tummy fat, how best to get rid?!

Sin1981

Hi all,
I am a slim 27 year old girl. I have toned arms and legs, unfortunately though I have a flabby belly. I really hate it!! argh. Anyhow, what i find is that when I lose weight through exercise (running mostly) it comes off my legs, bum, arms, but comes off my belly last, if at all! Now, I have read in places that sit up's aren't the answer cos they only strengthen muscle that's there, but don't zap the fat. Correct? also, i know people will say to continue exercising, and that it will come off, but I know what will happen i.e. my legs will get a bit too skinny in the process (there's nicely toned and then there's skinny).
Anyhow, any adivce on how to tackle the belly!?
thanks!

Jumpy

You cant. You will have to clear it off the rest of you as well. Dont worry about skinny legs, build muscle in them and they wont be skinny anymore.

squod

Sin1981 wrote: »

Hi all,
I am a slim 27 year old girl. I have toned arms and legs, unfortunately though I have a flabby belly. I really hate it!! argh. Anyhow, what i find is that when I lose weight through exercise (running mostly) it comes off my legs, bum, arms, but comes off my belly last, if at all! Now, I have read in places that sit up's aren't the answer cos they only strengthen muscle that's there, but don't zap the fat. Correct? also, i know people will say to continue exercising, and that it will come off, but I know what will happen i.e. my legs will get a bit too skinny in the process (there's nicely toned and then there's skinny).
Anyhow, any adivce on how to tackle the belly!?
thanks!

Maybe post up your diet and current fitness/running routine. Could be due to carb rich, low fat diet.

cake girl

Hey, Im a personal trainer! Save up for a exercise bike or just join a gym! start with reps such as a five minute quick pace on the bike and then 30 crunches. do this 3 tines....should take about half an hour... gradualy build up the reps!l

sickpuppy

cake girl wrote: »

Hey, Im a personal trainer! Save up for a exercise bike or just join a gym! start with reps such as a five minute quick pace on the bike and then 30 crunches. do this 3 tines....should take about half an hour... gradualy build up the reps!l

With super advice like that are ya sure your not a fitness guru never mind apersonal trainer.

corkcomp

sickpuppy wrote: »

With super advice like that are ya sure your not a fitness guru never mind apersonal trainer.

lol, it seems quite a lot of personal trainers have joined boards in the last couple of months

metamorphosis

cake girl wrote: »

Hey, Im a personal trainer! Save up for a exercise bike or just join a gym! start with reps such as a five minute quick pace on the bike and then 30 crunches. do this 3 tines....should take about half an hour... gradualy build up the reps!l

I'm guessing you got your qualification form the early learning centre, yes?

Anyway - OP. Tummy fat: 1. Sort the diet. My advice is to read the stickies here and in the nutririon and diet forum. Then if you have questions re diet - come back and ask. Abdominal region is highly sensitive to diet.

Maybe introduce some exercise too. Interval cardio and resistance training perhaps?

Frogdog

OP, if Cake Girl is a personal trainer then I'm the Tooth Fairy.

UL Student's advice is correct and what you should be following.

Could you post up your average daily diet (warts and all)? As suggested previously, you could be eating too many carbs. But we don't know until you give us more information to make an informed decision.

FruitLover

I'm a personal trainer, and so is my wife! :pac:

Sin1981

Hi again,
Here is my diet, roughly:

breakfast:
cornflakes, with milk
orange juice,
wheat-free bread with butter and jam

Lunch:
wheat-free pitta, with rocket, tomato, coleslaw,
activia yoghurt,
fruit, normally apple, sometimes oranges, kiwi's,
tea

dinner:
varies a lot, some examples however:
stir fries with chicken, sometimes veg only. Veg include carrot,s peppers, courgettes, aubergine, sweet potato, onion, sugar snap peas
pasta, wheat-free as much as possible, and some veg as above.
fish dish, with potatoes, and roasted veg,
curries, thai/indian, made from scratch as much as possible, chicken in them normally, and some onions, peppers,
tea, and 2/3 biscuits, wheat-free mostly.

this is a rough diet. I also eat the following, but not everday.
eggs (maybe once every 2 weeks)
chips, once a week but no more
take away, not regularly
chocolate,
nuts and seeds,
fruit smoothies in the morning,
herbal teas
red meet, sometimes twice in the same week, then maybe not again for 2/3 weeks.
cereal bars, mostly wheat free.
jars of sauce, pasta/sweet and sour etc...


think I've given a good description of my diet. My diet isn't perfect, I can eat crappy foods as well as healthy stuff.

