How to get rid of belly fat over muscle *pics*

h0t_m0m
h0t_m0m Posts: 79 Member
edited November 9 in Fitness and Exercise
A little background:

I am 34 and 5'2". I have had three kids (all naturally, no c-sec). I currently weigh 110.5. I started the 30 Day Shred 10 days ago and just completed Day 8 on Level 1. Here are some pics:

blackberry178.jpg
blackberry181.jpg

I can feel my ab muscles but they are covered by a pouch of fat. I want to get rid of this the fastest way possible!! What can I do in addition to the current workout to melt the fat away?? I eat fairly well and count all of my calories. I was hoping to wear a bikini when we go to Los Cabos on March 8. Please help!
«1

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    The fastest way would be lipo, the alternative is a consistent caloric deficit. Unfortunately you cannot spot reduce, so you can't specifically target belly fat, just maintain your diet will eventually lose the belly fat
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Burn more calories than you eat.

    All the abs in the world aren't going to show unless you get your body fat down.
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    A serious cut. but that would make your family life harder, since it requires time and drain you all energy out. Wouldn't recommend. Another protocol that might work would the intermittent fasting - but like acg67 said, you cannot spot reduce.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermittent_fasting

    Mainly, that would means :
    - a strict deficit in order to enable lipolysis
    - going very low on your body fat - visually I'd say you have a 28-30% BF, in order yo see your abs, you'll need to go to 15-20% BF

    Cardio will help to create a bigger deficit, but won't be the key. Going on weight, that would enable muscle synthesis - thus better visual aspect
    Now roughly, I'd say with a serious protocol, around 8-10 months to get rid of it :)

    Source : my own life, currently on cut - from 18-20% BF to 8-9% today (after 8 months)
    Month 0 :
    http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg841/scaled.php?server=841&filename=plop20120203020736.jpg&res=medium

    Month 8 :
    http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg827/scaled.php?server=827&filename=plop20120203020952.jpg&res=medium

    Edit ; after some research, my given numbers were too nice :p
    You are around 30-34% BF and you'd need to go to 15-18%

    1 kilo of pure fat is around 9000 (from 8500 to 10 000 ) calories, so that would mean loose half your body fat.

    You'd need to loose 33 lbs of pure fat - 135 000 calories (people correct me if I'm wrong).
    So I think my numbers are good - loosing that withing 10 months id feasible ^^
  • Like everyone said, you can't spot reduce to see your abs as we lose fat all over our bodies & usually you need to have 20% body fat to see a hint of ab definition & 15-18% if you want it appear more visible. Although that is the estimate but still it doesn't guarantee that you'll see abs even if you achieved that percentage. There are some people who despite having low body fat still look kinda soft without a hint of abs although with a flat stomach. I'm roughly somewhere at 20% body fat but still I look soft because I happen to store fat on my hips & belly. It depends on how our bodies store fat.

    Based on your weight, I'd say you don't need to do cardio at this stage. You need to concentrate on building muscle to burn fat.
  • h0t_m0m
    h0t_m0m Posts: 79 Member
    How do I burn body fat the fastest? Heavy lifting? I can't join a gym and don't have heavy weights at home. Also, I have no idea what to do so I would need a trainer. This is so difficult. It was so much easier just losing the weight.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    How do I burn body fat the fastest? Heavy lifting? I can't join a gym and don't have heavy weights at home. Also, I have no idea what to do so I would need a trainer. This is so difficult. It was so much easier just losing the weight.

    Burning body fat is about creating a calorie deficit, so you need to eat less than you burn.

    Don't give up :smile:
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 962 Member
    1 kilo of pure fat is around 9000 (from 8500 to 10 000 ) calories, so that would mean loose half your body fat.
    You'd need to loose 33 lbs of pure fat - 135 000 calories (people correct me if I'm wrong).
    So I think my numbers are good - loosing that withing 10 months id feasible ^^


    Are you seriously telling a lady who weighs 110 lb to lose 33 more pounds? No offense, but are you insane??



    h0t_m0m: Read this http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero :)
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
    Running or any cardio is a great way to burn off excess weight... although honestly you don't sound overweight. If you already run and have been limiting your fat content, I would suggest possibly talking to a plastic surgeon about the abdominoplasty. It may not be fat that you feel. It may just be excess skin.
  • Blossom41290
    Blossom41290 Posts: 27 Member
    1 kilo of pure fat is around 9000 (from 8500 to 10 000 ) calories, so that would mean loose half your body fat.
    You'd need to loose 33 lbs of pure fat - 135 000 calories (people correct me if I'm wrong).
    So I think my numbers are good - loosing that withing 10 months id feasible ^^


