Need to lose the belly

Spring Onion

Hi,

I am somewhat overweight but it's manly around my belly. I am relatively fit too. I want to lose the belly and I want to lose it fast. Can anyone recommend the best way to lose weight around the stomach besides cutting down on calories? I have been swimming and cycling and I might go back to running.

syklops

You can't spot reduce fat. For some reason men naturally gather fat around their middle.

Can anyone recommend the best way to lose weight around the stomach besides cutting down on calories

So you want to lose weight and not diet, ok.

If you dont want to radically change your diet, take up weights. Heavy ones.

metamorphosis

Spring Onion wrote: »

Hi,

I am somewhat overweight but it's manly around my belly. I am relatively fit too. I want to lose the belly and I want to lose it fast. Can anyone recommend the best way to lose weight around the stomach besides cutting down on calories? I have been swimming and cycling and I might go back to running.

This is the important part I am afraid. If you address the diet, it will be far more effective than trying to increase quantity of exercise. What's your typical day to day diet look like? An honest representation. By making changes to some of the foods you may be eating, it can really help (theoretical of course, it depends on what you are currently eating).

Given that you are looking for it 'fast', diet should be looked at

Spring Onion

I should have said as well as cutting down on calories. I know I need to reduce my calorie intake but I want to understand the best exercises too.

cmyk

Spring Onion wrote: »

Hi,
I am somewhat overweight but it's manly around my belly. I am relatively fit too. I want to lose the belly and I want to lose it fast. Can anyone recommend the best way to lose weight around the stomach besides cutting down on calories? I have been swimming and cycling and I might go back to running.

Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition.

I wouldn't imagine you'll get any different response no matter the amount of replies. If you're not on top of that, your exercise choice will make little or no difference. Having said that, if you have access to, or the attraction to a gym then 2-3 weekly full body resistance training sessions is a good place to start.

If you won't/can't/or have no interest in that, you could do some bodyweight circuits on top of your swimming/cycling/running.

Glock Lesnar

There's no such thing as spot reduction, you have to lose fat from everywhere and through this process the fat will come off your stomach too.

Diet will be your main weapon here and really the only truly effective tool in your arsenal, I'm at anytime between 8 and 12% body fat and rarely do any form of cardio.

There are a variety of diet methods and routines available on the web and the majority of them are pure muck, you'll need to find one that will provide proven results but more importantly will work for you.

I would advocate Martin Berkhan's leangains method. It allows you to stay full and and eat full hearthy meals while also losing weight.

Unfortunately I can't post links because I don't gav enough posts yet.

A google search for "leangains" will bring you to Martins site.

The most convenient way to familiarise yourself with the method is to google "Martin berkhan client reddit AMA PDF"

This is a quick guide to the method provided by a client of berkhans.

The general idea of the program is to restrict your eating to a 6-8 hour window meaning you're effectively fasted for the rest of the day, the best thing about the method is that you don't spend hours of your life eating white fish out of Tupperware dishes and worrying about eating every two hours.

You'll eat more on your training days and less on your off days, to calculate what your calorie count/macro breakdown will be use google leangains calculator.

On the days you lift weights you'll eat to your maintainece, on your off days you'll drop a combined total of 3500 calories off your maintenance over the 4 days. 3500 calories should equal a pound of body fat loss per week.

As for training, 3 days a week heavy, I like martins own reverse pyramid method but you can substitute in any proven 3 day routine you like. I don't squat or deadlift personally and I have excellent back and leg development.

Hope you gain something from reading this and if you choose this approach feel free to ask me any follow up questions you need.

We're all gonna make it

Bruno26

Spring Onion wrote: »

Hi,

I am somewhat overweight but it's manly around my belly. I am relatively fit too. I want to lose the belly and I want to lose it fast. Can anyone recommend the best way to lose weight around the stomach besides cutting down on calories? I have been swimming and cycling and I might go back to running.

Cut your carb intake. Cut out all processed food. Cut out sugar. Cut out or limit grains. You don't need to count calories. Eat as much real food as you want or until you feel satisfied. Do weights and sprints.

runawaybishop

Bruno26 wrote: »

Cut your carb intake. Cut out all processed food. Cut out sugar. Cut out or limit grains. You don't need to count calories. Eat as much real food as you want or until you feel satisfied. Do weights and sprints.

Fook off with this bollocks again will you.

tastyt

Have to say, and this is just personal training experience but just start with cutting out the sugar and back a little on the carbs, you'll be surprised at the difference it makes, you really will.

Bruno26

runawaybishop wrote: »

Fook off with this bollocks again will you.

Intelligent response!

