Losing the man brisket
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shoeoptional
Posts: 46 Member
I'm a big hoss. My fat concentration is in my belly area. Im barrel shaped by nature but I know that having both belly fat and significant cortisol build up makes me a heart attack and/or stroke candidate.
I'm eating better and am on the AIP diet to help reduce inflammation from a messed up immune system. I exercise daily by walking. This was my first step in engaging exercise. I'm now ready to begin a secondary level of fitness and wonder what exercises I should do to begin reducing belly fat and particularly the cortisol build up.
Please do solicit me your services or supplement sales.
I'm eating better and am on the AIP diet to help reduce inflammation from a messed up immune system. I exercise daily by walking. This was my first step in engaging exercise. I'm now ready to begin a secondary level of fitness and wonder what exercises I should do to begin reducing belly fat and particularly the cortisol build up.
Please do solicit me your services or supplement sales.
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Replies
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Unfortunately you can't spot reduce. Continue eating in a calorie deficit and work on adding some strength or resistance training to your routine to help maintain muscle as you lose.1
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Unfortunately you can't spot reduce. Continue eating in a calorie deficit and work on adding some strength or resistance training to your routine to help maintain muscle as you lose.
^ This, exactly. No way to target a particular area of the body for fat loss, just keep a reasonable deficit and it will come off. There are a lot of very good reasons to exercise, but spot reduction isn't one of them.0 -
Eat in a deficit. Reduce the stress in your life for the cortisol?1
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Reduce stress. That is a priority but so much is on my plate. Damn this grown up life!2
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Unfortunately you can't spot reduce. Continue eating in a calorie deficit and work on adding some strength or resistance training to your routine to help maintain muscle as you lose.
^ This, exactly. No way to target a particular area of the body for fat loss, just keep a reasonable deficit and it will come off. There are a lot of very good reasons to exercise, but spot reduction isn't one of them.
I totally agree with this to above posters. Your genetics are going to determine how when and where the weight comes off. For me the last place that came up was in my stomach. Everybody's going to be different just trust the process and it will eventually work0 -
Aye, trust the process.0
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Four things:
1) Keep working the food
2) Work on stress reduction
3) Work on getting good sleep
4) Keep moving. Walking works fine. If you want, start working in a HIIT session per week to get a metabolic push.
Patience, persistence, progression.
Allan Misner
NASM Certified Personal Trainer
Host of the 40+ Fitness Podcast2 -
Exercise helps with stress for me. Jogging is better than walking for this, getting exhausted really helps my mood somehow.
If you hold your fat in the middle, then just losing weight will reduce that, because most of what you lose is fat. Slow and steady, you will get there.
I would recommend getting a measuring tape and measuring your belly at widest point, then again in a month, then again every month. I bet you are already shrinking and just don't see it.0 -
shoeoptional wrote: »I'm now ready to begin a secondary level of fitness and wonder what exercises I should do to begin reducing belly fat and particularly the cortisol build up.
there may be specific types of exercise that affect specific things more, but i'll leave that for others as it's way more technical than what i know.
so fwiw: what i know is whatever you move on to for your next level should be something you actually enjoy. it's only going to stay with you and turn into part of your life if the fit is organic for you - especially if you're already under stress and doing the whole grownup thing.
and then i'd say just stay open to more things also coming along and turning out to be things you enjoy, because you'll evolve about that over time. i've been bike commuting since forever, but ever would i never have expected myself to suddenly discover barbells and become such a weightlifting nerd.
so imo it's all good. you just need a gateway activity, an interest, and an open mind.
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Some people do sit ups and crunches for that area, but they can cause tiny fractures in your spine over a long period of time. Planks are better.1
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Exercise that reduces stress, kill two birds with one stone!
For me the mindless repetition of swimming is great to empty the mind and drop the stress. One thing after another after another, concentrating on form and the feeling of the water. Others get the same from running or cycling.
