Tired of ugly fat belly

H

henrymiller1981

New member
Weight loss and vegetarianism

I saw myself in the mirror the other day, and just became disgusted with how pudgy I look. Maybe I'm not huge, but I just don't look fit. I fluctuated for a while, and over the summer/fall I was pretty fit. I'm not sure what it is: being away from my girlfriend for two months, living with people who eat and drink a LOT more than I do... but I've been able to hide it for a while, and now I can't. It's that moment when you say, off hand, "Boy, I need to lose weight." and nobody says, "Oh, that's crazy, you're fine." Well, now I say that, and my friends just say, "Oh, yeah, me, too." It didn't used to be that way!
 

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I feel the same, never was like this. I think sometimes its about slipping into an easy comfort pattern, when you work it out Ill be watching :0)
I'm still a bit lost my self.
But its so good to see that you have made a huge step by posting on here.
:0)
 
Started again!

I've been working out 3-4 times a week since January, but only cardio since february.

I'm trying to cut sweets and empty carbs out of my diet, and-- so I don't get bored-- switching up the types of cardio I do.

I've found in the past that I do better pushing myself really hard for 20-30 minutes than just phoning in my workout but for longer.

My itinerary is:

pilates for abs (I sort of improvise this from what I learned on a video)
pull ups
pushups

Then two of three: 10 minutes biking
10 minutes running
or, 10 minutes swimming

here are my during, I guess. I have heavy bones so I never really know what a good goal is, aside from my jeans being looser. So far, they are looser, so that's nice, but I still have lots of flab!

What do you think? 10 pounds? 20? I know it's not as normal for guys to be as obsessed about this, but I get really down on myself for being this fat. Any words of encouragement would be great!
 
well, i think you look great the way you are! Maybe you have a few lbs on you, but i like a man with some meat on his bones :)
 
Aw, thanks! I used to be an actor, so unfortunately it made me a little hyper-aware of my body. I'm also only 5'5" and weigh 183 lbs so I used to get cast younger than my age, and looking thin and fit would help that. Then I got into music where you ALSO get judged by your appearance! But thanks for your kind words, hope you are well, too!
 
New Results 3-17-11

Hey it's only been a week or so, but wondered if anyone noticed a difference.
I'm still swimming, running or biking 3-4 times a week for a hard 20 minutes to a half hour, and staying away from sugars, esp high fructose.
Any advice to speed things up?
 
That's good. I picked up biking myself too and haven't turned back.

Eat lots of veggies, drink plenty of water (I dirnk at least a gallon a day), lots of fruit too, nuts like walnuts, soybeans, almonds, cashews. Edamame (soybean) frozen, you can buy these in the store, or dried and roasted which they are more concentrated on the protein. Eat well during the week. Then during the weekends have 2 cheat days if you want. Or 1. I have 1. I eat whatever I want (within limits of course, I don't go too crazy). During the weekend I eat well. No sugar except natural in fruit and vegetables (such as carrots, someone said they have sugar in them, like its a bad thing), no soda (I used to be a very heavy soda drinker, I Cut back to very little), stay away from pastries if you can...anything laden with saturated fat. Totino's pizza rolls are bad, mmkay. They contain trans fat, 1 gram per serving. Eat alot, and you're over your 2 gram limit for the day easily, tripled in it. I loved those things, but they are so bad for me, I don't eat them much. Trans fat is banned from most foods. Anyway, sorry to go on and on. Eat within limits, everything in moderation, you'll do fine.

I eat about 150 grams of protein a day to maintain muscle while I lose weight. I cut my fat to about 60 grams, the vast majority unsaurated. You can go to myfitnesspal.com and track what you eat. I highly suggest it. Just put in (search) what you want to eat, it'll bring up the info. You can also add stuff yourself to the database for others. Make sure (or try) to find one with "confirmation" on it. That means someone else has looked at it, and confirmed it was correct.

If you want to get in really good shape weight lifting/training, cardio, is important, but diet is the most important I think.

All of them are important, I put diet first though.

I'm 5'7'' myself. About the same height as you. You really aren't that overweight. 20 lbs, maybe 25 to get in very good shape. Just my guess. I'm no expert, perhaps someone else can chime in and find a good amount.
 
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Cool, thanks! I will go on the fitness pal website. I think having a cheat day, rather than cheating a little throughout the week is probably good, as you say. I'm a vegetarian, too, which in some ways helps, but it's bad because cheese is my main protein which is high in fat, of course.
 
you're vegetearian, how about trying roasted soybeans or just frozen or fresh soybeans (edamame).

