What to do about stubborn belly fat???

Hi everyone. So, for the last five months or so, I've been eating healthy, exercising and losing weight. Now, I've hit a bit of a plateau (b/c it's winter and I am slacking and cheating a bit), but what really worries me is that, while I've lost weight everywhere else, I still have a lot of belly fat.

I know belly fat is the fat that causes heart disease and maybe other diseases too; it's also just ugly. (I'd so much rather have a booty, but my butt, unfortunately, was the first thing to flatten out.) Is there anything I can eat/do/NOT eat/NOT do to target belly fat? I know that you can't really control where you lose the weight from, but isn't there ANYTHING?

And yeah, I heard - cortisol, stress, sleep. My line of work pretty much guarantees high stress and not enough sleep. Should I just give up hope, then?

Stats are: 26 y.o., 5'9", 154 lbs.

Will deeply, deeply appreciate any advice . . . SO tired of this gut :(

refined flours should be avoided. high fiber hould be consumed. & mybe sit ups?

p.s. congrats n the weight loss! *claps* : D

when you get down in weight you need to start looking at body fat instead of the scale.  The key to definition in any area is low body fat, which is achieved through the right diet and workout routine.  For your workout routine, I but you are a cardio queen, logging as many minutes as you can.  focus less on cardio and start building lean muscle mass through weight training.  This will increase your metabolism and you will be thinner, although just to warn you, you may gain "weight" on the scale.

I've heard that "the plank" i supposed to work your core. here is a link on how to do it..

http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightlifting/a/ bestexercises.htm

its just a suggestion, i personally havnt done it to try and lose my belly fat but we used to do it in my body toning class. Thats the only advice i would have though, im just as stuck as you.
& congrats on your weight loss! keep up the good work!

LOL @ "cardio queen" :) I guess I'm a cardio princess, anyway :) It's true I do mostly cardio - but I do elliptical, and about half of my time is spent going slowly at a high resistance, which I heard somewhere is similar to weight training . . . is that wrong?

I also do lat pull-downs and situps. About 150 crunches per workout session (3x/week). Should I be doing more? I definitely have muscle in my abs/waist now, but my lower abs are a bag of jello :(

And I already avoid refined flours/sugar as much as possible - I consume virtually NO white bread (except for a small treat every so often - like I recently ate about 1/5 of a bagel) and I do get quite a bit of fiber (whole grain bread, beans, high-fiber breakfast cereals, fruits/veggies, etc.). Any high-fiber food in particular I should be aware of?

That's the thing, I am doing everything pretty well by the book (not to brag or anything, but I really am trying very hard to be aware of what I eat and to eat correctly), and it is WORKING (slower, now, but I know it's still working), but my belly fat isn't budging. Well, it IS budging, but much, MUCH slower than the rest of me.

It's probably genetic, and I'm just screwed by nature like that, but I was hoping there was SOMETHING. Should I cut carbs maybe? I do eat a lot of fruits . . . awww, I don't wanna cut fruits :(

I personally do not think the no carbs diet is a good one.  Too hard to stick to long term.  I am similar to your diet I think, very south beach style.  I eat a lot of protein (no meat though) from sources like eggs, nuts, soy, cottage cheese, protein shakes.  You didn't mention that at all so maybe you should add more protein to your diet.

As far as the workouts, doing high resistance elliptical training is not enough to build lean muscle mass.  You can't spot train with abs, or anywhere.  You need to do a total body weight training workout in order to loose body fat, which may or may not come off your abs right away (if you are like most, it will probably come last).  

 Anyways I am no expert, I am just telling you what I have learned.   Perhaps talk to a trainer at the gym about starting a weight training routine?

 

:) 

Thank you :) I do eat protein - I normally eat one cup of Fage fat-free yogurt a day; sprouts, beans and sometimes tofu in my salad at lunch; almonds as snacks; sometimes grilled chicken or fish or turkey breast in a sandwich on a whole wheat wrap. Maybe I SHOULD eat a bit more of it, I dunno - seems like a lot of it comes bundled with fat, and I get a little psycho about that :)

I will try to do more weights, I guess. I actually enjoy working with weights, but I feel incredibly guilty whenever I don't do cardio. A psychological thing, I suppose. I can only really get to the gym about 3x a week for an hour each time - do you think I should do JUST weights on some of those days?

