Can't get rid of that stubborn belly fat
2plebeian
Posts: 16 Member
Hello there!
I've started my "getting fit" journey August 2016 (weighed 95.0 kg at the time). Before that, I suffered from a burn out, and in the depression that followed, I drank tons of alcohol and ate crappy food. Bye bye nice 'pre' body. I had very little muscle and a high amount of body fat at the start of my journey, but currently weigh 77.5 kg. Hit the gym 2-3 x a week (as much as my schedule allows) and fit in walks wherever I can (10.000 a day is my minimum goal). I mostly try and do powerlifting (deadlift, bench press, incline bench press, dips, pull ups, chin ups, squats, bend-over dumbbell rows, lat pull downs, bicep curls, tricep extensions, ab crunch, planks and push ups) and "general fitness" stuff. I've noticed I've gotten a lot stronger despite having lost 17.5 kg in the past half year...
However, one thing bothers me incredibly much: I still have a big flap of belly fat, accompanied by thick (5-6 cm thick) lovehandles. I can't seem to get rid of them. My face has slimmed down incredibly much, my legs have gotten thin (except for my thighs, which are rather muscular, probably because of all the squatting), my upper back is looking rather muscular (easily the best feature of my new "in shape" body), but the front of my body keeps looking like f-ing CRAP! How can I get rid of this belly fat? I've been logging food since September, and recently started using MFP to aid me in this (since it's less time consuming than writing everything down + calculating all the macros and sodium). I'm pretty much below or at my calory point every day (with the exception of 3 days in which I was away either away on a trip or had a little birthday party and went about 1500 kcal over my goal - beers & chips). I work out. I got a new phone so I can register how much I walk and link this to MFP. I seem to be doing everything right.. and not just since I joined MFP, but pretty much for the past 6 months, with a bit of slack during Christmas + New Years. I've lost a significant amount of weight already and my old pairs of jeans are all 2-3 sizes too big now.... BUT WHY IS THAT BELLY STILL LOOKING SO FAT!!! Seriously, my belly + lovehandles look like they come straight off of a heavy-set woman and are placed on me, a young man. Despite having a muscular chest and back, I have the lowerbody that looks like I have had a child. Please, someone, comfort me or give me some advice or something. I'm incredibly dissappointed in myself and don't know what I can do to get rid of it..
I've started my "getting fit" journey August 2016 (weighed 95.0 kg at the time). Before that, I suffered from a burn out, and in the depression that followed, I drank tons of alcohol and ate crappy food. Bye bye nice 'pre' body. I had very little muscle and a high amount of body fat at the start of my journey, but currently weigh 77.5 kg. Hit the gym 2-3 x a week (as much as my schedule allows) and fit in walks wherever I can (10.000 a day is my minimum goal). I mostly try and do powerlifting (deadlift, bench press, incline bench press, dips, pull ups, chin ups, squats, bend-over dumbbell rows, lat pull downs, bicep curls, tricep extensions, ab crunch, planks and push ups) and "general fitness" stuff. I've noticed I've gotten a lot stronger despite having lost 17.5 kg in the past half year...
However, one thing bothers me incredibly much: I still have a big flap of belly fat, accompanied by thick (5-6 cm thick) lovehandles. I can't seem to get rid of them. My face has slimmed down incredibly much, my legs have gotten thin (except for my thighs, which are rather muscular, probably because of all the squatting), my upper back is looking rather muscular (easily the best feature of my new "in shape" body), but the front of my body keeps looking like f-ing CRAP! How can I get rid of this belly fat? I've been logging food since September, and recently started using MFP to aid me in this (since it's less time consuming than writing everything down + calculating all the macros and sodium). I'm pretty much below or at my calory point every day (with the exception of 3 days in which I was away either away on a trip or had a little birthday party and went about 1500 kcal over my goal - beers & chips). I work out. I got a new phone so I can register how much I walk and link this to MFP. I seem to be doing everything right.. and not just since I joined MFP, but pretty much for the past 6 months, with a bit of slack during Christmas + New Years. I've lost a significant amount of weight already and my old pairs of jeans are all 2-3 sizes too big now.... BUT WHY IS THAT BELLY STILL LOOKING SO FAT!!! Seriously, my belly + lovehandles look like they come straight off of a heavy-set woman and are placed on me, a young man. Despite having a muscular chest and back, I have the lowerbody that looks like I have had a child. Please, someone, comfort me or give me some advice or something. I'm incredibly dissappointed in myself and don't know what I can do to get rid of it..
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Replies
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You just have to keep going.
It is quite often the last fat we lose.12 -
You look pretty lean in your profile photo. Careful you're not comparing yourself to a photoshop of a peak-condition extreme bodybuilder!
Congratulations on your progress! You've done really well!4 -
I wonder if your "big flap of belly fat" isn't in the eye of the beholder. It's very easy for us to see just our flaws and not the big picture.4
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This area of the body has less alpha receptors, which is why the area you are referring to is known as stubborn fat because it takes longer for the fat to circulate in the bloodstream where it can be used in place of glucose for ATP.
Where you store the majority of your fat is largely genetic, and there is nothing you can do about it. While fasted training and supplements like yohimbine have shown to increase blood flow in these areas, this is largely speculation, and it is simply a case of being in a deficit long enough for fat to be lost from that area of the body.4 -
fishing for compliments?3
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fishing for compliments?