You're getting annoyed by a stranger in a random forum on the internet where most posters believe they know everything there is to know about nutrition. Calm down. Try to respond more articulately next time.

Brian?

runawaybishop wrote: »

Fook off with this bollocks again will you.

Mod Note: Take it easy with the language please.

Dtp1979

Bruno26 wrote: »

Cut your carb intake. Cut out all processed food. Cut out sugar. Cut out or limit grains. You don't need to count calories. Eat as much real food as you want or until you feel satisfied. Do weights and sprints.

I don't get why anyone wouldn't think this would work??

Bruno26

Dtp1979 wrote: »

I don't get why anyone wouldn't think this would work??

Yes it's strange.

Many posters here believe the only way to lose the fat / weight is through a calorie deficit. They believe in counting calories. They believe the person must be on a diet to succeed. They don't like to be told there is another better and actually sustainable way.

CM24

Bruno26 wrote: »

Yes it's strange.

Many posters here believe the only way to lose the fat / weight is through a calorie deficit.

It is. Unless you're suggesting liposuction or something.

Bruno26

CM24 wrote: »

It is. Unless you're suggesting liposuction or something.

Eat real food. Do weights. What's so difficult to understand ?

MaceFace

Bruno26 wrote: »

Eat real food. Do weights. What's so difficult to understand ?

Can we agree that very few, if anyone, agrees with your claim that you can eat as much fat and protein as you wish as long as you are on a low carb diet?

I think it fair that people who are not following your posts understand this.

johnybean

Bruno26 wrote: »

Eat real food. Do weights. What's so difficult to understand ?

Bruno26

MaceFace wrote: »

Can we agree that very few, if anyone, agrees with your claim that you can eat as much fat and protein as you wish as long as you are on a low carb diet?

I think it fair that people who are not following your posts understand this.

Eat real food when hungry. Stop eating real food when you're satisfied. Real food satiates the appetite. It's not being on a diet. It's eating the way we are meant to eat. I eat as much as I want. I used to overeat when my diet included sugar and grains.

I do think it's hard to over eat on high protein diet and it's probably a good idea but taking that to an extreme of eating a bajillion calories and not gaining weight is too far

seamus

Bruno26 wrote: »

Eat real food when hungry. Stop eating real food when you're satisfied. Real food satiates the appetite. It's not being on a diet. It's eating the way we are meant to eat. I eat as much as I want. I used to overeat when my diet included sugar and grains.

So basically what you're saying is that the diet you prefer involves a calorie deficit.

That's great that a low carb diet works for you, but it's not the only way. There are plenty of ways to eat carbs and have a calorie deficit.

MaceFace

Bruno26 wrote: »

Eat real food when hungry. Stop eating real food when you're satisfied. Real food satiates the appetite. It's not being on a diet. It's eating the way we are meant to eat. I eat as much as I want. I used to overeat when my diet included sugar and grains.

Which is different that what you have been saying for the last few weeks...

roadsmart

I think what the OP is asking is what excercises should he be doing, not advice on diet which he has already considered.

Bruno26

seamus wrote: »

So basically what you're saying is that the diet you prefer involves a calorie deficit.

That's great that a low carb diet works for you, but it's not the only way. There are plenty of ways to eat carbs and have a calorie deficit.

No that's exactly what I'm not saying. I eat on average 4000 calories a day . Exercise couple of times a week. It's not a diet. It's eating real food . Being on a diet implies restricting calories.

TimeToShine

runawaybishop wrote: »

Fook off with this bollocks again will you.

You realize it makes you look infinitely more stupid when you keep replying to him. Every single god damn thread he gives his opinion and you have 5 idiots up in arms about their precious science derailing it for multiple pages.

FWIW, I would bet my house that the average joe trying to lose his belly could not put on weight by eating a paleo diet but this is the last place you would try and advocate common sense.

Oryx

Yeah, lets not turn this into the Bruno vs the world show again. We got the point (again). Please let it go now.

OP, do you do any core or strength work?

Norma_Desmond

To lose weight I controlled my diet by almost completely eliminating sugar and gluten (apart from very rare occasions of weakness, odd chipper etc.).

I've also eliminated dairy, but that's due to believing myself allergic.

By cutting out this stuff, it leaves a smaller window for what I can actually eat in my diet, cutting out things like cake, biscuits, sweets, pizza, ice-cream etc.
There are gluten free options for biscuits etc, but I'm not going to pay €3 for a pack of six biscuits..

It also means that I eat better at meal times, lots of veg, unprocessed meats, potato, rice.

Not saying it is something you would want to undertake, but it has definitely worked for me.
Strict diet, running a few times a week and my weight keeps dropping, not at an incredible rate, but I'd imagine it's a healthy way to do it.

