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Tips on flattening the stomach
almost50_
Posts: 3 Member
Stomach and side exercises?
3
Replies
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You can't spot reduce.5
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Abs are made in the kitchen. Do you follow a lifting program?5
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Every exercise you should be engaging your core. Whether it be tricep extensions, dumbbell shoulder presses, leg extensions, etc. Make sure that’s taken care of first.
For direct core work keep it simple. Planks for example are a great choice. Start with 30 seconds. Try that out 2/3 times a week for 3-4 sets. Then bump the time up to 45 seconds. Again, repeat 3-4 times a week. There’s no need to add in tons of core work. If you’re engaging your core correctly throughout your workout and keeping your form, you’ll notice that by the end of your workout your core will already be exhausted.
Hope that helps!
6 -
I lift regularly. Not extreme though. Just want to stay toned. If that makes since0
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TavistockToad wrote: »
Completely agree with your statement as well. Core work can only do so much. By putting yourself in a calorie deficit, you’ll then be able to reduce your overall body fat. When putting yourself in a calorie deficit, do not just drop 400-500 calories right off the bat. Work your way down slowly so that your body has calories to feed off of. If you immediately drop 500-1000 calories for example, yes you will lose weight, but by a few weeks, you’ll completely stall. You’ll be in a terrible caloric range and you will mentally/physically be exhausted.
Slowly add in cardio and slowly drop your calories. I’m not sure what your lifestyle diet is but usually calories are taken away from carbs/fats. Protein is kept to a moderate/high amount to ensure satiation and help preserve the muscle you’ve put on.
16 -
TavistockToad wrote: »You can't spot reduce.
Sure you can; just keep losing weight until that spot goes away...
9 -
TavistockToad wrote: »
Completely agree with your statement as well. Core work can only do so much. By putting yourself in a calorie deficit, you’ll then be able to reduce your overall body fat. When putting yourself in a calorie deficit, do not just drop 400-500 calories right off the bat. Work your way down slowly so that your body has calories to feed off of. If you immediately drop 500-1000 calories for example, yes you will lose weight, but by a few weeks, you’ll completely stall. You’ll be in a terrible caloric range and you will mentally/physically be exhausted.
Slowly add in cardio and slowly drop your calories. I’m not sure what your lifestyle diet is but usually calories are taken away from carbs/fats. Protein is kept to a moderate/high amount to ensure satiation and help preserve the muscle you’ve put on.
You'll do what? Where did you learn this?
Your body is not an engine. I doesn't 'stall'. When I decided to drop 50 pounds a couple years ago I reduced my CI/CO balance by 400-600 calories per day. I only stopped losing when I decided I was done and wanted to fuel for a race (6 months later).11 -
I can't link it from this device, but there's a thread in the "Most Helpful Posts" section of "General Health, Fitness & Weight Loss" with a name like "So You Want A Nice Stomach".
Read that. You won't be sorry.
4 -
Stomach and side exercises?
You've gotten some... confusing advice in this thread! I wanted to highlight what will probably be the most useful to bear in mind.
1. You can't spot reduce fat, it comes off wherever it wants. So if you still have weight to lose, keep losing.
2. Another vote for "So you want a nice stomach".
Wanting to flatten your stomach is kind of vague. Do you have fat there? Need more muscle? Could it maybe just be a posture issue?5 -
I can't link it from this device, but there's a thread in the "Most Helpful Posts" section of "General Health, Fitness & Weight Loss" with a name like "So You Want A Nice Stomach".
Read that. You won't be sorry.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p15 -
I can't link it from this device, but there's a thread in the "Most Helpful Posts" section of "General Health, Fitness & Weight Loss" with a name like "So You Want A Nice Stomach".
Read that. You won't be sorry.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
Yup, dat. Thanks, @kami3006.
