Belly fat!

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PixelTreason
PixelTreason Posts: 226 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys! :)

I've been doing well with my weight loss - down 32 pounds since I started 5 months ago. I'm 5'9" and I went from 167 lb to 135 lb.
I think the weight I am at now is fine, I wouldn't mind losing a few more but staying at 135 would be perfectly acceptable.

I've been exercising a nice amount, doing 30 Day Shred in the AM and 30 minutes of elliptical at night (I used to do 50 mins but with the 30DS I figured I would tone it down a tad).

I still have that stubborn belly fat and I would like to get my stomach to be flat. I don't need a 6 pack but "not fat" would be nice.

The girls at work laughed at me when I said I was trying very hard to lose that fat.
They said it can't be done, that I'm too old (35) and my stomach is just going to always have a belly pouch.
They told me to give up!

I think they are full of it and only saying that because *they* don't have the drive to work at it and lose theirs! If my stomach looked great, it would prove that theirs could, too if they just worked hard for it.

Are they right? Is it impossible?

Replies

  • caljorob
    caljorob Posts: 2
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    Hey guys! :)

    I've been doing well with my weight loss - down 32 pounds since I started 5 months ago. I'm 5'9" and I went from 167 lb to 135 lb.
    I think the weight I am at now is fine, I wouldn't mind losing a few more but staying at 135 would be perfectly acceptable.

    I've been exercising a nice amount, doing 30 Day Shred in the AM and 30 minutes of elliptical at night (I used to do 50 mins but with the 30DS I figured I would tone it down a tad).

    I still have that stubborn belly fat and I would like to get my stomach to be flat. I don't need a 6 pack but "not fat" would be nice.

    The girls at work laughed at me when I said I was trying very hard to lose that fat.
    They said it can't be done, that I'm too old (35) and my stomach is just going to always have a belly pouch.
    They told me to give up!

    I think they are full of it and only saying that because *they* don't have the drive to work at it and lose theirs! If my stomach looked great, it would prove that theirs could, too if they just worked hard for it.

    Are they right? Is it impossible?
  • val071418
    val071418 Posts: 96 Member
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    Hopefully this link works but I just saw this short video that talks about transverse abdominal muscles and how to work them. I am going to try this today!!

    http://www.prevention.com/health/news-voices/videos?videoID=7475b0751f312210VgnVCM10000030281eac____

    Hope this is helpful!!
    Good luck!!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    not impossible but you can't spot reduce. maintain a caloric deficit and eventually you'll lose it
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
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    Maybe difficult, but not IMPOSSIBLE. Just alter up your routine if you've been doing the same thing for a while. You can absolutely get rid of it... fat is fat. Nothing else. No magical age barriers popped up! You've done amazing! Age is really just an excuse not to work hard. Keep at it Hon!!!!
  • steffiejoe
    steffiejoe Posts: 313 Member
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    They are not right. You can lose the belly fat.
    I have a motivational picture of the weight i plan to be . One of my friends commented I was not young like the person in the picture but I will prove him wrong!!

    Stay positive!
    I stopped sharing my weight loss goals with my coworkers because of the negative comments.


    Keep striving to meet your goals !!
  • kje2011
    kje2011 Posts: 502 Member
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    bump
    I too would like to lose the belly fat. I am 5'9 and at 170lbs.and 40 yrs old.
    Would be nice to be at 135 but I would be happy at 155 ( I think).
    30 day shred is awesome. Love love jillian michaels. Now (sparatically,lol) I am doing Insanity. wow, --can you say Cardio!!!!!

    What you eat will definitely make a big big difference!! So I've been told that half the battle is CLEAN eating!!! and cardio.
    Good luck on your journey!!!
    kje
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    bump
    I too would like to lose the belly fat. I am 5'9 and at 170lbs.and 40 yrs old.
    Would be nice to be at 135 but I would be happy at 155 ( I think).
    30 day shred is awesome. Love love jillian michaels. Now (sparatically,lol) I am doing Insanity. wow, --can you say Cardio!!!!!

    What you eat will definitely make a big big difference!! So I've been told that half the battle is CLEAN eating!!! and cardio.
    Good luck on your journey!!!
    kje

    while diet is no doubt 95% of getting a flat stomach, clean vs unclean foods don't make a whole lot of difference, end of the day it comes down to burning more cals then you take in
  • bethanne111
    bethanne111 Posts: 3 Member
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    I am in the same boat. I have lost 33 pounds and I could live with the scale if my body was tighter. I have three kids and I certainly have the belly fat problem. I am taking the approach that my overall body fat percentage is too high. If I can reduce my actual percentage, I may see some results in my middle. I have read that you cannot spot reduce fat, like 1000 crunches will do nothing for your stomach appearance if there is a layer of fat covering it. So I am trying to focus my training on cardio with a good mix of strength training. I am by no means an expert, but this is what I am going to try. I am very interested to see what everyone posts. This is an important subject for me.

