Left over flab help

About a year ago I always weighed between 200 and 210 after South Beach and Abs Diet I have dropped down to always being in the 160's but I still have stubborn, left over belly/waist fat which I really want to lose but I seem to be stuck. Are there any suggestions as to good ways to get rid of this flab. A new diet? New excercise plan to look into?


Thanks in advance.
 
Well, is it excess fat or loose skin? Totally different things. Excess fat can be worked off, but loose skin cannot.
 
Umm, about 5'10'' or 11' I eat no white bread or white bread products unless I'm cheating on a meal (about once a week) Whole Wheat Carbs (watching how much I eat per day) and basically low fat meats and other things that are low in sugar. An Average day for me would be, scrambled eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast, a sandwhich for lunch, turkey on whole wheat, an afternoon snack (yogurt, smoothy, string cheese,) and dinner, normally some type of meat, low fat with a small side, corn, potatoes, grain rice.

Exercise: Every other day: some core specific stuff and then regular weight lifting, curls, military press, rows. and on the opposite days i get in cardio, narmally a 30 min jog.
 
Hi there,
It sounds to me like you need to kick your cardio up a bit. Either in frequency or duration. Instead of 3 days a week, try 4 or lengthen to 45 minutes rather than 30.
:animal3:
 
it sounds like your havn the same problem i had. I lost about 100lbs and fast so after that i had a skinny fat look, over the summer i went pretty insane i went on a very strict diet and started doin 2 a days 5days a week rest on sunday and only lift on sat but i saw some great progress i still hav a little more to work off but its workn unforntunately it seems like its takn a lot longer than expected oh well thats life, ive decided that its loose skin with pockets of fat. Step up your cardio your diet is probably ok, its just gonna take time but dont give up!!!
 
I think you have fallen into the trap of a common misconception!!

Ab exercises will not help you lose your belly fat! (apart from what so many ppl think!)

Yes you need a good cardio routine .. attempt a stop/start type cardio routine, ie. variable tempo.. sprint, walk, sprint, walk .. it burns more energy than a jog at a constanst pace ..

For ab exercises have a look at my signature link .. there are some articles on that site as well
 
Agree with Kaka21. I've been a coach for almost 18 years helping people prepare for Ironman Triathlons (almost 500 to date), and thousands of shorter distance events. Also worked with a lot of people over the years who aren't interested in winning races just looking to improve their health. It's not just about ab exercises. You need a mixture of intensities and durations. I'll include a portion of what I replied to someone who was looking to release some fat from his belly even though he was pretty thin elsewhere. You need to do other things to address the overall issue. Hopefully it helps...

....... Everyone has abs, unfortunately for most they're just covered by a layer of fat. The big key (but not the only one) to see those abs is in getting the body fat percentage down. And it can be a bit different for everyone. Many factors affect that of course.

......you need to give your body what it needs and get rid of what 's holding it back. It needs micronutrients (vitamins and minerals, including effective digestive enzymes, etc), macro nutrients (carbs, proteins and fats). Like anything else there are good and bad (or better and worse) carbs, proteins and fats for you. You also need effective exercise. You want to get a proper stress response which includes working the body to break it down and then giving it time to recover so it can build back up. The benefits come from the recovery. A big thing a lot of people don't do is address what holds them back, namely what's in their body that shouldn't be. Impurities/toxins are killer for proper functioning and force your body to do things you don't want (especially when you're trying to see your abs), namely storage of excess water and fat to contain the toxins. Cleansing (at a cellular level) should be an important part of everyone's routine. Think of balancing three plates in the air. One is the exercise you do, the second is the food you eat (and the quality of nutrition you get into your body - you really do need to supplement with whole food supplements as no one eats enough fruits and veggies and even then those you eat don't have nearly the micronutrients they used to), and the third is the amount of junk you help your body get out of itself (cleansing). Most people are a toxic soup of different chemicals and need to cleanse at a cellular level to realize the true miracle their bodies can be. It's like running the wrong way up an escalator. Doesn't matter how fast you go your working against the escalator. Work with it (your body) by getting rid of what's holding you back. Impurities are generally stored in excess fats and water so getting rid of those makes it easier to see those abs that I know you have.

The extra protein you eat has to be bioavailable, most whey proteins you buy really aren't. Shakes are great if you have the right type, but the nutritional quality is so important. Carbs should be more complex (less added sugars). And of course you've heard smaller meals through the day are better. Your body has a hard time digesting more than 400-500cal at a time so the reason I find healthy snacks and shakes a good way to get those calories in. That combined with the right exercise to burn calories you eat and turn the macronutrients into lean muscle (bioavailable amino acids are key), all while helping your body release fat, which can be increased easily thru cleansing will really help. Don't do any harsh cleanses though. A lot really rip you apart and are very catabolic for your system.

.....
I work with a lot of people like yourself and just because your (now) thin doesn't mean you're healthy. I've spent the last almost 20 years helping people get fit. That's easy. Keeping them healthy as well for long term benefits is the key. And just because your (now a good weight) doesn't mean you don't have body fat accumulating in areas you prefer not to (as you know). A lot of visceral fat is there for protection of your organs from toxins your body is processing but can't get rid of. There are so many chemicals out there today that we as humans weren't designed to process out of our system. So the body although amazing just can't deal with them so it stores them away in excess water and worse (for you in this case) body fat around your middle.
 
Oh I'm def. not attempting to lose the weight by doing ab exercises alone. I know that doesn't work. Thanks for the advice but would anyone have a specific diet to reccomend? One that I could possibly buy a book on. And also, I do do interval runs sometimes and if you say they're better for burning fat then could you suggests some types to do? When I do intervals I jog for a minute then walk a minute for 18 minutes. Or I just stared doing Jog for 10 then walk for 2 jog for 10 walk for 2 then jog for 10 and cool down. Which I like but am not sure if it's a true interval run. Thanks.
 
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