Abdominal
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rebeccap2021 wrote: »@penguinmama87 ALL GOOD VIBES HERE @ninerbuff here is an example of my calories also I try to take in 1200 calories per day.
are you eating back your exercise calories?
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No I’m not is that bad?0
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no that is good. exercise and calories should be seperate. one of the things MFP does which is stupid is lets you log your exercise calories.
my advice is to take all your calories available a day and add them up over 7 days. for example 1500 calories a day x 7 is 10,500 calories a week. What ever that number is, Now that is your goal. You can eat those calories over 7 days however you please. if you have an event coming up and eat a few 100 more then deduct them off the next few days etc. Having that flexability will allow you to live a normal life and enjoy all foods. if you dont lose anything for a few weeks just take off a couple of hundred calories from you total until you see a drop.
remember your hormones and body will make you retain water etc and your body will move up and down weight all the time. its about whether that weight is trending downwards over weeks. not days.2 -
Am I seeing correctly that your net calories are 542? If so, you will not get abs because you are starving yourself. You will also develop many other health problems due to inadequate nutrition. Take care of yourself.6
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Okay let's figure out more here. You're eating 1200 only? And NOT comping for exercise? So what's your NET calorie intake? In other words, what you consume in a day for total calories MINUS your exercise calories. Let's start there first.rebeccap2021 wrote: »No I’m not is that bad?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Broscience for sure. Body fat is burned when in calorie deficit regardless if high carbling, low carbing, carb cycling, etc.bostonpaul22 wrote: »Try upping your water intake, or if in some cases you feel like bloating you could limit your sodium intake and water intake for a few days, also carb cycling is a very efficient way to burn body fat ive found
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Complete bro science, but might help some people remain compliant.
You're quite fit and pretty lean, but if your abs aren't defined it's cause of the layer of fat covering them. How many calorie are you consuming a day? I'll go into other details if I get some basic info.rebeccap2021 wrote: »Ok I figured it out so this is me my body but I want more pronounced abdominals there were some people saying I wouldn’t be healthy but I have always been lean and now that I’m getting older I feel like it’s harder to get the abs. I eat perfectly fine and I am very very healthy and would never ever starve myself! @ninerbuff what do you recommend what workouts what to eat. I know some people will say I am pronounced but it’s what I really want and what makes me happy I want a 6 pak 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
she says 1200 calories, no eating back of calories. Unlikely she is eating 1200 calories, no offense ma'am, and not losing weight.rebeccap2021 wrote: »Ok I figured it out so this is me my body but I want more pronounced abdominals there were some people saying I wouldn’t be healthy but I have always been lean and now that I’m getting older I feel like it’s harder to get the abs. I eat perfectly fine and I am very very healthy and would never ever starve myself! @ninerbuff what do you recommend what workouts what to eat. I know some people will say I am pronounced but it’s what I really want and what makes me happy I want a 6 pak 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
You are very lean for a gal IMHO. You can get a 6 pack, but its going to be a grind. Maintainable? maybe... worth it??? up to you. I just suggest you be careful not to possibly cause long term health issues, for aesthetic goals. Best wishes ma'am.4 -
lukejoycePT wrote: »no that is good. exercise and calories should be seperate. one of the things MFP does which is stupid is lets you log your exercise calories.
my advice is to take all your calories available a day and add them up over 7 days. for example 1500 calories a day x 7 is 10,500 calories a week. What ever that number is, Now that is your goal. You can eat those calories over 7 days however you please. if you have an event coming up and eat a few 100 more then deduct them off the next few days etc. Having that flexability will allow you to live a normal life and enjoy all foods. if you dont lose anything for a few weeks just take off a couple of hundred calories from you total until you see a drop.
remember your hormones and body will make you retain water etc and your body will move up and down weight all the time. its about whether that weight is trending downwards over weeks. not days.
If OP is netting just a few hundred calories a day, that's not a great strategy for overall wellbeing or fitness.7 -
from the look of your pic, I would say you need to work on building your abs, I don't think the lack of abs is due to too much bodyfat.