    Good luck!
  • livehappe
    livehappe Posts: 57 Member
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    I am 159lbs, 5'7, 33 years old, and coming down from 192lbs with a goal to be in the 120-130 range. Hard cardio and ab work is making a difference for me as I've lost 7" off the middle, and I've had twins and two other kids. It's going to be a battle though....but I met a woman with a serious pouch who had the six pack, and she was 42. She told me the formula is to just keep a calorie deficit, and push yourself to the edge every time you workout, and then follow with ab work. You can do it!
  • BBCTiffyB
    BBCTiffyB Posts: 114 Member
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    It is deffinately possible! Just harder for women especially because our hormones specifically tell fat to be stored in our abdominal, buttocks, and thigh area. It's just how we are made. Also, to have more abdominal defenition, there is basically one way to say this, "Abs are made in the kitchen."

    I have been told this time and time again! Also, DON'T work your abs every day. Just like every other muscle group, every other day is fine.

    The main way to get defined ab muscles is to lose body fat (%) which can be extremely difficult to do especially in THAT area. So low carb is a must. You just have to try what works for you and your body and see what helps you drop the BF% that is the key.

    Hope this helps
    Tiffany
  • Saffyra
    Saffyra Posts: 607 Member
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    Some people probably will never have flat abs. Abdominal exercises will not make your stomach pooch go away.
    What would be required would be a diet and exercise regimen that would reduce your body fat percentage.
    Unfortunately, sometimes that body fat percentage needed is too low for a person to sustain.

    It looks like your BMI is about 19% which is a healthy low. Anything under 18% is considered underweight.

    I am one of those people who gain weight first in the belly. I would be one of those people who will never have a flat belly because the body fat percentage I would need in order to attain it would be too unhealthy for me.

    Are your coworkers wrong? Yes. But for the reasons they state? No. You are not too old! And at 135, you probably look so fantastic that your coworkers cant believe you have anything to complain about and are wishing they had your fortitude in diet and exercise!

    Good Luck on your quest for perfect abs! :)
  • hayescarmen364
    hayescarmen364 Posts: 43
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    It can be done but need to be smart about it. I knew a guy once from Canada I became friends with over bodybuilding.com. He was a 64 year old man with one leg who went from over 250 lbs to 164 and He was lean with little fat and had a flat stomach. He inspired me to better myself to train hard and never give up no matter what. Be smart, work out your abs and eat foods that help burn fat
  • Monica_in_MO
    Monica_in_MO Posts: 162 Member
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    Holy abdominals, Batman!! I think we should ALL listen to the guy with the awesome abs!
  • PixelTreason
    PixelTreason Posts: 226 Member
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    Thank you! You've all been very helpful!


    I know you can't spot reduce fat, it comes off where it comes off and that's that!
    So it will be hard but I figure if my fat% is low enough it will *have* to go away, right? That's what I am going for, anyway. :D


    Thanks again! I'll just keep working at it and ignore those naysayers at work! :P
  • mayantaina
    mayantaina Posts: 3 Member
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    :smile: Awesome link..I'm gonna give this a try...thanks!
  • dolphin21
    dolphin21 Posts: 301 Member
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    BUMP!!!! I have the same problem with my loose skin and it just sits there and hangs when im doing my planks.....lol I've been doing lots of cardio with Billy Blanks TaeBo and Jillian Michaeal and my fat % has gone down bout 4%, so i know I'm doing something right!!! Good Luck:)
  • ttjones215
    ttjones215 Posts: 17 Member
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    Wow! Kudos to you! How long have you been working out for you to lose 32lbs? I'm looking to lose about that much but no current luck...what should I do?
  • gazz777
    gazz777 Posts: 722
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    Keen to read any comments.

    Gary
  • PixelTreason
    PixelTreason Posts: 226 Member
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    Wow! Kudos to you! How long have you been working out for you to lose 32lbs? I'm looking to lose about that much but no current luck...what should I do?


    It's been about 5 months - I've been on a 1200 cal a day plan and I've been eating healthy as well, not just low calorie. I've tried to not eat many things that come from a package - more fresh foods and a lot less sugar (Except in fruit. I'm ok with that sugar.)

    I've cut out simple carbs as completely as I can (no potatoes, white rice, breads etc) but tried to keep good ones (veggies, fruit some whole grains).

    My exercise started off slowly and built up as the months went on.
    I started on my elliptical doing 30 minutes 3 times a week and gradually got up to 50 minutes 6 days a week. I also slowly added in some barbell work and crunches, squats etc. (Thank you, YouTube!)

    Right now I am doing 30 Day Shred so I do that in the AM when I get up, then I do 30 minutes of the elliptical when I get home from work (6 days a week).
    I aim for 100 calories burned every 10 minutes on the elliptical with an average speed of 6.5 mph.


    All I can tell you is you gotta be ready to work. A lot. Even when you really don't feel like it. Especially when you really don't feel like it. I work out tired, sick, with ha headache. I don't let anything stop me.

    I finally decided I was done screwing around and that's when I started losing weight.

    Good luck to you!

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