That stubborn belly fat.

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Sixguns

Platinum Member
May 22, 2011
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Ive been working out for about six months and and have lost just under 70lbs but i cant seem to get rid of the little bit of fat around my lower belly. Ive been doing ab workouts and my diet is solid but I just cant seem to get rid of it. Is there any supliments out there that might help? Or anything in my diet that I should try to avoid? Please help!
 

Whisper

Diamond Member
Feb 25, 2000
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My guess is that some of the other members will ask you to post up what your diet and workout routines look like. If you've lost 70 lbs, obviously what you were doing up until now was effective. However, as you slim down, the weight can seem to become progressively more difficult to get rid of, unfortunately. Additionally, you'll likely need to become even more stringent on your diet, as your daily caloric needs have likely decreased along with your weight.
 

RbSX

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
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That will be the last place you lose the fat as it's the primary fat storage location for men (for women it's the back of their legs and their thighs and ass).

Just keep plugging away and it will come.

Just cut as much of the fat out of your diet as is healthy.
 
Mar 22, 2002
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That will be the last place you lose the fat as it's the primary fat storage location for men (for women it's the back of their legs and their thighs and ass).

Just keep plugging away and it will come.

Just cut as much of the fat out of your diet as is healthy.

I agree with the keep plugging along and such, but cutting out dietary fat is actually not beneficial for losing body fat. Research has shown that individuals who maintain higher fat diets while losing weight lose it faster and are generally as healthy or healthier than individuals with higher carb diets.

My advice: cut processed carbs out of your diet, take up or increase the intensity on resistance training, and log all your food intake religiously. Read the fat loss sticky for details on all of these.

Also, just to clear it up, doing ab exercises isn't going to help you lose the fat at that location. Research has shown that you can't reduce body fat from a specific area just by working the muscles adjacent to that area. You have to reduce overall body fat to reduce stomach fat.
 

RbSX

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
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I agree with the keep plugging along and such, but cutting out dietary fat is actually not beneficial for losing body fat. Research has shown that individuals who maintain higher fat diets while losing weight lose it faster and are generally as healthy or healthier than individuals with higher carb diets.

My advice: cut processed carbs out of your diet, take up or increase the intensity on resistance training, and log all your food intake religiously. Read the fat loss sticky for details on all of these.

Also, just to clear it up, doing ab exercises isn't going to help you lose the fat at that location. Research has shown that you can't reduce body fat from a specific area just by working the muscles adjacent to that area. You have to reduce overall body fat to reduce stomach fat.

For the record, I said as is healthy. Obviously cutting all the dietary fat out of your diet is a bad idea.

However, eating fatty foods while trying to lose flab is like having a hose flooding a boat while you're trying to bail out the water. It's a zero sum game.

Don't shove extra fat in your mouth.
 
Mar 22, 2002
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For the record, I said as is healthy. Obviously cutting all the dietary fat out of your diet is a bad idea.

However, eating fatty foods while trying to lose flab is like having a hose flooding a boat while you're trying to bail out the water. It's a zero sum game.

Don't shove extra fat in your mouth.

And as I said, high fat diets actually work better than low fat diets... and I mean high fat as in almost all calories from meat and animal fats. Research has shown this as true. And also - it's way, way easier to convert carbohydrates into fat than it is to actually store fat as fat. Glucose comes into the bloodstream through the digestive, insulin gets released, glucose goes into the cells, excess glucose is easily converted into triglycerides and stored. Fat comes into the digestive system and actually gets transported into the body via the lymph system. From there, much fat is utilized quickly, since muscle preferentially metabolizes fat in resting conditions.

Your analogy makes sense, but that's not how it actually works in the body. If you google some research about it, you'll be surprised.
 

Sixguns

Platinum Member
May 22, 2011
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My weekly workouts are- everyday about 20-25 minutes of cardio than about an hour of weightlifting. I say and hour but its not dictated by time thats just what it normally takes to finish my routine. I do have to be careful of what I do due to me having a lower back fusion ( at the age of 23). I am about a year out from my surgery so there are some things I cant do like squats and deadlifts to name a few. My diet is high in protien but I also didnt want to change everything I eat for the fact that when I get down to what I want to be I dont go back to eating "bad" food and gain some back. I focus on portion control mostly. Also it hurts that Im highly allergic to most fruit which would help as snacks, but since most of them cause issues I have to stay away from them. What would be some good snacks that I can use instead? I usually just stick to Almonds or some other type of nut.
 
