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belly fat

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SparkPoints: (561)
Fitness Minutes: (535)
Posts: 2
1/17/12 12:15 P

I'm having the same belly, i havent any kids..i was at my top weight in may at 10wks preg. at 235lbs and lost my baby. in my head i cant help but think that being at a unhealthy weight has some how caused or aided my loss. sense then after i got out of my funk, i had lost 15lbs and dident even know untill i went to my OB and got re-weighed.. when i saw i had lost that was my motivation to try.. if i could do that without trying how much can i lose trying?? i have lost 4 more lbs sense spark people in 2 weeks. but my belly is still there!!!!!!!!!! almost the same as it was in may! lost in my face..breasts...arms...legs. but that darn belly .. ill do anything to get rid of it.. any specific work outs i can do to burn more fat?

SparkPoints: (31,068)
Fitness Minutes: (12,713)
Posts: 4,106
12/5/11 5:49 P

Not really. There are no magic foods that target stubborn fat. The first thing to do though is create a caloric deficit. Eating right is definitely a good start, but nothing targets it. No magic, just good decisions and hard work and MAYBE it will happen.

SparkPoints: (7,291)
Fitness Minutes: (2,666)
Posts: 124
12/5/11 3:11 P

this is the part that scares me the most! Ive had 6 children and my stomach not anywhere near the point of me being happy with it so im hoping the more i get into exersice and wt loss the better it will get. Ive heard eating certain types of foods can help with this and making sure adequate vitamins with exercise will greatly improve this area... but still a long road ahead

SparkPoints: (31,068)
Fitness Minutes: (12,713)
Posts: 4,106
12/5/11 11:17 A

I didn't have any babies, but at one point it probably looked like I could. I'm passively battling the same problem. In fact, I've been seriously strength training for about 18 months and just about every body part is getting pretty chiseled, but I still have a flap and some love handles. Meanwhile some other folks have been at it less and have a lean physique. A lot of this has to do with genetics. I'm coming to the conclusion that I have some inferior genetics when it comes to mobilizing fat in this area. What's even more discouraging ... stubborn fat is also the easiest fat to put back on. So if I end up trying something drastic (which I probably won't, by the way) ... it's likely to come back if I stop doing the "drastic" thing.

So I'm not trying to be a debbie downer here, but just be aware that everyone is different and there is the possibility that the flap will never go away or take a VERY long time.

For me, I'm over the vanity aspect of this and training for function now. If the belly goes away at some point during all of this, I'll consider that a bonus. If it doesn't, oh well, I'm still in the best shape of my life.

And the other suggestions made by the previous posters all seem to be sound. Give them a try and hopefully you'll have some success.

Posts: 6,315
12/5/11 9:27 A

It's true that you can't spot-reduce.

Where your body stores its fat, how hard it is for you to lose, and where your trouble zones are is determined by your genetics and your own personal chemical make-up. Like you, my belly fat is the last to go - it even comes off my hips before it comes off my belly.

If you're not strength training, start now. That will do a lot of good for you. A lot of people here on Spark and other fitness sites will tell you that cardio is the only answer, and that's simply not true. If you want to change the way your body looks, you HAVE to do strength training.

As the other poster pointed out, proper posture will sove several problems as well. When you don't stand up straight and tall with your spine, neck, and pelvis in proper alignment, your stomach pooches out and looks bigger than it really is. Most people either arch their lower back too much or round their back too much instead of finding that nice, neutral pelvis and spinal alignment. This poor posture gives them muscle aches, back pain, headaches, knee aches, and also makes their stomachs look worse than they really are.

Start strength training if you're not doing so already.Otherwise, flat bellies are made in the kitchen first, gym second. Make sure you're eating lots of vegetables, lean protein, unprocessed grains, good fats (very important), and mimiziing your intake of any processed or packaged foods.

For your cardio, if you mainly do long sessions of steady-state cardio, start backing off that. Experiment instead with shorter, more intense cardio like aerobic and anaerobic interval training. Long bouts of steady state cardio can actually increase your stress hormones (cortisol) which leads to fat storage instead of fat burning. Shorter, more intense bouts of exercise minimize cortisol production and increase oxygen consumption which help you burn more fat.

Hope this helps.

Posts: 2,707
12/5/11 9:05 A

I have lost over 40 pounds and now wear a size 2. I still have a jiggly belly (I've had 2 kids). It's been the last to go. I know I can't spot reduce, but I'm working on shaking up my workouts to see if something new will help burn that last, stubborn spot. I plan on doing a circuit training class and a Tabata class 1 night (each) a week, as well as continuing with the Couch to 5K running program 2 days a week for the month of December. I'm hoping to get some heavy weights to ahve at home for Christmas, and then I will begin to lift heavy and back off the cardio. I've heard that can help burn more fat, even if reducing cardio. It's really just a matter of continuing to eat within your nutritional ranges and build muscle to help burn the fat.

Edited by: JENMC14 at: 12/5/2011 (09:05)

Posts: 310
12/5/11 8:56 A

There is no such thing as spot training however - you can tighten the muscles in your belly, maintain good posture to improve the look of you belly area

Cadio will help (slowly) to burn off the belly fat.

Time and patience is the only thing that will help

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Posts: 697
12/5/11 7:38 A

I seem to be loosing inches everywhere but my belly. I have had 4 children and never lost the weight from them so I have a lot of belly fat. How do I loose it?

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