Losing the stomach fat
Discussion
Hi,
Having recently reached 50 i started to notice a bit of a stomach starting and whilst not desperate to get a 6 pack i want to tone up a little so i made the effort to find a solution.
I am 5ft 11" tall and in size 34 trousers and loving the chocolate so 3 weeks ago i joined a local "boot camp" club, i am pleased to say that the instructor is full of encouragement rarther than the Army Major type which i would not have liked.
The routine consists of Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings at 6am we do a high intense session for 30 minutes using body resistance similiar to Metafit, quick shower and then off to work.
Also encouraged is to improve on the diet, i have given up Bread, cheese, sugar, beer, chocolate and tried to avoid anything with lots of sugar or processed food, since giving up the sugar my craving for chocolate has gone completely which i am very suprised about as before i could have lived on chocolate and the thought of a MacDonalds just turns me off. I buy chicken drumsticks and take these to work each day and the meat intake has increased a lot, loving the steaks as well.
Even though i am getting up earlier i am feeling much more alert and are sleeping much better.
The results so far, not looking to lose weight just replace the stomach fat with muscle which i have noticed in my upper body from all the exercises and my jeans are loose around the stomach so very pleased so far,
Interestingly running is not encouraged at all as a efficient way of losing weight,
I will post another update in a month,
Martyn
Having recently reached 50 i started to notice a bit of a stomach starting and whilst not desperate to get a 6 pack i want to tone up a little so i made the effort to find a solution.
I am 5ft 11" tall and in size 34 trousers and loving the chocolate so 3 weeks ago i joined a local "boot camp" club, i am pleased to say that the instructor is full of encouragement rarther than the Army Major type which i would not have liked.
The routine consists of Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings at 6am we do a high intense session for 30 minutes using body resistance similiar to Metafit, quick shower and then off to work.
Also encouraged is to improve on the diet, i have given up Bread, cheese, sugar, beer, chocolate and tried to avoid anything with lots of sugar or processed food, since giving up the sugar my craving for chocolate has gone completely which i am very suprised about as before i could have lived on chocolate and the thought of a MacDonalds just turns me off. I buy chicken drumsticks and take these to work each day and the meat intake has increased a lot, loving the steaks as well.
Even though i am getting up earlier i am feeling much more alert and are sleeping much better.
The results so far, not looking to lose weight just replace the stomach fat with muscle which i have noticed in my upper body from all the exercises and my jeans are loose around the stomach so very pleased so far,
Interestingly running is not encouraged at all as a efficient way of losing weight,
I will post another update in a month,
Martyn
Edited by Martyn-123 on Saturday 19th April 15:45
I would recommend adding heavy lifting to your routine. HIIT will only get you so far and at some point you'll be able to do 200 push ups in a row which will mean you'll be able to do 200 push ups in a row.
Also, you don't have to cut out the fun stuff. The trick is to increase protein levels so your muscles have something to work with whilst decreasing total calorie intake. If you're training hard, you could sneak in the occasional beer or packet of crisps. As long as there's a deficit with high protein (around 150g per day if you can't be bothered to be precise) then you should achieve what you want.
Also, you don't have to cut out the fun stuff. The trick is to increase protein levels so your muscles have something to work with whilst decreasing total calorie intake. If you're training hard, you could sneak in the occasional beer or packet of crisps. As long as there's a deficit with high protein (around 150g per day if you can't be bothered to be precise) then you should achieve what you want.
goldblum said:
honest_delboy said:
Why would running not be classed as an efficient way to lose weight ?
Because the boot camp instructor doesn't run and doesn't want to lose any of his group?Flibble said:
, diet is what makes you lose weight.
That statement is actually correct, to be fair. You will lose weight* if you starve yourself of calories and protein (that's what most diets involve).- Muscle mass and some body fat
In my experience dieting alone is an unnecessary quick fix, which will likely result in reduced muscle mass and a lower RMR.
Most people i know who lose weight through diet alone gradually put it back on and seem to be in worse physical shape than before the original diet.
A calorie deficit causes weightloss. How you go about achieving that deficit is up to you. However, research on obesity has shown that all things being equal,slightly more weight is lost through exercise than diet. For most people not subject to the rigours of a research study a blend of exercise and diet is recommended.
grumbledoak said:
Most fat buggers simply cannot do a significant amount of exercise. For those carrying around three stones of crisps and biscuits it is quite a bit easier to stop eating them than it is to run them off.
Yep and it's easier not to eat a packet of biscuits than run it off.Eleven said:
The scientific evidence is compelling.
However despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary a great many people report greater fat loss through diet rather than exercise.
Does the average person even know how to measure fat loss? People usually report any weight loss in stones/lbs and never say anything like "My body fat percentage had reduced from 22% to 19%".However despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary a great many people report greater fat loss through diet rather than exercise.
Most people measure weight / BMI, which is very crude and inaccurate.
One other thing. The method that works best for a slightly overweight middle-aged woman might not work as well for a slightly overweight 20-30 year old man.
I'm in a similar situation.
mid 40's, find I gain body fat very easily in last few years.
I do like my food but have a healthy mixed diet, very little high fat junk and fizzy drinks, don't drink alcohol at all.
I've been doing gym session 2/3 times a week, usually 25 mins cardio (bike/rower), plus 6 or so groups of weight sets for about 4 months. No desk job so on the go most the day, but still very slow at shifting the mid section fat.
