Out of curiousity.

Purple Lemons

Is it possible to tone up tummy without going to the gym?

Would walking/joggng/running to lose fat and crunches to tone help?

Im 19, F, 5'7 and 8st 1lb and happy with my weight but find my tummy a bit of a nuicence (sp?)

Apologies if this has been done a thousand times over.
Any feedback greatly appreciated.

freelancerTax

from my own experience the best way to a flat tummy is long distance running - will reduce fat while tonning stomach.

Gillo

Yes, it's easy enough to do, although takes patience.

AFAIK diet is the main part, (everyone has a six pack it's just it's covered by a layer of fat for most people). A combination of crunches, opliques etc should do the job.

Purple Lemons

Patience, I got!

Not looking for a 6 pack, nothing close to that. It's just i noticed that since i came out of hospital a month ago, my stomach has a wee jiggle to it. Was thinking that the scars from hospital would look a bit better also if my stomach was a bit flatter.

With the running, what should be aiming for? 3/4 times a week? For how long etc?

Regards

Carl Sagan

You need to lower your body fat levels. It mainly takes careful dieting to do so, but exercise will help. If you post whatever you usually eat throughout the day then we can suggest some changes that will help.

As for exercise, I never found long distance running to help with losing fat, but things like HIIT work for me.

freelancerTax

i lost 3 stone in a year with running 5 miles every other day - also had a perfectly flat stomach from it - before that it was bulging (not just form fat)

worked for me

Carl Sagan

freelancerTax wrote: »

i lost 3 stone in a year with running 5 miles every other day - also had a perfectly flat stomach from it - before that it was bulging (not just form fat)

worked for me

Well it doesn't matter anyway, it was all just down to using more energy than you were taking in.

Anyway, a combination of cardio and resistance (weights,or bodyweight exercises) along with proper diet will give you a flat stomach in no time.

1ceman

If I'm reading that right you're definitely not overweight...

I'm no expert but I'd think that at that weight a run won't do a whole lot but a few pushups,situps&plank could go a long way to help you get a bit more definition to your body. All obviously doable from home.

But hey, like I said I'm no expert.

This guy however, is:
http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/category/home-workouts/

Hope that helps

Purple Lemons

Breakfast: Usually porridge, or a yoghurt and banana

Lunch: Tea and Toast, Juice and sandwich

Dinner: Potatoes with boiled chicken and cup of chicken soup, Steak pepper sauce and home made oven chippies, any form of an egg (boiled scrambled (white only) )

Snacks: Fruit mainly, or 2 digestives with my tea


I should probably mention too the fact that i do NOT do vegetables, under any circumstances.

Danger781

Purple Lemons wrote: »

I should probably mention too the fact that i do NOT do vegetables, under any circumstances.

Thats probably not good :P

Purple Lemons

Danger781 wrote: »

Thats probably not good :P

Probably not, but we all have our weaknesses

Danger781

Purple Lemons wrote: »

Probably not, but we all have our weaknesses

Why is that you don't do veggies anyway?

AARRRGH

Purple Lemons wrote: »

Breakfast: Usually porridge, or a yoghurt and banana

Lunch: Tea and Toast, Juice and sandwich

Dinner: Potatoes with boiled chicken and cup of chicken soup, Steak pepper sauce and home made oven chippies, any form of an egg (boiled scrambled (white only) )

Snacks: Fruit mainly, or 2 digestives with my tea


I should probably mention too the fact that i do NOT do vegetables, under any circumstances.

Is that a normal day, or a good day?

Personally I would drop the fruit and force yourself to eat vegetables. There are bound to be one or two you could eat. Also, you're an adult now, you already know a diet with no vegetables is very bad for you.

Also, cut out alcohol.

Purple Lemons

I just don't like them tbh.

I've tried to force myself to eat them, because i know i should, but te taste and texture of most vegetables makes me feel physicall ill.

I can just about handle cucumber (reminds me of melon )

AARRRGH

Purple Lemons wrote: »

I just don't like them tbh.

I've tried to force myself to eat them, because i know i should, but te taste and texture of most vegetables makes me feel physicall ill.

I can just about handle cucumber (reminds me of melon )

I really think it's something you need to get over. You're going to have problems in the future if you can't.

Btw the reason I don't think you should snack on fruit is because it is high sugar so if you eat too much of it your body will convert the glucose to fat.

corkcomp

Purple Lemons wrote: »

Is it possible to tone up tummy without going to the gym?

Would walking/joggng/running to lose fat and crunches to tone help?

Im 19, F, 5'7 and 8st 1lb and happy with my weight but find my tummy a bit of a nuicence (sp?)

Apologies if this has been done a thousand times over.
Any feedback greatly appreciated.

I'm more of a lurker than poster on here these days.. but seeing as its you lola, here goes

your diet looks ok. but try to cut back on stuff like toast, potatoes and biscuits. as for the vegetables pffft (lol) try starting off with peas and carrots and sweetcorn and work from there.

regarding exercise, if you like running do it 4 or 5 times week combined with body weight exercises.. swap around between steady pace running and intervals (like walk, run flat out, walk and rinse and repeat) BTW you do NOT NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT and ignore the poster who said cut out alcohol:pac:

Purple Lemons

AARRRGH wrote: »

I really think it's something you need to get over. You're going to have problems in the future if you can't.

Btw the reason I don't think you should snack on fruit is because it is high sugar so if you eat too much of it your body will convert the glucose to fat.

