How do I get my flat stomach back?

[Dan the man]

Maybe Calboner will know the answer to this since he works out, but I'm sure others here will too. About a year ago I started to develop a bloated stomach, kind of like a beer belly, but I don't drink.It's basically middle aged spread and I hate it. The nature of this site has made me more determined to do something about it. For years I was about 147 pounds and always wanted to put on weight. Now I'm about 175 pounds, and most of the extra weight is probably in my abdomen. I'm slim everywhere else. I want my stomach back to the way it was in some of my older pictures when I was still in my early 40's. My cock looked bigger as well, lol. How do I do it? Should I do situps everyday? If I do, say, 3 sets of 15 situps everday for a about a month, will I see a difference? Obviously I have to be careful about fatty foods too but I don't wanna get obsessive counting calories and all that shit. I don't mind putting the work into situps though if someone can give me a realistic approximate target. I turn 50 next month but I think I'm still at the stage where anything is possible, right?

 

[biJackTex]

If I do, say, 3 sets of 15 situps everday for a about a month, will I see a difference?

im not an expert, but, 3 sets of 15? are you pressed for time or something? you have to do cardio, workout abs, and eat right. and no offense but the older you are the harder it is.

try this http://tinyurl.com/dg6mvr

btw nice gallery man. you dont look out of shape to me.

 

[Dan the man]

im not an expert, but, 3 sets of 15? are you pressed for time or something? you have to do cardio, workout abs, and eat right. and no offense but the older you are the harder it is.

try this Let me google that for you

btw nice gallery man. you dont look out of shape to me.

Well I don't look out of shape because there's no pictures of my stomach, lol. I mentioned 3 sets of 15 because someone once mentioned to me that he does that, but he also does 3 sets of 15 knees to chest and also 3 sets of 15 of something else. But he also said to start slow and build up.

What is eating right? I don't really know what I can get away with and what I need to postively stay away from. How many calories should I stay at, 2000 a day? And cardio, you mean running?

Also, someone else mentioned to me that situps will make no difference:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"One thing that's absolutely essential to understand before you go any farther is that the only way to "spot reduce" fat - i.e. remove fat from just one part of your body - is by liposuction. So you can't just target your stomach, your overall bodyfat levels need to be reduced".

So no, doing situps will make next to no difference because you'll not burn off enough calories to make any significant difference to your overall bodyfat levels. Decreasing the calories WILL make a difference, but ONLY if you reduce them to BELOW what your body actually needs.

What it WILL do is increase your situp "endurance" - it's good for your abs, basically."[/FONT]

So he's saying just reduce calories. Perhaps reduce calories, and do running? Or, reduce calories, running and situps?

 

[B_nuketully]

Not just calories....start looking at lables and you have to figure out a carb/protien/fat balance that works for you (remember protien has the least amount of calories in it per gram)


Most people do good with more protien and some people handle carbs good as well. Cut out as much fat as you can (not all of it) and stick to lean products like chicken. A 2500 calorie diet is a good way to start out but it depends on your activity level. I use a 5000 calorie diet because i'm very active and if I take in less...I lose weight (i know, i'm lucky)

Building Muscle makes it easier for your body to burn fat, leg muscle especially. The stomach pad fat is the hardest for a guy to get rid of. Cut out drinking as well for a little while, that will help.

Workout wise...you have mix up your ab exercises. If you do the same thing every week...you'll get very slow results. crunches, leg lifts, situps, and more. Just like any other muscle group, you have to work all the muscles in the area for real growth to occur.

Good luck!

 

[Dan the man]

Not just calories....start looking at lables and you have to figure out a carb/protien/fat balance that works for you (remember protien has the least amount of calories in it per gram)


Most people do good with more protien and some people handle carbs good as well. Cut out as much fat as you can (not all of it) and stick to lean products like chicken. A 2500 calorie diet is a good way to start out but it depends on your activity level. I use a 5000 calorie diet because i'm very active and if I take in less...I lose weight (i know, i'm lucky)

Building Muscle makes it easier for your body to burn fat, leg muscle especially. The stomach pad fat is the hardest for a guy to get rid of. Cut out drinking as well for a little while, that will help.

Workout wise...you have mix up your ab exercises. If you do the same thing every week...you'll get very slow results. crunches, leg lifts, situps, and more. Just like any other muscle group, you have to work all the muscles in the area for real growth to occur.

Good luck!

I like chicken, so that's a good start.
Let's just say for arguments sake that I didn't do exercise and focused solely on diet, reducing calories and fatty products. If my body takes in bare minimum calories, would the fat around my abdomen get burned up
to compensate? Even if it did, I'm surely going to start feeling weak aren't I with lack of calories? Or is it carbs I need to keep energy? Frankly, I don't really know what calories are.

 

[Matt_101]

Sit ups and crunches are not helpful at all for getting rid of belly fat, as they just build up muscle under the fat which then makes your stomach look bigger.

