Losing belly fat

[Adamj1987]

im not fat just got a podgy belly but i want to lose it and tone it up

ive cut most of the fat out my diet and cut fizzy drinks and subsitiuted it with water

i do either 100 or 50 sit ups a day

is there anything else i can do to speed it up or improve stomach tone

wheat exersizes do you recomend?

[punchoutsb]

It's not as much removing fat as it is lowering carbs.

I do not believe in completely removing carbs like some, but lowering "grainy" and "starchy" carbs is the BEST way to burn fat. Of course you can't just spot reduce the fat off the stomach, but your entire body will lose it at a good pace.

Adding in some cardio will help, but believe it or not is not necessary for burning fat. Proper dietary changes can be all that it takes.

Basically eat good protein sources (which will cover your fat intake), lots of fibrous vegetables, and lower down intake of bread, potatoes, etc. This will help you immensely! Good luck, man!

[Adamj1987]

i'm eating all bran for fibre as im not too big on veg in general but what i do eat isnt very fibrous is this a good substitute?


im eating alot of fish at the moment for lots of protein and im eating salad and cous cous/rice instead of potatoes where possible. i dont eat much bread

[punchoutsb]

i'm eating all bran for fibre as im not too big on veg in general but what i do eat isnt very fibrous is this a good substitute?


im eating alot of fish at the moment for lots of protein and im eating salad and cous cous/rice instead of potatoes where possible. i dont eat much bread

Yeah that should be okay. I've cut down my bodyfat quite low whilst still eating rice. Just keep the portions of rice and cous cous smaller and you should be fine. Some veggies like asparagus, onions, and broccoli can help burn bodyfat. If you eat rice, try putting some diced onions in it, for a little added benefit.

You can get away with eating carbs like rice etc, but then it becomes more necessary to add some cardio in. My absolute favorite, and one that's given me great results is HIIT style cardio. You only need to perform it 2-3 times per week, for about 10-15 minutes. Works wonder for cutting fat while still be able to enjoy foods that you like.

[Deadendgeneration]

i'm eating all bran for fibre as im not too big on veg in general but what i do eat isnt very fibrous is this a good substitute?


im eating alot of fish at the moment for lots of protein and im eating salad and cous cous/rice instead of potatoes where possible. i dont eat much bread

Yeah that should be okay. I've cut down my bodyfat quite low whilst still eating rice. Just keep the portions of rice and cous cous smaller and you should be fine. Some veggies like asparagus, onions, and broccoli can help burn bodyfat. If you eat rice, try putting some diced onions in it, for a little added benefit.

You can get away with eating carbs like rice etc, but then it becomes more necessary to add some cardio in. My absolute favorite, and one that's given me great results is HIIT style cardio. You only need to perform it 2-3 times per week, for about 10-15 minutes. Works wonder for cutting fat while still be able to enjoy foods that you like.

Try going with brown rice if you can stomach it.

[punchoutsb]

i'm eating all bran for fibre as im not too big on veg in general but what i do eat isnt very fibrous is this a good substitute?


im eating alot of fish at the moment for lots of protein and im eating salad and cous cous/rice instead of potatoes where possible. i dont eat much bread

Yeah that should be okay. I've cut down my bodyfat quite low whilst still eating rice. Just keep the portions of rice and cous cous smaller and you should be fine. Some veggies like asparagus, onions, and broccoli can help burn bodyfat. If you eat rice, try putting some diced onions in it, for a little added benefit.

You can get away with eating carbs like rice etc, but then it becomes more necessary to add some cardio in. My absolute favorite, and one that's given me great results is HIIT style cardio. You only need to perform it 2-3 times per week, for about 10-15 minutes. Works wonder for cutting fat while still be able to enjoy foods that you like.

Try going with brown rice if you can stomach it.

Oh yes, sorry I should have specified this. I ONLY eat brown rice. I do not like white rice, and it's no where near as good for you. Wild rice is also good for you, but I don't like the taste.

