Wanting to lose a beer gut 4 May 2016 at 4:23PM in Sports & fitness MoneySaving 60 replies 15.2K views

gabriel1980

Through several years of drinking too much and not watching what I eat, I have developed a gut. I want to lose this beer gut and my partner wants to lose some weight too. I guess the question is pretty simple, what is the best way?


We've started walking 2 - 3 miles a day after work at a brisk pace, and we are watching what we eat. I have cut down my drinking by half (only drinking one night a week, probably Saturday night). Would this be sufficient to see results?


I have heard that sit-ups and other ab exercises won't do much for a beer gut, you need to lose that first. Are there certain exercises that would really help get rid of the tummy?

fairy_lights

Unfortunately you can't spot-reduce fat, and you can't choose which parts of your body it goes from first, you'll have to be patient and wait for your belly to reduce as you lose fat all over.
A pint of Lager contains roughly 180 calories so depending exactly how much you used to drink you could be cutting a lot of calories out of your diet by giving it up.

Gloomendoom

I had the same problem. Still do in a much reduced state.

Try the 5:2 "diet". You don't necessarily have to give up beer.

stephen77

as above. give the 5:2 a try.


As you get better at walking. Increase the speed and start to jog some of it.
Before long you should be able to jog the whole distance.

Mr_Singleton

gabriel1980 wrote: »

Through several years of drinking too much and not watching what I eat, I have developed a gut. I want to lose this beer gut

You've answered your own question.

Stop drinking too much beer

&

Watch what you're eating.

Simples really.

whiteguineapig

you could also try jogging/running, you don't need to go to the gym
its free

Ballard

I'm not speaking with any authority but I think that you're basically right. Eating better and drinking less is the way to start. Cook with fresh ingredients wherever possible. If time is limited then bulk cook over the weekend and freeze in portions.

I don't know how much difference it makes but I get low salt/sugar ketchup, mayonnaise & margarine. It tastes the same to me (although I've never really liked salt so maybe I'm biased).

Walking is also a good start. If there are some challenging hills locally then perhaps try to incorporate one or two into your walk. A weekend drive into the country and a couple of hours stroll wouldn't hurt and if you're anything like me you'll enjoy it too.

Alcohol can be difficult to get away from. I pretty much always used to have a beer or wine every night but it's only habit. After a short time of fancying a beer but sticking with water I rarely want a beer at home nowadays.

1940sGal

I'd recommend either 5:2 or slimming world. I lost nearly 4 stone on 5:2 and some later on slimming world.

As with any diet it's all a mind game. Don't restrict yourself too much, don't say 'I can't have that', just have things in moderation.

Also, i'd recommend My Fitness Pal. It helps track calorie intake and you may be surprised by how quickly those calories stack up.

As for exercises, strength training works wonders for burning fat. Buy yourself a set of dumbbells or a kettle bell and have a look online for routines.

parking_question_chap

Oh good grief.

Op, I know I am probably going to be outnumbered here. But please dont waste time with the 5:2. It might be a short term fix, but do you want that or a long term solution?

Just cut out junk food/beer as much as you can/want to and do more exercise.

Unless you plan to do the 5:2 until the day you die, please done bother. It is not sustainable and it certainly does not teach you good eating habits.

Money_maker

1940sGal wrote: »

As with any diet it's all a mind game. Don't restrict yourself too much, don't say 'I can't have that', just have things in moderation.

Unless you're like me and have a sugar craving. I have to tell myself I cant have it as I'm unable to stop once I start eating it. I find if I can stay off it for a few days then the interest in eating it just goes away.

Coveredinbees!!!!

I'm in a similar boat, when the scales hit 14 stone I knew it was time I did something. I'm trying to eat less rubbish and so far have avoided the trips to burger king but I'm a member of a model flying club and their tuck shop only sells chocolate and 'pub' snacks ( nuts, porkie scratchings) which is harder to resist between flights.

I also started doing C25K which is a programme to gently into running -

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/get-running-with-couch-to-5k.aspx

It's baby steps so first week you only run 60 seconds then walk 90 seconds, week 2 90 seconds of running and 2 min walking walking and so on. I start week 4 tomorrow.