Doing it outside is even better.1 -
PennWalker wrote: »Some people do sit ups and crunches for that area, but they can cause tiny fractures in your spine over a long period of time. Planks are better.
None of them are effective for reducing belly fat. You can't spot reduce. Ab exercises can strengthen/build the muscles beneath the fat, but they do nothing to get rid of the fat itself. You have to take care of that by calorie deficit. You can do planks until the cows come home, but unless you get rid of the fat by calorie deficit you'll just have a nice strong core hidden underneath a fat gut.1 -
shoeoptional wrote: »I'm a big hoss. My fat concentration is in my belly area. Im barrel shaped by nature but I know that having both belly fat and significant cortisol build up makes me a heart attack and/or stroke candidate.
I'm eating better and am on the AIP diet to help reduce inflammation from a messed up immune system. I exercise daily by walking. This was my first step in engaging exercise. I'm now ready to begin a secondary level of fitness and wonder what exercises I should do to begin reducing belly fat and particularly the cortisol build up.
Figure out for your age and size the best estimated BMR (I prefer this calculator over MFP's: http://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html). There will be a margin of error in any BMR calculation +/-, so your actual BMR may need tweaking. The number will adjust as you lose/gain weight, so adjust it as your weight changes. You can plug that number in here at MFP rather than using the MFP calculator.
The only way to drop the brisket - which actually is made up of three parts shown in this graphic -
visceralfat
is to eat at a deficit.
Set a goal of a pound a week, as it will take time for the three areas of fat in your waist and abdominal area to drop. Yes, you lose weight in the kitchen. And that should be your focus or motto to shed this dangerous fat. Exercise can help with the daily calorie burn for sure - and help to lower your stress levels as well as provide other benefits, but the weight is really lost in the kitchen by continuing to eat at a deficit each day.
The belly fat is not only heart/stroke dangerous, but also other diseases (diabetes, cancer). So taking it seriously and dropping especially the visceral weight is the best thing you can do for your health.
Compare your brisket to the various fat percentages - and shoot for the 2nd row pictures in the 15-20% range. It takes time, but is what you owe yourself in terms of better health.
Here's your brutally honest man guide on how to drop it: http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
The "Dad Body" or "Brisket Gut" is an unhealthy fad. Ignore all the "feel good" advice about being comfortable carrying around the "dad gut". It's not healthy!
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Also, if you aren't already, do a consistent progressive strength training program. Muscle is what burns the most calories, and if you're eating at a deficit, the more muscle you have the more fat you'll burn even at rest. Doing cardio is going to burn calories when you do it but doing moderate intensity strength training is really going to amp up the fat burn. The gut is just going to take time and just takes longer to minimize in different people. It's always been the last thing to go on me and I think that's pretty typical for most men.1
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Yoga...or "Broga" for the dudes here...lol. Power yoga classes can really make you sweat and use your own body weight to build muscle. There are tons of videos on you tube to get started. It might be a good way to start the transition into strength training and it helps to reduce stress. Also I am not a doctor so take this how you want and check with yours but I have anxiety issues and starting taking some kava kava and other natural anti anxiety supplements to help along with exercise, diet, and SLEEP! make sure you get enough rest.1
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Thanks everyone.
BTW--Broga? Would the DDP yoga count? I've been walking for 5 weeks now and my stamina and energy levels are up, so I'm now ready for strength training basics. This is also an area that I know nothing about and will have to explore the forums on.0 -
Holy crap, that 3-4% range is just freakish.0
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Based on my height, age and weight, my BMR is 2455 cal. I have been using 2100 as my daily goal. Most days, with exercise, I come under. That amount fluctuates on the amount of exercise and caloric intake.0
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Just like most everyone else has said time to hit the gym and cut the calories. One alone is not enough you have to do both. I can attest to that. That's whybI an here. I workout but like to eat and drink. So now I am tracking my calorie intake and working out. My goal is to go from 44"waist to a 32". Working on a pound a week to do that0
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