Myth or fiction? ... belly fat
meagan8376
Posts: 94 Member
I want to lose belly fat but I read that you have to do cardio in order to lose it. But I don’t want to lose weight anywhere else just my belly. Will doing sit-ups work or will I be wasting my time ?
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Replies
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Spot reduction is the myth.9
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You cannot spot reduce. A calorie deficit is what you need to reduce fat and genetics will determine where it comes off. For a lot of people the stomach is the last place they lose.
Cardio is not required to create a deficit or reduce belly fat.7 -
Neither cardio or abs strength exercises can target the subcutaneous fat in particular places.
Stronger core muscles might improve your posture if that's a problem.
Cardio makes you fitter, strength exercise make you stronger, calorie deficit reduces your fat stores, but not necessarily where you would choose.10 -
Unfortunately, you don't get to select where the fat comes off. That's determined by your genetic fat distribution patterns, and for many people the belly/midsection is the last place it comes off.
Exercises do nothing to "spot reduce" because fat can't be exercised, and exercising the muscles beneath has no direct effect upon the fat lying over them. Neither cardio nor sit-ups will selectively remove belly fat.
You lose fat by consuming less calories than you burn.7 -
Eat a balanced diet and squat. Squats have been known to address the stomach greatly.18
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Sorry, it doesn't work like that (I wish it did). If you want to remove that belly fat, you've got to accept that you're going to have to lose fat all over. Building core strength can help with posture which can reduce the appearance of your belly.
Also remember that if you work to build up muscle in one area, but don't actually lose body fat, the actual size of your body will increase because you'll increase the size of the muscles underneath the fat that is already there.1 -
I’ve lost 90 lbs. The last 45 of it was sans cardio. You don’t “need it”, you should lift weights and eat at a caloric deficit.0
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Aren't myth and fiction pretty much the same thing?4
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If you don't want to lose weight, consider a recomp.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat3 -
I totally agree you can’t spot reduce fat...but it does seem to me like building good abdominal muscles, including on your sides, can help improve appearance. When I have better core muscles, I look a bit more narrow waisted because the muscles are able to stay flexed to support and hold in my tummy.1
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I totally agree you can’t spot reduce fat...but it does seem to me like building good abdominal muscles, including on your sides, can help improve appearance. When I have better core muscles, I look a bit more narrow waisted because the muscles are able to stay flexed to support and hold in my tummy.
That's the power of posture. A good posture can do near miraculous things to the way you look if you had terrible posture before.2 -
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