Abdominal fat! But I’m classed as underweight.
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Okay thank you so much 😊 and eating? Just healthy food and not worry about calories? ...1
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If you want to gain you want to be in a surplus. This thread might help for more information.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226536/bulking-for-beginners/p1
Also check out the recomp thread and lifting link posted above3 -
I would always recommend tracking your calories. There's no better tool to know where you are in your process and it's a lifetime healthy habit.
You can eat too much healthy food also, so don't just focus on that. I would recommend finding out how many calories you would need to eat to maintain your current weight. Do that by inputting your information into MFP and set your weight loss goal to zero or select maintenance (can't remember if that's an option or not). Once you know how much you can eat, eat what you like and control your portions to eat the amount of calories that fit your goal.
Adjust as you go, but don't adjust constantly. It takes 4-6 weeks or more to determine if you are doing things right on the diet side.
In the meantime, start a lifting program. You won't be sorry.4 -
christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Even if you achieve a "flat" stomach, chances are you'll still be able to grab some fat/skin. Especially when sitting. That's perfectly normal. What you can do is make everything "look" better.christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Yes, yes it will be. The good news is that you are already thin, do results will show that much quicker. But be prepared for it to take time. Best thing about that, God willing we all have time in a abundance. You can do nothing and look the same or worse in s couple of years, or start applying the advice given here and look dramaticly different in a couple of years.nutmegoreo wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Anything short of liposuction is going to take time. A good strength training program will give you some results in a couple months, how much so is unpredictable.
Agreedchristinaannelewis9655 wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »What is eat at maintenance? I am prepared to do the work. Eat healthy and whatever excersise it takes but I just don’t know how 😂 Last time I tried for a few months and it seems I don’t do things right. Eg. I didn’t give myself a break day or change the area to work on etc. I literally need someone who knows what they are doing to write me a menu and work out routine and I’ll do it 😂
If you are already easily maintaining your weight, just keep doing what you are doing and add progressive strength training. Maybe even add in a 250cal treat each day. An ice cream, handful of nuts, candy bar, whatever.
Eating at maintenance is eating to keep your weight as is.. not losing, not gaining (within 3- 5lbs up or down)
Again you can start there for a while but I strongly urge you to think about gaining weight to really improve your body composition.
You urge me to gain weight? I don’t understand though as I need to loose it? ... or that’s what I believe I need to do, around my stomach that is.
When you are your size, don't think about weight. You can totally gain weight and look smaller. I'm close to your stats. There's a progress photo under my profile showing how drastically your body composition can change at the same weight. And what a 10lb gain can look like.7 -
mom23mangos wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Even if you achieve a "flat" stomach, chances are you'll still be able to grab some fat/skin. Especially when sitting. That's perfectly normal. What you can do is make everything "look" better.christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Yes, yes it will be. The good news is that you are already thin, do results will show that much quicker. But be prepared for it to take time. Best thing about that, God willing we all have time in a abundance. You can do nothing and look the same or worse in s couple of years, or start applying the advice given here and look dramaticly different in a couple of years.nutmegoreo wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Anything short of liposuction is going to take time. A good strength training program will give you some results in a couple months, how much so is unpredictable.
Agreedchristinaannelewis9655 wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »What is eat at maintenance? I am prepared to do the work. Eat healthy and whatever excersise it takes but I just don’t know how 😂 Last time I tried for a few months and it seems I don’t do things right. Eg. I didn’t give myself a break day or change the area to work on etc. I literally need someone who knows what they are doing to write me a menu and work out routine and I’ll do it 😂
If you are already easily maintaining your weight, just keep doing what you are doing and add progressive strength training. Maybe even add in a 250cal treat each day. An ice cream, handful of nuts, candy bar, whatever.
Eating at maintenance is eating to keep your weight as is.. not losing, not gaining (within 3- 5lbs up or down)
Again you can start there for a while but I strongly urge you to think about gaining weight to really improve your body composition.