[Prediction...Pain]

I like the idea of cutting your carb intake throughout the day. Someone posted a video on here of this boxer going thru his diet and this is what he was talking about. He does a no carbs past lunch but this seems a little extreme. I'm dropping pounds like crazy and I'm basically cutting out any grains past 4 in the afternoon or so. You should also only be eating whole grains/brown rice etc. There is no reason not to, as they are much healthier. I have been starting off the day with Steel Cut Oats. They are amazing and taste better/healthier than your regular rolled oats. Maybe some brown rice/lentils for lunch and after that no more grains.
In the evening is where what you eat matters the most. No fats, no sugars, no grains etc. You should be eating high protein foods such as egg whites/tuna/chicken/turkey/protein shake etc, along with any sort of steamed/raw veggies. Of course this diet needs to be in addition to some sort of exercise program and thats for another thread. Belly fat is tough because its the last area in your body (usually for men) that you lose the fat. You'll start to see fat melting away from various points of collection on your body and after all of that is gone the stomach is last. Also drink a shit load of water. Even if you think you're drinking enough, odds are you are not. Throw in a multi vitamin and some fish oil for starters. Its amazing how you can transform your body if you have an idea of what you're doing and you really want it. Hard work! Dedication!

[Deadendgeneration]

I like the idea of cutting your carb intake throughout the day. Someone posted a video on here of this boxer going thru his diet and this is what he was talking about. He does a no carbs past lunch but this seems a little extreme. I'm dropping pounds like crazy and I'm basically cutting out any grains past 4 in the afternoon or so. You should also only be eating whole grains/brown rice etc. There is no reason not to, as they are much healthier. I have been starting off the day with Steel Cut Oats. They are amazing and taste better/healthier than your regular rolled oats. Maybe some brown rice/lentils for lunch and after that no more grains.
In the evening is where what you eat matters the most. No fats, no sugars, no grains etc. You should be eating high protein foods such as egg whites/tuna/chicken/turkey/protein shake etc, along with any sort of steamed/raw veggies. Of course this diet needs to be in addition to some sort of exercise program and thats for another thread. Belly fat is tough because its the last area in your body (usually for men) that you lose the fat. You'll start to see fat melting away from various points of collection on your body and after all of that is gone the stomach is last. Also drink a shit load of water. Even if you think you're drinking enough, odds are you are not. Throw in a multi vitamin and some fish oil for starters. Its amazing how you can transform your body if you have an idea of what you're doing and you really want it. Hard work! Dedication!

I pretty much follow the same diet as you. Oats in the morning, chicken with veg and brown rice, brown rice noodles or sweet potato for lunch then either steamed veg and chicken/fish, salad of an egg white omelette. Add in some tofu from time to time but that's about it. Lost 4kg's in the first 11 days of dieting.

[Prediction...Pain]

I like the idea of cutting your carb intake throughout the day. Someone posted a video on here of this boxer going thru his diet and this is what he was talking about. He does a no carbs past lunch but this seems a little extreme. I'm dropping pounds like crazy and I'm basically cutting out any grains past 4 in the afternoon or so. You should also only be eating whole grains/brown rice etc. There is no reason not to, as they are much healthier. I have been starting off the day with Steel Cut Oats. They are amazing and taste better/healthier than your regular rolled oats. Maybe some brown rice/lentils for lunch and after that no more grains.
In the evening is where what you eat matters the most. No fats, no sugars, no grains etc. You should be eating high protein foods such as egg whites/tuna/chicken/turkey/protein shake etc, along with any sort of steamed/raw veggies. Of course this diet needs to be in addition to some sort of exercise program and thats for another thread. Belly fat is tough because its the last area in your body (usually for men) that you lose the fat. You'll start to see fat melting away from various points of collection on your body and after all of that is gone the stomach is last. Also drink a shit load of water. Even if you think you're drinking enough, odds are you are not. Throw in a multi vitamin and some fish oil for starters. Its amazing how you can transform your body if you have an idea of what you're doing and you really want it. Hard work! Dedication!

I pretty much follow the same diet as you. Oats in the morning, chicken with veg and brown rice, brown rice noodles or sweet potato for lunch then either steamed veg and chicken/fish, salad of an egg white omelette. Add in some tofu from time to time but that's about it. Lost 4kg's in the first 11 days of dieting.

Good stuff mate. Keep it up! Don't forget about a few cheat meals/snacks a week. If I don't get them in, I start to lose my mind.

[Deadendgeneration]

Yeah I'm going for 1 meal per week cheat. Went for a few beers and a big bag of peanuts last week. Thinking barbecue and a beer or two this week. There's a buffet place here where you cook it yourself at the table over coals. Pretty much just eat meat and veggies, however there's quite a bit of oil involved so it would have to count as a cheat meal. Still all you can eat for about 4quid

['Frilla]

Dont forget your Essential Fatty acids Adam. Good fat. I know it sounds weired but, your body needs good fat, in order to lose fat.

Simply put, fat maximizes our absorption of vitamins and nutrients. A diet without fat leads to rabbit starvation: without fat the body cannot digest food. Fat also serves as the first and strongest line of defense in our immune system.