The undereating is concerning however. and you'll struggle to build any muscle on so few calories.9 -
janejellyroll wrote: »lukejoycePT wrote: »no that is good. exercise and calories should be seperate. one of the things MFP does which is stupid is lets you log your exercise calories.
my advice is to take all your calories available a day and add them up over 7 days. for example 1500 calories a day x 7 is 10,500 calories a week. What ever that number is, Now that is your goal. You can eat those calories over 7 days however you please. if you have an event coming up and eat a few 100 more then deduct them off the next few days etc. Having that flexability will allow you to live a normal life and enjoy all foods. if you dont lose anything for a few weeks just take off a couple of hundred calories from you total until you see a drop.
remember your hormones and body will make you retain water etc and your body will move up and down weight all the time. its about whether that weight is trending downwards over weeks. not days.
If OP is netting just a few hundred calories a day, that's not a great strategy for overall wellbeing or fitness.
you are making an asumption here. we can not possibly know how accurately OP is measuring thier calories etc.
surely the goal is to lose as much fat as possible on as many calories as possible. dropping only a few hundred at a time is much more measurable than dropping a lot. Assuming that the op has not lost anymore weight.
if op was in a proper deficit they would have visible abs by now.1 -
psychod787 wrote: »
Broscience for sure. Body fat is burned when in calorie deficit regardless if high carbling, low carbing, carb cycling, etc.bostonpaul22 wrote: »Try upping your water intake, or if in some cases you feel like bloating you could limit your sodium intake and water intake for a few days, also carb cycling is a very efficient way to burn body fat ive found
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Complete bro science, but might help some people remain compliant.
You're quite fit and pretty lean, but if your abs aren't defined it's cause of the layer of fat covering them. How many calorie are you consuming a day? I'll go into other details if I get some basic info.rebeccap2021 wrote: »Ok I figured it out so this is me my body but I want more pronounced abdominals there were some people saying I wouldn’t be healthy but I have always been lean and now that I’m getting older I feel like it’s harder to get the abs. I eat perfectly fine and I am very very healthy and would never ever starve myself! @ninerbuff what do you recommend what workouts what to eat. I know some people will say I am pronounced but it’s what I really want and what makes me happy I want a 6 pak 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
she says 1200 calories, no eating back of calories. Unlikely she is eating 1200 calories, no offense ma'am, and not losing weight.rebeccap2021 wrote: »Ok I figured it out so this is me my body but I want more pronounced abdominals there were some people saying I wouldn’t be healthy but I have always been lean and now that I’m getting older I feel like it’s harder to get the abs. I eat perfectly fine and I am very very healthy and would never ever starve myself! @ninerbuff what do you recommend what workouts what to eat. I know some people will say I am pronounced but it’s what I really want and what makes me happy I want a 6 pak 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
You are very lean for a gal IMHO. You can get a 6 pack, but its going to be a grind. Maintainable? maybe... worth it??? up to you. I just suggest you be careful not to possibly cause long term health issues, for aesthetic goals. Best wishes ma'am.
1000% agree with this poster.1 -
lukejoycePT wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »lukejoycePT wrote: »no that is good. exercise and calories should be seperate. one of the things MFP does which is stupid is lets you log your exercise calories.
my advice is to take all your calories available a day and add them up over 7 days. for example 1500 calories a day x 7 is 10,500 calories a week. What ever that number is, Now that is your goal. You can eat those calories over 7 days however you please. if you have an event coming up and eat a few 100 more then deduct them off the next few days etc. Having that flexability will allow you to live a normal life and enjoy all foods. if you dont lose anything for a few weeks just take off a couple of hundred calories from you total until you see a drop.
remember your hormones and body will make you retain water etc and your body will move up and down weight all the time. its about whether that weight is trending downwards over weeks. not days.
If OP is netting just a few hundred calories a day, that's not a great strategy for overall wellbeing or fitness.
you are making an asumption here. we can not possibly know how accurately OP is measuring thier calories etc.
surely the goal is to lose as much fat as possible on as many calories as possible. dropping only a few hundred at a time is much more measurable than dropping a lot. Assuming that the op has not lost anymore weight.
if op was in a proper deficit they would have visible abs by now.
