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[LakeEarth]

I want to have a flatter stomach (not a six pack, I don't need one of those) but I have a problem. About 5 years ago I used to be 210 pounds, but I was able to drop it and now I'm at about 160 pounds.

But I'm worried that being 210 will make it harder for me, since my skin stretched out back then. According to charts for my height, it says that 150 (which I was last summer but I kinda went off the diet for a bit) is underweight, but I still had a bit of a belly on me, which made no sense. I was even doing 100 pushups a day for a few weeks with no obvious improvements.

So I'm asking if anyone knows any good exercises to do. And if it's a lost cause since I used to be heavier... or something...

 

[levious]

doesn't sound like your wieght loss was drastic enough to doom you to having flab. Try jogging and/or kicking exercises. And sit-ups? Or if you want to avoid lower back pain, stick with the running and kicking. Also, it's pool season.

 

[SteveMeister]

You need to get rid of the fat you have left. You'll either have to do TONS of cardio work to burn off calories -- like running 5-10 miles per day -- or you'll have to cut down on your calorie intack. Reduce your intake of fats and carbs, exercise regularly, and be sure to eat at least 3 times a day to keep your metabolism steady, and your body will burn off the excess fat.

 

[fbcamp]

Do a couple hundred crunchs everyday. I suggest doing the 8 minute abs video which can easily be found on Kazaa.

(don't do situps, they're a complete waste of time)

 

[Dyne]

The body never takes off fat equally; I hate that. I had a lot of fat around my chin before, but with patience, the body eventually took it off.

 

[Maxwell House]

You can't spot reduce fat. Doing 100 sit ups will do zilch to remove the layer of fat from your stomach. The only way to lose that weight is by doing aerobics and lifting weights (every muscle in your body, not just your abs).

 

[LakeEarth]

Alright. I'll take your advice and I'm downloading some sort of 'ab' video right now.

The little extra thing that makes losing weight hard is that I'm greek, which means my mom cooks and will not accept me not eating, even if I do eat 3 times a day.

 

[levious]

You can't spot reduce fat. Doing 100 sit ups will do zilch to remove the layer of fat from your stomach. The only way to lose that weight is by doing aerobics and lifting weights (every muscle in your body, not just your abs).

can't you spot reduce fat by doing aerobic exercise that pinpoints certain muscle groups? I speak from experience only, I have never really done research.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

Nope. No spot-reducing. It may appear that you are spot reducing if you are exercising a certain area because of the muscle getting bigger/more defined, but you can't target an area to remove fat.

There is a saying among the bodybuilding community that abs are made in the kitchen.

 

[levious]

I guess I just get that impression cause it's the only area on my body that retains fat.

 

[SteveMeister]

Right -- you have to coax your body to burn the fat, which means a combination of reduced caloric intake (lower your carb AND fat intake) and aerobic/cardiovascular exercise. It's all about the metabolism. Muscle building exercises won't be enough to burn off that last minute unless you're training for hours & hours every day.

 

[Mr Gump]

So it is not possible to have a diet that is both beneficial to muscle growth while also allowing you to not expand your gut?

 

[bjork]

DDR + Crunches + EyeToy + less cheetos.

 

[SteveMeister]

So it is not possible to have a diet that is both beneficial to muscle growth while also allowing you to not expand your gut?

Sure -- for muscle growth you need protien, not fat or carbs. Eat lean meats (chicken, fish) while limiting red meat, eat lots & lots & lots of vegetables, eat fruit (but eat more berries and fewer apples & oranges -- they're much higher in calories than berries are), limit drinking anything but water (and drink lots of that), limit pasta, rice, potatoes, & bread (you can have 'em, just don't have so much). Also a multivitamin a day isn't a bad idea. And in addition to your muscle building exercises, be sure to do plenty of cardiovascular work as well -- aerobics, running, cycling, etc.

Oh and be sure to eat several meals a day, rather than one big one. Eating one or two big meals a day will make your body more likely to store energy as fat, so even if you're taking in the same calories as someone who eats 3-4 times per day, you could be adding fat pounds while the other person's taking them off.

