Diet to lose belly
Discussion
I've been trying to lose the extra bits from around my middle without much success.
Anyone got any tips on diet that would help? I've been doing some research but got lost in a sea of Low-carb, Low-GI, Low Fat...
I'm not looking for a Men's Fitness cover body, but a tummy that didn't stick out further than my chest would be nice
I'm 12 stone, 5'10" and exercise regularly.
Anyone got any tips on diet that would help? I've been doing some research but got lost in a sea of Low-carb, Low-GI, Low Fat...
I'm not looking for a Men's Fitness cover body, but a tummy that didn't stick out further than my chest would be nice
I'm 12 stone, 5'10" and exercise regularly.
Cut the following for 4 weeks:
0 sugar (including fruit)
cut alcohol (do it on the weekend if you wish)
no carbs after 5/6pm and try to remove as much wheat/gluten
After 4 weeks (to make this sustainable, give yourself weekends off)
cut all foods with refined or added suger (most food labelled as "diet" has added sugar)
no alcohol during the week
no carbs after 6pm
Throughout don't be afraid of fats as your body has evolved to digest this much more efficiently than carbs and sugar. Do exercise at least twice a week, you don't need to do much to get the metabolisms working in a way that will drop the fat right off.
I lost a significant amount of weight doing this but, more importantly, I felt much better (less tired, more focused and had much more energy) and my skin became much clearer according to my wife.
In the first week you may get cravings for random things - mine was plain rice, I really wanted a bowl of plain rice!
0 sugar (including fruit)
cut alcohol (do it on the weekend if you wish)
no carbs after 5/6pm and try to remove as much wheat/gluten
After 4 weeks (to make this sustainable, give yourself weekends off)
cut all foods with refined or added suger (most food labelled as "diet" has added sugar)
no alcohol during the week
no carbs after 6pm
Throughout don't be afraid of fats as your body has evolved to digest this much more efficiently than carbs and sugar. Do exercise at least twice a week, you don't need to do much to get the metabolisms working in a way that will drop the fat right off.
I lost a significant amount of weight doing this but, more importantly, I felt much better (less tired, more focused and had much more energy) and my skin became much clearer according to my wife.
In the first week you may get cravings for random things - mine was plain rice, I really wanted a bowl of plain rice!
Potatoes said:
0 sugar (including fruit)
cut alcohol (do it on the weekend if you wish)
no carbs after 5/6pm and try to remove as much wheat/gluten
No carbs in the evening is utter bcut alcohol (do it on the weekend if you wish)
no carbs after 5/6pm and try to remove as much wheat/gluten
ks. Restricting carbs a little unless you are exercising loads can work. I eat the bulk of my carb intake before, during and after exercise and give them mostly a swerve at other times. But randomly restricting at a specified time has no scientific backing.Cutting booze is great advice and one I have done and seen huge drops in weight. Yes to no refined sugar but don't cut fruit. 10g of sugar in an orange is not the same as 10g in a can of coke. Plus you will miss out on vital nutrients and fibre.
OP - Use my fitness pal, track what you eat, weight food if necessary to get a handle on portion sizes. You will quickly see where the empty calories are what to cut.
So cut sugar, carbs and alcohol...
I eat quite a lot of fruit so there's quite a bit of sugar in that
carbs - probably my downfall. Porridge for breakfast and Pasta for lunch or dinner quite often.
Alcohol - I don't think I drink a lot really. Probably averages out at 5 or 6 bottles of beer or cider a week (330ml size). I drink water all day at work (no tea or coffee, don't like the taste)
Exercise -
Monday 1 hour gym
Tuesday Swim 1000m + run 5 miles
Wednesday 1 hour gym
Thursday 1000m swim + 5 mile run
Friday off
Saturday Tennis/walk/cycle ride with kids
I eat quite a lot of fruit so there's quite a bit of sugar in that
carbs - probably my downfall. Porridge for breakfast and Pasta for lunch or dinner quite often.
Alcohol - I don't think I drink a lot really. Probably averages out at 5 or 6 bottles of beer or cider a week (330ml size). I drink water all day at work (no tea or coffee, don't like the taste)
Exercise -
Monday 1 hour gym
Tuesday Swim 1000m + run 5 miles
Wednesday 1 hour gym
Thursday 1000m swim + 5 mile run
Friday off
Saturday Tennis/walk/cycle ride with kids
I went 0 sugar for 4 weeks was to loose my taste for it as I loved the stuff... it depends what your starting point is.
The carbs advice worked for me, I went on a solely no carb after 6pm diet a few years back (continued to eat sugar and drink alcohol to the same amount) as I needed to cut down for the 7s rugby season. I exercised 3-4 times a week and lost a stone in 4 weeks, from 12 to 11 stone. Not scientific proof but it's far from utter bks.
