General Discussion Triathlon Talk » The Age Old issue - belly fat Rss Feed  
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2010-06-25 10:00 AM

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Subject: The Age Old issue - belly fat
So I lost some weight this year, and then started training for a tri. So I'm in the best shape I've been in 15+ years.  I'm down to about 10% bodyfat.  I have no fat on my legs, back, arms, nothing. Everything looks great.. except my stomach!

I think I'm genetically predisposed to carry a spare tire.  My dad is overweight, but only in his belly.  He's like a weeble-wobble that way.
I feel like the only way I'd ever have a flat stomach is if I have extreme weight loss and get down to like 5% body fat. And that's totally unrealistic for me.

Any thoughts or suggestions for getting rid of the tire?


2010-06-25 12:26 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
Sorry, I have no advice, but I hope someone does because it seems like all my extra weight is in my midsection as well.
I actually wouldn't mind being at my current weight if it were distributed differently like in the chest and backside (I'm a woman if you haven't guessed ). After 3 pregnancies and lots of weight gain and loss, my stomach looks awful. 
From what I understand, you can't do anything to target fat loss in one specific area, so I just keep trying to lose weight/fat.
I'm very interested to see what others have to say about this.
2010-06-26 2:55 AM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
Run! Well do everything you normally do, run, bike, swim. Running is a full body workout therefore you are burning fat everywhere in your body. The potential to loose weight swimming is even higher, but you need to be doing some serious laps in the pool. Also if you do ab-workouts you will be building muscle in that specific place. Muscle eats fats like nothing else, so more muscle less fat. Don't be discouraged though if you don't have a six pack by the end of the month. Abs are the hardest part of the body to tone down and it takes more dedication than any other part of your body. Also you can do sit - ups all do day every day but unless you trim the belly fat by running, and or swimming you will never see your abs!

When I say run or swim, don't exclude cycling, or weightlifting or whatever else you do, these are just what I have found most useful.  
2010-06-28 9:18 AM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
Apotheosis - 2010-06-25 10:00 AM So I lost some weight this year, and then started training for a tri. So I'm in the best shape I've been in 15+ years.  I'm down to about 10% bodyfat.  I have no fat on my legs, back, arms, nothing. Everything looks great.. except my stomach!

I think I'm genetically predisposed to carry a spare tire.  My dad is overweight, but only in his belly.  He's like a weeble-wobble that way.
I feel like the only way I'd ever have a flat stomach is if I have extreme weight loss and get down to like 5% body fat. And that's totally unrealistic for me.

Any thoughts or suggestions for getting rid of the tire?


Need more information

What is your diet like?  How many time a day do you eat and what are you eating what does a typical days meals look like? 

Are you doing any resistance/weight training?
2010-06-30 4:27 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
Cyclolv - 2010-06-26 2:55 AM Run! Well do everything you normally do, run, bike, swim. Running is a full body workout therefore you are burning fat everywhere in your body. The potential to loose weight swimming is even higher, but you need to be doing some serious laps in the pool. Also if you do ab-workouts you will be building muscle in that specific place. Muscle eats fats like nothing else, so more muscle less fat. Don't be discouraged though if you don't have a six pack by the end of the month. Abs are the hardest part of the body to tone down and it takes more dedication than any other part of your body. Also you can do sit - ups all do day every day but unless you trim the belly fat by running, and or swimming you will never see your abs!

When I say run or swim, don't exclude cycling, or weightlifting or whatever else you do, these are just what I have found most useful.  



Hit the nail on the head. And remember, the last place 99% of people lose weight is in the stomach. Keep running, watch your sugars and WATCH CAFFEINE intake as well.  cafeeine bloats your midsection in a heart beat.
2010-07-01 6:20 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
Cyclolv - 2010-06-26 2:55 AM Run! Well do everything you normally do, run, bike, swim. Running is a full body workout therefore you are burning fat everywhere in your body. The potential to loose weight swimming is even higher, but you need to be doing some serious laps in the pool. Also if you do ab-workouts you will be building muscle in that specific place. Muscle eats fats like nothing else, so more muscle less fat. Don't be discouraged though if you don't have a six pack by the end of the month. Abs are the hardest part of the body to tone down and it takes more dedication than any other part of your body. Also you can do sit - ups all do day every day but unless you trim the belly fat by running, and or swimming you will never see your abs!