2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »
Completely agree with your statement as well. Core work can only do so much. By putting yourself in a calorie deficit, you’ll then be able to reduce your overall body fat. When putting yourself in a calorie deficit, do not just drop 400-500 calories right off the bat. Work your way down slowly so that your body has calories to feed off of. If you immediately drop 500-1000 calories for example, yes you will lose weight, but by a few weeks, you’ll completely stall. You’ll be in a terrible caloric range and you will mentally/physically be exhausted.
Slowly add in cardio and slowly drop your calories. I’m not sure what your lifestyle diet is but usually calories are taken away from carbs/fats. Protein is kept to a moderate/high amount to ensure satiation and help preserve the muscle you’ve put on.
You'll do what? Where did you learn this?
Your body is not an engine. I doesn't 'stall'. When I decided to drop 50 pounds a couple years ago I reduced my CI/CO balance by 400-600 calories per day. I only stopped losing when I decided I was done and wanted to fuel for a race (6 months later).
Where did I learn this? I’m a competitive natural bodybuilder. I’ve competed in several competitions. I’ve dieted for over 25+ weeks for my shows and reached low body fat percentages (4%-6%). I’ve read scientific published articles from legitimate sources and listen/follow legitimate specialists who have backed up their research with proven results, one being Dr. Layne Norton, (My Coach) Paul Revelia, Dr Dominic D’Augostino, and Dr Bill Campbell to name a few. Educate yourself before giving false information about how to approach a diet.
Yes your body does stall. Your hormone called Leptin, that helps regulate fat loss, it’s natural function will decrease dramatically by doing an unhealthy caloric drop like that. If you consume the same amount of calories per day and your basal metabolic rate is that same amount, you will neither lose nor gain weight. That’s called maintaining. If you want to put yourself in a calorie deficit, you have to take it slow by dropping calories at small amounts per week. Dropping 400-600 calories a day is ridiculously unhealthy. That’s asking for trouble. You will fail your diet by doing so and you will not get the desired physique.
You dropped 400-600 calories per day? That’s not healthy. No one should ever do that. You can’t play the short game when it comes to losing weight. Playing the short game is asking for a rebound in weight gain.
17 -
So you're saying 1 pound a week is too aggressive? For someone with 70 pounds to lose? Please, don't make me find the links to the studies you already have. I really would like to see them.
Edited to add - This is the kind of nonsense advice that we used to get from Weider mags back in the day. It applies to way less than 1% of the population. I am not trying (and never will) to get to 6% body fat. THAT is dangerous.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2341268510 -
TavistockToad wrote: »
Completely agree with your statement as well. Core work can only do so much. By putting yourself in a calorie deficit, you’ll then be able to reduce your overall body fat. When putting yourself in a calorie deficit, do not just drop 400-500 calories right off the bat. Work your way down slowly so that your body has calories to feed off of. If you immediately drop 500-1000 calories for example, yes you will lose weight, but by a few weeks, you’ll completely stall. You’ll be in a terrible caloric range and you will mentally/physically be exhausted.
Slowly add in cardio and slowly drop your calories. I’m not sure what your lifestyle diet is but usually calories are taken away from carbs/fats. Protein is kept to a moderate/high amount to ensure satiation and help preserve the muscle you’ve put on.
You'll do what? Where did you learn this?
Your body is not an engine. I doesn't 'stall'. When I decided to drop 50 pounds a couple years ago I reduced my CI/CO balance by 400-600 calories per day. I only stopped losing when I decided I was done and wanted to fuel for a race (6 months later).
Where did I learn this? I’m a competitive natural bodybuilder. I’ve competed in several competitions. I’ve dieted for over 25+ weeks for my shows and reached low body fat percentages (4%-6%). I’ve read scientific published articles from legitimate sources and listen/follow legitimate specialists who have backed up their research with proven results, one being Dr. Layne Norton, (My Coach) Paul Revelia, Dr Dominic D’Augostino, and Dr Bill Campbell to name a few. Educate yourself before giving false information about how to approach a diet.
