Belly Fat!!!

So I have been using MFP for almost a month now, and I am very motivated and have been loving keeping track of my calories (which I have NEVER been a calorie counter). I can feel my arms getting tighter and my legs for sure, but I am NOT losing inches around my waist. I hate doing crunches, and I run on the treadmill for 30 minutes 3 days a week ( + 3 days elliptical)..... any advice?? Should I be seeing results by now??
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Replies

  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    #1 rule of weight loss. You cannot spot reduce fat. Keep with calorie deficit and belly fat will go away. The last fat to go on is usually the first fat to go away. Also, crunches won't help reduce belly fat either.

    1 month is far too short of time to be concerned. There are variations when you measure you stomach based on its contents I've found.

    Stay consistent over time. Your belly will get smaller.
  • thecrossfitter
    thecrossfitter Posts: 424 Member
    The good news is, you don't need to do crunches!

    The bad news, is that you just have to keep losing body fat. Everyone is predisposed to carry weight in certain areas (mine is my tummy, too) - it's the first place it comes on, and the last it comes off :/ It sucks. And as you get to the end, it goes sllloooooow. Be patient. Eat a clean diet.

    It also wouldn't hurt to add some strength training. I personally LOVE lifting weights, but that isn't everyone's cup of tea (and you need someone to teach you how to lift properly). This is a great place to start: http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

    Want more reading about to achieve the "toned" look? http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2011/05/skinny-fat/
    The best explained explanation I've read to date :)

    You've done great - keep working!
  • jlmanderach
    jlmanderach Posts: 9 Member
    thanks guys!
  • I am a classic apple, and the only things that have helped with the belly for me are yoga (vinyasa is my fav), Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, and cutting out wheat. It's true that you can't spot reduce fat, but you can elongate your frame, tone, and reduce bloat to give the appearance of a slimmer middle.
  • thecrossfitter
    thecrossfitter Posts: 424 Member
    I am a classic apple, and the only things that have helped with the belly for me are yoga (vinyasa is my fav), Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, and cutting out wheat. It's true that you can't spot reduce fat, but you can elongate your frame, tone, and reduce bloat to give the appearance of a slimmer middle.

    Tone=
    1. Muscle!
    2. Little fat covering the muscle

    You can strengthen that muscle till you're blue in the face. The reality is that unless you have low amounts fat covering it, you will not look toned :/

    "Elongating Frame"? I'm really not trying to be rude, but would you mind to explain this. I do not know what this is. (I admit, with all due respect, I'm skeptical).

    Reduce bloat - I buy that. However, this is only a more temporary fix, not really a solution.

    There are no quick, lasting solutions. Keep with it - the details at the end will move slowly. Be patient. (I'm on an "abs for 2013!" campaign myself haha. Feel free to add me. I'm happy to keep you posted on what I'm doing and how it's working. You don't want abs showing? Easy - just retain slightly more body fat :) )
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    #1 rule of weight loss. You cannot spot reduce fat.

    #2 rule of weight loss.... We always lose last from the place we want it gone most. Mother Nature is cruel that way.

    Just think of it as a reward for long term commitment to being healthy. :wink:
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    I also cut wheat and it helped slim my tummy along with some adapted yoga, pilates and wii games, I lost 12" off my tummy since June and 8 " off my waist. I also wear a sauna belts around tummy to make that area sweat more, when I've tried it without and not as intense workouts so didn't sweat as much I didn't lose any inches that week.

    I use zaggora hot pants too and I dropped from 20-16 (UK) and recently got into size 14-16 which I was thrilled with!.. 2 stone (28lbs) lost since June.
  • shanolap
    shanolap Posts: 1,204 Member
    bump for articles :happy:
  • zenchild
    zenchild Posts: 680 Member
    You tend to lose it last where you gain it first. I'm losing from the outside in. My arms are showing some definition, my calves are fantastic, and my middle and thighs have only gone down slightly (about an inch each). Just keep going. You'll get there.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    So I have been using MFP for almost a month now, and I am very motivated and have been loving keeping track of my calories (which I have NEVER been a calorie counter). I can feel my arms getting tighter and my legs for sure, but I am NOT losing inches around my waist. I hate doing crunches, and I run on the treadmill for 30 minutes 3 days a week ( + 3 days elliptical)..... any advice?? Should I be seeing results by now??

    If you want to lose inches off your waist, try incorporating Tae Bo Insane Abs into your routine. You will see a difference.
  • snarky
    snarky Posts: 262 Member
    I agree with the comments about spot reduction, but I am intrigued by the wheat comments. I had a similar experience with eliminating soy products.

