getting rid of belly fat

I am feeling really encouraged over all with my progress but I am not seeing any reduction in my belly fat. Any suggestions?

Wed. Jun 15, 11:34am

Sorry. . .

All of the evidence I've read, from every reputable source I've come across, from medical doctors to fitness trainers says the diet industry has us duped--there is no way to spot reduce except through liposuction. Each of us loses fat from our body as our own bodies decide. So, there's no diet or exercise that will cause you to lose fat from a particular part of the body. I've heard a little about stress hormones and how they may cause people to store fat around the belly, but I haven't seen anything that convinces me that the new supplements on the market that are supposed to target "stubborn belly fat" are more effective than any of the other supplements out there, and after reading the labels and seeing how much "natural" caffeine and other stimulants are in them, I decided it wasn't worth the health risks to try taking them.

HOWEVER, I have been told by 2 personal trainers and by my yoga instructor that doing lots of core strength and general ab exercises is really helpful not only for our health, but for toning the fascia around those muscles. It can help to tighten and firm up the area so that there's less "sagging." While it's not necessarily a reduction in fat, I'll take the slimmer and firmer appearance anyday!

Wednesday, June 15, 2005, 7:15 PM

belly fat

Have you ever read any of the Suzanne Somers weight loss books? It's not really a diet, it's about eliminating bad food (sugar, white stuff etc.), then combining your foods properly for optimal metabolism and fat burning. I notice when I eat right, my belly seems to be one of the first things I notice getting flattter ( not more tone, but that's my fault!) ha, ha..... Anyway, I checked her books out at the library and they were very informative about how are bodies process different kinds of foods and so forth. Really eye opening! I like it because there is no portion control, counting points etc.

Thursday, June 16, 2005, 9:29 AM

Hold your tummy

Tuck your tummy in throughout the day. By holding your stomach in it strengthens your ab muscles and supports your back. I have a horrible "gunt" since having my 10.5lb daughter, and I've noticed a difference in 2 weeks. I just try to stay conscience of it.
My source is 3 personal trainers.

Thursday, June 16, 2005, 2:37 PM

I hold in my belly all day long. 24 hours a day. Young dancing habit I suspect. It totally works. I really have been compared to jlo in my midsection.

Thursday, June 16, 2005, 2:40 PM

great comments thanks

Thursday, June 16, 2005, 3:23 PM

Ive been told that I gain most of my fat in my tummy area because of a condition. I can't think of the name. Can anyone help me out? If you know the condition, is there anything extra that I can do to help lose it? It has to do with an intolerance or something.

Monday, June 20, 2005, 12:25 PM

Belly Fat Tips

Hey Guys,

Stay away from sugar, white bread ect. I have two children 2.5 and 13 year old and I have notice my tummy shrinking in size with cardio burning fat, keeping my tummy tight through out the day and staying away from pasta’s, bread and sugar. I use healthier foods like spinach pasta's, wheat and so fort. Leg lifts for mid section and hard core waist twisters make a difference a really here's a good one lie on your back knees bent and slightly open between keeping legs bent left legs towards chest half way then back this you WILL feel in lower abs area. I am looking forward in proving a lot of people wrong on stubborn tummy fat it is possible just hard work. If I can do it, you can to!

Tuesday, June 21, 2005, 7:16 AM

Belly fat tips

Sorry forgot my name Jayjenny2002

Tuesday, June 21, 2005, 7:18 AM

this workout really works

Here are a few sample exercises...I have the entire abs DVD and it is killer. Of course, when is the last time I actually did it? Ha...I think I'll give it a shot tonight because goodness knows I carry most of my weight in my belly.

Link

Thursday, June 23, 2005, 5:52 PM

bumping this, I'd love some tips on this as well. Seems to be the hardest area for me no matter what I do.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 12:59 PM

South Beach and Belly Fat

An earlier poster mentioned eliminating sugar, white flour, etc. This is the basis of South Beach and I can attest to its ability to help you lose belly fat. Not sure how it works, but it is the first place you lose fat on the program.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 4:10 PM

As much as we all want to believe that we can target certain areas we can't. The only way is to lose fat, where ever it comes off it comes off. You can help it along by doing abdominal exercises to strengthen your core muscles. And an fyi for everyone out there sucking in your tummy is working those core muscles. I think people forget that.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006, 2:36 AM

I second working the core muscles. Whenever I do ab work, I reduce my belly fat.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 9:02 AM

Ingest a pile of vegetables, stop drinking milk, sugar and bread like other posters have said. But above all focus on adding great healthy plant based fruits and veggies. A diet of addition instead of elimination- (thanks whoever on PT taught me that)

Friday, February 9, 2007, 3:40 PM

Fast walkinjg while holding my torso erect and straight is helping me a lot

Friday, February 9, 2007, 4:56 PM

Ab lounge

Hi,

I have a lot of trouble with my belly fat since I had my daughter. I just got the AB XL lounge from TV. It is so awesome. It also comes with a cardio workout DVD and nutrition books. You can feel the workout straight away.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 12:25 PM

I also have a problem with belly fat ! I haven't had kids , but I feel like I have a tummy that looks like I did ! I've lost most of my weight , I have about 10 pounds to go. However , my stomach area has that stretched skin look & a little saggy. I always feel like it bulges out a bit in my jeans. Anyway, I've been doing serious ab workouts & watching what I eat. Hopefully it will have an effect !

Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 5:33 PM

Just how much are we talking about? Dr Oz says women should be under 32", men should be under 36 or is it 35? If you have a really large gut then this is the most dangerous fat to your heart. If you are just a bit flabby then then is another issue. How much more weight would you like to lose and how tall are you? The others are right, exercise can only do so much but it can help some. But if you're stretched out from being very overweight or pregnancy then you may not be able to get rid of it except surgically.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 5:55 PM

april 9, 3:40 poster said to cut out milk....
milk= belly fat?

Thursday, April 12, 2007, 1:46 PM

Anything that clogs up or congests the system will help you retain fat. You are what you eat, and milk, dairy etc contain saturated fat. Vegetables do not. It is pretty simple.

Thursday, April 19, 2007, 1:18 PM

From the SparkPeople article entitled, "Common Fitness Blunders:"

Myth #3: Abdominal exercises will help get rid of the fat around your belly. The key to lowering your body fat is burning calories. The best way to torch calories is through cardio. The core muscles are very important to strengthen but unfortunately you don’t burn many calories by working them. Therefore, spending most of your exercise time each workout on abdominal exercises doesn’t make sense. You will burn many more calories and lose overall body fat in all areas of your body by working your larger muscle groups… quadriceps, upper back, chest, shoulders and hamstring/buttocks. Riding a bike, running on a treadmill, or doing the elliptical works all of these large muscle groups, but it’s also important to add a bit more resistance with strength training exercises.

The link is to a calculator that uses the waist to hip ratio to determine to what extent your waistline may affect your health.

- Hussy

Link

Thursday, April 19, 2007, 1:44 PM

My own personal experience has been that I see a noticeable improvment when I add an ab element to my work out. I generally do 100-150 crunches of varying types. Then stretch.

I also practice holding my stomach in from time to time.

My tummy insn't flat by any means but to me it looks better. So while I won't be sporting a six paxk anytime soon, I look at the ab element as an important and beneficial part of my work out.

booglass

Monday, April 23, 2007, 12:13 PM

2 Cesareans and lots of Sit up pain..

Well I had two c-sections with my little ones, and sit ups hurt like heck. My stomach isnt all that big but could use some firming. I have lost weight, all around because of cardio 5 times a week, and I was sokced when I notice my bulging belly actually looks smaller- I barely did ab work. I will do about 15-20 sit ups a day which is all I can do, cause the scar tissue hurts. But its coming off workign my whole body out.

Monday, April 23, 2007, 5:18 PM

It is not true that simply burning calories will help you lose belly fat. It is mostly true, but certain fats tend to collect around your belly and butt. You need to cut calories, but you also need to cut fat, especially saturated (animal) fat.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 10:55 AM

to the 5:18 poster

Be encouraged. I've had 3 sections and finally (it has taken 7 years) I can do sit ups w/o pain. Some of us just take longer to heal.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 12:00 PM

I have heard that you should drink at least 8oz of milk? Any feedback?

Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 2:50 PM

milk is over rated. I never drink it, and I've lost a fair bit of weight. That being said, I still have cheese. (And LOTS of red meat and butter. Sat fat doesn't keep me from having a flat stomach).

Now, no, you cannot burn fat from one specific area. However, when someone want's to "lose belly fat" it's often that they just want their stomach to look better. Various things make our stomach look bad- poor posture, untoned muscles, bloat (if you have gas it takes up space, if your digestive system is clogged, it takes up more space), even gravity. Don't forget that most of your internal organs are held in place by the muscles- they're not attached to bone. If your muscles aren't holding everything in place, then they can sag.

So by changing diet and working your core, you can spot reduce in that you can change the appearance of your abs- how much depending on how much excess wieght you have, no, you cannot remove fat from just your abs.