Agreed, under reporting happens with most of us. Some more than others. Middle age, obese, or overweight, women tend to the worst about under reporting. Now op is not obese or overweight by a long shot.4 -
lukejoycePT wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »lukejoycePT wrote: »no that is good. exercise and calories should be seperate. one of the things MFP does which is stupid is lets you log your exercise calories.
my advice is to take all your calories available a day and add them up over 7 days. for example 1500 calories a day x 7 is 10,500 calories a week. What ever that number is, Now that is your goal. You can eat those calories over 7 days however you please. if you have an event coming up and eat a few 100 more then deduct them off the next few days etc. Having that flexability will allow you to live a normal life and enjoy all foods. if you dont lose anything for a few weeks just take off a couple of hundred calories from you total until you see a drop.
remember your hormones and body will make you retain water etc and your body will move up and down weight all the time. its about whether that weight is trending downwards over weeks. not days.
If OP is netting just a few hundred calories a day, that's not a great strategy for overall wellbeing or fitness.
you are making an asumption here. we can not possibly know how accurately OP is measuring thier calories etc.
surely the goal is to lose as much fat as possible on as many calories as possible. dropping only a few hundred at a time is much more measurable than dropping a lot. Assuming that the op has not lost anymore weight.
if op was in a proper deficit they would have visible abs by now.
If the goal is to "lose as much fat as possible" (I assume you're exaggerating for effect here, as people do require some body fat in order to maintain good health) on "as many calories as possible," then paying attention to calories burnt through exercise is vital. You're underscoring that the net IS important.
IF OP is netting just a few hundred, that's not a good strategy.
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janejellyroll wrote: »lukejoycePT wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »lukejoycePT wrote: »no that is good. exercise and calories should be seperate. one of the things MFP does which is stupid is lets you log your exercise calories.
my advice is to take all your calories available a day and add them up over 7 days. for example 1500 calories a day x 7 is 10,500 calories a week. What ever that number is, Now that is your goal. You can eat those calories over 7 days however you please. if you have an event coming up and eat a few 100 more then deduct them off the next few days etc. Having that flexability will allow you to live a normal life and enjoy all foods. if you dont lose anything for a few weeks just take off a couple of hundred calories from you total until you see a drop.
remember your hormones and body will make you retain water etc and your body will move up and down weight all the time. its about whether that weight is trending downwards over weeks. not days.
If OP is netting just a few hundred calories a day, that's not a great strategy for overall wellbeing or fitness.
you are making an asumption here. we can not possibly know how accurately OP is measuring thier calories etc.
surely the goal is to lose as much fat as possible on as many calories as possible. dropping only a few hundred at a time is much more measurable than dropping a lot. Assuming that the op has not lost anymore weight.
if op was in a proper deficit they would have visible abs by now.
If the goal is to "lose as much fat as possible" (I assume you're exaggerating for effect here, as people do require some body fat in order to maintain good health) on "as many calories as possible," then paying attention to calories burnt through exercise is vital. You're underscoring that the net IS important.
IF OP is netting just a few hundred, that's not a good strategy.
again... you are putting words into my mouth. never said anything about fat % and what is healthy unhealthy, our discussion is about the op getting visible abs.
the NET calories the most acurrate way to measure. when doing a science experienment you focus on what is acurrately measureable and other data can cause inacuracies.
if OP isnt tracking calories correctly then why would you think they would track exercise correctly too?!? its removing hurdles.1 -
lukejoycePT wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »lukejoycePT wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »lukejoycePT wrote: »no that is good. exercise and calories should be seperate. one of the things MFP does which is stupid is lets you log your exercise calories.
my advice is to take all your calories available a day and add them up over 7 days. for example 1500 calories a day x 7 is 10,500 calories a week. What ever that number is, Now that is your goal. You can eat those calories over 7 days however you please. if you have an event coming up and eat a few 100 more then deduct them off the next few days etc. Having that flexability will allow you to live a normal life and enjoy all foods. if you dont lose anything for a few weeks just take off a couple of hundred calories from you total until you see a drop.
remember your hormones and body will make you retain water etc and your body will move up and down weight all the time. its about whether that weight is trending downwards over weeks. not days.
