I'm about to give up. Stomach isn't budging...and I am looking deformed now.

[amdhunter]

Long story short. I am stuck at weight loss. I am not sure if it's because I'm gaining weight, or because my arms and (especially legs) are getting bigger. My legs are getting as hard as logs and it even feels different when I walk. And even though I am wearing Size 34 pants now, they are starting to hang off my ass because they are either stretching, or I am losing waist size. Brand new 34 jeans feel slightly loose too.

I lost my tits, and where there was once fat on my chest, it's a little bit tighter and harder. My arms are getting much bigger, and people at work have been asking me about them. I have heard "are you working out" so many times these last few weeks it's annoying more than flattering.

But my god damned stomach is as big as ever. When I put on nice shirts, it's more noticeable than when I was fat. I'm really discouraged. I am working out 4 days a week to the point that I am seriously touching injury. I have 2 weeks off at the end of December and I was going to try and go all out for the entire 2 weeks without fear of being tired at work.

What the hell can I do? I don't think it's loose skin because I can suck in my stomach and it comes up, and it's a LOT of flab in that area still.

I'm literally more embarrassed about my body today, than when I weighed 260+. I cannot stand how I look in my belly area. I am really at a loss on how to get rid of it. I don't want to resort to starving myself, but I am seriously considering going on another starvation diet like I did when I first had weight loss.

Help.

[MrA79]

Sounds like you're kicking ass - the stomach is probably more noticeable because other areas are shrinking and tightening up. It'd be especially noticeable if the upper chest\lat\etc are changing - that's the problem I have at the moment, lost a lot of weight and now I look pear-shaped (ok I AM pear shaped).

TLDR version - don't give up now, you can't control where the losses come so just stick with it

[repoman0]

Patience man. You don't need to be working out intensely four days/week, and you definitely shouldn't be if you feel you're gonna get hurt - the tiny potential for extra progress isn't worth risking hurting yourself and being unable to work out for an extended time.

How's your diet? Just keep up with a reasonable workout routine and keep calories healthy and low but not too low (aim for taking off 1-2lbs/week, I've heard a couple places that you're risking loose skin at rates higher than that). Your body isn't magically different than anybody else's - keep losing weight in a healthy way and the belly fat will come off. Men tend to store fat in their gut first and lose fat in their gut last, so just keep it up.

[blackdogdeek]

Are you gaining weight? That's what it sounds like in your OP. If you're gaining weight then you must be in a caloric surplus. If you're in a caloric surplus then you won't lose fat.

If you want to lose weight you have to be in a caloric deficit. But please note that this does NOT mean a starvation diet.

[maziwanka]

what is your diet like now?

[mikeymikec]

Are you doing exercises that target the areas that you want to lose weight in? Admittedly in doing that you might build a bit of extra muscle while losing a bit of flab, so it may be slow progress, but you probably would consider that worthwhile.

I'm still underweight and am trying to gain weight. The annoying thing is that there's loads of skinny limbs where the new flab could be put, but it's going on my belly. So, skinny arms, legs and face, but with the beginnings of a belly.

[tedrodai]

Originally Posted by mikeymikec

Are you doing exercises that target the areas that you want to lose weight in? ... but you probably would consider that worthwhile.

Um, what? That doesn't work. And just in case you haven't heard that before...that doesn't work. You can do ab exercises all day long for 365 days and never lose a mm from your belly.

As you lose weight, your body will shed fat from wherever the heck it wants to shed it. And you'll notice a pattern if you happen to gain or lose weight multiple times. For men, the belly is generally the first place to store fat and the last place to lose it.

[kache]

Originally Posted by blackdogdeek

Are you gaining weight? That's what it sounds like in your OP. If you're gaining weight then you must be in a caloric surplus. If you're in a caloric surplus then you won't lose fat.

If you want to lose weight you have to be in a caloric deficit. But please note that this does NOT mean a starvation diet.

He's gaining weight because he's gaining muscles, not fat...

[mvbighead]

What everyone else said. Just focus on burning fat. Keep doing what you're doing. Eventually, your body will get to the belly fat too.

[tedrodai]

Originally Posted by MrA79

Sounds like you're kicking ass - the stomach is probably more noticeable because other areas are shrinking and tightening up. It'd be especially noticeable if the upper chest\lat\etc are changing.

TLDR version - don't give up now, you can't control where the losses come so just stick with it

Exactly. I'm 5'11" 188lbs right now, and while my belly isn't too bad, if I strip down and relax in front of the mirror (especially after a good meal), it will most assuredly stick out an embarrassing amount...very embarrasing compared to how little fat I have stored elsewhere. I've got pretty tight arms, chest, back, legs, glutes...enough to make you think it's all stored right there in that one spot (which it isn't, but a large portion of it is). At 10lbs lighter, it's a completely different story.

It's perfectly natural to hit plateaus in weight loss, though the reasons are myriad. Sadly, it's also perfectly natural to lose motivation. What you need first is a renewal of your motivation. Hopefully we can help you with that, but in the end it comes down to you. Why put forth so much effort just to quit now? Especially when both you and co-workers notice positive changes.

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

Takes a while man. Plus it's hard to gauge your own progress if you're just using the mirror & scale. Take pics and it'll be more noticeable.

[blackdogdeek]

Originally Posted by kache

He's gaining weight because he's gaining muscles, not fat...