Dec 26, 2007
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I have this same issue I'm working on. While I haven't been "overweight" (congrats on losing ~70 lbs btw!), I've wanted to get back ab definition/6 pack. Upper abs are starting, but lower abs are still "pudgy."

I'm at 8.7% (as per BodPod testing, check out my marathon 101 thread for details) body fat so it's not from excess fat. I'm thinking it's due to needing to do more resistance training which is something I'm going to do on my off days from running.
 

blackdogdeek

Lifer
Mar 14, 2003
14,453
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i'm allergic to most fruits too but luckily not to oranges. here is what i snack on:

cashews
oranges
grape tomatoes
pork skins (in moderation and watch the sodium)
ham
cultured coconut milk (you could go with yogurt)
beef jerky (watch for sugars and sodium)
hard-boiled eggs (eat yolk, too)
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
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Almonds and walnuts, raw.

Your genes may be part of the issue. Some guys can get ripped and others not so much.

Grats on the weight loss.
 

wheresmybacon

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2004
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Ab work won't do anything for fat loss. If you're really concerned about that last bit of belly fat you need to look at your diet. Track it for a week. Where are you for calories and where are most of your calories coming from? It's progressively harder to lose fat the leaner we get, so while cutting out that 2 liter bottle of soda and ice cream may have been enough to get you burning through that first 70 pounds, you need to do more to get that last 10-15 or however much you may have left.

And I'd be careful with nuts. They seem to be all the rage these days, but be careful with portions - you can literally eat an entire meal's worth of calories in a couple large handfuls of nuts. I just avoid snacks altogether, and if for some reason I find myself starving out of nowhere, I'll get after some black coffee. Caffeine for me is a powerful appetite suppressant.
 

Sixguns

Platinum Member
May 22, 2011
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My snacks usually arent but a small handful or even some string cheese or something like that. I try not to snack all day but sometimes I need to when I get really hungry to help keep my metobolism going.
 

darkxshade

Lifer
Mar 31, 2001
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From what I've read, stubborn body fat actually has a different genetic(for a lack of a better word) makeup than regular bodyfat. It a higher concentration of alpha-2 adrenoreceptors which is highly resistant to mobilization and oxidation. There are some protocols people use to target these deposits but this isn't really something you need to look into until you're fairly low on bf, like 10% or below. Low carbing it is probably the most common method.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,336
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And I'd be careful with nuts. They seem to be all the rage these days, but be careful with portions - you can literally eat an entire meal's worth of calories in a couple large handfuls of nuts. I just avoid snacks altogether, and if for some reason I find myself starving out of nowhere, I'll get after some black coffee. Caffeine for me is a powerful appetite suppressant.
:eek: 210 calories per 1/4 cup of almonds.

Thanks bacon. Back to the apples.

Been doing the coffee trick for a while. 11:00Am holds me over til lunch.
 

darkxshade

Lifer
Mar 31, 2001
13,749
6
81
My personal favorite is sugar-free jello, only 40 calories a package and it'll fill you up. I make mine with 2.5 cups of water instead of the recommended 2. I always have a container ready to go in the fridge for when I'm craving food which is usually after dinner right before bedtime. Also got a jar of pickles which is a great low calorie food as well as pickled daikon radishes.
 
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killster1

Banned
Mar 15, 2007
6,205
475
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Ok yea i dont know about high fat diet making you lose weight.. you prob have to be really specific on that.. I try eat mostly non-fat stuff. non fat cottage cheese ALOT with some vegetarian beans and lots carrots and tunafish and salmon for lunches. Seems to be working but stuck in the 202-208 range.. (yesterday i was at 202 today 207 haha) At night i eat fat free rice cakes that taste like carmel candy. Drink 1% milk and seem to be stuck at the same weight but hopefully my muscles are growing and fat is still shrinking. Do weights every other dya and cardio now before eat in the morning on the off days. hmm Jello sounds good to me goign to make a bunch of it for snacks now before bed. SOrry for rambling hahha
 
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