Myfitnesspal is good, I found it a little high level but that was user apathy on my part. You get out what you put in with that tool.
OP, work out what you're eating/doing.
If you're not exercising, exercise more.
If you have high sugar, reduce natural sugar initially to loose the sweet tooth and cut out refined sugar totally
If you have high alcohol, st news but it works: take a break and come back a month later drinking only on weekends (and don't go crazy every weekend!)
If you eat a lot of cards, reduce it, especially breads, pasta and rice.
Clearly some people believe the final point is bks but it is pretty established bks that makes a real difference. However if you are feeling low energy, the advice is to prioritise natural fat over carbs and carbs over sugar.
Anyone interested in spending an hour learning about why sugar is something we should not be eating, watch The Bitter Truth. You may want to keep some tin-foil handy but it's an enlightening watch.
The carbs advice worked for me, I went on a solely no carb after 6pm diet a few years back (continued to eat sugar and drink alcohol to the same amount) as I needed to cut down for the 7s rugby season. I exercised 3-4 times a week and lost a stone in 4 weeks, from 12 to 11 stone. Not scientific proof but it's far from utter b
ks.Myfitnesspal is good, I found it a little high level but that was user apathy on my part. You get out what you put in with that tool.
OP, work out what you're eating/doing.
If you're not exercising, exercise more.
If you have high sugar, reduce natural sugar initially to loose the sweet tooth and cut out refined sugar totally
If you have high alcohol, s
t news but it works: take a break and come back a month later drinking only on weekends (and don't go crazy every weekend!)If you eat a lot of cards, reduce it, especially breads, pasta and rice.
Clearly some people believe the final point is b
ks but it is pretty established bks that makes a real difference. However if you are feeling low energy, the advice is to prioritise natural fat over carbs and carbs over sugar.Anyone interested in spending an hour learning about why sugar is something we should not be eating, watch The Bitter Truth. You may want to keep some tin-foil handy but it's an enlightening watch.
"Easy" one, if you have discipline - replace whatever it is that you eat for lunch with a plain chicken salad, no dressing. Eat whatever else it is that you usually eat, but don't start snacking because you're now eating a salad.
This should see you saving 4-600 calories each lunchtime, and for me if I do this I lose a kilo a week.
This should see you saving 4-600 calories each lunchtime, and for me if I do this I lose a kilo a week.
DanL said:
"Easy" one, if you have discipline - replace whatever it is that you eat for lunch with a plain chicken salad, no dressing. Eat whatever else it is that you usually eat, but don't start snacking because you're now eating a salad.
This should see you saving 4-600 calories each lunchtime, and for me if I do this I lose a kilo a week.
Not sure I actually want to lose much weight, but I suppose a couple of kilos wouldn't hurt.This should see you saving 4-600 calories each lunchtime, and for me if I do this I lose a kilo a week.
Looking for long-term changes to diet rather than a quick-fix weightloss diest
boyse7en said:
Not sure I actually want to lose much weight, but I suppose a couple of kilos wouldn't hurt.
Looking for long-term changes to diet rather than a quick-fix weightloss diest
For a long term losing a bit of weight you just need a small change. As long as your weight is not going up currently then a small change will have a big impact long term. e.g like to have 2 mars bars on a Saturday, switch to one. That will lose you a 1/3 lb of fat a month, everything else being equal.Looking for long-term changes to diet rather than a quick-fix weightloss diest
Just drop one or two bad things.
944fan said:
boyse7en said:
Not sure I actually want to lose much weight, but I suppose a couple of kilos wouldn't hurt.
Looking for long-term changes to diet rather than a quick-fix weightloss diest
For a long term losing a bit of weight you just need a small change. As long as your weight is not going up currently then a small change will have a big impact long term. e.g like to have 2 mars bars on a Saturday, switch to one. That will lose you a 1/3 lb of fat a month, everything else being equal.Looking for long-term changes to diet rather than a quick-fix weightloss diest
Just drop one or two bad things.
Cut out the carbs and sugar (refined stuff) and go low salt/sodium for a month, see how you get on. If it's proving too hard just try to cut out the bread/porridge/pasta and up your exercise. You'll lose the belly fat and possibly the love handles, then you'll realise life without coke/beer/sweets/crisps/bread/pasta and cake is marginally more depressing than having love handles and so continues the cycle...
Firstly, how old are you? If you are 40+ then you will likely by natures own blessing, get weight deposited around your middle,and to be honest it is can be the hardest thing to reduce.
Diet all you want and exercise, but you may not see any noticeable results around your waist/hips. I found that hill sprints work well:
http://breakingmuscle.com/running/hill-sprints-how...
But then I tried sled pulling (rope)/ sprint (going as fast as you can - not exactly sprinting) sled pushing in my gym and that worked wonders. Toughest exercise I know,and really works all your major muscle groups and, in my opinion, is better overall than hill sprints. Combined with a sensible diet this notably reduced my waistline. Give it a go. What have you got to lose. Seems like you just need some fine tuning!
Diet all you want and exercise, but you may not see any noticeable results around your waist/hips. I found that hill sprints work well:
http://breakingmuscle.com/running/hill-sprints-how...
But then I tried sled pulling (rope)/ sprint (going as fast as you can - not exactly sprinting) sled pushing in my gym and that worked wonders. Toughest exercise I know,and really works all your major muscle groups and, in my opinion, is better overall than hill sprints. Combined with a sensible diet this notably reduced my waistline. Give it a go. What have you got to lose. Seems like you just need some fine tuning!
Stand on your head and sing the national anthem.
This you are/aren't fat question that some posters are debating ... look at your gut. Is it fat, or is it just sticking out? Is there a wobbly layer of flab under the skin? If so, you are fat.
If you're carrying fat and you're not losing weight even after you've adjusted your diet, then you are still eating too many calories or doing too little exercise for the amount that you're eating. Healthy balanced diet regardless. Then eat less and/or do more.
No doubt there are specific things you can do like eat more protein in order to eat less overall since it makes you feel full for longer, or use starvation and bursts of mad exercise to correct your reaction to glucose consumption, but fixating on this sort of micro-management and search for a magic fix strikes me as a great way of not facing the problem completely honestly and setting yourself up to kid yourself about what you're actually consuming.
This you are/aren't fat question that some posters are debating ... look at your gut. Is it fat, or is it just sticking out? Is there a wobbly layer of flab under the skin? If so, you are fat.
If you're carrying fat and you're not losing weight even after you've adjusted your diet, then you are still eating too many calories or doing too little exercise for the amount that you're eating. Healthy balanced diet regardless. Then eat less and/or do more.
No doubt there are specific things you can do like eat more protein in order to eat less overall since it makes you feel full for longer, or use starvation and bursts of mad exercise to correct your reaction to glucose consumption, but fixating on this sort of micro-management and search for a magic fix strikes me as a great way of not facing the problem completely honestly and setting yourself up to kid yourself about what you're actually consuming.
ATG said:
Stand on your head and sing the national anthem.
This you are/aren't fat question that some posters are debating ... look at your gut. Is it fat, or is it just sticking out? Is there a wobbly layer of flab under the skin? If so, you are fat.
If you're carrying fat and you're not losing weight even after you've adjusted your diet, then you are still eating too many calories or doing too little exercise for the amount that you're eating. Healthy balanced diet regardless. Then eat less and/or do more.
No doubt there are specific things you can do like eat more protein in order to eat less overall since it makes you feel full for longer, or use starvation and bursts of mad exercise to correct your reaction to glucose consumption, but fixating on this sort of micro-management and search for a magic fix strikes me as a great way of not facing the problem completely honestly and setting yourself up to kid yourself about what you're actually consuming.
I'm not "big", but I do have a layer of fat around my middle , maybe an inch deep over my abdominal muscle.This you are/aren't fat question that some posters are debating ... look at your gut. Is it fat, or is it just sticking out? Is there a wobbly layer of flab under the skin? If so, you are fat.
If you're carrying fat and you're not losing weight even after you've adjusted your diet, then you are still eating too many calories or doing too little exercise for the amount that you're eating. Healthy balanced diet regardless. Then eat less and/or do more.
No doubt there are specific things you can do like eat more protein in order to eat less overall since it makes you feel full for longer, or use starvation and bursts of mad exercise to correct your reaction to glucose consumption, but fixating on this sort of micro-management and search for a magic fix strikes me as a great way of not facing the problem completely honestly and setting yourself up to kid yourself about what you're actually consuming.
I'm not particularly trying to lose weight. I'm not gaining weight either, so calories in/out seem about right. However, I want to lose fat around the middle. If that requires me to lose some weight then so be it.
I'm not looking for a magic fix. And in what way am i not looking at the problem honestly? I'm eating approximately the right amount of calories, but as the fat isn't shifting then I'm assuming I'm eating the wrong type of calories, I was looking for some advice to best change that.
Exercise is currently:
2x1000m freestyle swims
2x 5-7 mile runs
2 x gym sessions (weights machines plus mat exercises to help an ITB injury)
per week
Oh, and I'm 45 and in a desk-bound job
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