These are very high in protein. Have chhese but have it in moderation.

I love feta cheese but its probably one of the fatter cheeses because of its high saturated fat.

It's good to have a cheat day or even 2 if you want per week. Its important to not go all out crazy on it though, as you'll gain weight . Just enough, in moderatoin like everything. Cheating a little throughout the week is fine every now and then, but try not to make it too much of a habit. Cheating a little bit too often adds up.

I'd also check out nuts like walnuts, they're good for you and high in omega 3 's.

Here's a nice quote for you :
Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
~ Albert Einstein
 
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New Pix

Hey folks. I've been sick and overworked the last couple weeks, but have still managed to stay on a healthy diet. As of the last time I weighed myself, I am down about 7 pounds and notice especially the change in my arms. As with many guys approaching or at their 30s, it's the midsection that is always the problem, though!
 
Some progress! 186 to 176 10lbs lost!

But it's discouraging because I feel like I still look flabby, especially my belly. I saw a nutritionist and she gave some good advice for foods: namely eat less, but especially eat less empty calories, then specifically she recommended I lift weights before running to increase the burning of calories, keep heartrate up to 140 for 40 minutes at a time, and when eating, make sure the majority (2/3 she said, I think) is vegetables, fruit, legumes. I've been following that and am pretty happy with how I feel. Again, though, in terms of vanity, I still feel the same old flabby gut boy.
 
Be glad you have honest friends.. even at my highest weight people were saying I looked good and I was just "big boned"

I can see a big difference in you, and I bet you feel better from the exercise. And you know what, you don't have much to loose. So you're lucky because loosing weight is harder when you get older and if you go to far it takes a long time to get back into good shape.

Look at it as a lifestyle change.. seriously when you hit the 30's food sticks on so you literally have to eat less or people will start asking you if you when the babies due lol.

Seriously, applaud yourself for tackling this head on before you got to far and for your progress!
 
Dude, you are doing great! Angel wings has it dead on, you have to change your lifestyle as you get older to accommodate the changes in your metabolism, work, your activity level etc. If you want some inspiration, check out Jason Statham, he's 43 and in better shape than most 20 year olds. On top of that he only works out for about 35 min 6 days a week.

Keep running towards your goals and you'll get to your destination soon enough. Just think about how far you've come...
 
Personally, I think you have a gorgeous body. And the fact that you are looking after yourself is a plus! I can definitely see a difference from when you started, so keep that motivation going. You're looking great :)
 
Great work so far man whats been working awsome everyones different but for me many small meals a day is working wonders for cardio HIIT and lots of weights has been making a huge difference on my body fat! Great job so far!
 
whoa, thanks everybody for the support! My folks came to visit us this weekend and they noticed a difference, which meant a lot too. That being said, my first vacation for months, and my fiancee's wallet getting stolen meant not a lot of time for my rigorous workout regimen... but I think I'll be back in the swing tomorrow! Hope you guys all have good luck with your goals, too!
 
More Progress!

So, I'm pretty excited, I think I'm in a real groove. It's nothing obvious, or big, but I can tell I am getting in the habit of exercise now. I get fidgety if I don't workout, and I actually look forward to doing it!

Also, in the past I would be all or nothing about exercise: if I couldn't work out for 40 minutes on the treadmill, or whatever, I wouldn't do anything. This week especially I'm saying to hell with that: 3 days a week I push myself to do something intense-- do 40 minutes of diverse cardio (swim, run, bike, whatever), and then the other days I just make sure to do SOMETHING. I'll write my bike to work, which takes 30 min each way-- sure, I'm not huffing all the way, but it's something and it adds up to a lot, I think (i hope!)
I'm also having a lot of fun experimenting with vegetable dishes that AREN'T salads. Cuz honestly, I'm kind of sick of the standard lettuce tomato italian dressing. Sometimes I have edamame, tonight chickpeas with diced tomatoes and cucumbers with feta cheese. I think for me it's all about variety and actually ENJOYING what I am doing for myself and my body.

Anyway, here are some pictures, although to be honest, I can't tell a huge difference, although my pants are way looser. When I was in college, my friend gave me some shorts that were 32 waist. I haven't worn them for years, and yesterday I biked to work in them. They were snug, but wearable!

So....

SW 187 this past December
CW 175
GW 165
 
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