to utilizing handheld devices or calipers it is very much dependent upon the person making a proper assessment. Otherwise, trainers and bodybuilders would never use them. Unless you're someone who's willing to go to a facility every week to check your body fat, the other methods are suitable. Again, the results are VERY much dependent upon the person making the assessment or else the results definitely won't be anywhere near accurate.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    those things you mentioned have a large measure of user error as well though and can be off and only used under the same conditions every time. water weight or waste can impact those things as well.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited June 2016
    James Krieger on BIA: http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-4-the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-parts-3-and-4-bod-pod-and-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/the-pitfalls-of-bodyfat-measurement-part-4-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/

    Very detailed analysis, but here's the tl;dr of it:
    BIA can be problematic because it's a prediction based off of a prediction, so the error gets compounded. When you look at group averages for BIA measurements, there tends to be bias, with BIA often underpredicting how much fat you have. As with other techniques, the individual error rates can get high, with some research showing error rates of around 8-9%. In fact, BIA doesn't do much better than BMI at predicting body fat in some cases. When it comes to measuring change over time, BIA can often underpredict the amount of fat loss, and the estimated change can be off by up to 8%.

    For all of these reasons, I am not a fan of BIA for measuring body composition in individuals. If you are going to use BIA for tracking body composition over time, I recommend very long time intervals between measurements (at least 3 months, but 6 months is probably better), as the error rate for BIA can be larger than the changes in body fat in you see. Whatever numbers you do get using BIA, always remember they are very rough predictions....and I emphasize very rough.
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