If OP is netting just a few hundred calories a day, that's not a great strategy for overall wellbeing or fitness.
you are making an asumption here. we can not possibly know how accurately OP is measuring thier calories etc.
surely the goal is to lose as much fat as possible on as many calories as possible. dropping only a few hundred at a time is much more measurable than dropping a lot. Assuming that the op has not lost anymore weight.
if op was in a proper deficit they would have visible abs by now.
If the goal is to "lose as much fat as possible" (I assume you're exaggerating for effect here, as people do require some body fat in order to maintain good health) on "as many calories as possible," then paying attention to calories burnt through exercise is vital. You're underscoring that the net IS important.
IF OP is netting just a few hundred, that's not a good strategy.
again... you are putting words into my mouth. never said anything about fat % and what is healthy unhealthy, our discussion is about the op getting visible abs.
the NET calories the most acurrate way to measure. when doing a science experienment you focus on what is acurrately measureable and other data can cause inacuracies.
if OP isnt tracking calories correctly then why would you think they would track exercise correctly too?!? its removing hurdles.
If you don't think that exercise is being tracked accurately, then why would the net calories (which include the exercise) be the most accurate? Your position doesn't make sense.7 -
The OP has told us that she is having trouble building abs, that her net calories are 542 and she has posted a pic of an extremely lean person. The numbers might not be 100% accurate, but the story is being told nevertheless and it is not a healthy one. OP if your net calories are 542, your body will be “eating” your muscles and you will not be able to build abs.5
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The OP has told us that she is having trouble building abs, that her net calories are 542 and she has posted a pic of an extremely lean person. The numbers might not be 100% accurate, but the story is being told nevertheless and it is not a healthy one. OP if your net calories are 542, your body will be “eating” your muscles and you will not be able to build abs.
if OP didnt have abs then OP wouldnt be able to stand up straight.
yes your body eats muscle if you do not eat enough protein and use the muscle often, we all have abs. under our body fat. you just need a very low body fat in order to see it. Thats why they are so hard to achieve.
I don't debate that the OP may be under eating to build muscle but if the OP was in a defiict then they would have abs by now.
you are asuming that the tracking is accurate which it probably isn't.
if you eat in a deficit for long enough you will die. before that you will see your abs and then your bones and your spine.
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@rebeccap2021, you do indeed look lovely, slim, and toned in the photo you linked. Clearly, you've worked hard, and those results do show! I agree with those who've said you're already quite lean. If that's the case, putting priority on building muscle might be the more productive route, for now . . . but it does require patience, perhaps extreme patience.rebeccap2021 wrote: »@bostonpaul22 hey greetings from Boston also 🙌🏼🙌🏼 I run everyday and drink soooo much water. I put very little salt on my food. I just don’t get it why I can’t achieve the abs I want if you look up Lauren Simpson I follow her regimens and still don’t have her stomach. I’m doing something wrong I think I need a trainer just for abdominal as I was saying perhaps I should join cross for?!
I don't know about Lauren Simpson, but I looked at some of her images online (Google search, not specifically on her site). In some images, she looks not dramatically different from the way you do now, just possibly somewhat more overall full-body muscle mass. In other photos, she's very lean, competition lean, and photographed to show off her abs. (Presumably in photos like that, she's prepped and is lighted to highlight that feature, as that's typical - no criticism of her intended, just that if someone wants to feature something (like their six-pack), they plan the photos accordingly.)
In terms of workout routines, I'd make this generic observation about online fitness influencers generally: Most of them who look like that have a very strong fitness background, often diverse, often including years of serious lifting programs along the way. I would not assume that an influencer's "ab routines" are exactly the way they personally got all of their abdominal definition. Instead, it was the result of the totality of their training. They're humans like any of us, and realistically, they have programs to sell, to support themselves (true even for "free" but ad-supported programs).