You urge me to gain weight? I don’t understand though as I need to loose it? ... or that’s what I believe I need to do, around my stomach that is.
When you are your size, don't think about weight. You can totally gain weight and look smaller. I'm close to your stats. There's a progress photo under my profile showing how drastically your body composition can change at the same weight. And what a 10lb gain can look like.mom23mangos wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Even if you achieve a "flat" stomach, chances are you'll still be able to grab some fat/skin. Especially when sitting. That's perfectly normal. What you can do is make everything "look" better.christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Yes, yes it will be. The good news is that you are already thin, do results will show that much quicker. But be prepared for it to take time. Best thing about that, God willing we all have time in a abundance. You can do nothing and look the same or worse in s couple of years, or start applying the advice given here and look dramaticly different in a couple of years.nutmegoreo wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Anything short of liposuction is going to take time. A good strength training program will give you some results in a couple months, how much so is unpredictable.
Agreedchristinaannelewis9655 wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »What is eat at maintenance? I am prepared to do the work. Eat healthy and whatever excersise it takes but I just don’t know how 😂 Last time I tried for a few months and it seems I don’t do things right. Eg. I didn’t give myself a break day or change the area to work on etc. I literally need someone who knows what they are doing to write me a menu and work out routine and I’ll do it 😂
If you are already easily maintaining your weight, just keep doing what you are doing and add progressive strength training. Maybe even add in a 250cal treat each day. An ice cream, handful of nuts, candy bar, whatever.
Eating at maintenance is eating to keep your weight as is.. not losing, not gaining (within 3- 5lbs up or down)
Again you can start there for a while but I strongly urge you to think about gaining weight to really improve your body composition.
You urge me to gain weight? I don’t understand though as I need to loose it? ... or that’s what I believe I need to do, around my stomach that is.
When you are your size, don't think about weight. You can totally gain weight and look smaller. I'm close to your stats. There's a progress photo under my profile showing how drastically your body composition can change at the same weight. And what a 10lb gain can look like.
How do I see your pictures? I clicked on your name but nothing shows 🤔 ... Thanks for your help 😊🤞
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christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »What is eat at maintenance? I am prepared to do the work. Eat healthy and whatever excersise it takes but I just don’t know how 😂 Last time I tried for a few months and it seems I don’t do things right. Eg. I didn’t give myself a break day or change the area to work on etc. I literally need someone who knows what they are doing to write me a menu and work out routine and I’ll do it 😂
Eating at maintenance is eating to keep your weight as is.. not losing, not gaining (within 3- 5lbs up or down)
Again you can start there for a while but I strongly urge you to think about gaining weight to really improve your body composition.
You urge me to gain weight? I don’t understand though as I need to loose it? ... or that’s what I believe I need to do, around my stomach that is.
You're underweight. You don't need to lose it. You need to do a recomp routine so that you can keep your current weight (and gain to a healthy level), while keeping your measurements slim.3 -
christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »mom23mangos wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Even if you achieve a "flat" stomach, chances are you'll still be able to grab some fat/skin. Especially when sitting. That's perfectly normal. What you can do is make everything "look" better.christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Yes, yes it will be. The good news is that you are already thin, do results will show that much quicker. But be prepared for it to take time. Best thing about that, God willing we all have time in a abundance. You can do nothing and look the same or worse in s couple of years, or start applying the advice given here and look dramaticly different in a couple of years.nutmegoreo wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Anything short of liposuction is going to take time. A good strength training program will give you some results in a couple months, how much so is unpredictable.
Agreedchristinaannelewis9655 wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »What is eat at maintenance? I am prepared to do the work. Eat healthy and whatever excersise it takes but I just don’t know how 😂 Last time I tried for a few months and it seems I don’t do things right. Eg. I didn’t give myself a break day or change the area to work on etc. I literally need someone who knows what they are doing to write me a menu and work out routine and I’ll do it 😂
If you are already easily maintaining your weight, just keep doing what you are doing and add progressive strength training. Maybe even add in a 250cal treat each day. An ice cream, handful of nuts, candy bar, whatever.