Any brilliant ideas... ? Maybe more cardio. Any big diet changes will be hard as I work odd and erratic hours and often get 'given' meals without much choice when working.
mid 40's, find I gain body fat very easily in last few years.
I do like my food but have a healthy mixed diet, very little high fat junk and fizzy drinks, don't drink alcohol at all.
I've been doing gym session 2/3 times a week, usually 25 mins cardio (bike/rower), plus 6 or so groups of weight sets for about 4 months. No desk job so on the go most the day, but still very slow at shifting the mid section fat.
Any brilliant ideas... ? Maybe more cardio. Any big diet changes will be hard as I work odd and erratic hours and often get 'given' meals without much choice when working.
I used to be a fat bugger too.
I lost around 45lbs in 12 weeks thorugn a combination of calorie deficit, weights & cardio.
BF went from 27% to 12.5%
I was eating circa 1600cals a day, whilst doing 20-30mins cardio before breakfast & 20-30mins cardio after evening dinner.
Workout before evening dinner.
Food involved was strictcly:
Egg whites, oats with water, chicken, brown rice, greens / broccoli, salmon/lean steak/lean mince/oily fish etc.
+ Protein shakes & copious amounts of water + black coffee/green tea.
It was boring & hard work, but you put in what you get out.
I was on no carbs for the final 6 weeks & it's amazing how little food your body actually needs to be able to function.
I also went from an XL to M & from a 40-42 inch waist to a 32.
I lost around 45lbs in 12 weeks thorugn a combination of calorie deficit, weights & cardio.
BF went from 27% to 12.5%
I was eating circa 1600cals a day, whilst doing 20-30mins cardio before breakfast & 20-30mins cardio after evening dinner.
Workout before evening dinner.
Food involved was strictcly:
Egg whites, oats with water, chicken, brown rice, greens / broccoli, salmon/lean steak/lean mince/oily fish etc.
+ Protein shakes & copious amounts of water + black coffee/green tea.
It was boring & hard work, but you put in what you get out.
I was on no carbs for the final 6 weeks & it's amazing how little food your body actually needs to be able to function.
I also went from an XL to M & from a 40-42 inch waist to a 32.
theguvernor said:
I used to be a fat bugger too.
I lost around 45lbs in 12 weeks thorugn a combination of calorie deficit, weights & cardio.
BF went from 27% to 12.5%
I was eating circa 1600cals a day, whilst doing 20-30mins cardio before breakfast & 20-30mins cardio after evening dinner.
Workout before evening dinner.
Food involved was strictcly:
Egg whites, oats with water, chicken, brown rice, greens / broccoli, salmon/lean steak/lean mince/oily fish etc.
+ Protein shakes & copious amounts of water + black coffee/green tea.
It was boring & hard work, but you put in what you get out.
I was on no carbs for the final 6 weeks & it's amazing how little food your body actually needs to be able to function.
I also went from an XL to M & from a 40-42 inch waist to a 32.
And now?I lost around 45lbs in 12 weeks thorugn a combination of calorie deficit, weights & cardio.
BF went from 27% to 12.5%
I was eating circa 1600cals a day, whilst doing 20-30mins cardio before breakfast & 20-30mins cardio after evening dinner.
Workout before evening dinner.
Food involved was strictcly:
Egg whites, oats with water, chicken, brown rice, greens / broccoli, salmon/lean steak/lean mince/oily fish etc.
+ Protein shakes & copious amounts of water + black coffee/green tea.
It was boring & hard work, but you put in what you get out.
I was on no carbs for the final 6 weeks & it's amazing how little food your body actually needs to be able to function.
I also went from an XL to M & from a 40-42 inch waist to a 32.
theguvernor said:
I used to be a fat bugger too.
I lost around 45lbs in 12 weeks thorugn a combination of calorie deficit, weights & cardio.
BF went from 27% to 12.5%
I was eating circa 1600cals a day, whilst doing 20-30mins cardio before breakfast & 20-30mins cardio after evening dinner.
Workout before evening dinner.
Food involved was strictcly:
Egg whites, oats with water, chicken, brown rice, greens / broccoli, salmon/lean steak/lean mince/oily fish etc.
+ Protein shakes & copious amounts of water + black coffee/green tea.
It was boring & hard work, but you put in what you get out.
I was on no carbs for the final 6 weeks & it's amazing how little food your body actually needs to be able to function.
I also went from an XL to M & from a 40-42 inch waist to a 32.
I just couldn't do that diet, I would go nuts..... Nice food and cars are my only vices in life, and I haven't got time every day for over 1.5 hours of excercise. I lost around 45lbs in 12 weeks thorugn a combination of calorie deficit, weights & cardio.
BF went from 27% to 12.5%
I was eating circa 1600cals a day, whilst doing 20-30mins cardio before breakfast & 20-30mins cardio after evening dinner.
Workout before evening dinner.
Food involved was strictcly:
Egg whites, oats with water, chicken, brown rice, greens / broccoli, salmon/lean steak/lean mince/oily fish etc.
+ Protein shakes & copious amounts of water + black coffee/green tea.
It was boring & hard work, but you put in what you get out.
I was on no carbs for the final 6 weeks & it's amazing how little food your body actually needs to be able to function.
I also went from an XL to M & from a 40-42 inch waist to a 32.
goldblum said:
honest_delboy said:
Why would running not be classed as an efficient way to lose weight ?
Because the boot camp instructor doesn't run and doesn't want to lose any of his group?
Running is brilliant and effective.
A nice lil Parkrun in the morning for me. Should be 600-700 calories done.
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