Was actually wondering would it work to just juice the vegetables..?

AARRRGH

Purple Lemons wrote: »

Was actually wondering would it work to just juice the vegetables..?

You could try! Not sure it would be very cost effective or tasty though.

Could you replace chips with roast vegetables? Or glazed carrots? Glazed parsnips are seriously similar to chips.

Purple Lemons

corkcomp wrote: »

I'm more of a lurker than poster on here these days.. but seeing as its you lola, here goes

your diet looks ok. but try to cut back on stuff like toast, potatoes and biscuits. as for the vegetables pffft (lol) try starting off with peas and carrots and sweetcorn and work from there.

regarding exercise, if you like running do it 4 or 5 times week combined with body weight exercises.. swap around between steady pace running and intervals (like walk, run flat out, walk and rinse and repeat) BTW you do NOT NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT and ignore the poster who said cut out alcohol:pac:

Im not trying to lose weight man, my mother would kill me if i did >.<

Just want to lose my belly, and don't drink enough as it is tbh.

G86

AARRRGH wrote: »

Could you replace chips with roast vegetables? Or glazed carrots? Glazed parsnips are seriously similar to chips.

Great idea, roast parsnips, turnips, or even sweet potatoes are seriously yummy!!

OP, at 8 stone you're definitely not overweight! I can understand the belly thing though, it's prob just the area where you're more prone to storing weight, and if it is then it'll be the hardest to shift. I'm the same and I find what works for me is steering clear of starchy carbs like potatoes (sweet potatoes aren't bad though), pasta, rice, bread and fizzy drinks. If I start back on any of those I immediately feel really bloated and I see a big difference in my stomach so I try to avoid them as much as possible. They're grand every now and then but I bet you'd see a big difference if you cut down your intake.

Oh aye and would you have oatcakes instead of biscuits with your tea?

Danger781

Ever tried raw carrots? They're nicer raw imo!

Sweetcorn is nice and you may like it if you try. As you can tell by the name it's one of the sweeter veggies and it has a nice yellow colour too

Generally, I also like peas. Only marrowfat peas though. If it's from a tin or a freezer I can't eat them.. They're just horrible. :rolleyes:

How about radishes? I'm not a big fan of them, but they sorta remind me of a spicy melon! You don't cook them.

Red peppers are also really nice when raw! Throw them into a sandwich or a wrap for a little extra bite.

What about lettuce? Sandwiches are always nicer with a bit of lettuce.

And just a note: When you're cooking veggies you want them to be done enough so they're not raw, but not overdone so they become soft and squishy and lose most of their nutritional value. :pac:

Purple Lemons

Chewing on a raw carrot right now instead of a nice slice of melon.

It's bloody horrid!

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions though

On the exercise side of this, plank sit ups and press ups, what should i be aiming for daily?

G86

Purple Lemons wrote: »

Chewing on a raw carrot right now instead of a nice slice of melon.

It's bloody horrid!

Why don't you try it with some hoummous as a dip? Hoummous is yummy with loads of things!

Danger781

G86 wrote: »

Why don't you try it with some hoummous as a dip? Hoummous is yummy with loads of things!

That's something I really want to try actually. I've heard so many people on this forum preaching about hummous :P

d'Oracle

I made hummous last week.......



Run for your lives children.

optimistic_

I've got a bag of chickpeas here to eventually make into my own humus...
Gotta love humus!

Dotcomdolly

optimistic_ wrote: »

I've got a bag of chickpeas here to eventually make into my own humus...
Gotta love humus!

or felafel - made some yesterday, oven baked rather than fried, very tasty.

eta - OP - I did Jillian Michaels 30 day shred dvd (on amazon for £6) and it really helped my stomach area. It's an intense 20 mins of cardio-strength-abs circuit - very effective for the time it takes.

Melia

I used to be very similar with the vegetable aversion (unfortunately, not with the being eight stone).

Tesco do a lovely houmous, in a round container with an orange cardboard slip over it. Marks & Spencer do a similar one. Great with carrot sticks, raw pepper, anything really. I could (and do) eat it with a spoon. If you like it, then try making it - it's not difficult.

Carrot sticks (and apple slices) are also nice with peanut butter. This may be weird, but I find carrots much nicer (cooked or raw) in stick form.

Would you eat vegetable soup if it was blended smooth? That was a great one for me. It's an easy way of packing in a few vegetables.

Do you cook at all? You can put vegetables into loads of things so that you barely notice them. The blender and masher are your new best friends. Try making things like pasta sauces (tomatoes, onions, peppers, carrots, celery...), curry sauces, cottage pies and stews with very finely chopped vegetables... and almost every vegetable is nice roasted. Vegetables can be nice stir fried as well.

I know they seems disgusting, but give them a chance. You don't have to like every vegetable (I still can't go near sweetcorn) but some of them I actually really enjoy now - tomatoes, onions, peppers, carrots, peas, green beans... the list goes on. Courgettes are okay, and I can manage broccoli as long as it's not in massive chunks (reminds me of little trees).

I'm about to make a pasta bake, with a cheese sauce made of ricotta cheese and boiled cauliflower, blended smooth. The tomato sauce has onions, chunky peppers, courgettes, broccoli, and carrots in it. Can't wait.

xgtdec

Just soup them like i do, not a vaggie fan i must admit but i do a 7 veg soup with tabasco and worstershire sauce.....good taste..loads a veg and with a few chillis...it sweats a few pounds off aswell:D