Unsaturated fats are good. Saturated fats are no good.

Fish oil which contain Omega 3.
Avacado
nuts
Canola oil, olive oil....etc

[Poncey]

I had the same problem. Are you drinking any fruit juice?

[Deserter]

i do either 100 or 50 sit ups a day

Just as an FYI, that won't help in the slightest in terms of losing fat, and in terms of strengthening your abs there are far more efficient methods than straight sit-ups.

[TempleSlave]

Training
Forget ab exercises. Train big muscle groups. Do squats, lunges, dips, pull ups, presses. Mix lower and upper body in supersets. Rep range 12-15, every set to failure, 30 sec rest between sets. Train 50 mins/session, 4 times/week.

Diet
Stop eating grains (until you're at single digit bf%). Eat meat (poultry, fish etc.), a lot of (especially green) veggies, some seeds, small quantities of nuts and low GI fruits. Have a medium size meal every 3 hours. Drink plenty of water, green tea and some coffee (before 4pm) if you tolerate it well. No juice or fizzy drinks.

I you get those two right and have sufficient sleep, you should be losing around 1% of bf/week.

Also good to know:
Spot fat reduction is possible. If really your umbillical skin-fold is the biggest (that can only be determined when measured with callipers and compared with other sites), that may mean you've been subjected to prolonged stress exposure and your body is producing too much cortisol which results in a lot of fat in abdominal area. If that's the case, you're may also need specific sups that can improve your cortisol/testosterone ratio.
If it's not so much of a chunky fat flab but more like a bot-belly, it usually means internal inflammation - requires different supplement protocol.

[Prediction...Pain]

Training
Forget ab exercises. Train big muscle groups. Do squats, lunges, dips, pull ups, presses. Mix lower and upper body in supersets. Rep range 12-15, every set to failure, 30 sec rest between sets. Train 50 mins/session, 4 times/week.

Diet
Stop eating grains (until you're at single digit bf%). Eat meat (poultry, fish etc.), a lot of (especially green) veggies, some seeds, small quantities of nuts and low GI fruits. Have a medium size meal every 3 hours. Drink plenty of water, green tea and some coffee (before 4pm) if you tolerate it well. No juice or fizzy drinks.

I you get those two right and have sufficient sleep, you should be losing around 1% of bf/week.

Also good to know:
Spot fat reduction is possible. If really your umbillical skin-fold is the biggest (that can only be determined when measured with callipers and compared with other sites), that may mean you've been subjected to prolonged stress exposure and your body is producing too much cortisol which results in a lot of fat in abdominal area. If that's the case, you're may also need specific sups that can improve your cortisol/testosterone ratio.
If it's not so much of a chunky fat flab but more like a bot-belly, it usually means internal inflammation - requires different supplement protocol.

This is very good advice except I take issue with couple things. Only doing ab exercises of course won't work but there is no reason not to still do them. I love these - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47JaxAVwFpA

Also the no grains thing is completely unsustainable, imo. I tried that a while back and I literally started to go insane. Everyone is different but I believe we all need some sort of whole grain everyday. Gotta get that fiber! The key is to eat them in the morning/early afternoon. Irish oatmeal/rolled oats/some kind of high fiber, whole grain cereal for breakfast and maybe some brown rice with lunch. The earlier in the day the better. JMO.

[maddog12]

Training
Also good to know:
Spot fat reduction is possible. If really your umbillical skin-fold is the biggest (that can only be determined when measured with callipers and compared with other sites), that may mean you've been subjected to prolonged stress exposure and your body is producing too much cortisol which results in a lot of fat in abdominal area. If that's the case, you're may also need specific sups that can improve your cortisol/testosterone ratio.
If it's not so much of a chunky fat flab but more like a bot-belly, it usually means internal inflammation - requires different supplement protocol.

I think I have this. I got a bot-belly, without being fat. And I have been quite stressed in a couple of years.

What can you do about it?

[Deadendgeneration]

Training
Forget ab exercises. Train big muscle groups. Do squats, lunges, dips, pull ups, presses. Mix lower and upper body in supersets. Rep range 12-15, every set to failure, 30 sec rest between sets. Train 50 mins/session, 4 times/week.

Diet
Stop eating grains (until you're at single digit bf%). Eat meat (poultry, fish etc.), a lot of (especially green) veggies, some seeds, small quantities of nuts and low GI fruits. Have a medium size meal every 3 hours. Drink plenty of water, green tea and some coffee (before 4pm) if you tolerate it well. No juice or fizzy drinks.