Just my two cents anyway. Best of luck with it.

dissed doc

Use one of the online programs like myfitnesspal to keep track honestly what you are eating. Skip lunch, you won't miss it. Have a good breakfast, e.g., a few pastries or fruit and at dinner have loads of veg and fish or meat - but skip the potatoes or pasta. You don't need energy from crabs in the evening time, but you do in the morning and over the daytime.

If you stick to e.g., 2000kcal/day, you will start to drop a few kg every month. Throw in a few bike rides or jogging a few times a week or exercises (doesn't have to be in a gym or anything special).

Bruno26

dissed doc wrote: »

Use one of the online programs like myfitnesspal to keep track honestly what you are eating. Skip lunch, you won't miss it. Have a good breakfast, e.g., a few pastries or fruit and at dinner have loads of veg and fish or meat - but skip the potatoes or pasta. You don't need energy from crabs in the evening time, but you do in the morning and over the daytime.

If you stick to e.g., 2000kcal/day, you will start to drop a few kg every month. Throw in a few bike rides or jogging a few times a week or exercises (doesn't have to be in a gym or anything special).

Your idea of a good breakfast are a few pastries?

Then they can skip lunch?

Nothing wrong with crabs in the evening!


Jogging will not help.

Mellor

Bruno26 wrote: »

I eat on average 4000 calories a day .

No you don't

Spring Onion

Oryx wrote: »

OP, do you do any core or strength work?

No

Spring Onion

roadsmart wrote: »

I think what the OP is asking is what excercises should he be doing, not advice on diet which he has already considered.

Yes absolutely.

seamus

So I guess the OP's got the message now that he just has to stick with watching the food to get the best results.

Strength and toning exercises around the midriff will help - but only in the shape. In that regard you might find that when you look at yourself after getting out of the shower you will be a little less pot-bellied and a little less love-handled around the middle, but so long as the fat persists the muffin top will still make an appearance when you put on your jeans. There's no way to eliminate that with weights or sit-ups.

Bruno26

Mellor wrote: »

No you don't

I do. Did you add it up from the list I posted?

Mellor

Bruno26 wrote: »

I do. Did you add it up from the list I posted?

You've posted your diet elsewhere. It doesn't look like a 4000 cals diet to me.
Sure, how do you know how many calories are there? You don't count calories and you eat as much as you like.


Edit:
Bruno, we need to get you your own thread

Bruno26

Mellor wrote: »

You've posted your diet elsewhere. It doesn't look like a 4000 cals diet to me.
Sure, how do you know how many calories are there? You don't count calories and you eat as much as you like.


Edit:
Bruno, we need to get you your own thread

I don't count. I added it up for you guys! According to myfitnesspal it was around 4000.

What should it be called?

Eat like fook and stay in shape forever.

Oryx

Bruno, this is not all about you. Do not post in this thread again.

roadsmart

Aaaaaaaaand back to the original question. I'm interested too, and in pretty much the same boat as the OP. I have the diet and a bit of jogging covered, but what excercises do I need to do to work on the stomach fat?

gordongekko

This question is asked over and over again without really getting and answer other than eat less and maybe that's the only answer but if the question was phrased as "if I want to strengthen my stomach and back muscles what are the best exercises to do?" Would the answers be different?

dissed doc

I think basic exercise that do not need gym or equipment (maybe just a mat at home) can be e.g., 30 x crunches, 30x situps, 30x V-ups every second day, along with e.g., 30 x pushups, 30 x wide pushups and 30 x diamond pushups. After a couple of weeks, that is not hard and not time consuming.

runawaybishop

gordongekko wrote: »

This question is asked over and over again without really getting and answer other than eat less and maybe that's the only answer but if the question was phrased as "if I want to strengthen my stomach and back muscles what are the best exercises to do?" Would the answers be different?

That's not the question though and strengthening your back or stomach muscles wont get rid of the flab. Planks, rollouts, bridges, good mornings and deadlifts would be good exercises but be careful, your core and lower back are designed for stabilisation.

Mellor

gordongekko wrote: »

This question is asked over and over again without really getting and answer other than eat less and maybe that's the only answer but if the question was phrased as "if I want to strengthen my stomach and back muscles what are the best exercises to do?" Would the answers be different?

Of course the answers would be different. It's a completely different question.

gordongekko

But would stronger stomach muscles not help?

The thing about flab is that it'll sit on the muscles anyway ... so it's two different issues

Seanachai

Cut out the wheat at least for a while if you can hack it ( it can be really tough for first 2 weeks ) and avoid hidden sugar in things like supermarket potato salad etc. Can you grab the fat in your hand or is your entire abdomen bloated?. You may have dysbiosis/candida issues also.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1609614798

CapricornOne

So much broscience in this thread. The only way to "lose the belly" is a calorie deficit. How you get there, be it by eating less or adding extra cardio, is up to you.

