CANT LOSE BELLY FAT
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sashaircha
Posts: 1 Member
Hello!! I'm 20 and I've been on a healthy eating journey for about 4 years now and I weigh about 116 at 5 feet. The only issue is that for all this time, I've barely made progress with belly fat. It's my most troubled area. I don't know whether to go paleo or semi paleo or even vegan at this point because I'm so frustrated. I am running 3 times a week and doing HIIT twice a week. Please help 
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Replies
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Hey - Are you stressed? Stress can cause your stomach to retain its fat. Also, whats your diet like? If you are having sugary drinks then, like i'm finding, fat loss will be very hard. I am currently 16% BF and it is basically entirely around my stomach!1
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Lots of carbs may be contributing so try to only have carbs for 1 or 2 of your meals. Not all 3.
Also, try doing some abdominal exercise. I find that helps me.0 -
There is no way to spot-lose body fat. Just keep it up with your diet & exercise if you're happy with them!
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
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Stomachs are stubborn fat areas. Keep losing weight and it will go eventually. No reduction in stress or cutting carbs or particular exercises will help.11
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You're a bit young for many of the hormonal issues that can cause retention of belly fat, but how is your gynaecological health? Are you having any issues with your periods? Do you use a long-term hormonal contraception or have any options for trying different contraceptive options?
Ovary dysfunction and female hormone inbalance can cause retention of belly fat due to hormonal changes and interruption of the insulin response, so if you are experiencing other issues alongside retention of belly fat, it is worth seeing your GP.0 -
so much false advice.
keep eating at a deficit. WEIGH your food religiously and log it accurately.
You can not spot reduce and stomach fat is often the last to go (trust me on that).
keep eating at a deficit. carbs, stress, diet sodas - none of that is the problem.13 -
callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »so much false advice.
keep eating at a deficit. WEIGH your food religiously and log it accurately.
You can not spot reduce and stomach fat is often the last to go (trust me on that).
keep eating at a deficit. carbs, stress, diet sodas - none of that is the problem.
Yes, this is what I've found to be true for me, too. I'm 5'3" and when I reached my "goal weight" of 126 I still had a lot of fat around my middle and backside. I figured it must be my age (48), maybe lose skin, but I only had around 40 pounds to lose so that didn't seem right. As I've attempted to find my maintenance calories I've lost another 8 pounds over the last few months and the pouffy belly and rear-end have gone down exponentially. At 118 I feel even better than I did before and look more like what I saw in my minds eye when I started this journey last year.
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Could you post a picture? Half the time when a young person of healthy to low weight says they cannot lose belly fat the true problem is bad posture and low muscle mass. If you post a picture we can give better advice.9
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callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »so much false advice.
keep eating at a deficit. WEIGH your food religiously and log it accurately.
You can not spot reduce and stomach fat is often the last to go (trust me on that).
keep eating at a deficit. carbs, stress, diet sodas - none of that is the problem.
This. Also start incorporating a progressive lifting program such as Stronglifts 5x5 into your workouts. Since you're already at a healthy weight, body recomposition (with a smaller deficit, or even eating at maintenance) will work wonders.3 -
Can't say conclusively w/out more data, pics, etc, but a not insignificant number of people have a body type that will store body fat in the upper body/midsection area. You need to determine that before beating your head against the wall trying to change something that cannot be fundamentally changed.0
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Did the OP delete his/her profile?0
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sjdmcdonald3368 wrote: »Hey - Are you stressed? Stress can cause your stomach to retain its fat. Also, whats your diet like? If you are having sugary drinks then, like i'm finding, fat loss will be very hard. I am currently 16% BF and it is basically entirely around my stomach!
Sorry, but you can't spot reduce., and there is no magic diet that can get rid of it. Whatever there is of your belly on a five foot five 116 pound person is genetics.1 -
sjdmcdonald3368 wrote: »Hey - Are you stressed? Stress can cause your stomach to retain its fat. Also, whats your diet like? If you are having sugary drinks then, like i'm finding, fat loss will be very hard. I am currently 16% BF and it is basically entirely around my stomach!Lots of carbs may be contributing so try to only have carbs for 1 or 2 of your meals. Not all 3.
Also, try doing some abdominal exercise. I find that helps me.
Nope on these two.tiny_clanger wrote: »You're a bit young for many of the hormonal issues that can cause retention of belly fat, but how is your gynaecological health? Are you having any issues with your periods? Do you use a long-term hormonal contraception or have any options for trying different contraceptive options?
Ovary dysfunction and female hormone inbalance can cause retention of belly fat due to hormonal changes and interruption of the insulin response, so if you are experiencing other issues alongside retention of belly fat, it is worth seeing your GP.
Gynecological issues and birth control have nothing to do with belly fat.
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Lift weights. LOL.
I carry ALL of my excess weight in my tummy, even prior to pregnancy I struggled with a spare tire despite being a competitive athlete. The ONLY way that I personally have ever been able to get rid of belly fat is to eat right (30% carb, 50% protein, and 20% fat), count calories, and lift... heavy (I am not talking about 2 lb curls, but rather big/heavy weight lifting). Squats, deadlifts, bench, etc.0 -
Have a personal trainer help you with your form. If you are not doing the abdominal exercises correctly, you won't have the best results.0
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sjdmcdonald3368 wrote: »Hey - Are you stressed? Stress can cause your stomach to retain its fat. Also, whats your diet like? If you are having sugary drinks then, like i'm finding, fat loss will be very hard. I am currently 16% BF and it is basically entirely around my stomach!Lots of carbs may be contributing so try to only have carbs for 1 or 2 of your meals. Not all 3.
Also, try doing some abdominal exercise. I find that helps me.
Both of these are absolutely untrue - OP I hope you disregard this advice.
There is no way to spot reduce. Where we carry our fat is genetic, and the only way to reduce fat from anywhere is to maintain a calorie deficit and lower your overall body fat percentage.
It will come off eventually if you are accurately tracking your calories. Accuracy is key, though, especially if you've already lost a good bit of weight since your maintenance calories will be lower than they were in the beginning, so you don't have as much wiggle room.
Please take a look at this thread, it has some really good information: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p11 -
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