Advice on removing stomach flab.

drumon
drumon Posts: 175
edited October 2009 in Health, fitness & training
I want to get rid of the flab on my stomach, reading recent posts here on BMI, hip to waist ratio and the risk thus etc... It has to go!

What routine of exercise is effective for focussing on stomach , I use my MTB on a few hills and tracks nearby which i ride for around 3 hours per week.

What other exercises and routines are best at reducing the flab and toning stomach muscle? I'm not a fan of running, and probably wont do it if you recommend it, knees are susceptible to weird things by running, I prefer cycling.
«1

Comments

  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Unfortunately stomach exercises don't shift the flab.

    Eat less, move more, tis the only way!
  • XxxBFGxxX
    XxxBFGxxX Posts: 1,355
    one thing i wanna find out is i am fat and once i lose it how can i stop the excess of skin. sit ups are these any good
  • drumon
    drumon Posts: 175
    supersonic wrote:
    Unfortunately stomach exercises don't shift the flab.

    Eat less, move more, tis the only way!

    Cheers.

    It's obviously simpler than I thought. That's good though. simpler the better.
    Will try and stick at it.

    Riding about 3 hours a week, does that sound decent, if I cut down on the "fun foods"?
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Sounds spot on! I am the same, have a lot of belly fat and need to move it - just a case of eating sensibly, exercising, and burning it off.

    There was a good prog on BBC1 recently which may be useful - 10 ways to lose weight, scientifically. Might be on I Player, has good tips on what to eat, what makes us feel full and how we burn fat.
  • drumon
    drumon Posts: 175
    No worries.
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    I saw that,apparently eating soup makes you lose weight as does eating cheese.The calcium sticks to the fat and so more of it comes out when you poop,they said.
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • jairaj
    jairaj Posts: 3,009
    supersonic wrote:
    Unfortunately stomach exercises don't shift the flab.
    Eat less, move more, tis the only way!

    +1 Doing sit ups will give you better strength, but won't specifically shift the fat from your stomach the body will reduce fat from all round the body.

    You can make loosing weight as easy or as complicated as you want. But the basic rules are that simple: eat less bad things and move more. Just make sure you stick to a sustainable solution and be prepared to have it as a long term goal, not short term goal. Otherwise you'll just yo-yo your weight.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Yes, was some interesting ideas and facts. With cheese though it has a lot of fat anyway, maybe milk for the calcium would be better. Effect seemed fairly slight.

    The soup fact was very good - it stays in the stomach longer making you feel fuller. Same with eating more protein ie with breakfast.

    I would add that if exercising it is still essential to have the right hydration and carbs, as the body utlizes more than one fuel source.
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    I think they said if you eat cheese you can lose an extra few pounds a year,which is a pretty good deal if you like cheese anyway!
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    I think I overdo the cheese lol, eat tones of it!
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    You must be very skinny then!
    Or doesn`t it work like that?
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • ratty2k
    ratty2k Posts: 3,872
    antfly wrote:
    I think they said if you eat cheese you can lose an extra few pounds a year,which is a pretty good deal if you like cheese anyway!

    Was low fat dairy products- so low fat cheese, low fat milk and low fat butter/ marge etc.... The full fat has so much fat in it it would negate the effect.
    Protein helps by staving of the hunger pangs for longer, and yep, soup stays in the stomach longer and as a result you'll eat less as you feel fuller longer...
    My Pics !


    Whadda ya mean I dont believe in god?
    I talk to him everyday....
  • supersonic wrote:
    The soup fact was very good - it stays in the stomach longer making you feel fuller. Same with eating more protein ie with breakfast.

    Soup is a drink. How can it possibly make you feel full?
  • XxxBFGxxX
    XxxBFGxxX Posts: 1,355
    same as water makes you full if ya drink enoug of it.

    soup is not adrink it s food liquidsed. sort of. it still has all you need in it.
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    You can do 5000 sit ups a day but if you eat too much, you'll still have a gut.

    You need under 12% bodyfat to get a six pack.
  • gaz047
    gaz047 Posts: 601
    long and steady rides, ideally so you could maintain a conversation throughout (if you use a heart rate monitor this should be about 60% of your max heart rate).
    your doing a decent amount a week, so you could try one long ride per week (say for 2 hours) and one shorter at a higher intensity to improve strength. see how that goes, slowly increasing the length of your longer ride (if time permits)
    if it ain't rainin.....it ain't trainin
    Stick your 'rules' up your a%se
  • Ditch Witch
    Ditch Witch Posts: 837
    XxxBFGxxX wrote:
    one thing i wanna find out is i am fat and once i lose it how can i stop the excess of skin. sit ups are these any good


    You won't necessarily get stuck with excess skin. Losing weight too quickly will result in skin folds, though. Also, keep hydrated and moisturise.


    While doing ab workouts won't necessarily reduce stomach fat, it will tighten your stomach making you slimmer :)
    I ride like a girl
    Start: 16.5.x Now: 14.10.8 Goal: 11.7.x
    www.ditchwitch.me.uk
    www.darksnow.co.uk
    Specialized HardRock Pro Disc 04
  • phinbob
    phinbob Posts: 3
    Don't worry about the loose skin too much, I've lost about 21kg and I have only slightly loose skin, which is getting better all the time.

    Here is an interesting article on weight loss and loose skin http://www.thebodyfatsolution.com/looseskin.phpl
  • Klein XC
    Klein XC Posts: 35
    drumon wrote:
    What other exercises and routines are best at reducing the flab and toning stomach muscle?

