getting weight off the stomach area

Nicoll

ema_o wrote: »

I have the same problem, my friend who is a personal trainer advises a combination of cardio exercise and situps, however you must hold all your tummy muscles in while doing them. He says this helps to retrain the stomach to do this all the time.
Also following healthy diet and drinking lots of water.
Have to say that I have noticed a big difference doing this (contrary to advice above about not doing sit ups until your stomach is already flat).

Yes doing some situps/ab exercises does help as it tightens up that area it's only if you start building a lot of muscle that it pushes the fat out further, like you said a combination of cardio and abs exercises is the best way to go. A lot of people think if they're doing sit ups it will flatten their belly, just not gonna happen

thor

Red devil, what is your current waist measurement? and how have you worked out your ideal weight?

choille

Chop wood, dig over your veggie patch, carry heavy shopping home, don't eat until you are hungry.
Weed your garden or offer to do others.
Tone your stomache & pelvic area by breathing & holding, clenching & tensing - you can do that while sitting - even watching telly.
Incorporate more physical excercise into your daily routine instead of joining a gym just do it - be physical.
walk a dog, if you don't have one, offer your servces - chuck a ball for it.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

what do people class as unprocessed food? Would you say quorn is processed?

Teerah

Yes, it certainly isnt natural is it? Unprocessed means as found in nature, eg. fruit, vegetables, meat, just cooked but not adulterated

Infidel

Unfortunately you can't target losing fat from specific areas of your body. The only way to lose more fat is to eat healthily and exercise regularly. If you're already doing that then you have to be even more disciplined to achieve the results you want.
Generally you should eat little and often, eat foods that boost your metabolism, drink lots of water, maybe change your exercise regime to something more intense etc. It's the only way...............:beer:

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Infidel wrote: »

Unfortunately you can't target losing fat from specific areas of your body. The only way to lose more fat is to eat healthily and exercise regularly. If you're already doing that then you have to be even more disciplined to achieve the results you want.
Generally you should eat little and often, eat foods that boost your metabolism, drink lots of water, maybe change your exercise regime to something more intense etc. It's the only way...............:beer:

sounds good, but what foods are know to boost metabolisim?

elfen

*shrugs*

A help might be low GI foods, ones with less sugar and complex carbs (like wholemeal or seeded brown bread, wholewheat pasta, brown rice, etc etc)

If I want a flat tummy, I have to go on an exclusion diet, find out what I can eat, and what I can't, cos I have a funny tummy and food intolerances, and some foods set me off even if they don't contain it (think sitting on toilet for hours every day..not a good look IMO)

bills_2

Diet wise - try adding green tea to ur diet as it is a proven fat burner, make sure you are eatting a good amount of protein, less carbs and try and reduce calorie intake slightly.

Exercise wise - mix up your sessions between low intensity cardio and high intensity interval training. Low intensity cardio is working at 70% for a period of 30-60mins jogging etc which is good for fat burning. High intensity interval training try 30sec sprints followed by 2mins fast walking and repeat various times. This is good for strengthening and conditioning core muscles.

Infidel

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

sounds good, but what foods are know to boost metabolisim?

This is where it gets mighty confusing, and where I'd have to recommend you do your own research and make your own mind up. Believe me I've been doing it recently and as you can imagine there's so much information out there. You'll find one site that tells you one thing and then another site which will argue against what you've just read etc. etc. Case in point; green tea is supposed to boost your metabolism, yet I then read a 'scientific' report that said it only does it when a person is first exposed to it, so after your body gets used to drinking it it supposedly looses it's metabolism boosting effect (i'd recommend you drink it regardless, as it's pretty damned healthy anyway).
So basic advice is, do some research on 'metabolism boosting foods' and get some of those into your diet, even if they aren't the 'magic calorie burning foods' that some websites claim, they are generally all really good healthy foods anyway. Cut down on sugar, fat and try and eat less carbs. Eat more protein. Replace some foods in your current diet with healthier options (As an example; I've recently replaced full fat dairy cheese with cottage cheese). Like I said, if you want results you really have to be disciplined and almost become a 'mathematician' :eek: with regards to counting calories eaten and burned, portion sizes etc. etc.
As with food theres the same overload of information with regards to exercise. For every few websites that say 'do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach to burn more fat' there will be one that contradicts this etc.
Personally I've just this week started some interval training at a higher intensity (less time more action) rather than plodding on bikes and treadmills for hours on end. So we'll see how that goes. Gonna have a six-pack by 2010 for sure
Good luck and have fun.