Can you answer me this: is tummy area highly sensitive to diet as it causes bloatedness and therefore fat appearance, or, does food/diet cause or encourage the body to store fat in the tummy area over other areas????

thanks v much for all your advice :-)

corkcomp

Sin1981 wrote: »

Hi again,
Here is my diet, roughly:

breakfast:
cornflakes, with milk
orange juice,
wheat-free bread with butter and jam

Lunch:
wheat-free pitta, with rocket, tomato, coleslaw,
activia yoghurt,
fruit, normally apple, sometimes oranges, kiwi's,
tea

dinner:
varies a lot, some examples however:
stir fries with chicken, sometimes veg only. Veg include carrot,s peppers, courgettes, aubergine, sweet potato, onion, sugar snap peas
pasta, wheat-free as much as possible, and some veg as above.
fish dish, with potatoes, and roasted veg,
curries, thai/indian, made from scratch as much as possible, chicken in them normally, and some onions, peppers,
tea, and 2/3 biscuits, wheat-free mostly.

this is a rough diet. I also eat the following, but not everday.
eggs (maybe once every 2 weeks)
chips, once a week but no more
take away, not regularly
chocolate,
nuts and seeds,
fruit smoothies in the morning,
herbal teas
red meet, sometimes twice in the same week, then maybe not again for 2/3 weeks.
cereal bars, mostly wheat free.
jars of sauce, pasta/sweet and sour etc...


think I've given a good description of my diet. My diet isn't perfect, I can eat crappy foods as well as healthy stuff.

Can you answer me this: is tummy area highly sensitive to diet as it causes bloatedness and therefore fat appearance, or, does food/diet cause or encourage the body to store fat in the tummy area over other areas????

thanks v much for all your advice :-)

hi OP - i would advise you to cut out everything in bold above - just because something is wheat free doesnt mean it is okay (if like most people you are not sensitive to wheat, its the carb + calorie content that is most important)

Sin1981

sorry I mean't to say that I go wheat free cos I think I have a wheat intolerance, I notice that when I eat to many bread-y things I get v bloated and go to toilet less often.

what is wrong with yoghurt...? you notice how little calcium I get? I don't eat cheese at all.

corkcomp

Sin1981 wrote: »

sorry I mean't to say that I go wheat free cos I think I have a wheat intolerance, I notice that when I eat to many bread-y things I get v bloated and go to toilet less often.

what is wrong with yoghurt...? you notice how little calcium I get? I don't eat cheese at all.

based on your posts above about abdominal fat, id guess you have taking in too many of the wrong type of carbs - carbs are not bad but fruit, veg and oats would be preferable to the carbs you get in yoghurts, esp low fat ones ... you can get plenty calcium from green veg, fish and cottage cheese ... you might be surprised how little calcium you get from a lot of yoghurts ... good diet, cardio 5 times a week and weights twice at least will help you, as long as you have a good program and diet is good over 80% of the time ...

