I'm a fairly lucky guy - I'm pretty thin all over...except for my stomach.

I'm sure a lot of people in my condition come to this site, write one question, and never return to hear the answers or contribute. HOWEVER, I've been reading, for many months, as much information as I can get on fitness and diets from this site and many more. Basically, I AM serious, I've adjusted my diet (seriously adjusted!) and started to exercise after a two year gap.

I have the utmost respect for those who post here. Some of the tales and trials are put forth in such a heartfelt manner that it makes my struggle feel petty.

As a consequence of my reading, I'm well aware that there's no such thing as spot-reduction. I know the benefits of both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. I also know that weight-lifting can add weight.

So, it's been 2 months... and I've lost only 1 pound! Not only that, there's no visible reduction in my waist.

I'm 6'1", 189lbs.

My diet:

Breakfast: Cereal + fruit, usually about 250Cals.
Lunch: Sandwich, usually about 400Cals.
Mid-Afternoon: Sandwich, usually about 300Cals.
Dinner: Random, usually about 700-900Cals.

Lots of water, throughout the day.

Exercise:

30mins walk, Monday thru Friday,
40mins weights, twice a week
10mins crunches, every 2 days.


It feels odd since I'm otherwise fine, fat wise, but my stomach is awful. I am slightly overweight according to some calculators and perfectly fine by others. But that's not the point to me...it's how I look, and consequently, how it makes me feel!

My situation's not desparate. I'm happy to keep up what I'm doing. But if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be most grateful.

Oh, by the way, it is a "beer belly". Or was. Given that up now, too!

Unfortunately, we can't choose where we lose our weight (trust me, I have some strange proportions right now).

You should propably try doing ab work everyday. Make sure you include tucks (lying on your back with your legs lifted and pulling them to your tummy with your ab muscles) and that you get your obliques (the ones on the sides). Also, if you can afford it, try a personal trainer a couple of times. They can give you great tips.

But all in all you are going about it the right way. Congrats and good luck!

Thanks, perfectparanoia. I might just try a personal trainer a few times if I can't get results on my own.

I appreciate that I can't choose where I lose weight, but it seems odd considering that there aren't many other obvious places that I could lose too much weight. I realise that'll sound strange to some people.

Apart from that, it's not just that I'm having trouble losing fat from my belly, it's also that I seem to be having trouble losing ANY weight.

Thanks for your tips - I do tuck exercises, as well as crunches, but I find it difficult to do the ones of the side...it seems to crush my stomach into my ribs which is painful. However, I'll persevere.

Thanks again!

Good work so far Kendo - you've got a good routine as it is. But it sounds like you may have to up your exercise routine a bit. Have you tried working up to jogging instead of just walking? Walking isn't going to get your heart pumping enough to get into the true fat-burning zone. If you aren't sweating from every pore and breathing heavily after 15 minutes, you're not in that zone.

Also aim to build more muscle. Muscle mass burns calories, which dwindles fat stores, on it's own even when you aren't exercising. This is why body builders have to eat ridiculous amounts of food just to keep from losing their muscle. Really push hard on the weights, strive to make improvements like adding 5lbs to your exercises every week or two.

How much protein are you getting through your diet? Be sure to eat a good sized portion of chicken, turkey, or fish at both lunch and dinner. And once in a while have eggs, and milk in the mornings. If you want to get serious, consider getting Whey or Soy Protein powder supplement to make protein shakes with. It's been helping me keep my protein intake up and definitely recommend it.

I dont know if this will help you at all, but maybe what's in your sandwich isnt enough. Maybe you need to get some more fruits and veggies into your diet. Are you feeling hungry all the time? The jogging idea that wavephorm had is a good one. I've just started jogging myself. If you're looking for a way to get into it, there is a great article on the Chatelaine website (I know, chick magazine, but trust me) It gives you a basic guideline on how to start jogging without hurting yourself in the first two days. (because when it hurts, I give up....as do most people...pain is not fun) There are also some muscle workouts too. Its in Chatelaine, under.....Sweat central.....or maybe its running workout. Anyway, it was for Run for the Cure. Check it out. It may help you if your interested in that.

Hi all,

I just tried running - I nearly collapsed. I have asthma. I thought I'd be alright to do a quick stint of running, but my asthma's obviously become worse over the past few years. So it looks like running's out of the question for me.

As I said, I've been walking for 20-30 mins every day (except weekends) for nearly 2 months, so it almost certainly wasn't that I was unused to physical exercise. Just 2 years ago I was running regularly with minor asthma related problems.

I guess swimming would be another slightly different cardio exercise to try. Will that be anywhere near as effective (would you imagine) as running?