    Are you seriously telling a lady who weighs 110 lb to lose 33 more pounds? No offense, but are you insane??



    h0t_m0m: Read this http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero :)

    he means body fat not overall bodyweight
  • leahalissa
    leahalissa Posts: 88 Member
    1 kilo of pure fat is around 9000 (from 8500 to 10 000 ) calories, so that would mean loose half your body fat.
    You'd need to loose 33 lbs of pure fat - 135 000 calories (people correct me if I'm wrong).
    So I think my numbers are good - loosing that withing 10 months id feasible ^^


    Are you seriously telling a lady who weighs 110 lb to lose 33 more pounds? No offense, but are you insane??



    h0t_m0m: Read this http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero :)

    In conjunction with muscle gain. He's not telling her to drop to 77 lbs, but replace fat with muscle.
  • ohpiper
    ohpiper Posts: 697 Member
    The Insanity workouts I did, in combination with tracking things here nutritionally, really helped me get good results. With my work schedule, working out at home is and has been the best option for me.
  • KeepOnMoving
    KeepOnMoving Posts: 383 Member
    Your only on day 8 on level one. Be patient and keep up the healthy eating and exercise! :drinker: It doesn't happen over night, but take good care of yourself and keep it going......you will be getting results.
  • jenronan1
    jenronan1 Posts: 44 Member
    As a mother of 3, I totally get where you are coming from. Diet is key, eat clean, unprocessed foods (processed foods are made with sugar and salt and all the good things to bloat), and exercise. Unfortunately spot training does not work, however, eat clean and train your core 3x's a week and it will come off (I had the same thing and it took about a year with my second, my youngest is 5 months and I am working on it). Make sure you include planks in your core routine - it works the transverse abdominis, which acts like a corset. And when you work core, remember, core is the abs, obliques, low back, butt and hams (the muscles that help stabilize the spine). Plus, I am a personal trainer and core strength is my passion.

    Sorry, I do not endorse plastic surgery. From your photos, I think you truly need to clean up your diet and give it several months. Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Recharged is a great resource.
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 962 Member
    In conjunction with muscle gain. He's not telling her to drop to 77 lbs, but replace fat with muscle.


    Thank you! lol
  • Have you heard of berpes? Its an exercise full body and it really does wonders for your core. Nothing is over night keep on keeping on. Also do lots of core exercises.
  • ryjar80
    ryjar80 Posts: 33 Member
    Seriously 34 % body fat? You must have bad vision and / or guesstimating skills... I'm still a newbie but assuming she has 33 lbs of fat to lose is beyond ridiculous. She looks good she probably just wants to lose around 5-7 lbs of belly fat. Geez anything else you wanna try and make her feel self conscious about? Lord. :noway: I'm sure you're just trying to help but please consider how people may feel about your comments. I read these posts to get helpful advice and information but that just didn't. make sense all to me.
  • I was reading earlier and couldn't respond but had to come back because of some of the answers you were getting.

    jenronan1 is spot on. You can be a skinny fat...meaning even though your weight is not high you have a higher fat content. That is 100% due to what you eat, not how much of it you eat. You can be under your calorie count and still be fat. You may still be loosing weight but you will not loose that fat until you eat "clean".

    Increase your protein, decrease your fat. Lots of leafy greens and protein with EVERY meal - which should be at least every three to four hours. NO processed foods. Only whole wheats and not too many.

    It is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. That doesn't mean don't exercise it means watch everything you put in your mouth not just for calorie content but for nutritional value.

    There are great supplements out there to help. Meal replacement shakes etc. I use one. I am on a body challenge right now and on my way to loosing a good amount of body fat. Message me if you need any more help and I'd be happy to let you know what I know.