 

[Maxwell House]

Doing weight work is probably more effective in getting rid of fat than aerobics alone. Lifting weights raises your metabolism, promotes growth hormone release, etc etc. The best combo is both weight work and aerobics.

And there is definitely no such thing a spot reduction of fat. Your body loses fat all over the body. Working out your legs won't make you lose fat on your legs anymore than it will make you lose fat on your arms or stomach for instance. Same with sit ups..all sit ups will do is help make your abs more muscular.

 

[GuntherBait]

DDR + Crunches + EyeToy + less cheetos.

= Good way to have hurt burn.

 

[LakeEarth]

Thanks for the advice guys, I think this was really good information. Anyone know a good site that explains doing cardio, cause I really don't know how to do that. Or should i just find another video for it?

 

[MoxManiac]

Isn't cardio simply exercises that get your heart working? Walking/Running/Bicycling is cardio, for example.

 

[AirBrian]

"7-minute abs."

 

[Belfast]

Cardio makes you sweat, too.

 

[LakeEarth]

If just running and biking works, I'll just do that.

 

[Agent Dormer]

Great info here!

 

[CavemanLawyer]

If just running and biking works, I'll just do that.

There are a whole lot of things that work

Walking
Jogging
Sprints
Biking
Jump Roping
Stairs


My two personal favorites are running bleachers at my high school stadium and strapping on a pair of gloves and beating the crap out of a heavy bag.

Basically anything that makes your heart work a bit harder and makes you break a sweat.

Start with around 15-20 minute jogging sessions and walk when you need to. Work up until you can jog for the whole 20 minutes and either increase the time a bit or increase the intensity (For instance 7 minute miles instead of 8 minute miles).

I would also recommend that you find a high school track to run on (or something that isn't concrete). Shin splints suck.

 

[LakeEarth]

Start with around 15-20 minute jogging sessions and walk when you need to. Work up until you can jog for the whole 20 minutes and either increase the time a bit or increase the intensity (For instance 7 minute miles instead of 8 minute miles).

Great advice. I'll be walking for most of the 20 minutes, but it's a good place to start. I also have a really nice exercise bike that I'll use to start off. I need to get a good program going, so I can follow it. I'm sure once I get a plan going, I can follow it.

 

[MoxManiac]

Even just walking is great. I lost so much weight quite easily by just walking 45 mins a day.

 

[Takuan]

Do a lot of cardio (you have to burn fat to flatten your stomach), and check out www.menshealth.com for their ab workout. It was nine really simple excercises, mostly variations of crunches and leg-raises. I did seven of them (two seemed worthless/impractical) and got very quick results.

Edit: Oh, and you're going to have to change your diet. Cut the junk food and cut the pop. Some people have reported great results just by cutting pop from their diet. No food after 7pm. Rest well. If you're hard on yourself and keep at it you'll notice results in two weeks.

Edit 2: Swimming rocks too, and might even sculpt your body a bit.

 

[Socreges]

"7-minute abs."

No, no, no.

"No! No, no, not 6! I said 7. Nobody's comin' up with 6. Who works out in 6 minutes? You won't even get your heart going, not even a mouse on a wheel."

 

[DJ Sl4m]

So it is not possible to have a diet that is both beneficial to muscle growth while also allowing you to not expand your gut?

You can do it, but it's extremely slow at both.

The best way to build muscle mass by dietary means, is overeating, esp protien combined with carbs at the appropriate times, and keep a high steady dose of protien coming all day.

Best way to cut fat fast will end up burning up some muscle, no matter how carefull you are.

You can take the slow dedicated always look good approach and walk the thin line of dieting while packing on protein and high carbs at only a few key times during the day (first thing in the morn, immediately after workouts etc) or just overeat, get huge, then diet, or diet to low fat levels then pick up the calories.

The path you take is basicly your own to choose once you weigh the positives and negatives.

Personally I'm taking the slow steady approach. I like to stay cut, but gain mucle at the same time, it's slower, but I always look ripped and muscular.

 

[Wolfy]

Go to the gym and go nuts with a punching bag for a while. Sparring something all out for 2 minutes can be hell, but it's a great work out.