Pot belly!!!

[omniflow]

RMDB9 said:

I dont drink alcohol, no sugary drinks, no fast food (McD, Pret etc), no processed food or ready made meals.
The rest of my body is fine (except chin area).
The stupid pot belly makes me suck in my stomach which in turn leads to a cramped/hunched shoulder posture which in turn...

What am I doing wrong, what should I be doing?

Coconut oil?

From here: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/can-coconut-o...

"However, some research suggests that coconut oil may decrease belly fat. A 4-week study in 20 adults with obesity observed that taking 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of this oil daily significantly reduced waist circumference in male participants (18Trusted Source)."

Not sure how reliable that is.

[CoolHands]

But exercising makes you hungry. Exercise less!

[V8covin]

You're not going to reduce stomach fat by doing abs exercises.
Move more or eat less or both

[Bill]

Brian_996TT said:

if you want to eat more then exercise more

True, but you can't outrun a bad diet.

[272BHP]

Pot belly is really more down to gut (internal) and hormonal issues rather than the much bandied about calories in, calories out stuff.

I know a few people who have a defined upper body but with a rugby ball in the belly area. You could spend a lot of money going down the rabbit hole of finding out what your particular situation is but to be honest you are better off just changing whatever routine you are doing now and seeing what helps.

So reduce stress, get more sleep, eat different stuff at different times, do different and more intense exercise, sweat more etc there is a million and one things to try.

[Indoraptor]

Do squats.

[SlimJim16v]

There's a saying in the bodybuilding world, "abs are made in the kitchen".

[Terminator X]

Bill said:

Being fat is down to calories in > calories out, poor tone is down to lack of exercise. I'm afraid it really is that simple.

You should write a book

TX.

[Bill]

It only needs a pamphlet.

[Luke.]

Bill said:

It only needs a post.

[Louis Balfour]

Bill said:

It only needs a pamphlet.

Do you think other factors may play their part?

Gut function for example?

How genetics dictate fat distribution?

[jakesmith]

I lost 3 stone over corona, started in late Feb and had lost it all by July. Transformation as I had to throw all my clothes out. Kept it off too.

Very light breaky, moderate lunch and din er, cut out snacking. Didn’t do much exercise either. Must have been really unhealthy eating before!

[Louis Balfour]

jakesmith said:

I lost 3 stone over corona, started in late Feb and had lost it all by July. Transformation as I had to throw all my clothes out. Kept it off too.

Very light breaky, moderate lunch and din er, cut out snacking. Didn’t do much exercise either. Must have been really unhealthy eating before!

I think it IS 80% what you eat. I used to think that it was simple as calories in vs calories out and that fatties just lacked willpower.. I am not sure anymore.

[Luke.]

jakesmith said:

I lost 3 stone over corona, started in late Feb and had lost it all by July. Transformation as I had to throw all my clothes out. Kept it off too.

Very light breaky, moderate lunch and din er, cut out snacking. Didn’t do much exercise either. Must have been really unhealthy eating before!

Nice done. How about booze?

[jakesmith]

Luke. said:

jakesmith said:

I lost 3 stone over corona, started in late Feb and had lost it all by July. Transformation as I had to throw all my clothes out. Kept it off too.

Very light breaky, moderate lunch and din er, cut out snacking. Didn’t do much exercise either. Must have been really unhealthy eating before!

Nice done. How about booze?

Thanks
I don't drink in the week, probably drink 10-20 units on Friday night & that's it, so that wasn't a problem. I can't see how you could lose weight if you drink, without exercising, as the booze is calorific & no nutritional value so you can't balance booze with reduced food.

[oceanview]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Running-jogging- is a crap exercise. A regular fast walk would be better.

Distance Running Increases cortisol and in turn reduces testosterone.

The OP issue is mainly nutrition based and once this is good, a decent training regime will compliment this.

Look up Athlean X or other similar training programmes and go from there.

[StevieBee]

Cocknose said:

RMDB9 said:

Thank you, Stevie!
Is there a particular exercise I could do at home/in the office?

I hope Stevie doesn't mind me answering, but you could try a ten minute round-the-houses every day.

I do a minute of situps, crunches, ankle taps, v-sits and oblique twists twice. A simple ten minute routine, that has done wonders for my posture.

Yep, all of these. Just holding plank for as long as you can is effective too.

What you'll find with most of these is that you'll start them and think that they're easy but - if your'e doing the right - you'll get five or six reps in and realise that they're not. At that point, aim for five or six more.

Whatever you do, you need to tighten the core muscles while you're doing it - flex them if you will.

Focus on form first. Better to do two form-perfect moves first - then when you've got that, come back and do three tomorrow, then four....

If you're looking for some resources, I highly recommend P90X on Beachbody (the first one). This comes with a 15 minute core/belly workout which helped me stave off the Clarkson!

[Richtea1970]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Agree with this. I've always been quite 'stocky' and never been much of a runner but trained for a half marathon a few years ago, starting about 3 months before the race.
On race day I was almost skeletal. I was going to the gym regularly at the time too but nothing before or since has taken off the fat as quickly as a running plan.

[anonymous-user]

For me it's booze. I'm a racing snake (6' and about 11 stone if fit (12 at the moment)). But I have a gut. It's solid rather than 'wobbly'. I eat all sorts of crap. If I stop drinking beer, it goes away.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 14th February 23:21

[Hoofy]

Almost random thoughts - a bit stream-of-consciousness but I've had a strong beer.

I've been following the crisp diet for a while. It's not a diet, it's a way of life. Eat 5-8 packets of crisps a day, keep carbs low, eat veg and protein, one beer a day max if you really have to.

Oh, 15-20 minutes of compound lifting and 30-60 minutes of cardio daily.

The reality is that my calorie intake isn't that high so I am burning it off and was building but am now maintaining muscle mass.

I say a while - been doing it for about 9 years and maintaining both a decent shape and keeping fit (when not in lockdown, I'm happy to play singles tennis with people half my age).

The thing about compound lifting is that you build your upper body while training your abs. I used to have a bit of a wobbly belly but nowadays I'm the right way round (broad shoulders and back, slim midriff). For actual ab work, I think I did some ab work back in 2013 when I belonged to a gym for a couple of months and they had an ab machine?

I'm not building muscle any further because I'm a bit lazy with the weights and just use the same amount that I've left on the bars. Not helped by SWMBO saying my back's too broad as it is.

I don't take supplements. I think I have some rice protein in the cupboard that someone gave me. I just try to eat chicken or fish everyday. I may have had a scotch egg for lunch.

Oh yeah, I fast from 10pm to 12 noon. Then have a light lunch. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Been doing this since about 2012.

I'm 48 FWIW.

I do variations of squats regularly, mainly DB lunges. I find that single DB shoulder presses and rows hit the abs nicely while hitting the shoulders.

Edit: I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I'm making my intake and exercise work for my lifestyle. If I had to become a vegan cyclist to lose weight, I'll resign myself to being overweight...

Edited by Hoofy on Sunday 14th February 23:45