I you get those two right and have sufficient sleep, you should be losing around 1% of bf/week.

Also good to know:
Spot fat reduction is possible. If really your umbillical skin-fold is the biggest (that can only be determined when measured with callipers and compared with other sites), that may mean you've been subjected to prolonged stress exposure and your body is producing too much cortisol which results in a lot of fat in abdominal area. If that's the case, you're may also need specific sups that can improve your cortisol/testosterone ratio.
If it's not so much of a chunky fat flab but more like a bot-belly, it usually means internal inflammation - requires different supplement protocol.

This is very good advice except I take issue with couple things. Only doing ab exercises of course won't work but there is no reason not to still do them. I love these - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47JaxAVwFpA

Also the no grains thing is completely unsustainable, imo. I tried that a while back and I literally started to go insane. Everyone is different but I believe we all need some sort of whole grain everyday. Gotta get that fiber! The key is to eat them in the morning/early afternoon. Irish oatmeal/rolled oats/some kind of high fiber, whole grain cereal for breakfast and maybe some brown rice with lunch. The earlier in the day the better. JMO.

I gave it 4 days. I felt pretty lethargic and actually gained weight. I think that was down to the fact that I hadn't had a good shit in those 4 days though.

[TempleSlave]

Training
Also good to know:
Spot fat reduction is possible. If really your umbillical skin-fold is the biggest (that can only be determined when measured with callipers and compared with other sites), that may mean you've been subjected to prolonged stress exposure and your body is producing too much cortisol which results in a lot of fat in abdominal area. If that's the case, you're may also need specific sups that can improve your cortisol/testosterone ratio.
If it's not so much of a chunky fat flab but more like a bot-belly, it usually means internal inflammation - requires different supplement protocol.

I think I have this. I got a bot-belly, without being fat. And I have been quite stressed in a couple of years.

What can you do about it?

Eat fish and grass-fed meat - both are rich in anti-inflammatory Omega 3s. Grain-fed meat has a lot of pro-inflammatory Omega 6s.
Supplement with vit D3, probiotisc, good quality fish oils (forget about high street cheap sh1t, your best bet is something like Nordic Naturals or Eskimo).

Couple of articles on the issue:

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Articles ... se_It.aspx

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Articles ... y_Fat.aspx

[TempleSlave]

Training
Forget ab exercises. Train big muscle groups. Do squats, lunges, dips, pull ups, presses. Mix lower and upper body in supersets. Rep range 12-15, every set to failure, 30 sec rest between sets. Train 50 mins/session, 4 times/week.

Diet
Stop eating grains (until you're at single digit bf%). Eat meat (poultry, fish etc.), a lot of (especially green) veggies, some seeds, small quantities of nuts and low GI fruits. Have a medium size meal every 3 hours. Drink plenty of water, green tea and some coffee (before 4pm) if you tolerate it well. No juice or fizzy drinks.

I you get those two right and have sufficient sleep, you should be losing around 1% of bf/week.

Also good to know:
Spot fat reduction is possible. If really your umbillical skin-fold is the biggest (that can only be determined when measured with callipers and compared with other sites), that may mean you've been subjected to prolonged stress exposure and your body is producing too much cortisol which results in a lot of fat in abdominal area. If that's the case, you're may also need specific sups that can improve your cortisol/testosterone ratio.
If it's not so much of a chunky fat flab but more like a bot-belly, it usually means internal inflammation - requires different supplement protocol.

This is very good advice except I take issue with couple things. Only doing ab exercises of course won't work but there is no reason not to still do them. I love these - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47JaxAVwFpA

Also the no grains thing is completely unsustainable, imo. I tried that a while back and I literally started to go insane. Everyone is different but I believe we all need some sort of whole grain everyday. Gotta get that fiber! The key is to eat them in the morning/early afternoon. Irish oatmeal/rolled oats/some kind of high fiber, whole grain cereal for breakfast and maybe some brown rice with lunch. The earlier in the day the better. JMO.

Haha, you're calling that ab exercise? I guess the folks with big belly problem would find even simple garhammers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT64WWw3sw8
challenging, let alone L pullups. Btw the lady from that vid is amazingly fit/strong for a woman!

As for diet, I'm well aware that switching to no-grain can be hard for people who have been eating them for years, but it's still the best fat loss strategy. Providing that, at the same time you'll up your veggies (best source of fibre) big time and keep high protein intake.
Grains as long as gluten-free (brown rice, quinoa, g-f oats) can be OK, especially if you train for hypertrophy or have very physically demanding work but if you're after fat loss it's best to stay away until you're at your desired body fat level.