For me, Pilates has done wonders for my core. By strengthening my back muscles and balancing it out with my abs, my posture has become miraculously so much better and it really justs gets rid of the pregant looking belly curve that I always had trouble with for years. Thats a little different from the fat I suppose, but every bit helps. I praise it everywhere I go.

when I go to the gym I usually split my time equally between weights and cardio.  If you turn up the intensity of the cardio and do intervals you can probably burn as many calories that way in less time (and remember you do burn cals with weights!)  I am a huge fan of the stair master myself.  Then I alternate with the muscle groups I train.  I split it into a three day rotation.  Usually shoulders, back, abs; bis, tris, chest, abs; then legs.  It is good to change it up though, sometimes I do a weight class at the gym instead just for something different.  

 

Hi! I have the same situation as you: almost to my goal weight, but discovered the belly wasn't movin' anywhere too fast. I've changed some things over the last few months and have really noticed a difference!

I do think you need to do a day or two of just weight training. Weight training will build up your "furnace" all over and lower your body fat, not to mention kick your metabolism up a notch. I joined a strength training class at my gym. In between the exercises, we do a few minutes of plyos here and there to keep our heart rates up- this adds a little cardio and you won't feel "guilty". (by the way I totally know what you're talking about). You could alternate some weight exercises with jumping on the elliptical for 5 min to keep the heart rate up.

A great suggestion above me was to try pilates! I started a once a week pilates class about a month ago and have already seen results in my abs. I also count it as one of my strength training workouts, as it uses a lot of muscles all over.

I wish you luck in reaching your goal!

Thanks a lot, guys. OK, I will try to do more weights next time I work out. I actually HATE weight-training classes (b/c, I confess, I'm a weakling and they kick my butt and make me feel embarrassed), but I'll do some free weight stuff on my own. And I think I'll talk to a trainer about creating a total body routine.

Now, I have a stupid question that I already kinda know the answer to . . . do you think doing this for only 2 weeks will make any kind of difference whatsoever? I have a New Year's trip coming up . . . obviously, will resume working out this way when I come back, but can I even HOPE to be a little bit fitter by then? :)

(Yeah, I know, probably not.)

Thanks everyone, again!

Actually, you're in luck: you're female. High-intensity interval training has been shown to (sometimes) selectively burn abdominal fat in females - so if you want to give it a go try doing something from The HIIT Revolution for Fat Burning Success by Troy M. Anderson.

 Mind you, the selectivity doesn't work for everyone according to what I've read, but it's worth a shot, and HIIT is the cardio version most likely to burn off overall fat like you're on fire anyway...

 As for a total body routine, try 20 for 12: Back to Basics by Olesya Novik - it's a good, solid starter routine. Also, have a read around stumptuous.com - Krista will teach you all the basics of lifting weights so you can design your own routine with your personal goals in mind :)

sit-ups will only build up yours abs beneath the fat you wish to loose... they dont actually burn the fat sorrounding our abs

i've learned that much! 

it seems stubborn torso fat is a common nightmare! (i have the same problem)

 

cardio is the best for of fat burning (so ive come to realise) - mine is slowly coming off but i literally run until i feel i cant run anymore - then run an extra mile 

this works for me 

if you find a better (less exhausting) alternative please inform me!

good luck! 

I've found that the rowing machine is doing wonders for my abs and core. Now, mind you, this is on top of running about 20-25 miles per week. But my belly has always had what a call the "sauce", since all the alcohol I consume seems to hang out around my gut. I don't have a big belly, just a nice layer of jiggle covering what I hope is a fantastic but hidden six-pack.

Now that I've started in on the rowing machine, I think the flab is disappearing.

The only other time it looked this good, is when I was rigorous about doing yoga and pilates 4 times a week.

Hi, same problem here... I've lost 30 lbs and my gut doesn't seem to shrink! Everyday I think I haven't lost any weight because to me, I still look the same from the front... but it's coming off somewhere... I have a fitness/health client and he says absolutely do not eat sugar because it puts the body into a "non fat burning" mode for hours and hours... which I'm sure is probably where I'm being derailed...

I found out that the workouts that tighten my belly the fastest are not the usual ones, but the core strengthening ones. look for core strength workout. they especially make the lower part of your belly tight. good luck :)

lol I just noticed this post is dated back to 2007.

I have the exact same problem with belly fat even though I am supposed to be at my ideal weight. I have started the Thirty Day Shred in the hope of shifting it and I do yoga every day. My diet is pretty draconian. I don't think there's anything else I can do. After the shred is over I might try some serious weight training.