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Shifting fat from the stomach?

Evening all,



Again i turn to my trusted forum for advice...............I am currently training like a mad man (i can make 2012). But am struggling to lose some stubborn fat from my midrift area (damn all that drinking as a student).



I only consume approx 1500-1800 calories per day and train for 1-1.30hrs per day 6 days a week. I do all the disciplines equally, with maybe a bit extra on my run. I incorporate free weights 3 times a week.



Now.......what can i do to shift the gut??? It's like it wont go.....i'm losing sometimes 4kg per week but my body fat is only dropping approx 1% per week! (90Kg and 20% Body fat). My diet consists of -



Porridge and Shot of wheatgrass for breakfast.

Ham/Salad Roll for snack @11am

CousCous with Roasted veg and 1/2 chicken breast for lunch

Banana/piece of fruit before training.

Meat/Fish with Veg or pasta/potatoes for evening meal.



Is it better to do weights or cardio to shift stubborn fat?? Any awesome diets that work?? Need to buy a wetsuit and tri suit soon as am doing my first open water event on 30th July at Dorney Evening Tri. The London Tri amongst others later on.



All support and feedback welcome.

Comments

  • sfullersfuller Posts: 628
    from what you say you should be losing weight. I have to say though, losing 4kg in a week is unhealthy. make sure you are eating enough and dont cut back too much...
  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    What is your body type? I f you are an Endomorph you can starve yourself to death and you'll still have a miniscule pot belly, if you are an Ectomorph or a Mesomorph it will also disappear. I lie somewhere between the Endomorph and the Mesomorph and as rower I skinnied down to 67kg which is light for a 182cm person and I still had a tiny beer belly. Aesthetically - forget the modelling contract, performance-wise ; dont worry about the flesh on show focus on low kg's! SKINNY IS GOOD ... (AND FAST)
  • Relax - swim alot and it'll disappear. There's an old adage about fat - that the last part of the body to lose it is the one place that you most care about. Keep training and, month by month, you'll enjoy looking at yourself in the mirror more and more each time. You'll even start to move towards a camera rather than shying away in the background and looking for a T shirt when you're on the beach or topless at a bbq and a friend suggests a quick group photo......



    I think that some members of this forum also like to wax/shave themselves to give the impression that they are trimmer than might otherwise be the case...... or maybe that's just to get extra speed...

  • SamutriSamutri Posts: 143
    I hope your not suggesting that us weirdos who wax do it cos we're fat? [;)]

    Its all about speed, no hang on...its in case we crash...or is it to help with removing the wetsuit??



  • rj1265rj1265 Posts: 70
    Morning Steve



    I agree with the Treefrog , myself being part Endomorph and Mesomorph (2.03cm & 112Kg, 20% Fat - thighs like Oak Trees)



    Are you eating enough !!! , Are you always dehydrated ? 4Kg a week sounds like lots of water in there ( If I don't (forget to) hydrate properly during a 2 hour training session I can lose 4Kg in that time period, e.g. last night - 1 hour on turbo trainer, HR @ 150 followed by 10K run without fluid - just small glass of water during 'transition'. )



    The old adage -- 3500 calories = 0.5 Kg Fat (1 pound in old money)



    To lose weight (remember muscle is heavier than fat) sensibly try to lose 0.5 - 1 Kg per week.



    Put yourself in a 500 Calorie deficit each day (7 days = 3500 calories). Calculate your Base Metabolic Rate (BMR) Here. Then add the calories expended on the training session (this will obviously be different for everyone - me running at 12K/hr will use more than most of the whippets on this forum performing the same exercise, Here is the NHS Direct Exercise Calorie Calculator, It made me laugh when it warns about burning more than 1000 calories a day in exercise!!)



    e.g My BMR = 2200 Calories

    12K Run in 1Hr = 1100 Calories (From my HR Monitor - rounded down)



    Therefore I should have eaten 2800 (good) calories (I am eating twice as much as I used to ... Its great.... and I am losing weight every week).



    Remember these are guides that you will have to tweak for yourself..... God I am boring [:)]



    Weights / Cardio .... now there is a debate........ I personally do both but I have mates at the tri club who only do cardio



  • dannymackdannymack Posts: 58
    Sounds like you're doing great with the training and healthy eating. Continue with that and you're very likely to get fitter/faster/leaner over time.



    You don't seem to be eating many calories though (under 2K per day). I'm 69k and if I ate that while training I think I'd be asleep most of the time. The calculation from rj1265 looks like a good one for you to try out to ensure you have the right amount of fuel to both keep you going and trim the fat off.



    Any exercise burns calories - and should therefore aid weight loss. However, I have find 5-8 miles of slow/steady running to be great at helping me shed my unwanted weight.



    As for buying your tri suit and wetsuit, they'll both come in stretchy materials and are supposed to be tight when you put them on. I say buy them in a couple of weeks time so you can get used to them before your first event. If you have to buy new ones next year as you've lost more weight training over the winter then you can console yourself that its better than having to buy a bigger size due to too much turkey and stuffing.
  • stevedavis82stevedavis82 Posts: 110
    Yeah, propably looking at too fast results...i was 108kg in October so being 90kg now is good i guess. Still want to be fighting fit NOW. Still it is my debut season. Fitter, faster, leaner is the way....results don't happen overnight i guess.
  • JasonBJasonB Posts: 303
    I am i the same boat as you. however my belly is going it has toughened up. It is like a larghe muscle. No longer bouncing just there lol.



    One thing I find is for me it is like bloating, and that I have been told may be due to lactose intolerance. Try cutting the lactose down see if that works any. I try to, but cant resist a coffee in the morning to wake me up.



    I would love a pill to take it away lol.

  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    Black coffee..espresso preferably.

    Echoing the above advice, 4k sounds too much, if some of that 4k is muscle ratjer than fat you diminish your ability to burn extra calories at rest, this is not good.

    Sometimes it is a matter of juggling what you eat & refining. Lady Britspin & I eat way less pasta & more fresh veg than we used to, bingo Lady Brit has lost a fair bit of weight..me I have remained the same, (but I don't care.) I ditched the milk ages ago, its soy all the way except a tiny spot in tea & get way less bloat & way less wind. So I say continue to juggle maybe increase protein intake & a little weight training to maintain muscle mass may be of help.
  • BARNYBARNY Posts: 157
    I am part endomorph, part mighty morph
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    oh the age old question, belly fat. As most of the points have been covered so far I'm going to stick to the science!



    Belly fat in the male is always the last bit you loose, or at least aesthetically it is pretty much impossible to have a 'six-pack' until you are down to below 10% body fat. You also have to remember that if you do a lot of core work and build up your abs your belly will stick out more!

    Ok so why is this? why is it so hard to loose the belly fat?

    There are so many opinions on this, obviously with it being the last bit to loose most theories converge on the opinion that your body doesnt want to loose this last bit of fat just incase you enter into a period of starvation.



    Ok, so this is the interesting bit, recent opinion has suggested that this fat over the abs in the male may be outside of normal physiological mechanisms governing the use of fat for energy, with some studies showing that some of this tissue may be resistant to adrenaline, the principle mechanism for fat liberation.



    So how do you get around this? To quote a personal trainer friend of mine "youve gotta get hormonal"!

    The way to do this is with heavy weights, causing growth hormone release/testosterone etc.



    If you dont want to do weights the belly will eventually go, as your body composition changes due to the training, just dont expect this to happen rapidly!
  • JasonBJasonB Posts: 303
    Best bit of advice I have recieved on here. I am going to print that sucker off. Thanks TommiTri
  • trijunkerstrijunkers Posts: 55
    My little regime has been pretty successful for me which broadly includes the following and has helped me lose 2.5 stone in 6 months which I'm really pleased about (obviously!) [:D]:



    - black coffee instead of lattes (i live in london and am therefore a ponce)

    - lots of salad and protein for lunch from the work salad bar (poncyness confirmed)

    - nutrasweet instead of sugar

    - weetabix for brekkie : fibre helps clear the fat out of the guts - nice [X(]

    - sensible dinner

    - no booze at all during the week, but be naughty at weekends

    - train tuesdays to sundays with mondays off, at least an hour a day with 1.5 to 2 hours a day at weekends



    Works for me anyway!



  • legalbeaglelegalbeagle Posts: 208
    right, I'm off to try it - if I could shift half that weight I'd be happy!



    No latte/salad bar here - I live in mid Wales - not many of them around just lots of sheep!



    Still, I grow my own stuff and have a superb expresso machine - bring it on!!



    OOh the no drinking thing will be a tough one as I do like a nice glass of red with my healthy supper - still here goes. Ah.... but it's Friday so does that count as the weekend?
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