I've really gotten into fitness and health in the past 4 years and I've gone from 180 lbs. to 150 lbs., and reduced my waist size significantly. But I still have a thin annoying layer of fat around my mid-section that I can't seem to lose.
I can't tell if it's my diet that's now wrong for my new weight or the portion sizes, but I've plateaued. I haven't gained any weight, so my new eating lifestyle is working to keep me where I want to be and I'm still exercising everyday, but I can't seem to figure out what I need to do to tighten up my abs section.
And I don't need to increase my abs workouts, because I do have abs, they are just hidden. Does anyone know how to get a chiseled mid-section?
BTW, I'm 55, 5' 7", male.
|
-
10-18-2014, 06:52 PM #1
How to lose the thin layer of fat around the mid-section?
-
10-18-2014, 06:58 PM #2
- Join Date: Sep 2011
- Location: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- Age: 68
- Posts: 1,732
- Rep Power: 26354
It is how much you are eating. You need to eat at a calorie deficit.
If you are holding your weight stable, then you need to drop about 10 to 20 % of your calories to lose the fat.
You need to measure everything you are eating and keep a log to ensure you are hitting your macros and calorie goals. I use MyFitnessPal to log my intake.O─O York Barbell Crew #53 O─O
─█────█─ Ivanko Barbell Crew #63 ─█────█─
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
My goal is to have so much equipment that I don't have room to workout. I am almost there. :)
──────────────────────────────────-───────────────────────
1st Meet Nov 2014 Push-Pull: 225 - 325 @ 194 Masters 59
-
10-18-2014, 10:40 PM #3
I use MyFitnessPal also, but I guess my problem is, I don't really know what my stable weight calories are supposed to be. MyFitnessPal says I should be at 2300 calories/day. But I feel like I'm eating so much food and I'm usually around 1800 - 2000. So that should be a deficit, but it doesn't seem like it makes a difference.
I guess my next question is, is 2300 what my daily calories should be? If I eat at a deficit won't I be preventing muscle building? You can see I'm pretty confused about how this all works.
Any more help is appreciated.
-
10-18-2014, 10:58 PM #4
- Join Date: Sep 2011
- Location: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- Age: 68
- Posts: 1,732
- Rep Power: 26354
You have a choice, eat at a deficit and lose fat (and a little muscle) or eat a surplus and gain muscle (and some fat). When eating at a deficit continue lifting heavy to minimize muscle loss.
Also, are you measuring everything with a food scale? The only accurate way to know how much you are eating is to weigh it.
As for your maintenance level, you find that by experiment. MFP and other calculators give you an estimate. Use it only for a starting point and then ignore it. You said you are not gaining weight. If you are eating a constant amount of calories daily, then that is your answer - for you. To lose fat you need to eat less than what you are eating now.
You need to read Emma-Leigh's thread Calculating Calories and Macronutrients in the Nutrition forum:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=136691851O─O York Barbell Crew #53 O─O
─█────█─ Ivanko Barbell Crew #63 ─█────█─
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
My goal is to have so much equipment that I don't have room to workout. I am almost there. :)
──────────────────────────────────-───────────────────────
1st Meet Nov 2014 Push-Pull: 225 - 325 @ 194 Masters 59
-
-
10-18-2014, 11:06 PM #5
- Join Date: Sep 2011
- Location: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- Age: 68
- Posts: 1,732
- Rep Power: 26354
According to your profile you want to gain muscle mass and lose fat. After you pass the noobie stage, it is difficult to do both at the same time. I suggest that you go on a slow bulk to gain weight (muscle mass). At 5'7" and 151 lbs you are not heavy.