I didn't say he was gaining fat. I said he was gaining weight. In order to gain weight you have to be in a caloric surplus. Being in a caloric surplus means he's most likely gaining both muscle and fat.

[Awkward]

Men store fat there, it's natural that's the last thing to go

[kache]

Originally Posted by blackdogdeek

I didn't say he was gaining fat. I said he was gaining weight. In order to gain weight you have to be in a caloric surplus. Being in a caloric surplus means he's most likely gaining both muscle and fat.

Do you consider proteins a caloric intake?

[Saint Nick]

Originally Posted by kache

Do you consider proteins a caloric intake?

Of course they are?

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally Posted by kache

Do you consider proteins a caloric intake?

With 4kcal/gram of energy in protein... the answer is empirically yes.

[blackdogdeek]

Originally Posted by kache

Do you consider proteins a caloric intake?

yes, because it is.

[kache]

Originally Posted by Saint Nick

Of course they are?

Originally Posted by SociallyChallenged

With 4kcal/gram of energy in protein... the answer is empirically yes.

Originally Posted by blackdogdeek

yes, because it is.

Oh, now it makes sense. Got it.

[Saint Nick]

Originally Posted by kache

Oh, now it makes sense. Got it.

I'm interested in why you thought otherwise?

[kache]

Originally Posted by Saint Nick

I'm interested in why you thought otherwise?

Because under heavy exercise the damage to muscles the body has to repair is quite high, so I assume all proteins are used for that purpose, not transformed into energy (since, ofc, the body has other sources of energy, while it doesn't have another source for muscles building blocks).

[Corporate Thug]

Hunter, I was pretty much in the same boat as you...good muscle gain, no results on the stubborn stomach fat.

I started to do low intensity steady state cardio (LISS) every time I went to the gym (4 mph @ 4 incline for 45 minutes)....it's VERY boring and tedious but I noticed results in just a few weeks. Give it a try.

[TecHNooB]

Originally Posted by Corporate Thug

Hunter, I was pretty much in the same boat as you...good muscle gain, no results on the stubborn stomach fat.

I started to do low intensity steady state cardio (LISS) every time I went to the gym (4 mph @ 4 incline for 45 minutes)....it's VERY boring and tedious but I noticed results in just a few weeks. Give it a try.

what about HIIT? imo, the less time spent doing cardio the better (unless it's biking or swimming )

[exdeath]

Is it actually fat or abdominal slack? Abs/belly us that last/hardest thing for men.

[Corporate Thug]

Originally Posted by TecHNooB

what about HIIT? imo, the less time spent doing cardio the better (unless it's biking or swimming )

HIIT is good too...I broke my foot and tore tendons a few years ago so HIIT is too intensive for me more than 1x a week or so. If I could do it more often, I would do it over LISS.

[realmike15]

Originally Posted by amdhunter

Long story short. I am stuck at weight loss. I am not sure if it's because I'm gaining weight, or because my arms and (especially legs) are getting bigger. My legs are getting as hard as logs and it even feels different when I walk. And even though I am wearing Size 34 pants now, they are starting to hang off my ass because they are either stretching, or I am losing waist size. Brand new 34 jeans feel slightly loose too.

I lost my tits, and where there was once fat on my chest, it's a little bit tighter and harder. My arms are getting much bigger, and people at work have been asking me about them. I have heard "are you working out" so many times these last few weeks it's annoying more than flattering.

But my god damned stomach is as big as ever. When I put on nice shirts, it's more noticeable than when I was fat. I'm really discouraged. I am working out 4 days a week to the point that I am seriously touching injury. I have 2 weeks off at the end of December and I was going to try and go all out for the entire 2 weeks without fear of being tired at work.

What the hell can I do? I don't think it's loose skin because I can suck in my stomach and it comes up, and it's a LOT of flab in that area still.

I'm literally more embarrassed about my body today, than when I weighed 260+. I cannot stand how I look in my belly area. I am really at a loss on how to get rid of it. I don't want to resort to starving myself, but I am seriously considering going on another starvation diet like I did when I first had weight loss.

Help.

I'm not a dietitian, but I have some experience taking college level health classes as well as some personal experience. I guess my first question would be, are you eating whatever you want and then hoping exercise will burn it off? If that's the case, you will build muscle in the places you are weight training, but continue to store fat in your stomach. That's because achieving a flat stomach is mostly proper diet. Unfortunately, even exercises that claim to target your stomach like crunches don't do much. I say this as a person who used to do 2000 sit ups a night. It wasn't until I started counting calories, carbohydrates, sugar, fat, and protein that I started seeing immediate results in my stomach.

You do not have to starve yourself, what you need to do is fill up on foods that are low in calories but help your stomach feel full. Most fruit and vegetables will do this, as well as anything that's high in fiber. If you have a smart phone, get a calorie counting app like MyFitnessPal or something similar. Always have these snacks handy anytime you start to feel cravings. More importantly, allow yourself to indulge every once in a while... once a week, maybe two times a week. Don't go overboard and eat 1500+ calories in one sitting, just something to look forward to and prevent you from getting bored.

Losing the weight is not impossible, but it's a lifestyle change that you have to maintain. It gets easier once you get into the habit of watching what you eat, and once you achieve your goal it's a lot easier to maintain it. Try being healthier instead of just losing weight, there's a lot of benefits to proper eating in addition to losing weight.