Lingering fat

DonkeyRhubarb

Hi all,

Ive been working hard for the last year. I'm 5"10 and of slim enough build, but not skinny.

I started out at 90kg and thought this is enough. The beer belly and crap food eating was getting out of hand, so I got healthy and have stayed that way! I gym it up 3 days a week and thats a rule.

Ive gone from 90kg to 70kg (14st - 11 st) and Im happy at the weight I am now. Im not keen to lose anymore, but I still have lose fat around the belly and sides. There's not a lot, don't get me wrong, but everywhere else Im quite toned and relatively muscular. Theres ab's in there I just know it!

Ive heard people saying that theres no real way to get rid of a belly without losing overall weight; well I have!

Anyone and tips on how to finish the last mile???

Many thanks to all in advance.

**Timbuk2**

To be honest you need to just lose more weight. Besides, losing more weight will give you that well-defined look and get rid of the love handles etc.

Congratulations, by the way, on your weight loss up to date. You'll notice it's harder to lose the weight now as your body has to work harder to be able to get high heart rates, which are necessary to lose weight and increase fitness.
For example, when I started out in the gym I wasn't very fit and even walking on the treadmill would get my heart rate up high. Now I'd have to jog very fast to be able to get to that high heart rate, even though physically it is harder to jog now than it was to walk then.

By all means continue with the abs as well, but without shedding the last few layers the abs are going to look messy, even if they can be seen.
Good luck!

Khannie

I'd echo everything that's just been said. The 6 pack was a loooong time coming for me. I felt exactly the same way you do now....I knew the muscle underneath the fat was there and strong, but that last bit of fat can be stubborn enough to shift.

20KG is a very impressive achievement though. Well done and keep it up. You're nearly there.

unreggd

Hows your diet?

Goin the last miles Abs-wise is nearly always diet-related

Try keep a calorie deficit of 15/20%, and make sure you eat lots of healthy fats [mainly all except Saturated and Trans types]

Sounds ironic but you need to eat more fat to lose more, as the less you take in, the harder your body holds onto fat, esp your belly!

Congrats, and good luck

floggg

Khannie wrote: »

I'd echo everything that's just been said. The 6 pack was a loooong time coming for me. I felt exactly the same way you do now....I knew the muscle underneath the fat was there and strong, but that last bit of fat can be stubborn enough to shift.

20KG is a very impressive achievement though. Well done and keep it up. You're nearly there.

Can i ask what you did to shift it in the end and how long it took? How much more did you have to do for the last couple of kilos than you did for the first few?

I'm in a similar position to the OP, but started to feel that the last bit wasn't gonna shift too easily - was already on a fairly good diet (or so i thought) and struggled to see what else i could drop from it.

Decided to change tact for a bit and look to add on muscle and increase strength (doing starting strength) - i figure if i give it a go for a couple of months and hopefully the increased muscle mass will have a positive effect on my metabolism, which should help with fat loss in the long run, and will help tighten up loose skin. Also, have made F all progress on weights lately, so hopefully the new focus should remedy that.

Have upped the calories in the last week, but so far doesn't seem to have had any effect on the scales.I figure as long as the increased calorie intake is "clean," at the very least i can make strength gains without sliding backwards in terms of body fat.

MrGee

im also in a similar postion, i still have a slight belly and little bit of fat on my chest and sides, but im nearly there, ive gone from losing about a pound and a half a week to about a half pound.
Im still doing the same ammount of exercise but the lighter i get the slower it becomes, I think you just have to be patient and eventually through the hard work the remaining fat will dissapear. Good luck with shiftin the remainder of the gut, i know how hard it is.

**Timbuk2**

MrGee wrote: »

im also in a similar postion, i still have a slight belly and little bit of fat on my chest and sides, but im nearly there, ive gone from losing about a pound and a half a week to about a half pound.
Im still doing the same ammount of exercise but the lighter i get the slower it becomes, I think you just have to be patient and eventually through the hard work the remaining fat will dissapear. Good luck with shiftin the remainder of the gut, i know how hard it is.

Yes, the slowdown is the toughest bit. When I was at that stage, I thought 'If only it went as fast as it did at the very beginning, the fat would be gone in 2 weeks'
Although you're doing well, there's no shame in losing a half a pound a week - it's better than some people get when they are 'near the end' as it were.

I would also recommend trying different exercises. Your body can get used to an exercise and results won't come so quick. For example, if you do 30 mins of treadmill 4 times a week, replace 2 of those times with the rowing machine (or some other piece of equipment you don't use often). By throwing in a 'curved ball' to your exercise plan you can help avoid your weight loss 'plateau-ing' out

I hope I make sense