They're likely to put together programs (for abs, or toned arms, or whatever) that are somewhat influenced by what their audience expects in such a program. For example, in an abs program, there often will be a lot of direct core work (planks, various crunches, etc.), not as much of things like compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, etc.). The latter exercises really do make a good contribution to abs, but would provoke some of their audience to say "why are you making me do leg exercise in an abs program?". (Please keep in mind, I'm speaking about generic online fitness folk here, not specifically about Lauren, because I don't know her.) The point is that just because some (generic) influencer has great abs, it may not be the case that their abs program will give you those abs (even with favorable genetics on your side).
As far as calorie intake, IF your 1200 calories, eating back no exercise, netting 500-ish, is accurate, you're working at cross-purposes to your goal.
I believe it *is* possible in some cases to build muscle with a calorie deficit, but that's much more likely to work if the calorie deficit is small (like 250 calories daily, or even less) for sloooow fat loss. Within the calories consumed, best odds come from good overall nutrition, and relatively high protein.
Building muscle is always going to take time, patience, a good program, consistency, *work*, and more patience. A bulk/cut route is likely to be faster than recomposition (eating maintenance calories, lifting, slowly gaining muscle while slowly burning fat), and that will itself be faster than eating at a deficit even while using a good program. In other words, if you want to add muscle, and you're truly eating a net 500-some calories most days, you've chosen the slowest possible route to the goal of adding muscle.
I understand why you might not want to go the bulk/cut route, because realistically it does mean temporarily adding some fat. (It also perhaps requires a more technical program matched to the phase you're in.) But if you're truly netting calories that low, losing weight somewhat fast (> 0.25-0.5 pounds a week), you're working at cross-purposes to your goal IMO.
Please note: Others have said or implied that maybe your 1200 intake or your 500-some net are inaccurately logged. I have no idea whether that's true or not, and won't speculate. I'm simply saying that if it *is* correct, I don't think you're on the most effective route to what you say your goals are.
As an aside, in your photo, you're posing (and looking lovely!) with a bit of an anterior pelvic tilt, which is a common thing to do to emphasize the booty in photos. (If I had your nice one, I'd do that, too. 😉) When female influencers do that, plus show ab definition, they're usually at an extremely low bodyfat, *and* are using some other postural/flexing tricks to get the total look. Without those extra tricks, the pelvic tilt can somewhat hide the appearance of ab definition by pushing the abdominal area forward.
Summary: You look really lovely, and I hope you appreciate that *and* all the other wonderful qualities/skills I'm sure you have. (Self-appreciation, self-confidence, even self-love: Important!) Following a good program, and getting enough calories with good nutrition, are your best bet to reach your goals.7 -
This is good advice! ^^^
"I believe it *is* possible in some cases to build muscle with a calorie deficit, but that's much more likely to work if the calorie deficit is small (like 250 calories daily, or even less) for sloooow fat loss. Within the calories consumed, best odds come from good overall nutrition, and relatively high protein.
Building muscle is always going to take time, patience, a good program, consistency, *work*, and more patience."3 -
lukejoycePT wrote: »The OP has told us that she is having trouble building abs, that her net calories are 542 and she has posted a pic of an extremely lean person. The numbers might not be 100% accurate, but the story is being told nevertheless and it is not a healthy one. OP if your net calories are 542, your body will be “eating” your muscles and you will not be able to build abs.
if OP didnt have abs then OP wouldnt be able to stand up straight.
yes your body eats muscle if you do not eat enough protein and use the muscle often, we all have abs. under our body fat. you just need a very low body fat in order to see it. Thats why they are so hard to achieve.
I don't debate that the OP may be under eating to build muscle but if the OP was in a defiict then they would have abs by now.
you are asuming that the tracking is accurate which it probably isn't.
if you eat in a deficit for long enough you will die. before that you will see your abs and then your bones and your spine.
I've seen at least one person die from being unable to eat/absorb nutrients while their muscles were breaking down and they became skeletal and there were no abs showing.3 -
I have posted and erased this several times the past couple of days.
MFP forums helped me achieve better health and I like to believe that I pay this forward by participating.
The picture shows a lean and healthy individual.
I don't see how attempting to lose fat to reach the stated goals will help improve this individual's health.
When goals start to conflict with health I know which one I believe should be chosen as a priority.13
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