I think I'm getting a decent amount of veggies and fruits into my diet...usually a bit of salad in my sandwiches, orange juice and a banana for breakfast, 2 veg. with my main meal, and a tall glass of tomato juice in the evening. Just 2 months ago, I was eating less than half that amount of fruit + veg. It's scary! :)

I think the easiest thing I'll be able to build into my routine from the suggestions here, is to increase my weight-lifting time.

HOWEVER, I'm a bit unsure of how much muscle I'll be able to add to my frame whilst I'm dieting. Am I going to have enough calories to maintain the muscle?

My BMR is anywhere between 2000 and 3000, and my regular caloric intake is about 1900.

I don't think I could comfortably reduce my food intake further without being hungry often. I guess if I step up my weights to once every day days that may help.

Thanks.

Hi I just logged into the site and read your message. It is a fact that losing weight in your abdomen is the hardest thing to do. Doing crunches is a good way to lose the weight. I am 30 years old and now weigh 190lbs. I used to weigh 155lbs. I had a misscarriage in February and it has been very hard to lose weight.If you are looking for a diet buddy write me.

I have heard that for some people loosing that last little bit of fat off of your stomach is almost impossible. Back when I was at my leanest (10-12% body fat) in High School, I was working out every day (twice on Tuesdays and Thursdays), drinking the protein shakes, and playing football (practice everyday and games on Friday), and I was never able to get the "six pack abs". I think that it is probably genetic. Anyway, it looks like you are doing all the right things. I am guessing that even if you were able to adhere to a more rigid diet/exercise program in order to loose that last little bit of fat, it may be difficult to maintain the regiment long term (if you lost it and go off the routine, guess what would come back first!). Personally, when I get back to a point where my body fat is in the lean range (10 - 15%), and I am wanting to trim off that last bit around my middle, I will probably consider having it surgically removed (versus starving myself). If your body fat is already in the "lean" range and you feel good and are healthy, it does not make a lot of sense to adopt an extreme diet/exercise plan (that is maybe not so healthy). Just remember that because all of the folks in the infomercials can obtain the perfect abs does not mean that everyone can. Sorry if this was not the answer you were looking for :(

Jim

I am at the begining faze of my program. I read your message thanks!!! I am a 30 year old wife and mother. I am 5'9 so I carry my weight well. I need to lose my stomach fat and trim down my thighs. Any suggestions?

Kendo, (I'm trying not to sound condescending, but) are you sure your problem with running was because of your asthma? Or was it merely being out of shape? There must be some way to work jogging in without getting asthma attacks. I know my cousin has asthma and is able to run a 10Km race, it can be done. Start only jogging at a very slow pace, but still faster than walking. It may take a few weeks before you're able to run for more than a couple minutes at a time.

Swimming can be just as effective as running. But if you're not able to run, don't expect swimming to be any easier. Swimming laps, at least for me, puts a lot more demand on breathing than running does. I've been swimming regularly for over a month now and I still choke and swallow water, and always feel out of breath - and that's without having asthma. But I do see people bring their breathilyzers to the pool - maybe swimming will even help your asthma?

If you increase your weightlifting, don't do too much more than 1 hour workouts, 3 or 4 times a week (every 2 days). Anymore than that and you won't be getting enough rest. You don't necessarily have to lift for LONGER, but rather lift harder and heavier. Your goal is to make those muscles sore every time. Also change your lift routines every 2 weeks, like adding new exercises, change grips, use dumbells instead of machines etc.

If you're getting enough protein (which I'm not sure you are) you will add muscle, but how much is up in the air. A rule of thumb is to eat 1g of protein for every 1lb of your weight. If you don't get enough daily calories to support your muscles then your fat stores, and unfortunately some muscle mass too, will be used for energy. But if you keep eating lots of protein, and keep lifting you probably won't notice any muscle loss.

Some people think that swimming has a benefitial affect on asthma, and that swimming regularly can help control asthma symptoms. If you have an inhaler Kendo, use it just before you go running.

Swiss ball exercises target and strenghen your "core" area, or your abs. Even if you get one and just sit on it while you watch T.V you will strenghen your abs. Because your body is unbalanced on the swiss ball, your ab area has to use stabilising muscles to keep balanced. There are a lot of different excercises you can do on them and they are lots of fun (when you can stay on!)

Originally posted by wavephorm
[B]Kendo, (I'm trying not to sound condescending, but) are you sure your problem with running was because of your asthma? Or was it merely being out of shape?...I know my cousin has asthma and is able to run a 10Km race, it can be done.