When I say run or swim, don't exclude cycling, or weightlifting or whatever else you do, these are just what I have found most useful.  


Thanks for posting this!


2010-07-02 12:33 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat

I know the feeling!...  In college I was down to 12% body fat and still had a gut.  I gave up on trying for years until I finally got sick of it and went to a personal trainer...  It was quite reassuring (sarcasm) when he said "wow, you're really fit, except you carry what little fat you have in your stomach." Then he proceeded to ask what my family looked like and if I had a sweet tooth.  Captain Obvious hit the nail on the head, I come from a Swedish Family that is pre-disposed to belly gut and I also have a MAJOR sweet tooth.

Anyways, I ended up absolutely loving my personal trainer and he totally kicked my butt - I'm finally happy with my stomach!  How we got there was WEIGHT LIFTING at least twice a week and integrating A LOT of core workouts in our sessions.  I also quit eating sweets and majorly pared back the carbs (which I believe hleps with the bloating factor).  Like prev post said muscle burns more calories than fat does... Then again, cardio ONLY burns while your doing cardio, weight lifting burns throughout the next day.. this is why body builders and sprinters tend to be more toned with less fatty areas.

One of the best things my personal trainer told me was that a lot of people get rock hard convex bellies because they hold their air in their stomach instead of flattening their stomach.  Another helpful hint was when laying down and doing any crunches make sure your back is flat on the ground.

Not sure if that helped at all... 

2010-07-02 12:46 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
lypo

jk.
2010-07-03 2:35 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
Boogie7247 - 2010-07-02 12:46 PM lypo

jk.


LOL. No joke for me. I would love to get a tummy tuck if I could afford one.
2010-07-04 5:17 AM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
I fundamentally believe that genetics is the most powerful factor in the spare tyre region.  I honestly think that some people have it easier than others simply based on the genetics.  However, I have to believe also that genetics is a series of evolutions and therefore we can change those genetics over time through lifestyle changes.  Now, this might not help me - but it could help my children's children.  At the end of the day I find incredilble motivation in thinking that if I work hard, set a good example to my daughter in terms of excercise, lifestyle, nutrition then maybe she will carry on the flame - and thus the evolution of my family genetics begins.

Ahem - that said I would suggest running and core exercises - also backed up with general weight training across the major muscle groups - the fat around the belly is your camels hump.  Where the body keeps its reserves for times of starvation.  Its the easiest place for your body to carry it (centre of gravity).  Its going to be the last place it leaves.  Keeping your metabolism high, your saturated fat intake low and trying to target carb intake to excercise frequency might help you shave of the last of the stomach inches,cm,mm.
2010-07-06 12:29 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
i dont want to sound like an , but at 10% body fat you wont/should not have a gut.

was this measured by a scale or a professional?


you cannot pick where you want the fat to come from, and the truth is most people lose it there last.
keep running/swimming/biking.

cycling offersa good chance to get some extra work time in for the recovery cost, as does swimming, but the cycling will yeild a better payoff for most people.

some rough numbers to work with for cal burned to help along the way are (andkeep in mind these i *think* are geared at 140-170 pound people or there abouts, adjust up or down a bit as needed).


swimming approx 250 per 1k
cycling around 500 per hour at a steady pace
running is almost exactly 100 per mile regardless of pace.


2010-07-21 11:08 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
I've had alot of luck with Pilates reformer, focused on abs/crunches.  Twice a week for an hour each time.
2010-07-22 11:31 AM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
newbz - 2010-07-06 1:29 PM i dont want to sound like an , but at 10% body fat you wont/should not have a gut. was this measured by a scale or a professional? you cannot pick where you want the fat to come from, and the truth is most people lose it there last. keep running/swimming/biking. cycling offersa good chance to get some extra work time in for the recovery cost, as does swimming, but the cycling will yeild a better payoff for most people. some rough numbers to work with for cal burned to help along the way are (andkeep in mind these i *think* are geared at 140-170 pound people or there abouts, adjust up or down a bit as needed). swimming approx 250 per 1k cycling around 500 per hour at a steady pace running is almost exactly 100 per mile regardless of pace.