    I just thought I would share my experience. I am a vegetarian, and for a long while I relied on eating meat substitutes and soy products. I read somewhere that soy contributes to unhealthy belly weight and has the potential to upset your hormones, so I stopped eating it. I lost 10 lbs over two months without changing anything else. (not trying to lose weight or get in shape so no exercise, no reducing my calories) Most of that weight came off my belly. This is contrary to all the other things I had read... no spot reduction, first on - last off, you will store the weight where your body wants, etc. I still believe all those things that I read, but I believe there was clearly something odd about my pudgy belly and soy.

    Something to consider if you eat a lot of soy.
  • bry_all01
    bry_all01 Posts: 3,100 Member
    Good nutrition paired with working out and making sure to take rest days worked for me.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    "Elongating Frame"? I'm really not trying to be rude, but would you mind to explain this. I do not know what this is. (I admit, with all due respect, I'm skeptical).
    I wondered this as well - I'm pretty sure no exercise in the world is going to "elongate" my frame beyond my current 5'5" height.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    I think it just depends. I personally notice fat loss from my stomach first and crunches and ab exercises aren't going to necessarily lean it out.

    A trainer told me if you do lots of ab work and not enough cardio you will build up your abs and it will just push your fat out until you start losing it. Which I found to be true. So I cut down on ab work and did more cardio and I noticed my abs were still tight but stomach wasn't pushed out. So maybe up your work outs or try mixing in some tabata ones on the elliptical
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    do you know about staci? staci is awesome.

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  • I think what they may mean is that yoga is very helpful with posture and better posture will help a person look taller.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    So I have been using MFP for almost a month now, and I am very motivated and have been loving keeping track of my calories (which I have NEVER been a calorie counter). I can feel my arms getting tighter and my legs for sure, but I am NOT losing inches around my waist. I hate doing crunches, and I run on the treadmill for 30 minutes 3 days a week ( + 3 days elliptical)..... any advice?? Should I be seeing results by now??

    If you want to lose inches off your waist, try incorporating Tae Bo Insane Abs into your routine. You will see a difference.

    This is false information.

    Losing inches off your waist is about diet, not the type of exercise you implement.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    As others have said, you can't spot reduce (goodness knows I would love if that was the case - I want my girls to go away!) and a combination of eating healthy and exercising regularly (strength AND cardio) are the best ways to get fit and healthy - all over, not just in one spot.

    Be patient and be consistent!
  • CaptainGordo
    CaptainGordo Posts: 4,437 Member
    So I have been using MFP for almost a month now, and I am very motivated and have been loving keeping track of my calories (which I have NEVER been a calorie counter). I can feel my arms getting tighter and my legs for sure, but I am NOT losing inches around my waist. I hate doing crunches, and I run on the treadmill for 30 minutes 3 days a week ( + 3 days elliptical)..... any advice?? Should I be seeing results by now??
    If you want to lose inches off your waist, try incorporating Tae Bo Insane Abs into your routine. You will see a difference.
    Keep in mind that no workout will spot reduce. Your body chooses where it reduces.

    "Spot reduction refers to the belief, long viewed as a myth, that fat can be targeted for reduction from a specific area of the body. There is a common view, although many people believe that view is misguided, that it is possible to achieve spot reduction through exercise of specific muscles in the desired area, such as exercising the abdominal muscles in an effort to lose weight in or around one's midsection. Advertisers play on this concept when advertising exercise-related products to gullible people. However, many fitness experts do not believe it is possible to reduce fat in one area by exercising that body part alone. Instead, fat is lost from the entire body as a result of diet and regular exercise. Muscle tone in the abdominal region does not reduce fat in that region. Instead, being on a caloric deficit is recommended for reducing abdominal fat.

    The misunderstanding may be contributed to by the firming and shaping effect of muscle hypertrophy. When additional muscle is built, it takes up new space which can briefly compress subdermal fat against the skin until the skin adapts, a larger bulging muscle shape is also more easily seen through the layer of fat on top of it. This can give the illusion of fat being reduced when it has not. For example, triceps hypertrophy firming the back of the arm."

    Sources
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot_reduction
    http://www.netwellness.uc.edu/question.cfm/21417.htm
    http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Myths.html
    http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/Wellness/Ask-The-Expert/Default.aspx
    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-belly-fat
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16985258
  • LuciaLongIsland
    LuciaLongIsland Posts: 815 Member
    #1 rule of weight loss. You cannot spot reduce fat.

    #2 rule of weight loss.... We always lose last from the place we want it gone most. Mother Nature is cruel that way.

    Just think of it as a reward for long term commitment to being healthy. :wink:
    Tell me if you can eat like that and look like that when you are 60. No surgery. Well, you have no kids that mught help the belly fat.
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
    #1 rule of weight loss. You cannot spot reduce fat.

    #2 rule of weight loss.... We always lose last from the place we want it gone most. Mother Nature is cruel that way.