Eating at maintenance is eating to keep your weight as is.. not losing, not gaining (within 3- 5lbs up or down)
Again you can start there for a while but I strongly urge you to think about gaining weight to really improve your body composition.
You urge me to gain weight? I don’t understand though as I need to loose it? ... or that’s what I believe I need to do, around my stomach that is.
When you are your size, don't think about weight. You can totally gain weight and look smaller. I'm close to your stats. There's a progress photo under my profile showing how drastically your body composition can change at the same weight. And what a 10lb gain can look like.mom23mangos wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Even if you achieve a "flat" stomach, chances are you'll still be able to grab some fat/skin. Especially when sitting. That's perfectly normal. What you can do is make everything "look" better.christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Yes, yes it will be. The good news is that you are already thin, do results will show that much quicker. But be prepared for it to take time. Best thing about that, God willing we all have time in a abundance. You can do nothing and look the same or worse in s couple of years, or start applying the advice given here and look dramaticly different in a couple of years.nutmegoreo wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Will that help get rid of the abdominal fat? .... It sounds like it’s going to be months before I see results 😬
Anything short of liposuction is going to take time. A good strength training program will give you some results in a couple months, how much so is unpredictable.
Agreedchristinaannelewis9655 wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »What is eat at maintenance? I am prepared to do the work. Eat healthy and whatever excersise it takes but I just don’t know how 😂 Last time I tried for a few months and it seems I don’t do things right. Eg. I didn’t give myself a break day or change the area to work on etc. I literally need someone who knows what they are doing to write me a menu and work out routine and I’ll do it 😂
If you are already easily maintaining your weight, just keep doing what you are doing and add progressive strength training. Maybe even add in a 250cal treat each day. An ice cream, handful of nuts, candy bar, whatever.
Eating at maintenance is eating to keep your weight as is.. not losing, not gaining (within 3- 5lbs up or down)
Again you can start there for a while but I strongly urge you to think about gaining weight to really improve your body composition.
You urge me to gain weight? I don’t understand though as I need to loose it? ... or that’s what I believe I need to do, around my stomach that is.
When you are your size, don't think about weight. You can totally gain weight and look smaller. I'm close to your stats. There's a progress photo under my profile showing how drastically your body composition can change at the same weight. And what a 10lb gain can look like.
How do I see your pictures? I clicked on your name but nothing shows 🤔 ... Thanks for your help 😊🤞
You have to do it from the desktop version. The app doesn't allow it unfortunately.0 -
Maybe you just have loose abdominal muscles from your four pregnancies and an abdominal diastasis causing you to have a potbelly. That's got nothing to do with fat.4
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christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Okay thank you so much 😊 and eating? Just healthy food and not worry about calories? ...
No, you still need to track calories. You want to maximize muscle gain and minimize fat gain. To give yourself the best chance of doing that, you need to do three things: (1) have a progressive resistance program (lifting heavier things or adding reps or sets or doing more challenging exercises to be sure you continue to challenge your muscles); (2) get enough protein; and (3) eat at a small surplus (I recommend 200 to 300 kcal above maintenance).
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christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »What is eat at maintenance? I am prepared to do the work. Eat healthy and whatever excersise it takes but I just don’t know how 😂 Last time I tried for a few months and it seems I don’t do things right. Eg. I didn’t give myself a break day or change the area to work on etc. I literally need someone who knows what they are doing to write me a menu and work out routine and I’ll do it 😂
Eating at maintenance is eating to keep your weight as is.. not losing, not gaining (within 3- 5lbs up or down)
Again you can start there for a while but I strongly urge you to think about gaining weight to really improve your body composition.
You urge me to gain weight? I don’t understand though as I need to loose it? ... or that’s what I believe I need to do, around my stomach that is.
If you agree that this woman looks better in the picture on the right (note that she is 18 pounds heavier from the middle picture) then yes, you want to change your body composition.