The best way is just lots of cardio and weights

I know this because I am in the same position as you are, as I am also trying to lose weight of my belly. I go to the gym and do cardio 4 times a week and weights 2 times a week and I have been losing the fat quite quickly.

good luck with it

 

[vince]

If you reduced your calories too much, your body will "think" that there is a food supply problem. It will try (in fact will) conserve it's stored energy supplies. This means it tries to hold on the fat and consumes muscle tissue in an effort to make up the caloric deficit you have induced. It's a survival mechanism for times of famine. You will of course lose some fat, but you will lose muscle tissue as well.

If you want to lose the belly, increase your activity level and continue to eat normally. Eat healthy foods, veggies, fruit, meat. Avoid potatoes, white rice and bread, but don't cut them out completely if you like them. Just moderate them. Don't eat anything after 7 or 8 pm.

Get up 45 minutes early and go for a fast walk, or a bike ride, or a run, 4 or 5 mornings every week. Do it before breakfast, because if you have an empty stomach, you start burning fat sooner. If you can't do it in the morning, do it when you can. If running, do it for 30 minutes. Make sure you have some good running shoes though. Take it easy and build up your stamina. It really doesn't take long. In a couple of weeks you'll be able to run non-stop for 30 minutes or more. Walking takes longer but it is very good for you. Walking a mile burns the same amount for calories as running a mile. It just takes more time. Weight training is really, really good for you as well.

If you do the above for 2 months and stick to it, I guarantee you will lose your belly and feel wonderful.

 

[somethingwild00999]

lots and lots of cardio, you still need to eat, don't cut down on calories too much. but you gotta cut out things like soda. I swam year round all through high school and had a six pack the whole time, its great exercise. i stopped when i got to college and my lower stomach is doing the same thing yours is now haha

 

[Dan the man]

Thanks vince and matt.

If you want to lose the belly, increase your activity level and continue to eat normally. Eat healthy foods, veggies, fruit, meat. Avoid potatoes, white rice and bread, but don't cut them out completely if you like them. Just moderate them. Don't eat anything after 7 or 8 pm.

Get up 45 minutes early and go for a fast walk, or a bike ride, or a run, 4 or 5 mornings every week. Do it before breakfast, because if you have an empty stomach, you start burning fat sooner. If you can't do it in the morning, do it when you can. If running, do it for 30 minutes. Make sure you have some good running shoes though. Take it easy and build up your stamina. It really doesn't take long. In a couple of weeks you'll be able to run non-stop for 30 minutes or more. Walking takes longer but it is very good for you. Walking a mile burns the same amount for calories as running a mile. It just takes more time. Weight training is really, really good for you as well.

If you do the above for 2 months and stick to it, I guarantee you will lose your belly and feel wonderful.

Wow, that sounds ok. I needed a target and if you reckon about 8 weeks, that's good enough for me. Thanks! I've highlighted some points. Not eating after 7 or 8 is pretty impractical for me. I'm often in situations with work where I have to eat late. I also stay up very late. I guess I should start going to bed earlier. Heh, 'eat normally', well, my kind of 'normal eating' is not that healthy really. I certainly need to cut out or heavily reduce sugar, cakes, chocolates, biscuits, puddings and ice cream. And sausages, bacon, hotdogs, pizzas and all the other crap.

I like walking and didn't realise it would burn as many calories as running. So I'll try and do a mile a day. Or, if I join a gym like matt does, perhaps they can set me some cardio exercises equivalent to a miles walk or run. And weight training, yeah.

I go to the gym and do cardio 4 times a week and weights 2 times a week and I have been losing the fat quite quickly.

Matt, I'm glad you mentioned the gym, it was always in the back of my mind and I think I'm going to have to join the fitness centre near to me. Can you tell me how long you spend at the gym per session, is your cardio mainly running machines? What kind of diet are you on, did they advise you what to eat? Is it 3 meals a day?

 

[Dan the man]

lots and lots of cardio, you still need to eat, don't cut down on calories too much. but you gotta cut out things like soda. I swam year round all through high school and had a six pack the whole time, its great exercise. i stopped when i got to college and my lower stomach is doing the same thing yours is now haha

Yeah, cardio seems to be the main thing here to burn up overall body fat. I now understand that spot reduction for one area doesn't work and that cardio seems key to success. I won't be swimming or doing anything which calls for me to remove my top in public until my stomach is back to what I regard as an acceptable size :biggrin1:

 

[Dan the man]

Well today I threw out the white sugar and white bread and bought weight watchers wholemeal bread and low calorie sugar substitute. Bought some fresh veg, fruit, 4 tins of tuna in springwater and chicken thighs. :smile:
I didn't buy skinless chicken because it's very expensive so I presume it'll be much the same if I just rip the skin off before cooking it?


It was a lovely sunny day and I just came back from a brisk 2.9 mile walk which took about 45 minutes, equipped with ipod. I aim to do that every day.
Someone told me that I'd have to do a lot more walking than that to lose 2 pounds a week, is that true? Would that at least lose me 1 pound a week? I wanna lose about 28 pounds.