This^^^ There is no way to lose weight from a specific area. Fat generally comes off first from the last place it appeared and last from the place you have had it the longest. % of BF methods vary greatly, so you might want to take that 10% measurement with a grain of salt.
2010-07-27 7:19 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
It is true that you cannot "spot train" any one area of your body to loose weight. However diet is the single biggest factor that affect belly fat. I come from a long history of body building and the only way to get rid of the body fat is to really tighten up the diet. Cut out all white flour, added sugar, added salt, alcohol and anything you have to unwrap from a celophane wrapper. Focus on eating the "2 Ps" Protein & Produce. Grains are mostly filler and should be eaten minimally and only if you going out for a several hour endurance workout the next day. You can get most of your good complex carbs from fruits and veggies. You must also take in HEALTHY fats like small amouts of olive oil, avacados, nuts, flax, fish. Your body needs that good fat to help train it to metabolize fat properly. Stick to a strict clean diet, don't drink your calories (no fruit juices), cut back on sodium and do as much strength training as your current triathlon training will allow.

I know most people will argue that whole grains should dominate a triathletes diet, and they should, there is nothing wrong with wholesome whole grains. But if you are trying to loose belly fat you will do better to get your good complex carbs from fruits and veggies.

Also be very sure you are getting plenty of rest. Lack of sleep causes cortisol (a stress hormone) to start building up in your system. Cortisol can wreak your metabolism by messing with your insulin usage. Get plenty of good REM sleep each night.

Another good thing to do is add some cinnamon to your coffee as you brew it, or sprinkle it on some apple slices or on a small bowl of oatmeal. Cinammon helps regulate blood sugar, keeping your body from producing too much insulin, another metabolism demon. Also cayenne pepper is another good metabolism booster. I like to sprinkle it on egg whites.
2010-08-02 7:38 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
newbz - 2010-07-06 12:29 PM i dont want to sound like an , but at 10% body fat you wont/should not have a gut. was this measured by a scale or a professional? 


x2. I have access to a BodPod and most of the people who use it "estimate" themselves and/or get caliper measurements from their personal trainers that are wayyyy lower than the BodPod and/or hydrostatic testing. 

After getting BF measurements every other month for a year and a half now I have seen my BF go from 18% down to 11% and I can guarantee that a male that is truly at 10% has highly visible abs.
2010-08-02 7:42 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
DougRob - 2010-07-22 11:31 AM
newbz - 2010-07-06 1:29 PM i dont want to sound like an , but at 10% body fat you wont/should not have a gut. was this measured by a scale or a professional? you cannot pick where you want the fat to come from, and the truth is most people lose it there last. keep running/swimming/biking. cycling offersa good chance to get some extra work time in for the recovery cost, as does swimming, but the cycling will yeild a better payoff for most people. some rough numbers to work with for cal burned to help along the way are (andkeep in mind these i *think* are geared at 140-170 pound people or there abouts, adjust up or down a bit as needed). swimming approx 250 per 1k cycling around 500 per hour at a steady pace running is almost exactly 100 per mile regardless of pace.


This^^^ There is no way to lose weight from a specific area. Fat generally comes off first from the last place it appeared and last from the place you have had it the longest. % of BF methods vary greatly, so you might want to take that 10% measurement with a grain of salt.


Agreed.

I would also add that in my experience belly fat usually comes from diet.  Eliminate caffeine and anything carbonated as well as processed foods.  Fruit, veggies, nuts, beans, lean meat, water.


2010-08-04 12:52 AM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
last year i went through a sports science program at OSU and we as part of our work got to use ourselves for a lot of our work (ie i got to get good accurate BF numbers for a year every 3 weeks).

at 10% there was ZERO around the stomach and i am not a skinny built person.

sub 10 and you'll look very very defined.

2010-08-05 9:37 AM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
i am having the same isue, i'm down 26 pounds this summer and i feel like i have been fighting my belly the whole time, but i did do alot of damage to it so all i got to say is keep at it, i try to get at least a 5k in every day and i do abs every day.
2010-08-05 11:55 AM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
newbz - 2010-08-04 1:52 AM last year i went through a sports science program at OSU and we as part of our work got to use ourselves for a lot of our work (ie i got to get good accurate BF numbers for a year every 3 weeks). at 10% there was ZERO around the stomach and i am not a skinny built person. sub 10 and you'll look very very defined.


10% <> belly fat

< 10% = more than toned

+-5%= bodybuilder looking



btw: x2 on your assesment.
2010-08-05 2:45 PM
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Subject: RE: The Age Old issue - belly fat
this is what i looked like at 9% early this season.

Edited by newbz 2010-08-05 2:46 PM




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