Belly Fat!!!

#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.

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 )

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.

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.

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.

"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.

do you know about staci? staci is awesome.

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.

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