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christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Fat? Or skin from having 4 babies?3 -
TavistockToad wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Fat? Or skin from having 4 babies?
My thought, too.3 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Fat? Or skin from having 4 babies?
My thought, too.
Fat? I have had 4 c sections so I have what’s called an apron too.
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christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »It’s not very large, I’m just not happy with it, but I can grab about 2” if fat 😳 I would like to get rid of that and tone but in a way that won’t cause me to be underweight and ill.
Fat? Or skin from having 4 babies?
My thought, too.
Fat? I have had 4 c sections so I have what’s called an apron too.
Maybe share a photo, if you're comfortable with that.0 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Weight lifting is the best way to remain the same weight while redistributing weight away from your abdomen. Check out the threads on recomposition.
Also, if your belly is very large compared to the rest of you, have a check up for any issues which may cause belly fat, such as insulin resistance, Cushing's, or PCOS.
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christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »What is eat at maintenance? I am prepared to do the work. Eat healthy and whatever excersise it takes but I just don’t know how 😂 Last time I tried for a few months and it seems I don’t do things right. Eg. I didn’t give myself a break day or change the area to work on etc. I literally need someone who knows what they are doing to write me a menu and work out routine and I’ll do it 😂
Eating at maintenance is eating to keep your weight as is.. not losing, not gaining (within 3- 5lbs up or down)
Again you can start there for a while but I strongly urge you to think about gaining weight to really improve your body composition.
You urge me to gain weight? I don’t understand though as I need to loose it? ... or that’s what I believe I need to do, around my stomach that is.
Not exactly, you need to gain weight yes, or at least maintain it by building lean mass, i.e. muscle. You can do that while losing fat. You'll need to stop thinking of all "weight" as fat. It's not.3 -
Okay, so I need to build muscle 😊 and obviously my weight will go up as muscle weighs more than fat right? ... What’s the best way to target abs?1
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christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Okay, so I need to build muscle 😊 and obviously my weight will go up as muscle weighs more than fat right? ... What’s the best way to target abs?
muscle weighs more than fat by volume but lb for lb it weighs the same. muscle also takes up less space5 -
Before you start targeting your abs, make sure you do not have diastasis recti, as a pp mentioned. Abdominal muscles always separate in the third trimester. Sometimes they can stay separated years after birth. If you have it, it’s wise to correct it before you start doing any typical abdominal exercises. I found some helpful videos on YouTube to help correct mine.1
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christinaannelewis9655 wrote: »Okay, so I need to build muscle 😊 and obviously my weight will go up as muscle weighs more than fat right? ... What’s the best way to target abs?
Abdominal exercises will be a part of any full-body workout program you choose that's any good at all. You would never do ONLY ab workouts. Compound exercises that use many muscle groups are very effective; this includes doing things like various lifts and moves that will require your core (abs and back) to be strong, and if they aren't, they soon will be in order to support that exercise move.
As far as abdominal specific exercises, I find crunches/sit-ups, leg raises, and one-arm weighted side bends really put the burn and ache to my abs- a sure sign that they are being stressed and growth and strength are stimulated.
Your entire body is a machine that is meant to work in harmony with its individual parts... when thinking about weight training and workouts, don't focus on the separate pieces/muscles...you are more like a fine Swiss watch with dozens of moving gears all meshed together and various springs to make the whole thing work- and less like the board game Mouse Trap where only one action happens at a time done by one piece of the entire game.
Your shoulders support your arm movements, your back stabilizes and aids your lifting, the legs give power to your upper body movements, the abs and lower back work together to keep you together and transfer muscle power in your movements. It's like a graceful dance, the way it all goes together.
So try not to isolate and focus on just one part of you, work on and improve ALL of you and the abs will fall into the place they need to be. That isn't to say that isolated exercises and lifts for specific muscles and muscles groups cant be or shouldn't be done, but in my experience starting with an intense full-body workout is the basis for all else.
Plus proper nutrition of course.9
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