Flat stomach

[boyboycurious]

Hey guys i need some help on flattening my stomach

As of now my figure is imo pretty good shape except one area, my stomach, specifically my lower abs area. My upper abs area and chest are all good and built
and i have this layer of fat that always shows whenever i sit down and i want to get rid of it.

Note that i am not aiming to have hard rock six packs and such but my main concern is to lose the fat as i think it makes me look weird, thin on the top and slightly fatter at the bottom.

At the moment i go for a regular 1-2 times of jogging, back and forth for 15-20 min each run to the beach so about 30 min total in 1 session. I'm also starting to do some sit up more regularly, but i don't know how many i should do in one session.

My question is, is that enough? I know i have to watch my diet too but i like to snack alot. Potato chips are my favourite regulars. Any advice on what i should and should not eat or eat less or more of? Also i don't prepare my own dinner which is hard to avoid all the greasy food and stuff, but i try to choose to eat more vegie and less of the fatty meat.


Any advice? I'm new at this so please explain it to me in the most simplest term.
Thanks in advance

 

[Dark Adept]

I think sit-ups are for your upper and mid abs, try leg-ups (lying down and lifting your legs, like a backwards sit-up)

 

[boyboycurious]

As for your food; potato chips are a big no no
If you eat out often its good your avoiding greesies but there are other things you need to watch out for.
I suggest staying away from chinese, although it seems healthy, you would be sick if you saw the amounts of palm sugar they put into your meals.

Haha the irony being i'm chinese. Yeah but i'm cutting down on my potato chips.
Any snacks that maybe a bit healthier for me? maybe cookie? rice cracker? I get
bored very easily and when i do, i snack, that's the problem.

Hm is that true dark_adept? that could explain why my upper abs are so much more built than my lower ones, i only do sit ups. Gotta try it

 

[lickya42000]

1. Eat these: whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat bread and cereal), lean meats (Turkey is the absolute best), dairy, nuts (almonds and walnuts), peanut butter, eggs, beans and legumes, lots of green vegetables, fat-free dairy products, berries, and Whey protein

2. Stop jogging. Static cardio (meaning that you do it at the same level of intensity for a long time) cannot burn that much fat. The best cardio to burn fat is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Basically, after warming up, run as fast as you can (or at a high intensity) for 30 seconds, then recover for about 2 minutes (either walking, or slow jogging). Then repeat that for about 6 times. It's the BEST way to burn that fat, without sacrificing muscle.

3. Strength train to burn fat. Don't do specific exercises like bicep curls or tricep extensions. Focus on exercises that utilize a lot of muscle groups (compound exercises). Do squats, deadlifts, rows, lat-pull downs, and lunges. These all focus on bigger muscle groups, which in turn, can burn a lot of fat.

You seem like you're in pretty good shape. If you do the above mentioned, I'm pretty sure you can achieve your goal in 4 weeks.

Best of luck!!

 

[Shepherd 2]

As for sit-ups, maby 2-3 reps of 20-30 in the morning and 3-4 of 20-30 just before bed. If you can't do both then do the ones just before sleep.

Innocent-lad is right about the push up. Hope you can do them.
Eat sensibly, but mostly do the sit ups.
Shep+

 

[lickya42000]

LoL here i go again, making friends everywhere i go.

A few things i would change in his list.

Turkey is a horrible meat fat wise, if you want lean meat then go Kangaroo. (much cheaper aswel)
Peanut Butter is BAD BAD BAD it has some REALLY hidden baddies in it.
I would reconmend NOT eating much egg.
Oh but i do REALLY agree with berries, they are expensive but the nutritional value of berries is insane, ESPECIALY blue berries, same goes for Almonds.

And im just thinking, do you do 'cooldown' excercises when you finish or runs/situps?

Turkey is pretty lean. It's better than beef and pork. And for deli meats, it's the leanest and it packs nearly one-third of your daily requirements of niacin and vitamin B6. (http://www.menshealth.com/cda/artic...2a99edbbbd201099edbbbd2010cfe793cd____&page=3)

I should have clarified about Peanut Butter. Only All-Natural, sugar free, and trans-fat free PB is the best. I know, I know, PB is high in calories, so what's that point of eating them? Well, PB has a good amount of monosaturated fats, which help increase testosterone levels, which in turn can help you build muscle and burn fat.

And I agree, you can't overeat eggs...there's a lot of cholesterol, although studies have shown that if you only eat egg-whites, it doesn't raise your cholesterol, since cholesterol comes from mainly dietary fats, not dietary cholesterol.

I'm not saying that there is only ONE way to eat. To each his own... This is how I've mostly eaten for the past 9 months, and I've lost 30 pounds.

BTW, I forgot to mention, you should eat 6 small meals a day!! You've probably heard it before, but it's so true. It really does kick up your metabolism (speaking from personal experience).

As for "cool-downs", I've never done them. After I run, I just walk it off, so my heart rate can catch up. And after sit-ups/core exercise, I don't really do anything. I guess, "cool-down" is appropriate for cardio exercises, since you can let your heart rate go down.

 

[boyboycurious]

Hey guys, thanks for the lot of advice.

I don't do much 'cooldown' exercise during my jog, but normally walk it off like lickya said. So i normally jog for 15-20 min to the beach, walk it off, rest abit, have a drink, wait till my heart rate goes to normal then run all the way back.

Peanut butter is not one of my faves so i won't worry much about that. I think my main concern now is really my eating habits. Living on eating out and take aways plus greasy home chinese food makes it hard even when i do all those exercise. Not to mention my temptation for a quick snack and instant noodles makes it bad bad bad.


@ tommy, it's not so much as it shows only when i sit but also when i stand, just a lot more apparent when i sit. yea but it still shows even when i stand up.

So i should stop jogging but do high speed intensity runs for about 30 seconds and cooldown and repeat for a few times? How long should i do those for? 15 min?


I've been starting to do the leg-ups recently so hope that will help a bit

 

[lickya42000]

So i should stop jogging but do high speed intensity runs for about 30 seconds and cooldown and repeat for a few times? How long should i do those for? 15 min?


I've been starting to do the leg-ups recently so hope that will help a bit

Each person has their own level; you'll find yours when you start. When I first started, I could only do 4 intervals and it was so hard (I felt like throwing up!!). But now I can do much more than that. Also, you'll find your resting time. Since I sprint as fast as I can, I find that 2 minutes of walking is the helps me a lot. However, if you feel you can just jog for a minute, instead, that's fine. It all depends on your level of fitness.

Hope this helps.