    Just think of it as a reward for long term commitment to being healthy. :wink:
    Tell me if you can eat like that and look like that when you are 60. No surgery. Well, you have no kids that mught help the belly fat.

    I'm sorry. Are you suggesting that you can only look like that with no kids?
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
    ...
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
    Op, one of the posters here has done tae bo for 13 years and is pleased with her results, which is great.

    Others have given you the sad news that fat reduction in spots is not possible, but the encouragement to keep going. I recommend that you pay attention to the advice you arw given, who gives it, and whether it appears they are getting results similar to what you want.

    Me, my bellys getting there. I eat well and more than 1200. I try to eat between 100 and my body weight in grams of protein (more than the mfp defaults ) my emphasis right now is strength with a plan to get back to running and training for races come the new year.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    #1 rule of weight loss. You cannot spot reduce fat.

    #2 rule of weight loss.... We always lose last from the place we want it gone most. Mother Nature is cruel that way.

    Just think of it as a reward for long term commitment to being healthy. :wink:
    Tell me if you can eat like that and look like that when you are 60. No surgery. Well, you have no kids that mught help the belly fat.

    If she keeps working as hard as she does, then yes, she can look like that at 60.
  • bry_all01
    bry_all01 Posts: 3,100 Member
    #1 rule of weight loss. You cannot spot reduce fat.

    #2 rule of weight loss.... We always lose last from the place we want it gone most. Mother Nature is cruel that way.

    Just think of it as a reward for long term commitment to being healthy. :wink:
    Tell me if you can eat like that and look like that when you are 60. No surgery. Well, you have no kids that mught help the belly fat.

    I have 2 kids and have never had surgery. I just eat decent (what I want, within reason and using portion control) and workout.
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
    Where is yanika when we need her? Seriously go look for her posts. Particularly with her results photos. Unless you want to continue to beliethay hotness is out of reach after children.
    Eta yanika is not 60. I'll grant you that point.
    #1 rule of weight loss. You cannot spot reduce fat.

    #2 rule of weight loss.... We always lose last from the place we want it gone most. Mother Nature is cruel that way.

    Just think of it as a reward for long term commitment to being healthy. :wink:
    Tell me if you can eat like that and look like that when you are 60. No surgery. Well, you have no kids that mught help the belly fat.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    Tell me if you can eat like that and look like that when you are 60. No surgery. Well, you have no kids that mught help the belly fat.

    I have a child and I have a flat stomach even though I still have a way to go before reaching my goal. Genetics has blessed me with a tiny waist and thunder thighs.

    People "eat like that" because they work their muscles hard and their mucles need to be fed. More muscles = higher metabolism = more food. If you like to eat - grow your muscles.

    What she's doing is entirely sustainable. This woman is 74 and I guarantee she's not on the 1,200 calorie a day plan.

    721.jpg
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
    Tell me if you can eat like that and look like that when you are 60. No surgery. Well, you have no kids that mught help the belly fat.


    I have a child and I have a flat stomach even though I still have a way to go before reaching my goal. Genetics has blessed me with a tiny waist and thunder thighs.

    People "eat like that" because they work their muscles hard and their mucles need to be fed. More muscles = higher metabolism = more food. If you like to eat - grow your muscles.

    What she's doing is entirely sustainable. This woman is 74 and I guarantee she's not on the 1,200 calorie a day plan.

    721.jpg

    Ok, now SHE is a SUPERHERO!
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    So I have been using MFP for almost a month now, and I am very motivated and have been loving keeping track of my calories (which I have NEVER been a calorie counter). I can feel my arms getting tighter and my legs for sure, but I am NOT losing inches around my waist. I hate doing crunches, and I run on the treadmill for 30 minutes 3 days a week ( + 3 days elliptical)..... any advice?? Should I be seeing results by now??

    If you want to lose inches off your waist, try incorporating Tae Bo Insane Abs into your routine. You will see a difference.

    This is false information.

    Losing inches off your waist is about diet, not the type of exercise you implement.

    My information is not false. I don't diet. I don't believe in diets. I eat anything that I want. I don't deprive myself of anything that I like and doing Tae Bo, I have lost inches. I've started a 30 Day Tae Bo program that I have created in October and finished in November. In 27 days, I've lost 5 inches and 2 of those inches came from my waist, so don't tell me that my information is false.

    You can only speak for your own body. I always speak from my own experience. Hatred is a bad boy.
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    So I have been using MFP for almost a month now, and I am very motivated and have been loving keeping track of my calories (which I have NEVER been a calorie counter). I can feel my arms getting tighter and my legs for sure, but I am NOT losing inches around my waist. I hate doing crunches, and I run on the treadmill for 30 minutes 3 days a week ( + 3 days elliptical)..... any advice?? Should I be seeing results by now??

    Think core work, not crunches -- planks and such are more effective and not as annoying to do!
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