CM24

''Eating less'' makes it sound very miserable though. You can actually eat more, in terms of volume. The foods just have to be less calorie dense.ie. Vegetables instead of pasta.

I'd kind of agree with Bruno in that it's hard to go wrong when you just stick to eating healthy food, although it is possible. I remember when I was doing my PT course, the instructor was telling us about some tasty healthy foods we should be eating and he mentioned Dark Chocolate and Coconut Milk, amongst other things. So one of the lads in the class went off on his lunch break and bought a full Lindt dark chocolate bar and a full can of Coconut Milk and had them with his lunch. That's 1500 calories! He was actually trying to lose fat as well.

deco72

dissed doc wrote: »

Use one of the online programs like myfitnesspal to keep track honestly what you are eating. Skip lunch, you won't miss it. Have a good breakfast, e.g., a few pastries or fruit and at dinner have loads of veg and fish or meat - but skip the potatoes or pasta. You don't need energy from crabs in the evening time, but you do in the morning and over the daytime.

If you stick to e.g., 2000kcal/day, you will start to drop a few kg every month. Throw in a few bike rides or jogging a few times a week or exercises (doesn't have to be in a gym or anything special).

This is absolute bull****, if you want to lose weight. Why would you skip a meal and starve yourself. I eat about 3-5 meals a day and have been dropping weight since I started doing so. I train 3 times a week for 1 hour lifting weights and in the space of 5months have dropped 19lbs in bodyweight and certainly toned up.

If you eat well and often then you will loose weight. You need to lift weights and have a good clean diet. Stay away from carbs unless after training (as this helps with recovery).

Meal 1 (Breakfast 8:00): eggs and bacon/salmon
Meal 2 (Snack 10:30): Nuts
Meal 3 (Lunch 12:30): Chicken/Salmon/Steak/Tuna and salad
Meal 4 (Snack 3:30): Tuna/nuts/peanut butter something that is high in good fats/protein
Meal 5 (Dinner 6:30): Chicken/Fish/Steak/Lean Mince and lots of veg (especially green veg).

Drink 3-5 Litres of water a day, some green tea and could take some fish oil tablets as well to help.

This will work for you. I stick to something like this and have seen huge results.

runawaybishop

deco72 wrote: »

This is absolute bull****, if you want to lose weight. Why would you skip a meal and starve yourself. I eat about 3-5 meals a day and have been dropping weight since I started doing so. I train 3 times a week for 1 hour lifting weights and in the space of 5months have dropped 19lbs in bodyweight and certainly toned up.

If you eat well and often then you will loose weight. You need to lift weights and have a good clean diet. Stay away from carbs unless after training (as this helps with recovery).

Meal 1 (Breakfast 8:00): eggs and bacon/salmon
Meal 2 (Snack 10:30): Nuts
Meal 3 (Lunch 12:30): Chicken/Salmon/Steak/Tuna and salad
Meal 4 (Snack 3:30): Tuna/nuts/peanut butter something that is high in good fats/protein
Meal 5 (Dinner 6:30): Chicken/Fish/Steak/Lean Mince and lots of veg (especially green veg).

Drink 3-5 Litres of water a day, some green tea and could take some fish oil tablets as well to help.

This will work for you. I stick to something like this and have seen huge results.

You don't need to eat often to lose weight, nor do you need to stay away from carbs unless it is after training (carb window is largely broscience and irrelevant to most people). Doing this might work for you, but it is by no means the only way to do it.

deco72

runawaybishop wrote: »

You don't need to eat often to lose weight, nor do you need to stay away from carbs unless it is after training (carb window is largely broscience and irrelevant to most people). Doing this might work for you, but it is by no means the only way to do it.

I never once said that this is the only way to do it. Of course there are plenty of ways of losing weight. I am just giving an example that this will work and have seen it work for many others too.

Most people just overindulge in carbs and sugars which leads to weight gain so by cutting these out you are bound to see changes.

runawaybishop

deco72 wrote: »

I never once said that this is the only way to do it. Of course there are plenty of ways of losing weight. I am just giving an example that this will work and have seen it work for many others too.

Most people just overindulge in carbs and sugars which leads to weight gain so by cutting these out you are bound to see changes.

It will work for some people and not for others, you are claiming it will work for all.

MJP2608

Bruno26 wrote: »

Yes it's strange.

Many posters here believe the only way to lose the fat / weight is through a calorie deficit.

Probably because it's indisputable fact according to the laws of physics and biology.