Ah, but then there are differing degrees of asthmatics. Although it is a case of 'you either have it or you don't', it is possible to have very bad asthma or quite easy going asthma. It's the same with eczema, too - you can have it bad or not too bad.

But yes, I'm not (that) out of shape...I recognise the symptoms of an asthma attack. Heck - I don't have much choice about recognising them!! :) Basically, my chest becomes very, very tight so that the pain is almost unbearable...as a result my breathing is forced to become increasingly shallow. Then my whole body tends to go deathly cold. It's at the point that I either stop or have an attack. It takes me about 30 minutes to recover my breathing, and it hurts for about 2 hours afterwards.

Waveform: I'm usually very thin skinned about receiving criticism (in all forms) and I have to say that your post was so well written that I didn't feel the slightest bit of condescension, anger or anything! Thanks for the advice, I will put it to good use.

Hello Kendo,

It certainly sounds like you're doing a lot of things right. Must be frustrating for you. Try pushing your walking speed up a little if you can..but not to the point of triggering an asthma attack. I was just complaining to my doctor about my tummy pouch. She suggested a book called: Stronger Abs and Back by Dean Brittenham and Greg Brittenham. It has over 165 different exercises to strenghten your "core". It's full of good information for people wanting to improve their strength all the way up to exercises for well trained athletes. Maybe a wider variety of exercises will help.

Abdominal fat can be the most stubbron. Unfortuantley, abs are made in the kitchen.

I do believe in spot reduction as I've made physical changes on myself. But, just as you didn't gain the weight overnight, you won't spot reduce overnight. Spot reduction involves adequate water intake, quality nutrition, cardio, and resistance training. Combing these four factors consistently will prove results. Anytime you add lean muscle tissue to a targeted area, you are incresing circulation, oxygenating the area, plus, muscle is metabolically active, meaning it burns calories. So, the more lean tissue you add to a specified area, the less fat will reside there.

Don't be blind to the fact that weight training can add weight. Be sure you are distinguishing lean muscle tissue from fat. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh the same, a pound. Muscle takes up less space than fat and it's metabolically active.

Your nutrition looks good, you are eating several small meals through out the day. My suggestion would be to eat more complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal, brown rice, yams... and add a complete protein to each meal such as turkey, chicken, tuna, egg whites. Fats are essential too, espeically the Omega 3's and 6's. These can be obtained by adding more marine food to the program or supplementing. The RIGHT fat's can decrease bodyfat as well as hypertension and hyperlipidema.....Eating more vegetables would be adviseable as they are low in calories and provide fiber and many antioxidants. Depending on what time your last meal is, I'd drop the caloric intake on that one. Your biggest meal should be either breakfast, before resistance training or after training. Don't sleep on 700+ calories. ;)

You might try splitting your working out up, for example:
Day #1 Weight training 30 minutes
Day #2 Cardio 30 minutes interval intensity
Day #3 weight training 30 minutes
Day #4 Cardio 30 minutes interval intensity
Day #5 weight training 30 minutes
Day #6 cardio 30 minutes interval intensity
Day #7 Free day

Abs contain different types of muscle fibers so it's ok to train them every other day. But, if they're still sore from previous workout, let the rest. Your abs are there, you just have to rid that insulation through proper nutrition and exercise.

I think making the proper adjustments in your nutrition will prove more weight loss then a pound a month. You should be losing 1-2 pounds a week.

Good Luck

Alright, I know I already added to this forum but I have one more suggestion. You can't run because of your asthma (I feel your pain, I can't because of my bad ankles) but 20-30 minutes is probably not enough on the walking scale. I try to up my time or speed or distance all the time. That way it's more fun (it's like a little competition with myself) and I know that I am getting in better shape (since I can increase). Also, you should try EVERY day. I was doing five days a week and it was becoming less effective all the time. I know it is hard to get motivated on teh weekend. If you can't do every day, at least make your days off not in a row.

And KSFit I think meant you CAN work your abs every day because they recover so quickly. But if they are still sore from the day before you won't build any muscle, you will just do damage.

Nope, I meant train abs every other day. Granted they do recover fairly quickly as opposed to other muscle groups, but they still need rest and recovery. Training abs everyday won't produce results any quicker than every other day or 3 times a week. Abs will not increase in size as other muscle groups and they require minimal work as well. The trick to muscle tone and shape is to stimulate and muscle and let it rest.

I see people beating themselves up in the gym day after day, riping out countless repetitions and they look the same year after year. Abs and nutrition go hand-n-hand.

I hit abs 3 times a week, 3 sets for 25 reps. Focus on the contraction of the movement and hold if for 3 seconds. Don't just rep out, make the abs work.