    There is no specific way to remove fat from the stomach (apart from liposuction!), as the body will burn fat in its entirety, not from any particular area (that's why you'll often notice your face getting slimmer before your stomach when losing weight, as there is less fat on the face).

    But there are ways to increase your fat burning rate. After a good exercise session, go for a long, slow walk. Low heart-rate activities after high-cardio workouts generally help to burn off body fat more effectively - that's why athletes often go for a stroll after training. By mixing up your high / low cardio, you'll find that you burn fat more efficiently.
    "Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." Spike Milligan.
  • Ditch Witch
    Ditch Witch Posts: 837
    I always thought interval training was the best fat burner.
    I ride like a girl
    Start: 16.5.x Now: 14.10.8 Goal: 11.7.x
    www.ditchwitch.me.uk
    www.darksnow.co.uk
    Specialized HardRock Pro Disc 04
  • Klein XC
    Klein XC Posts: 35
    I always thought interval training was the best fat burner.

    Indeed, interval training is basically the same thing. So long as you're mixing up high cardio with low cardio, you'll get rid of the fat quicker. You can do that with interval training (constant high / low / high / low exercise), or by doing one big high cardio workout and then one long one. I've not noticed much difference between the two.
    "Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." Spike Milligan.
  • militiacore
    militiacore Posts: 101
    The most basic guideline is calories in vs calories out which is pretty straight forward enough. Probably the easiest way to work out how many calories you can limit yourself to be in deficit and to lose weight is to take your weight in lbs and multiply it by 9 and 11. This will be you a rough idea of your upper and lower limit of daily calorie intake. Bare in mind this isn't set in stone and will vary for each individual and may need increasing if metabolic rate increases due to increased exercise.

    Once you've got your daily calorie intake you then need to access the food you're actually eating. Eating a load of processed food while in deficit may lose you weight but it'll more likely be muscle tissue and not fat - remember you can still lose weight but gain fat!

    Processed foods and foods containing white flour are pretty much your enemy here so limit bread, pasta, cakes, buns, baked and highly processed while flour goods. This will help alot.

    Drink plenty of water as this will help to increase your metabolism. Aim for at least 2 litres of water a day, 3 if you already consume a fair amount.

    Eat lots of varied veg and green foods. Nuts are good, especially almonds and macadamias. Quinoa is great and Brown Basmati Rice is also your friend.

    A decent multivitamin, antioxidant & fish oils will help support the detoxification process.
    Chas Roberts - DOGSBOLX
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    I have always stuck by the following very very complex principles which have resulted in all sorts of good results (even a win!) in races, selection (RM officer), competitions (martial arts an surfing) and general fitness and strength.
      Eat well but don't be anal - or it'll bore you and put you off. You can always fit plenty of exercise in, however busy you think you are. Don't faff around with calorie counting and kit like HRMs. Vary your routines. Never ever say "trying" "hoping" or anything similar. They are the words of failure.
  • XxxBFGxxX
    XxxBFGxxX Posts: 1,355
    it all sounds bloody complicated to me.

    when i was in nick we had a saying out the ground and of the bone. if it was neither of these we didnt eat it. so basicly anything fresh grown or meat of the bone.
  • militiacore
    militiacore Posts: 101
    I think initially calorie counting is pretty useful as alot don't really know the calorie content of foods. If they did then alot wouldn't be over weight. Once you've got used to what a correct intake is like then you'll easily be able to assess without counting but this is to get into good habits and start the process in a good way.

    again once things are moving you can be a little less strict with what you eat but it still stands to reason that whoever you are and whatever your body composition may be, white flour goods should be limited.
    Chas Roberts - DOGSBOLX
  • XxxBFGxxX
    XxxBFGxxX Posts: 1,355
    Dam so the fact i live on pasta aint good. But i have still lost over 15kg in the last 9 month on a chicken and pasta dieat along with other veg and fruit.

    I am relay think of seeing a diettishan to see if they can point me in the direction of a healthyer eating habits
  • militiacore
    militiacore Posts: 101
    XxxBFGxxX wrote:
    Dam so the fact i live on pasta aint good. But i have still lost over 15kg in the last 9 month on a chicken and pasta dieat along with other veg and fruit.

    I am relay think of seeing a diettishan to see if they can point me in the direction of a healthyer eating habits

    Pasta isn't so bad and a far better option than bread so you're not doing badly. Swapping over a few days a week with Basmati Rice would offer good variation.

    Keeping up plenty of veg, especially green and fruit (not too much though due to sugar content) and maybe salads with spinach, cucumber, peppers, tomato and avocado helps.

    Get some Fish Oils on board as well, even if it's just some caps and take around 3-6 daily.
    Chas Roberts - DOGSBOLX
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    Ermmm - me and Mrs Matt eat a lot of pasta, bread, stuff that is often called bad.

    I just won a triathlon, she (7 months after having our baby boy) came 2nd out of the ladies in hers.

    Which proves to me that many try and over complicate stuff and don't actually see results.

    Sounds like you are on the right path BFG.
  • XxxBFGxxX
    XxxBFGxxX Posts: 1,355
    the most part of my diet conssists of

    Tuna
    Chiken
    pasta only 2 big cups a day. somtimes this streches to 2 days
    mixed fresh peppers
    Red onions
    Garlic.

    but this is only when i am being good as i tend to let go at times and eat crap. due to working shifts lol

    i will take on board whatyou say about rice as i love rice i used to eat a hell f alot ofthe stuff so wouldnt mind getting to eat it mor again. Fav rice dish is plain chicken and rice with rega ega auace wow its nice, or rice with fresh bioled veg mixed with oyster sauce mixed in so