I suggest eating at a surplus so that you gain about 1/2 lb a week. After you gain 5 or 10 lbs you should drop your calories and lose a few pounds while continuing to work out. Ideally you will gain more muscle than fat. You will have to gain more than your goal weight of 161 and then diet down to get to the bodyfat level you want.O─O York Barbell Crew #53 O─O
─█────█─ Ivanko Barbell Crew #63 ─█────█─
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
My goal is to have so much equipment that I don't have room to workout. I am almost there. :)
──────────────────────────────────-───────────────────────
1st Meet Nov 2014 Push-Pull: 225 - 325 @ 194 Masters 59
-
10-19-2014, 12:30 AM #6
-
10-19-2014, 01:54 AM #7
Oh FFS, you got this far you should know what to do..........
eat less move more...Air Force Veteran 1976 - 1999 - Cannabis Enthusiast since the 1960's
Retired at 40 Crew - Social distancing expert - Living the Dream
I use the gender neutral pronouns "Fukker/Fukkers" a lot.
****** I don't always agree with the memes I post ******
I tell it like it is, if you want smoke blown up your ass or something sugar coated. I suggest you get a Hooker and a powdered donut.
-
10-19-2014, 07:52 AM #8
-
-
10-19-2014, 11:23 AM #9
We're in the same age group. MyFitnessPal estimates that I need about 500 cal/day more than is my baseline. Even exercising regularly, I find that I gain fat if I take in more than 1800 cal/day. I know that metabolism is very individualized, but I'm a good bit taller than you are (6'1") and I weigh more than you do (182#), and yet you are eating as much or more than I do every day. You are almost certainly taking in more calories than needed.
I think your photo shows a reasonable foundation. If you want to get to <10%BF, you'll have to cut total calories. I'd do so while maintaining protein at no less than 1g/lb/day. That will require about 45-50% total calories from protein, which is probably a lot different than you are taking in.
If you want to do a bulk, as advised above, I'd first establish what my maintenance calorie level is (requires some trial and error over time) and then I'd only take in 300 cal above that for no more than 2 months, cycle back down to baseline for at least a month, and then repeat. It'll be a slow bulk, but you are more concerned with body fat levels.
-
10-19-2014, 11:35 AM #10
- Join Date: Jul 2011
- Location: Florida, United States
- Age: 53
- Posts: 1,986
- Rep Power: 1095
Judging from your photo I'd say some of it is in your head. You could try for shredded but that isn't realistic for most people to maintain.
Often I feel like I have a gut when I look down on myself but I think that's just a matter of perspective. Posture also plays a big part in abdominal appearance.
-
10-19-2014, 11:46 AM #11
- Join Date: Jan 2010
- Location: Paducah, Kentucky, United States
- Posts: 8,878
- Rep Power: 89432
This^^ You can can achieve a shredded midsection, however, keeping it requires way too much dedication to maintain and still enjoy life at the same time. Once you get below 10-11%, every mistake shows up a few hours to a day later.
I'm good to keep it through the Spring and Summer time.**PUREBLOOD FOR LIFE CREW**
-- A e s t h e t i c s C r e w -- E x t r e m e D i p s C r e w -- M i s c C a r C r e w ---
**2004 Acura NSX**2017 Honda Civic Type R, BADGE #357**
**2018 BMW X5M**2020 Toyota TRD PRO**
**Sandwiches are made in the KITCHEN......ABS are built in the GYM!**
-
10-19-2014, 03:52 PM #12
- Join Date: Sep 2005
- Location: Coeur D Alene, Idaho, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 4,342
- Rep Power: 38671
-
-
10-19-2014, 06:20 PM #13
- Join Date: Aug 2014
- Location: Ossining, New York, United States
- Age: 49
- Posts: 25
- Rep Power: 0
I am in a similar spot, and I think I've come to the conclusion I am going to have to "lift" my way out of the mild skinny-fat phase I am in. I am two months into seriously lifting and am noticing slow gains, but I am having trouble cutting calories to get the abs while having energy to lift hard. So I think I'll just have to accept the mild layer of fat over the next year as I keep lifting and slowly making gains. Maybe as I put more muscle the fat will slowly somewhat melt, then I can cut the rest away. We'll see! You might have to take a similar approach. It's frustrating cause I can kinda see the abs moving underneath, but they aren't really showing either!
-
10-19-2014, 11:40 PM #14
-
10-19-2014, 11:55 PM #15
Here's a quick write-up I did about 4 years ago on how to get your abs visible that worked for me. I'll repost it here for you and hopefully you'll find something in it you're not doing and can use to help you get where you want to be. Please pardon misspellings and grammatical errors. I wrote it in a hurry.
