Leaning out

[roseybp1]

I am trying to drop bodyfat and it seems my top half is leaning out well but my bottom just won't let go!! Any advice I eat clean with the exception of protein bars.. I am 12 weeks out from npc bikini nationals eating 1600 cal a day

[SheWulf]

Lovely part of being a woman eh?

Post up your diet to get more help. Also, are you doing any type of cardio right now?

[firmgrrrl]

This may be a stab in the dark....but have you tried walking lunges as part of your cardio? My trainer has me doing those for 30 min. 4 days/week on an empty stomach in the morning and wow! What a difference!

How much cardio are you doing?

Maybe drop the cals by 100 or so?

[venus892]

hey its a right to being fit to your health.
if your health is good then u can achieve your goal so fit but not do any competition.

[nsiegel5]

This is pretty standard protocol for a lot of females. The top half tends to lean out before they start seeing any real noticable results in their bottom. Good sign is that you are leaning out which means you are moving in the right direction. Your body stores fat where it stores it and there is no such thing as spot reduction so doing a certain exercise isnt going to burn more fat from that area. Doing walking lounges wont burn the fat if your thighs. Stick with your diet and adjust your carb intake if you need to cut more increase the duration of the low intensity cardio.

[nickchristensen]

SPot reduction is non existant. The body has a way of leaning out as a component of a whole. Each individual will have areas that lean out later or last if you will. Being consistant with your diet and tweaking the amount of cardio (low intesity) will continue to work. Dont worry about not losing it fast enough.

For my cardio i change between elliptical and walking on an incline. Once a week I will do a HIIT training session to boost the metablosim a bit.

[roseybp1]

Thanks for the feedback. I know I can up my cardio more, I am sure everyone could do a little extra. Here is my breakdown from the week (weekly averages) 40.6 g fat 121 g carbs 172 g protein. I eat roughly 1500-1700 calories.

Starting with Shake (with strawberries)
postworkout 4 egg whites, cup of oatmeal or mulitgram slim bread w/ peanut butter, greek yogurt, and coffee
before lunch 2 egg whites or protein bar
lunch canned salmon and spinach
after lunch protein bar (one a day) or tuna packet and tbsp peanut butter
dinner shake
cardio session here 2x a week
postworkout .5 cup cottage cheese

Now what do you think? Can I cut more carbs??

[Char]

Thanks for the feedback. I know I can up my cardio more, I am sure everyone could do a little extra. Here is my breakdown from the week (weekly averages) 40.6 g fat 121 g carbs 172 g protein. I eat roughly 1500-1700 calories.

Starting with Shake (with strawberries)
postworkout 4 egg whites, cup of oatmeal or mulitgram slim bread w/ peanut butter, greek yogurt, and coffee
before lunch 2 egg whites or protein bar
lunch canned salmon and spinach
after lunch protein bar (one a day) or tuna packet and tbsp peanut butter
dinner shake
cardio session here 2x a week
postworkout .5 cup cottage cheese

Now what do you think? Can I cut more carbs??

Here is my suggestion:

First, cut out the protein bar.. its basically a candybar with a high proteincontent.
Cut out the bread or switch it to EZEKIEL Bread
Be careful with the peanutbutter. Some people respond well on peanutbutter, some dont. And the same with dairy. Again some people can do dairy all the way with no harm and some cant. It all depends on tolerance.
And read the label on the tuna packet. Was else is in there apart from tuna?? Why not a plain can of tuna?
And def up your cardio. 2 x a week is far from enough. I can get away with 1/2 hr a day but some have to do 60-90 min 6 x a week (30-45 min twice a day).

Hope this helps

[firmgrrrl]

This is pretty standard protocol for a lot of females. The top half tends to lean out before they start seeing any real noticable results in their bottom. Good sign is that you are leaning out which means you are moving in the right direction. Your body stores fat where it stores it and there is no such thing as spot reduction so doing a certain exercise isnt going to burn more fat from that area. Doing walking lounges wont burn the fat if your thighs. Stick with your diet and adjust your carb intake if you need to cut more increase the duration of the low intensity cardio.

I realize you can't "spot reduce". I guess I should have been clearer. It would be smart to create more of a calorie deficit by adding cardio, which for me, is walking lunges 4 days a week. Really gets the heartrate up and why not burn more calories and tighten up your legs at the same time? This happened for me. I agree with cut out the protein bar, though. There's your extra dirty calories right there.

[mommalu]

I am trying to drop bodyfat and it seems my top half is leaning out well but my bottom just won't let go!! Any advice I eat clean with the exception of protein bars.. I am 12 weeks out from npc bikini nationals eating 1600 cal a day

12 weeks is a ways out. Are you carb cycling at all?
Also remember~ the lower half is the last to lean out (been there)

[roseybp1]

8 weeks out and no not carb cycling...Can u explain??

I started doing 30 min low intensity cardio and feel soo much better.. But mostly in my stomach still not those silly thighs. Diet has been on point now since ppl recommened changes totally cut dairy and protein bars down to one tbsp peanut butter( cutting it out this week)

Thanks for all the feedback and support so far!!!

12 weeks is a ways out. Are you carb cycling at all?
Also remember~ the lower half is the last to lean out (been there)

[roseybp1]

Thanks

[TrueAmateur]

I am trying to drop bodyfat and it seems my top half is leaning out well but my bottom just won't let go!! Any advice I eat clean with the exception of protein bars.. I am 12 weeks out from npc bikini nationals eating 1600 cal a day

By bottom, I'm assuming you mean your butt, in which case I refuse to give advice because I find that as a beautiful thing and don't want to contribute to deteriorating such a pleasant gift.

[kimm4]

There is no reason to cut bread, dairy or pb during a contest prep. Why do people think that a contest prep has to be bland/boring foods only? It's all about getting in the right amount of calories and giving yourself enough time to diet so you can lose the body fat.

If the diet/calories are off...it's not going to make a difference how strict you are with food choices...

[roseybp1]

Thanks for everyone's help. My first show went great. I can't wait to see more pictures and get feedback from the video. I have some more improvements to make. But I did it for now!!