My secret to a flat stomach? No wheat, no corn, no milk and t-tapp.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 2:58 PM

metabolic syndrome

you might have this or have insulin resistance... people with these conditions tend to store their extra weight around their abdomen, which is unhealthy. You might want to ask your doc for some tests!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 10:32 PM

Getting Rid of Stomach Fat

If you are looking for information about losing belly fat I would recommend reading the article Getting Rid of Stomach Fat. One thing I found particularly interesting was that getting a good night's sleep can help lower the amount of cortisol your body makes, thus reducing the amount of fat that is deposited around the gut area. Sleep... now there's something I can do :)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 5:18 PM

EAT CLEAN

Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 5:37 PM

It's different for different people but at some age, generally in middle age somewhere, you will start putting on fat around your mid section. It's known as "central spreading". It happens. It's normal. You can somewhat reduce the fat there as part of overall weight reduction but you can't specifically loose weight there. The only way to 're-contour' your body is through liposuction. Lots and lots of women in California have liposuction. And love the results.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 6:33 PM

I'm from CA and I don't know anyone who has had lipo (well I'm from the Bay Area....maybe you're refering about the LA area lol). I think the best way is through weight training, clean eating, eating foods suggested in the Abs Diet, and cardio.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 7:05 PM

Yes, actually it was primarily the Los Angeles area I was thinkign of.

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Monday, December 28, 2009, 3:25 AM

While I apore spam, I'm glad this thread got bumped. I tighten my butt up all the time and it is looking good. I never thought about doing the same for my stomach. I'll have to start that today.

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 7:58 PM

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 8:06 PM

If you can't get rid of your belly fat, the real problem may be that you have Diastasis Recti. It is the separation of your abdominal muscles usually due to pregnancy, but also can happen to athletes and people who lift weights. When the muscles have separated down the middle of your abdomen, you no longer have the core muscle support that holds everything nice and tight. The muscles are slack, allowing your stomach to bulge out.

Most people (including some doctors) don't know anything about it. Most women who have it, just live with the extra belly weight their whole life. They can't get rid of it because it does not go away on it's own, and they do not know the correct exercises. Traditional exercises like sit ups actually make the problem worse. Some women with the means have surgery (a tummy tuck) to take care of it.

There are a few voices out there who say that the correct exercises will close the gap between the muscles and strengthen your core. Julie Tupler wrote a book called 'Lose Your Mummy Tummy'. My friend has diastasis, and gave me the book when we realized after my last pregnancy that I had the problem as well.

Here's how to see if you have it---

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, and the soles of your feet on the floor.
2. Place one hand behind your head, and the other hand on your abdomen, with your fingertips across your midline—pointing toward your toes— at the level of your belly button.
3. With your abdominal wall relaxed, gently press your fingertips into your abdomen.
4. Roll your head and shoulders off the floor into a “crunch,” making sure that your ribcage moves closer to your pelvis.
5. Move your fingertips back and forth across your midline, feeling for the right and left sides of your Rectus Abdominis muscle.

If the muscle is just flat with no valley down the middle, you're fine.

If the muscle is separated and your fingers have sunk into a valley in the middle, you have diastasis recti. I can fit three fingers in my 'valley'.

If you have this problem, I recommend researching it and taking a look at Julie Tupler's website. If you're interested, I started a group here on PeerTrainer and would love some people to join in supporting and keeping each other accountable as we exercise to correct this problem! It's called " Moms with diastasis recti who need to exercise right!

Friday, February 26, 2010, 5:23 PM

If you believe that you might have the condition, consult your physician to receive a diagnosis. Without a medical diagnosis, you could be doing more harm than good to yourself.

Friday, February 26, 2010, 5:32 PM

I can very much recommend buying a hula-hoop for an amazingly fun core workout. You can learn to do tricks and really go to town, or just go round and round in front of the telly. Sit ups never made me giggle; hula does!

Saturday, February 27, 2010, 3:15 PM

I have some friends who do an acrobat show and they use a hula hoop to get in shape and the guys have abs of STEEL. I would love to get one and start working out.

Saturday, February 27, 2010, 4:25 PM

Go for it! But make sure you get a proper one, not a toy one for kids. The hand-taped weighted ones are so easy to use you can hula for hours; the toy ones are so tricky they fall down within seconds! Maybe you could run away and join the circus, too ;)

Sunday, February 28, 2010, 9:56 AM

Apparently ignorance is bliss. There are indeed people who do acrobatic shows and even teach the subject at schools. It's an amazing workout and takes killer abs to do the stunts these people do. There are several acts at Ren Faires all around the country and their talents and skills go back to a time long before America even existed.

I guess it takes skill and coordination to do a real hula hoop. I've never had problems with them falling down, you just have to have skill in your hips to do it.

Sunday, February 28, 2010, 10:35 AM

New PEERtrainer article: How To Burn Belly Fat (The Science)

Link

Saturday, June 2, 2012, 1:58 PM

Tummy tuck

I had the same issue as you so I decided to opt for a tummy tuck procedure! I found that it really helped my issue!

Link

Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 10:08 AM

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