Basically, your #1 enemy is the layer of fat that can cover your abs and keep them hidden or less defined than you'd like.
So the way we combat this enemy is by developing your abdominal muscles while at the same time limiting your fat intake combined with some concentrated exercises you can do easily so you give it the double-whammy.
Here's what I mean in more practical terms:
1. Nutrition: If you still want to build muscle mass while remaining cut, what worked for me is to increase my protein intake while drastically reducing my fat intake.
Remember, foods high in protein have the amino acids that build your muscles, so protein will help you build lean muscle mass.
At the same time, you want to examine what foods that are high in fat you are currently eating and see if you can eliminate those from your diet for awhile.
I like to eat the following foods for this:
*boneless, skinless chicken breasts
(About 29 grams of protein per breast with less than even a gram of fat)
*white albacore tuna
(about 15 grams of protein per serving with less than a couple of grams of fat)
*dried egg whites
(1 cup of the powder mixed with 1.5 cup of water can be mixed into a drinking glass
and contains 36 grams of protein= the equivalent of 12 egg whites with zero fat, carbs or sugars)
Your body can burn carbs into sugar and use it for energy.
However, if you lower your carbs and sugar and virtually eliminate taking in fat,
your body will look for something to burn for energy.
When it can't find it because you didn't eat any new fat or load up with a bunch of carbs or sugar,
it can go into survival mode and start burning that layer of fat that covers your abs!
(So I guess it's kind of a biochemical breakdown strategy here)
You can still eat 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, have some broccoli and some egg whites, some white albacore tuna, drink some unsweet tea, coffee or water for a meal and feel full.
Doing this basically loads you up with the protein you need while you've put
ZERO fat, ZERO sugar and virtually ZERO carbs!
So you're packing on lean muscle while forcing your body to burn the fats you had stored back when you were eating more of them.
Still with me so far?
Great!
Almost there...
You may want to only try this kind of hardcore high protein low carb, no fat diet
for a week or two...and you'll begin to notice some results!
*Tips: Some say high amounts of sodium can "bloat" your belly so you will want to avoid sodium where you can too. Also, you'll notice when you have drank a lot of water it can bloat your belly down in that tough spot too, but not for too long. Keep drinking water anyway!
You can also drink a few of those whey isolate protein shakes to increase the lean muscle mass even more.
You'll also want to take a good multi-vitamin to replete your body with some nutrients you would miss otherwise.
Okay, that's good for now on nutrition.
Alright, time for those concentrated exercises.
2. Exercises:
Some of the most stubborn belly fat that robs you of your ab definition is that little "pooch"
at the bottom where the last 2 muscles of your 8 pack should be.
To get rid of that, you can begin to build your lower abs more with exercises combined with the right nutrition to really make them more visible.
Weighted abdominal crunches are great. You have a machine that's great. If not, you can still do some great exercises to target those abs, obliques and intercostals.
The main thing to remember is that your hips need to raise up while you're doing the exercises in order to fully contract the ab muscles. Otherwise, you won't engage them enough for them to grow and show.
On top of the weighted abdominal crunches, you can get on one of those Captain's Chairs and do knee raises to your chest. To really get a good burn, you can hold a weight plate or dumbbell with your feet to raise more weight with your hips flexing upward to really get a good full strong contraction and activation of your abdominal muscles.
Personally, I do:
3 sets of 34 weighted abdominal crunches at 80 lbs. (Whenever I went 90 or much heavier, the abs were bigger than I wanted instead of cut up and symmetrical like I like them at 80, but your mileage may vary when you find what works best for your own body.)
--3 sets of 35 knee raises every other day and sometimes on consecutive days.
Another exercise I do is decline crunches. (I usually only do 50 of those.)
You can put your hands on each side of your head with elbows out and then touch your left elbow to your right knee at the end of your rep on your crunches and alternate with the right elbow to the left knee on the next rep, continuing every other rep like this to get your obliques worked too. (This also helps you get those lines that "lead down" the women go crazy about.)
Now if you really want to take it into higher gear and get results more quickly,
--lay down on your back and raise your legs up with feet together, hold it 5 seconds then lower just above the floor for 5 seconds (without touching the floor) then raise them back up for another 5 seconds, lower and repeat...
(Do as many of these as you can.)
...35 per set is another good amount to shoot for with 3 sets on these too.
You'll really begin to feel the burn and that's what you want!
--Lastly, you can jump on the treadmill for about half an hour maintaining a speed of between 3.5 and 4.0 miles per hour with an incline of about 5.
(Do this for 30 minutes and follow it up with a glass of water.
That's it! Just do this routine every other day and you're about to be very pleased with your new abs.
What I just shared with you here is exactly how I developed my abs in just a few short weeks.
You'll begin to see results by the end of your first 5 days so
be tough, do it and stick it out!
(It's actually quite possible you'll see results much quicker, but this is just to give you some good realistic expectations.)
Every single one of my training partners who has followed my routine here,
has a nice 6 pack to show for their efforts too.
There's no reason in the world why you can't do the same and then come back here and post your results!
Hope this helps.Last edited by DougBarger; 10-20-2014 at 12:06 AM.
Discover the Secrets of Healthy Fitness Plus...
=> http://HealthyFitnessPlus.com
-
10-20-2014, 04:11 AM #16
Repped big time!!
This is absolutely great information. Very informative post, there should be more of those around here!
I will certainly try this one, both low carb and low fat, interesting idea.
Yet, how do you manage to maintain those abs when you resume a more standard fat and carb intake?
Thanks for the info!
-
-
10-20-2014, 05:58 AM #17
- Join Date: Sep 2005
- Location: Coeur D Alene, Idaho, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 4,342
- Rep Power: 38671
I'm glad that worked for you but I would argue against your diet strategy (assuming I understand what you meant).
Helms and Aragon put it together well in their literature review:
Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation
http://www.jissn.com/content/11/1/20
GL."I'm not a Ninja, but I played one on TV." -cmoore, American Ninja Warrior (ANW 7,8)
"Of all the things I lost during my cut, I miss my mind the most." -cmoore
-
10-20-2014, 08:30 AM #18
Jeebus anothe no fat no sugar troll.
No fat = no hormones. Best way to tool yourself on a cut. No carbs and no fat is just plain stupid. Increasing protein intake when leaner actually does have some merit.
Only thing needed to remove abdominal fat is a calorie deficit. A sensible cut macro goal will yeild better results.The most important aspect of weight training; whether for the athlete, bodybuilder, or average person is to better ones health and ability without injury. - Bill Pearl
-
10-20-2014, 09:02 AM #19
Not "just another" anything or a troll at all. Simply providing a way to diet for a couple of weeks to get rid of fat for more visible abs that worked for me.
If you read what I wrote in its entirety, you'd see I suggested only doing it for a couple of weeks.
And if you actually tried it, instead of insulting me and negging me for answering a fellow member's question with sharing my own experience and results, maybe you'd lose that last layer of belly pooch you sport in your latest progress pic that has you so mad at someone who shared how they already actually did it.Last edited by DougBarger; 10-20-2014 at 11:26 AM.
Discover the Secrets of Healthy Fitness Plus...
=> http://HealthyFitnessPlus.com
-
10-20-2014, 09:09 AM #20
@Mojoke
Thanks bro.
To answer your question, to maintain it, I just continued to look at all the labels at the grocery store and made sure the foods I bought had more protein grams and carbohydrate grams than fat grams and avoided any junk food that was mostly sugar or fat.
So after you are satisfied with the visible abs, you can then add more carbs back into you diet.
In fact, it's hard to go that long without carbs because of less energy, but for me, reducing the fat and carbs resulted in more fat burning.
Healthy fats can be used by the body, I just drastically reduced the amounts for my diet and had the results of less fat.Last edited by DougBarger; 10-20-2014 at 09:38 AM.
Discover the Secrets of Healthy Fitness Plus...
=> http://HealthyFitnessPlus.com
-
-
10-20-2014, 09:17 AM #21
You have given out too much Reputation in the last 24 hours, try again later.
That's a very thorough review based on research and has some interesting conclusions.
I see where it agrees that although lowering testosterone response, that lowering fat intake does not deplete lean body mass.
It didn't deplete my lean body mass either.
But it certainly got rid of that last stubborn layer of fat.
It also concurs with
"Satiety and fat loss generally improve with lower carbohydrate diets; specifically with higher protein to carbohydrate ratios [44-49]. In terms of performance and health, low carbohydrate diets are not necessarily as detrimental as typically espoused [50]. In a recent review, it was recommended for strength athletes training in a calorically restricted state to reduce carbohydrate content while increasing protein to maximize fat oxidation and preserve LBM [28].
However, the optimal reduction of carbohydrate and point at which carbohydrate reduction becomes detrimental likely needs to be determined individually."
That last part is key for those who didn't agree.
Just like the review above says in that last line I underlined for emphasis, what works for your own body will be something that you likely need to determine individually, just as I had said in my write up, just so there's no misunderstanding. I'm not suggesting that what worked for me is written in stone and guaranteed to work for everyone no matter what. I simply shared my own results of something that worked for me and others to give someone an idea about how they can attack that last layer of fat from a different angle than is normally espoused.Last edited by DougBarger; 10-20-2014 at 09:35 AM.
Discover the Secrets of Healthy Fitness Plus...
=> http://HealthyFitnessPlus.com
-
10-20-2014, 10:17 AM #22
Yes, indeed. The studies shown by cmoore actually confirm my initial ideas that cutting involves going low(er) carb!.
Protein is advised to go up to 3gr per kg LBM, where fat is stated as up to 30% of calorie intake and the rest is for carbs. As you cut down, your caloric needs will go down and thus your carb intake will go down as you don't want to reduce protein and you don't want to go too low in fat either.
Great posts by both you and cmoore
-
10-20-2014, 10:21 AM #23
-
10-20-2014, 10:23 AM #24
-
-
10-20-2014, 11:22 AM #25
-
10-20-2014, 01:51 PM #26
-
10-20-2014, 01:58 PM #27
I read it thourouly. "No fat and no carbs" for a couple of weeks is still foolish and unesessary.
.25g per pound of fat for a few weeks is aggressive as all get out for a precontest period. And way more aggressive than is reccomended unless a competitor has fouled up and is behind the eight ball.
.3 to .6 grams per pound are more normally reccomended for maintaining good health and achieving the condition goal.The most important aspect of weight training; whether for the athlete, bodybuilder, or average person is to better ones health and ability without injury. - Bill Pearl
-
10-20-2014, 02:23 PM #28
-
-
10-20-2014, 03:22 PM #29
No sir. No bs at all. I tried it on the advice of a fitness competitor and tested it for myself and it worked just like he said it would. It might be "unnecessary", but if someone's tried everything else and the other more conventional stuff didn't work for them, there's no reason not to try something that has already been proven to work for someone else or to at least be aware of the possibility. By all means get your doctor's permission, but there's nothing to gain from keeping people from trying something already tested and proven by experience to produce the results they want.
If I didn't know from personal experience that it works I wouldn't have suggested it.
If you already have something that works or worked for you, then how about you jump in and provide your tips to the people who are on here asking instead of knocking what worked for others and freely shared from proven experience.
Before knocking it and espousing your solution as the only way, put it to the test for a few days and see for yourself. Until you've tried it yourself, you have no basis to knock it. And imagine that. Something that produces results can only be valued by someone due to their "credulity". Those who want to knock it without trying it or providing an alternative can continue to know it all and prize their belly fat or offer their own suggestions.
But simply insulting others who took their valuable time to share their personal experiences and results with other members who asked for it isn't a good use of anyone's time, does nothing to encourage members to share their experiences and is against the very spirit of community.Last edited by DougBarger; 10-20-2014 at 03:38 PM.
Discover the Secrets of Healthy Fitness Plus...
=> http://HealthyFitnessPlus.com
-
10-21-2014, 05:37 AM #30
Similar Threads
-
What to do? Bulk or Keep Cutting?
By nathanfajkus in forum Losing FatReplies: 37Last Post: 01-16-2011, 05:00 AM
Bookmarks