    Good luck.
  • sharonfincher1
    sharonfincher1 Posts: 311 Member
    You cannot spot reduce but u can build and tone muscle in target areas. Get a good ab routine... so as the fat reduces in your ab area you can build the muscle. The have plenty online or DVD's...
  • jenronan1
    jenronan1 Posts: 44 Member
    FYI - the best way to torch calories is the cheapest - run. Do interval training: on a scale of 1-10 (1 easiest, 10 hardest), warm up around a 5 for about 5 mins, then start your intervals: Jog at a 7-8 for a minute, then push to a 9 for 30 seconds, then back to 7-8 for a minute. Keep repeating and you will blast the calories.

    And as I said before - your diet is key. Stick to more natural foods and balance your carbs, proteins and fats. Look at your plate - 50% should be carbs, 25% protein and 25% fats. Keep up the good work and you will be wearing the suit you want to wear on your vacation.
  • TheFitnessTutor
    TheFitnessTutor Posts: 356 Member
    I just love all the various suggestions. Really gets my heart rate a going.

    You don't need to do any specific type of workout, or try to do anything that is over the top, you don't need to try to burn as many calories as possible jumping around to some freaking dvd or try to suddenly become a jogger or runner.

    But as alluded to earlier, you need to get your body wanting a reason to burn fat and not other things so much. Running and doing some 500 calorie or "insane" workout would be insane, unless you're running a caloric surplus!

    I'm gonna run myself ragged around here. Why did I come to this place. i want to make everyone an online client! ....
  • TheFitnessTutor
    TheFitnessTutor Posts: 356 Member
    A little background:

    I am 34 and 5'2". I have had three kids (all naturally, no c-sec). I currently weigh 110.5. I started the 30 Day Shred 10 days ago and just completed Day 8 on Level 1. Here are some pics:

    blackberry178.jpg
    blackberry181.jpg

    I can feel my ab muscles but they are covered by a pouch of fat. I want to get rid of this the fastest way possible!! What can I do in addition to the current workout to melt the fat away?? I eat fairly well and count all of my calories. I was hoping to wear a bikini when we go to Los Cabos on March 8. Please help!

    March 8 is a month away! Inbox me or send me a message if you want to know I would do if you were my client.
  • TheFitnessTutor
    TheFitnessTutor Posts: 356 Member
    A little background:

    I am 34 and 5'2". I have had three kids (all naturally, no c-sec). I currently weigh 110.5. I started the 30 Day Shred 10 days ago and just completed Day 8 on Level 1. Here are some pics:

    blackberry178.jpg
    blackberry181.jpg

    I can feel my ab muscles but they are covered by a pouch of fat. I want to get rid of this the fastest way possible!! What can I do in addition to the current workout to melt the fat away?? I eat fairly well and count all of my calories. I was hoping to wear a bikini when we go to Los Cabos on March 8. Please help!

    Why can't I edit these posts? It's only been a minute. Oh well...more bandwidth!
    anyways...you're not really that bad off in my book. I think you might get the wrong impression from some of these posts. So like I said friend me, send me a message, etc. * ok now I see edit buttons. I guess I still had a post pending or something. Oh well sue me!
  • sammielealea
    sammielealea Posts: 245 Member
    As a mother of 3, I totally get where you are coming from. Diet is key, eat clean, unprocessed foods (processed foods are made with sugar and salt and all the good things to bloat), and exercise. Unfortunately spot training does not work, however, eat clean and train your core 3x's a week and it will come off (I had the same thing and it took about a year with my second, my youngest is 5 months and I am working on it). Make sure you include planks in your core routine - it works the transverse abdominis, which acts like a corset. And when you work core, remember, core is the abs, obliques, low back, butt and hams (the muscles that help stabilize the spine). Plus, I am a personal trainer and core strength is my passion.

    Sorry, I do not endorse plastic surgery. From your photos, I think you truly need to clean up your diet and give it several months. Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Recharged is a great resource.

    Great Advise! OP - Try not to get discouraged . . . You're doing great!
  • How do I burn body fat the fastest? Heavy lifting? I can't join a gym and don't have heavy weights at home. Also, I have no idea what to do so I would need a trainer. This is so difficult. It was so much easier just losing the weight.

    You don't have to join a gym or need to buy expensive equipment for that. You can use your own bodyweight such as push-ups, pull-ups, bodyweight squats & lunges. THe good thing about these exercises is that they are compound movements that targets multiple muscles.
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    Seriously 34 % body fat? You must have bad vision and / or guesstimating skills... I'm still a newbie but assuming she has 33 lbs of fat to lose is beyond ridiculous. She looks good she probably just wants to lose around 5-7 lbs of belly fat. Geez anything else you wanna try and make her feel self conscious about? Lord. :noway: I'm sure you're just trying to help but please consider how people may feel about your comments. I read these posts to get helpful advice and information but that just didn't. make sense all to me.