[Deadendgeneration]

Training
Forget ab exercises. Train big muscle groups. Do squats, lunges, dips, pull ups, presses. Mix lower and upper body in supersets. Rep range 12-15, every set to failure, 30 sec rest between sets. Train 50 mins/session, 4 times/week.

Diet
Stop eating grains (until you're at single digit bf%). Eat meat (poultry, fish etc.), a lot of (especially green) veggies, some seeds, small quantities of nuts and low GI fruits. Have a medium size meal every 3 hours. Drink plenty of water, green tea and some coffee (before 4pm) if you tolerate it well. No juice or fizzy drinks.

I you get those two right and have sufficient sleep, you should be losing around 1% of bf/week.

Also good to know:
Spot fat reduction is possible. If really your umbillical skin-fold is the biggest (that can only be determined when measured with callipers and compared with other sites), that may mean you've been subjected to prolonged stress exposure and your body is producing too much cortisol which results in a lot of fat in abdominal area. If that's the case, you're may also need specific sups that can improve your cortisol/testosterone ratio.
If it's not so much of a chunky fat flab but more like a bot-belly, it usually means internal inflammation - requires different supplement protocol.

This is very good advice except I take issue with couple things. Only doing ab exercises of course won't work but there is no reason not to still do them. I love these - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47JaxAVwFpA

Also the no grains thing is completely unsustainable, imo. I tried that a while back and I literally started to go insane. Everyone is different but I believe we all need some sort of whole grain everyday. Gotta get that fiber! The key is to eat them in the morning/early afternoon. Irish oatmeal/rolled oats/some kind of high fiber, whole grain cereal for breakfast and maybe some brown rice with lunch. The earlier in the day the better. JMO.

Haha, you're calling that ab exercise? I guess the folks with big belly problem would find even simple garhammers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT64WWw3sw8
challenging, let alone L pullups. Btw the lady from that vid is amazingly fit/strong for a woman!

As for diet, I'm well aware that switching to no-grain can be hard for people who have been eating them for years, but it's still the best fat loss strategy. Providing that, at the same time you'll up your veggies (best source of fibre) big time and keep high protein intake.
Grains as long as gluten-free (brown rice, quinoa, g-f oats) can be OK, especially if you train for hypertrophy or have very physically demanding work but if you're after fat loss it's best to stay away until you're at your desired body fat level.

Interesting, I eat a lot of veggies, they probably make up the biggest part of my diet, followed closely by chicken breasts, but I still couldn't seem to go to the toilet properly when I cut out grains all together. Right now I'm back on Oats for breakfast and brown rice 2 or 3 times a week for lunch. No grains after lunch. Seems to be working out well. I'm sure it would have sorted itself eventually, but I felt really bunged up after 4 days of no grains.

[jewboypgh]

I'm gettin' far up there in years, had 4 major heart surgeries, and I'm what the doctor's call "borderline morbidly obese" and I smoke 3 cigars daily.
What can I do to get laid?

[Jeff Thomas]

Calories in vs calories out...

Sit ups are useless at this stage. You'd need to complete 30,000 to lose one gram of fat.

A balanced diet with a negative caloric intake will remove body fat as it will be utilised for energy.

[Raff The Frenchman]

There are 2 types of belly fat. One is when the fat is over the ab muscles, one is when the fat is under the abs, right with the bowels, and is often refered to as beer belly.
In the 1st case, its pretty easy and doing sit ups along with a a lot of protein should do the trick. The 2nd case is tougher and takes more time and usually requires doing a lot of road work and having very low carbs.

[ArtOfWar]

It also depends on how fat you are. If you have a lot of fat doing cardio on its own is not a good idea, because some of that fat could be loose skin. What you should ideally do is a weight lifting routine at a caloric deficit. You obviously can't build much muscle this way, but you will get stronger and preserve the muscle you do have. You'll also get better definition. If you do do some cardio, do an incline walk on the running machine. Doing 30 minutes or more on some high number is a quick way to turn yourself into a pencil neck with saggy skin.

[Deadendgeneration]

It also depends on how fat you are. If you have a lot of fat doing cardio on its own is not a good idea, because some of that fat could be loose skin. What you should ideally do is a weight lifting routine at a caloric deficit. You obviously can't build much muscle this way, but you will get stronger and preserve the muscle you do have. You'll also get better definition. If you do do some cardio, do an incline walk on the running machine. Doing 30 minutes or more and some high number is a quick way to turn yourself into a pencil neck with saggy skin.

Take a look at this article. http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1499282