Yes your body does stall. Your hormone called Leptin, that helps regulate fat loss, it’s natural function will decrease dramatically by doing an unhealthy caloric drop like that. If you consume the same amount of calories per day and your basal metabolic rate is that same amount, you will neither lose nor gain weight. That’s called maintaining. If you want to put yourself in a calorie deficit, you have to take it slow by dropping calories at small amounts per week. Dropping 400-600 calories a day is ridiculously unhealthy. That’s asking for trouble. You will fail your diet by doing so and you will not get the desired physique.
You dropped 400-600 calories per day? That’s not healthy. No one should ever do that. You can’t play the short game when it comes to losing weight. Playing the short game is asking for a rebound in weight gain.
My starting weight was 254 lbs. At 5'3" my goal weight range is 108-140. I could have run a 1K calorie deficit safely, but chose to set it for 500 instead and let it come off slower. 500 calories is fine for people with anywhere between 20 and 50lbs to lose. 51 to 75 to lose can safely run a 750 calorie deficit. Over 75, 1K. That doesn't mean that everyone HAS to run that deficit, only that it's not unhealthy to do so.8 -
TavistockToad wrote: »
Completely agree with your statement as well. Core work can only do so much. By putting yourself in a calorie deficit, you’ll then be able to reduce your overall body fat. When putting yourself in a calorie deficit, do not just drop 400-500 calories right off the bat. Work your way down slowly so that your body has calories to feed off of. If you immediately drop 500-1000 calories for example, yes you will lose weight, but by a few weeks, you’ll completely stall. You’ll be in a terrible caloric range and you will mentally/physically be exhausted.
Slowly add in cardio and slowly drop your calories. I’m not sure what your lifestyle diet is but usually calories are taken away from carbs/fats. Protein is kept to a moderate/high amount to ensure satiation and help preserve the muscle you’ve put on.
You'll do what? Where did you learn this?
Your body is not an engine. I doesn't 'stall'. When I decided to drop 50 pounds a couple years ago I reduced my CI/CO balance by 400-600 calories per day. I only stopped losing when I decided I was done and wanted to fuel for a race (6 months later).
Where did I learn this? I’m a competitive natural bodybuilder. I’ve competed in several competitions. I’ve dieted for over 25+ weeks for my shows and reached low body fat percentages (4%-6%). I’ve read scientific published articles from legitimate sources and listen/follow legitimate specialists who have backed up their research with proven results, one being Dr. Layne Norton, (My Coach) Paul Revelia, Dr Dominic D’Augostino, and Dr Bill Campbell to name a few. Educate yourself before giving false information about how to approach a diet.
Yes your body does stall. Your hormone called Leptin, that helps regulate fat loss, it’s natural function will decrease dramatically by doing an unhealthy caloric drop like that. If you consume the same amount of calories per day and your basal metabolic rate is that same amount, you will neither lose nor gain weight. That’s called maintaining. If you want to put yourself in a calorie deficit, you have to take it slow by dropping calories at small amounts per week. Dropping 400-600 calories a day is ridiculously unhealthy. That’s asking for trouble. You will fail your diet by doing so and you will not get the desired physique.
You dropped 400-600 calories per day? That’s not healthy. No one should ever do that. You can’t play the short game when it comes to losing weight. Playing the short game is asking for a rebound in weight gain.
I think the reason you are getting all the woos and debate is because you are speaking in absolutes like it isn't healthy for anyone and implying failure is a near certainty for fast losers. I also think you are overblowing leptin loss a bit. It does happen when people lose at an extreme rate for a long time but the result is that it is harder to stick to the deficit because leptin helps you feel satiated. But if you stick to the deficit, it still is effective. Adaptive thermogenisis can also happen and does lower the daily burn a little if it happens, but usually does not cause a stall, just a slower rate of loss than expected. You are drawing on your experience and education about tendencies but speaking in absolutes as if the most extreme result will always happen. It won't.6
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