Can anyone who has sexy abs help me out? Over the past few years I’ve lost a lot of weight and completely changed my lifestyle… I went from a size 14 to 6. However, I carry weight in my middle and after a few years of being at this weight I’m ready to step it up and get rid of a few last stubborn pounds.
I very eat well, not 100% raw, but very strict vegan and very healthy – all organic. I’d say my diet is about 70-80% vegetables. Other than that, it’s pretty much fruits, whole cereal grains, seeds, sprouts, and tofu or tempeh. I eat very few starchy vegetables or legumes. Is there anything I can incorporate into my diet that will help accelerate weight loss around my middle? I can’t really think of anything to cut out of my diet to make it healthier… except for reducing the quantity of food i eat, which is already a reasonable amount (going 100% raw isn’t an option for me, I’ve decided it does not work for me after several attempts). I always try to make it a point to have a side salad at every meal with tons of greens, and I usually just have a salad for lunch.
I started exercising regularly again. I work out 5-6 days a week… which will probably decrease a bit when I start class of Thursday. I alternate by doing 45 min. of cardio (jogging or eliptical) one day then swimming laps for an hour or so the next. I’m pretty clueless when it comes to strength training though, which I know is important. I’ve been doing varied crunches and planks and these leg exercises that are supposed to work out your abs, but I don’t know if I’m doing the best thing or not. