How to get a flat stomach

[Rex]

I have a slim build all except for my gut. I've developed a pot belly type gut and it looks even worse on me than a typical thick bodied person because the rest of by body is pretty slim so it sticks out even worse.

I don't really watch my calorie intake or things like that but for the most part I try to eat healthy. I go to the gym but I'm not always consistent with it. When I'm at the gym I mostly focus on lifting and toning and less on cardio. I see results but they come and go because I'm not as consistent as I should be. I use the treadmill or elliptical usually for my warm up before I stretch. I know I probably need to do more cardio because I don't think it has something to do with my eating habits. If anything, I probably under eat and I would actually like to gain weight if it wasn't just all going to my stomach. I'm also a smoker so I'm sure that has something to do with my metabolism and eating habits and I'm working on quitting which will help me do more cardio without getting out of breath.

Does anyone have this problem of only gaining weight in your gut and advice?

 

[KaraBulut]

From the pictures that I recall seeing of your upper body, you don't have much of a gut. You're probably more sensitive to it because you see your body all the time and it's human nature to focus more on our weak areas.

The aging process in men unfortunately favors the development of fat around the waist- both on the inside the abdomen around the internal organs and on the outside on top of the abdominal muscles.

There are three things that you can do to keep abdominal fat at bay.

1. Cardio, cardio cardio- You should be doing cardio at least 3 times a week. The warmups that you're doing before your workout aren't really cardio- they're just warmups. The early studies recommended at least 20 minutes of continuous exercise. The latest studies are saying that you should do at least 30 minutes and that when doing things like treadmill, you should set the intensity setting to variable. In other words, you want to increase and lower the stress on your body much like you would if you were running or biking up and down hills.
2. Abdominal exercises - ab workouts won't get rid of the fat but they will help maintain tone so that fat on the inside of the belly doesn't protrude as much. Also having muscle development in the area gives the illusion of leanness ("washboard stomach").
3. Watch dietary carbs - Or as one of my friends used to say, "Beware of white food". Carbohydrates raise the level of insulin in the body which can increase fat storage. Alcohol can also distort the way that the body handles carbohydrates. You don't have to go on a carb-restricted diet but you can make some different choices - whole wheat bread instead of white bread, wild rice instead of white rice, fruit instead of white sugar-based desserts and avoiding processed food that are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup.

Smoking doesn't increase fat storage but it does make cardio much more painful. Try to cut back on smoking- cigarettes and anything else you smoke (except maybe pole).

Unfortunately, cold weather is the enemy. The short days and the colder temperatures make our brains crave carbohydrates. And in a place like Michigan, it takes a lot of discipline to get outside and exercise or even drive to the gym. And there is some evidence that cold weather does make the body have a tendency toward developing fat stores. You might be fighting this until it starts to warm up in March.

 

[Rex]

From the pictures that I recall seeing of your upper body, you don't have much of a gut. You're probably more sensitive to it because you see your body all the time and it's human nature to focus more on our weak areas.

The aging process in men unfortunately favors the development of fat around the waist- both on the inside the abdomen around the internal organs and on the outside on top of the abdominal muscles.

Oh believe me. I have one. When I suck it in it doesn't look bad but if I'm relaxed it sticks out very noticeably and I'm self conscious about it.




I appreciate all the other information you posted. I started a thread a few months about about getting pains in my knee after a few days of doing a lot of cardio like running on the treadmill. Someone suggested I might have patello-femoral syndrome and I researched it and realized I most likely do have it because right now my knee is like that again. I don't get heavy pains but I do get them in my right knee when I bend it and it hasn't healed after almost two weeks. I know best thing to do would be to see a doctor but I don't have health insurance so I've just been trying to do the best I can to get better, by taking vitamins for bones and cartilage and using some support wrap around my knee. This has discouraged me from wanting to go to the gym as well as the freezing weather and it's been almost a week since I've gone but my knee is feeling a little better and I'm going to get back into it as soon as it's 100%.

I'll let you guys know how the smoking thing goes too.

 

[evilest]

Try lying on your back.

 

[KaraBulut]

I appreciate all the other information you posted. I started a thread a few months about about getting pains in my knee after a few days of doing a lot of cardio like running on the treadmill. Someone suggested I might have patello-femoral syndrome and I researched it and realized I most likely do have it because right now my knee is like that again.

I remember that thread and I apologiize for forgetting it - it was under your earlier username.

Chondromalacia patella (or patello-femoral syndrome) does often get aggravated in cold weather. You should avoid the treadmill and other repetitive exercise or resistance training that involves bending the knee If you do stationary bike, you should do lower resistance and higher rpms.

Swimming is another good alternative since it works the leg muscles but doesn't rely upon bending motion of the knee which can aggravate the condition.

by taking vitamins for bones and cartilage

There's inconsistent studies about glucosamine/chrondroitin and improvement in joint/bone conditions like C. patella. Try it if you haven't already done so- it can't hurt.

You should also take an anti-inflammatory and ice your knee when it gets aggravated.

This has discouraged me from wanting to go to the gym as well as the freezing weather

I feel your pain. I hated those subzero and snowy days when I was there.

 

[ilguy82]

I have the same problem that the original poster has. My situation is different though. I was overweight most of my life and 2 years ago I lost about 100 pounds. I have a lean built (could use some toning up) but I'm happy with everything but my druppy gut. It's pretty ugly too with all the stretch marks from the weight I had over the years. Also on my sides it looks kind of like lovehandles but there not. Really it's so ugly looking I don't even like taking off my shirt. I've been doing the gym but over the last month or so I stopped due to the holidays and the cold weather. I just started going back this week. I have no problem with doing Cardio 3+ times a week. However, I'm stuck on what else I can do. I do situps a lot but I know it really doesn't help flatten the stomach. Whenever I ask a personal trainer for advice they won't give me any unless I pay them and set up sessions which I have done in the past. The only advice I got was to start lifting weights and it would fill out my body and stretch the stomach to flatten it. Any advice would be good because I am determine to get rid of this flabby stomach.

 

[Telstra]

the simple answer is eat LESS .

but hard to do tho if you have plenty of food.

 

[KaraBulut]

However, I'm stuck on what else I can do. I do situps a lot but I know it really doesn't help flatten the stomach. Whenever I ask a personal trainer for advice they won't give me any unless I pay them and set up sessions which I have done in the past. The only advice I got was to start lifting weights and it would fill out my body and stretch the stomach to flatten it. Any advice would be good because I am determine to get rid of this flabby stomach.

Congrats on your weight loss.

You're doing what a lot of people do- focusing on your weak point instead of working on where the problem lies. The problem is not your abdomen- it's the proportions of your upper body. If you focus on developing size in your shoulder and chest, this will give the illusion of making your waist appear smaller.

There's a show on US television called "The Biggest Loser" that illustrates your situation. The people on the show lose 100 or more pounds over the course of the show. They look really great and it's difficult to tell that they were once overweight until they take off their shirt. The reason that it is diffcult to tell is because the trainers really work on changing the proportions of the person's body. They train the upper body and legs so that the body has more of a V taper or hourglass shape.

Unfortunately, with the amount of weight loss that you had you will have some saggy skin. If the sag is severe and your skin does not retract with time, you may want to see a plastic surgeon about a tummy tuck.