Frogdog

Sin1981 wrote: »

Hi again,
Here is my diet, roughly:

breakfast:
cornflakes, with milk
orange juice,
wheat-free bread with butter and jam

Lunch:
wheat-free pitta, with rocket, tomato, coleslaw,
activia yoghurt,
fruit, normally apple, sometimes oranges, kiwi's,
tea

dinner:
varies a lot, some examples however:
stir fries with chicken, sometimes veg only. Veg include carrot,s peppers, courgettes, aubergine, sweet potato, onion, sugar snap peas
pasta, wheat-free as much as possible, and some veg as above.
fish dish, with potatoes, and roasted veg,
curries, thai/indian, made from scratch as much as possible, chicken in them normally, and some onions, peppers,
tea, and 2/3 biscuits, wheat-free mostly.

this is a rough diet. I also eat the following, but not everday.
eggs (maybe once every 2 weeks)
chips, once a week but no more
take away, not regularly
chocolate,
nuts and seeds,
fruit smoothies in the morning,
herbal teas
red meet, sometimes twice in the same week, then maybe not again for 2/3 weeks.
cereal bars, mostly wheat free.
jars of sauce, pasta/sweet and sour etc...


think I've given a good description of my diet. My diet isn't perfect, I can eat crappy foods as well as healthy stuff.

Can you answer me this: is tummy area highly sensitive to diet as it causes bloatedness and therefore fat appearance, or, does food/diet cause or encourage the body to store fat in the tummy area over other areas????

thanks v much for all your advice :-)

Hi OP,

I've highlighted what I believe to be the foodstuffs that are the reason for your excess bodyfat around your midsection. I'll explain why:

Breakfast
Corn Flakes - not healthy, more or less devoid of nutrition, full of sugar and simple carbs which will make you hungry an hour after eating them. Some of the best breakfasts include Weetabix, Muesli and Porridge. However, seeing that you might have a wheat intolerance Weetabix and Muesli should be ruled out. Porridge is, in my opinion, the best breakfast out there. Google the benefits of porridge. Make it with milk if you are afraid you're not getting aenough calcium.
Orange Juice - you'd be better off eating an orange if it's vitamin C you're after. Plus you get the added benefit of fibre. If it's orange juice from a carton you're drinking then it can be loaded full of sugar. You'd be better off with a glass of water or milk.
Bread and butter and jam - full of sugar and simple carbs again. Definitely contributing to your midsection.

Lunch

Your lunch looks healthy enough in fairness. You probably know already that coleslaw isn't great but if you cleaned up your breakfast then a bit of coleslaw at lunch wouldn't do too much harm. However, there's no protein in your lunch. Why is that? Your body uses more calories to break down protein than any other food type. It's also very important for the repair and recovery of your muscles. Muscle is the only thing in your body that burns fat. You should be aiming to feed your body protein throughout the day, not just in one go in your dinner. Try having a boiled/poached/scrambed egg for breakfast and some chicken/beef/fish/eggs for lunch also.

Dinner

I presume you eat your dinner sometime around 6 or 7? At this hour of the evening/night our bodies don't need carbs. Carbs give our bodies energy. We burn energy throughout the day to complete everyday tasks. After 7pm or so we're at our least active, therefore don't need as much energy as we would in the morning. That's why I listed porridge in the morning as it's full of complex carbs (the best type). You should aim to limit your carbs intake for this meal. There are carbs in veg, fruit, bread, pasta, rice, potatos etc. The white types of bread, pasta, rice etc contain simple (sugary) carbs. The brown types contain complex carbs. Complex carbs give off a steadier, slower release of energy throughout the day whereas simple carbs give you a sugar spike and leave you tired and hungry after an hour or so.

Biscuits, chips, takeaways are all full of trans fats which are one of the worst things you can put into your body. Remove these completely from your diet.
Chocolate - eat in moderation.
Smoothies and cereals bars, despite being advertised as healthy, are anything but. Full of sugar again.
Jars of sauce - full of sugar and salt. You'd be better of making your own sauce from scratch using fresh ingredients.

Hope the above helps!

cake girl

i got my degree over the internt

Sin1981

Ok thanks guys,
One thing though, do these foods, simple carbs, actually cause the body to store fat around midrif over other areas such as bum, legs etc? If so, what is the mechanism and why would the body adopt this?

beegirl

cake girl wrote: »

i got my degree over the internt

Of course you did :rolleyes:

corkcomp

cake girl wrote: »

i got my degree over the internt

obviously you were offline when they did the english grammar and spelling module?