Belly help...

[Clanger]

I have a bit of a belly at the moment, I never had one before, and never really needed to do a lot of exercise to keep it in trim.

Now I go to the gym regularly, I do a few target specific exercise classes, and each morning I do a combination of sit ups and reverse curls.

I eat fairly well and wondered what is my next step...? How do I boost my metabolism, and tone up my belly?
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[hellkat]

Belly's gon-na get-cha!

Dunno mate.
Don't ask me, I grow bellies for the Olympics.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Black Knight]

Abdominal muscles are fairly small by nature. If you want a tight stomach the best way is to lose bodyfat rather than increase muscle size.
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Where does a turn end? 'Where you can do anything with the gas you want to, where you are brave again, where your attention is free from the turn, where you are sure you can do it better next time; that's the end' - Keith Code.

[zaknafien]

[Dragonfly]

Cut out wheat and do yoga belly excercises and watch it dissappear! swear by it!
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All the breast.
Muzza on Binge:
He's too busy beating the everloving shit out of Lizzie to notice this thread has taken a turn down Drama Avenue and stopped off at the popcorn shop.

[EDBANGER]

It's all in the diet. You can't spot reduce fat with any kind of exercise. If your diet is good i.e. at least three good meals a day, then your best bet, as already mentioned is to increase muscle tone (this doesn't mean become Arnold Swartzneger just do a better weight training programme). With more muscle tone your body will naturally burn more calories even when you're sitting on your ass. I can try and help if you mail me your current average food intake and your current training routine.
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If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, you are the sucker.

[Clanger]

[Dragonfly]

[craigie b]

[Clanger]

Seriously, I cant eat less food...I barely eat enough as it is!
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[craigie b]

So do you eat fairly well or fairly badly? Do you drink much alcohol? If so how much in a week.

From what you've said, I'll jump the gun and say this....

If your eating shite during the week, i.e. a rabbit nibble, picking at lettuce and near starving yourself then your body will hold fat in reserves as it thinks your going through a famine period and it wants to preserve fat.

If then your drinking or eating fatty foods at the weekend then your body will store the added calories more readily since it doesn't know when its next meal is. Thats why you can put weight on even whilst not eating much.

Either way, to loose a belly you need to lose fat, which means losing weight.

[Delvard]

[Clanger]

average day:

breakfast: warm water & slice of lemon, then small bowl of wheat free museli (dried fruit) with unsweetened soya milk. Sometimes I add an extra banana to the museli

Class Or Gym: cardio 90mins & weights & ball work
drink: 1litre water or squash

Lunch: huge pile of sweetcorn, peas, sliced beans & a tin of oily fish or some corned beef
Or sometimes a huge salad with hummus, corned beef, or oily fish
Or homemade pizza with loads of veggies, with prawns
drink: mug decaff coffee with soya cream
drink: through afternoon 1litre water

Dinner: 5 ryevita's with soya marg, marmite and/or peanut butter
or, 3 slices of rye bread with banana/peanut butter or marmite or fish & tomato grilled
drink: mug earl grey tea with unsweetened soya milk
or sometimes mug of hot unsweetened soya milk, sometimes with a splash of amerreto liqueur, sometimes with some cocoa powder.

I will often have a large mix of fruits whizzed together with water or soya milk for my fruit intake.

So why is this wrong?
I make sure I get as many fruit & veg a day, I have lots of omega oils, vitamins. Im a small frame anyway, always have been. The fat on my belly is from my travelling, which was 3 months back and I have since been exercising at least 4 times a week (combi gym & classes & abdominals)
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[Clanger]

Oh and my alcohol intake is probably in the minus category now... last time I had a drink was about 27th June (I think) - last rally I went to...
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[craigie b]

hockey dockey bear with me....

The average woman who is moderately active (you would fall into the very active category IMO) should consume 2000calories a day, give or take to maintain a good state of health.

lets look at your intake

breakfast: 300 cal

Lunch: at best 300 calories

Supper: 400 calories

(the numbers might be conservative, just a rough guess)

Your daily intake is equal to less than half of what you should be eating. To be honest your stomach could be bloating out from starvation. Your doing more harm than your are good I would think from eating so little.

Persnally I think if you doubled your daily food intake your body would start loosing weight once your metabolism returned to normal levels for a normal diet.

I tend to eat five times a day and from that I am still loosing weight. Bung some snacks in between meals (be it fruit, cereal bars, chocolate, whatever). That way your metabolism keeps ticking over between meal times.

[Clanger]

My body mass index is 25, and a year ago it was 21. And because Im not working Im not eating as much at lunch time...but if I was I'd have more fruit and possibly a soya yoghurt a day too.

But there is no way I can eat anymore than what Im already having. So I should basically cut out exercising as much then, yes?
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[lozzypop1]

Old Age doesn't come on it's own
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[Luke_Retrofly]

Hi
Join the club

Heres the super secret formula for weight loss though

Calories out > Calories In = Weight loss

I would get rid of it but Im a lazy bastard, and love food too much!

Damn you hunger!

Luke
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[craigie b]

I don't know, I'm well built and train hard and basically know what my requirements are for training and to loose weight. But it differs radically from person to person, and I know some lasses who eat less than 1000 calories a day and seem to function fine (even if they do get incredibly poorly).

If you couldn't eat any more then why not increase the calorie content of the food you do eat? Regardless of size I personally feel the diet you eat is the equivalent of starving yourself. With everything you eat being so low calorie I would have to eat everything you eat in a day about 4 times over to get what I need in a day.

Bottom line, IMO, is a diet that borderlines on starvation is going to make your metabolism slow down to preserve fat. I cannot say either if stopping training would make any difference. I'd experiment with higher calorie food and see what your like a month from now.

[EDBANGER]

Mega long reply via mail!
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If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, you are the sucker.

[Clanger]

cheers everyone...cheers CraigieB - I get what you are saying, but I really feel it must be different for each individual. As it is my health is fine, I dont suffer illnesses, my hair is in great condition, I dont feel like Im eating too little, I have lots of dietary requirements (ie allergic to eggs, intolerant to wheat and dairy)
cheers Edbanger, that is very helpful. I think like you suggest, it might be that Ive got used to my routine. I need to mix it up and change it. I was going to the gym - doing the workout and not feeling any benefit. Ive recently started Body Pump which is with free weights and I can feel it in my muscles...and Im doing another class which may help a bit too.

And yes, Loz...wobbly bits do come with age, no matter how much you try to be good...and whereas I used to be able to drop weight, and tone in an instance...it really does get a lot harder the older you get. Bloody Bugger...
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[tribal_tiger]

I'd much prefer to have the belly than eat any of that Soya shit!

But then i would say that. I'm fat!
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All of it.

[Clanger]

I eat soya AND have a belly!
The soya isnt in place instead of the belly...its in place of being extremely ill, swollen up, itchy red with hives, cramps, diahorrea...
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[tribal_tiger]

[Clanger]

I know what you mean...but its been 11 years since I had real milk products, I cant remember what they all taste like now anyway...

Thankfully the soya stuff is tasting a lot better than it did back then, I initially thought stuff it...but craving a white cuppa tea made me a convert....Ive not looked back!
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss