Help Me Please!!! I want to lose fat over my ab area

[CocoaDreams]

Hello .... Everyone

Alright I've been doing ab work for a while now and I see improvement but I just can't seem to lose the fat over my ab area.

I normally eat a nice amount of carbs daily, so I'm guessing this might be my problem. I also drink lots of water.

Does anyone have any suggestion for carb replacements or at least some good clean foods so I won't miss them so much?

Also if anyone has diet suggestions. I'll take those too cuz this fat has got to go.
Thanks Everyone. Bisous

[I3uilt]

Well i hate to be a debbie downer but unfortunately you can do ab work until you're blue in the face but you wont lose fat off your abs. Unfortunately for everyone with dreams of six packs and flat abs, isolated fat loss is not possible. The only way you are going to get that fat off is to lose it off the whole body, then once you have a low enough bf% you can worry about using ab work to tighten and tone. My suggestion for you is to use a more full body workout 3-4 days a week combined with cardio 4-5 days a week. Also a solid nutrition plan is a must, though i cant really spit one out right here cuz everyone is different but if you cruise this forum for a little while your bound to get all the information you need. good luck

[steve009]

abs suck because basicly the only way you can obtain nice abs is to have a very low body fat%. cardio in the am before you eat if possible is how i noticed a difference in my BF%

[CocoaDreams]

Thanks that's helpful. Before I used top go out walking 5 miles every morning. I really just want to get this extra fat off though. I know my body shape and it's very possible for me to have a flat stomach without being super skinny. I just want moderate weight loss I don't want to be tiny.

[Blk98Bird]

Do you have an example of what you may eat in a day? If not, log it for a day or two (eat like you normally would!!!) and then post it here to give us an idea.

How familiar are you with the calories you need to lose, maintain, or gain weight?

Do you do other exercise beyond the walking? How active is your job/lifestyle?

Those would be my first questions to better help you out.

[skinnyboipgh]

Originally Posted by I3uilt

Well i hate to be a debbie downer but unfortunately you can do ab work until you're blue in the face but you wont lose fat off your abs. Unfortunately for everyone with dreams of six packs and flat abs, isolated fat loss is not possible. The only way you are going to get that fat off is to lose it off the whole body, then once you have a low enough bf% you can worry about using ab work to tighten and tone. My suggestion for you is to use a more full body workout 3-4 days a week combined with cardio 4-5 days a week. Also a solid nutrition plan is a must, though i cant really spit one out right here cuz everyone is different but if you cruise this forum for a little while your bound to get all the information you need. good luck

X2, sad 2 say "spot reduction" is a myth.

[CocoaDreams]

It's so inconsistant. I basically eat one carb meal a day like noodles or soup or something like that. A muffin in the morning with some tea. The rest of the day I'll have fruit. Not much structure. I'm kind of embarassed to post this but if I'm not honest I can't be helped.

[vinnie85]

well ure diet is all out of whack. you should just spend a week and log what u eat on a daily basis. this way u have a benchmark of where ure starting. Also a big step is preparing ure own food. this way you know what's going in. it takes a little more time but in the long run its alot healthier. i work in an office environment and it seems like i'm the only one not 50+ lbs overweight and i see that im the only one bringing my lunch almost everyday. i dunno ure exact stats but i would check to see how many calories, protein, carbs, etc u should be getting a day. that way you have somewhere to start. gl!!

[CocoaDreams]

Thank you.

[CocoaDreams]

I'll gather my information and I'll be back...after I gt off from work.

[DarinK]

Originally Posted by vinnie85

well ure diet is all out of whack. you should just spend a week and log what u eat on a daily basis. this way u have a benchmark of where ure starting. Also a big step is preparing ure own food. this way you know what's going in. it takes a little more time but in the long run its alot healthier. i work in an office environment and it seems like i'm the only one not 50+ lbs overweight and i see that im the only one bringing my lunch almost everyday. i dunno ure exact stats but i would check to see how many calories, protein, carbs, etc u should be getting a day. that way you have somewhere to start. gl!!

Great advice. Preparing meals takes time, but it's what separates the truly health conscious fitness minded people from everyone else. Your meals should be balanced with protein ,carbs(low GI complex or fibrous), and healthy fats with every meal except your post workout shake. Also like others have said, you can't spot reduce, just focus on overall weight reduction and building muscle.

[vinnie85]

oh and on a side note. when ure starting out with the calorie counting and dieting don't feel overwhelmed. take some time off of ure diet and just eat out. sometimes i know life throws a curveball (ie. no time to cook etc) but as long as you portion out ure outside foods (fast food, etc) you should be fine. I know alot of time i just want a hamburger and thats fine just remember not to get 10 double cheese burgers. Cheating is fine and at times can be healthy just do it smart.

[Stevo1313]

i know how you feel, i lost a hell of alot of weight to get to where i am now, and from experience i cant tell you abs come through diet, not how many crunches you do. Cardio helps, but i hardly do any cardio as it is now. And of course genetics play a huge factor as well

[polinutrigirl]

Use the fitday.com program. I log my nutrition everyday (you can see a link @ my bodyspace). It has helped me enormously. My problem was that I didn't eat enough; this has helped me make sure I get in necessary cals & protein.

[CocoaDreams]

I actually got all of my Muscle and Fitness magazines together and went through the nutrition sections. I'm glad to say I'm down by 5lbs and my stomach is about an inch from my goal. Thanks for the advice you guys really helped me choose make good food choices. I'm not even tempted by naughty foods anymore. Oh yeah. And the cardio picked up too.

[tinyman5000]

Try low carb dieting with alot of cardio, carbohydrates create an insulin response which encourages fat storage in the gut area. I went on a low carb diet and after the initial water loss, I lost 20 lbs in two months, I had almost an 8 pack.

[BgDaDdyLng]

I'm a new user...so, sorry for the intrusion. I would be curious in learning the ab & cardio routine some of you are using. Any suggestions would help... Thanks!