Truthfully, I'm not.
I've gone from 95 to 76 kg now (1.85m). I still have quite sizeable lovehandles and a flap of belly fat... However, I'm currently at the point where if I pull that layer of fat down and flex my abs, I actually see a 6 pack shine through in the mirror. So I guess I'm getting there. It's just tiring since I've been on this journey since August 2016, so almost a year, and I had half expected to have reached this point already 2-3 months ago. I guess I'll stay on a small caloric deficit and just continue my 10 km a day walks in conjunction with weight training and see how I look around this coming August. I can see I've lost quite a lot of weight (went from pants size 34 (m, EU) to 30 - which are even a bit loose), but it's just that the stubborn belly fat and hip fat is so annoying to me. To top it off, I have a relatively high amount of fat stored in my chest. All of this makes me feel rather feminine.. Fatty belly and hips and tits...0 -
LucasWilland wrote: »This area of the body has less alpha receptors, which is why the area you are referring to is known as stubborn fat because it takes longer for the fat to circulate in the bloodstream where it can be used in place of glucose for ATP.
Where you store the majority of your fat is largely genetic, and there is nothing you can do about it. While fasted training and supplements like yohimbine have shown to increase blood flow in these areas, this is largely speculation, and it is simply a case of being in a deficit long enough for fat to be lost from that area of the body.
I'll keep this in mind, thanks. I think I'm slowly getting there. the belly fat is getting less (albeit still there), and if I kind of pull it down (sounds weird, but just hold the flab on the bottom and kind of pull it) while tensening my abdominal muscles, I can see a six pack come through. I guess it's a matter of 2 months or so before I've actually realized that (then, when body fat percentage is low enough for me to actually be lean/slim, I will start my lean bulk to increase muscle size - this way I won't bulk while still having plenty of fat, meaning I'd probably grow muscle but also add on to that fat I already have and make myself unhappy with how I look).0 -
fishing for compliments?
Truthfully, I'm not.
I've gone from 95 to 76 kg now (1.85m). I still have quite sizeable lovehandles and a flap of belly fat... However, I'm currently at the point where if I pull that layer of fat down and flex my abs, I actually see a 6 pack shine through in the mirror. So I guess I'm getting there. It's just tiring since I've been on this journey since August 2016, so almost a year, and I had half expected to have reached this point already 2-3 months ago. I guess I'll stay on a small caloric deficit and just continue my 10 km a day walks in conjunction with weight training and see how I look around this coming August. I can see I've lost quite a lot of weight (went from pants size 34 (m, EU) to 30 - which are even a bit loose), but it's just that the stubborn belly fat and hip fat is so annoying to me. To top it off, I have a relatively high amount of fat stored in my chest. All of this makes me feel rather feminine.. Fatty belly and hips and tits...
Have you considered recomping if you're happy with your weight but not your shape? https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat
or taking a small break from the deficit, if you've been at it for so long.2 -
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tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
Have you considered recomping if you're happy with your weight but not your shape? https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat
or taking a small break from the deficit, if you've been at it for so long.
I took a break from dieting for about 4 weeks. Averaged around 2600-2700 kcal a day and pretty much maintained my weight, which tells me that I need to go about 500 kcal below that to cut again (2200-2300 kcal). Indeed, I'm fairly happy with the weight itself (as of today I weigh 75.6 kg...) but I see relatively little muscle compared to fat (despite me having gotten much stronger). I'm indeed aiming at a recomposition of my physique.
My plan is now as followed: (1) eat about 150g of protein a day (~2x my body weight in kg) (2) maintain current weights lifted (max reps are 120 kg deadlift, 120 kg squat, 70k kg bench press) in main lifts and presses (3) stay in a small deficit while trying to maintain muscle by means of protein intake + maintaning weight that I can lift (4) don't over-do it with cardio (5) minimize alcohol intake.
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tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
My plan is now as followed: (1) eat about 150g of protein a day (~2x my body weight in kg) (2) maintain current weights lifted (max reps are 120 kg deadlift, 120 kg squat, 70k kg bench press) in main lifts and presses (3) stay in a small deficit while trying to maintain muscle by means of protein intake + maintaning weight that I can lift (4) don't over-do it with cardio (5) minimize alcohol intake.
Your plan sounds exactly right to me.1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
My plan is now as followed: (1) eat about 150g of protein a day (~2x my body weight in kg) (2) maintain current weights lifted (max reps are 120 kg deadlift, 120 kg squat, 70k kg bench press) in main lifts and presses (3) stay in a small deficit while trying to maintain muscle by means of protein intake + maintaning weight that I can lift (4) don't over-do it with cardio (5) minimize alcohol intake.
Your plan sounds exactly right to me.
Quick update for you fine young man. I can now see my six pack shine through. I will need to kind of hold the skin at the bottom of my belly tight (I guess old stubborn fat/skin) , but then the six pack clearly shines through, so that gives me the idea that I'm probably at around 14% body fat now. Couldn't work out sadly in the past week because I have a bad cold combined with heavy work load, but will post an updated picture as soon as I get a good one in ^^0 -
You look like you're well on your way to hitting your goal. Keep up the great work and I'm sure you'll be there in no time.
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