    Hehe, she was asking for advices, so I gave her :)
    I know there is an emotional part to take in account - maybe I didn't (May I apologize for that) but since she's doing great, and wants to move forward - I'd rather be pragmatic, tell her what she COULD - not MUST do in order to get rid of it.
    And yah, a lot of people don't know how low you have to go on body fat in order to see the abs. You can make them harder, and shaped - but also create insane fat burn if you want to see them. The only solution remains the clean diet.
    At the beginning I also said that she wouldn't to that if she wouldn't affect her family, diets can be tricky sometimes hehe :flowerforyou:
  • h0t_m0m
    h0t_m0m Posts: 79 Member
    Can someone please tell me where I can go to get an accurate body fat reading? I had the caliper test done almost 3 years ago and my BF% was 28 at that time. However, I am fairly certain that isn't the most accurate. Since then, I have cut out all processed foods, eat all whole grain or whole wheat carbs, buy organic as much as possible and get as much lean protein as possible. I was talking to my husband last night and he said that most of it is extra skin. For what it is worth, I only gained 31, 22 and 18 pounds while preggo. I have a very short torso and the stretch marks to prove how much my tummy did stretch for those beautiful babies.

    And, like the previous poster stated, I can't do anything extreme because I do have a family to take care of. I am already experiencing some tiredness so am worried I am not eating enough. Thought I would have increased energy when I started exercising in addition to eating right.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    You said you can't join a gym, but do you have a friend who's a member at a gym that allows members to bring guests? And pull another favor with someone else to watch the kids for an hour here or there? Even going twice a week, with home workouts in between, can make a big difference.

    I agree that you don't need to do anything extreme. Maybe even raising your calories (and especially protein) would make a difference. I've become leaner while on maintenance, getting more protein and amping up my strength training, even though my weight went up a little. In my profile pic, I weigh about the same in June as I did last month, but my body changed.
  • If you were to drop 10lbs you'd be in the ideal shape for your height. I'd set that as your first goal and then see what you look like.

    You can check your body fat percentage accurately using bioeletrical impedance scales (very affordable, available from Amazon). Less accurate but indicative, you can just Google body-fat calculator and enter your waist and hip measurements.

    If you want to lose fat without losing muscle, your best bet is to do it slowly (aim for no more than 1lb a week). Use MFP. Writing down every calorie you eat, as MFP recommends, is tedious but it does work.

    You say you're already exercising, so that's good. If you're not doing a lot of walking already, I recommend adding that. You can do it with kids, and when catching up with friends. It doesn't feel like exercise, but you can easily rack up quite a lot of miles.

    You will need to do some weights, otherwise you risk losing muscle, not fat. But you do not need to do heavy lifting.

    You can achieve everything you need with just a 3kg dumbbell and some resistance training. Google one simple exercise for each of the following areas: lower back, upper back, shoulders, pecs, abs, biceps and triceps.

    Once you've got your exercise, start with your weaker arm. Repeat that exercise until you can't do it again. Write down how often you managed. Aim to do one more next time. If you can manage more than 30 reps, get the next heavier weight.

    Doing seven sets of weights doesn't take more than half an hour, and twice a week is enough to get you going in the right direction (although three times a week is ideal, if you can manage). My advice is to leave the weights by the TV, and do your exercises gradually, while you're watching a show.

    If you can eat a high-protein snack straight after (a chicken sandwich is ideal, although peanut butter is actually pretty good) that will help you build strength.
  • h0t_m0m
    h0t_m0m Posts: 79 Member
    I called a nutrition center and it cost $75 for a body composition analysis.

    I found a calculator online using measurements and this is what I got. So much better than the 33% as suggested.

    Body Fat %: 22.37

    Lbs/Kgs of Body Fat: 24.72

    Lean Body Weight: 85.78

    I guess I will add in more weight training and resistance training and keep logging my calories. Do you think I should do the 40-30-30 or something different? MFP has my calories at 1200. Should I change this? Thank you so much for all of the advice and input. Hope this works until I can afford some sessions with a personal trainer (come on tax refund)!
This discussion has been closed.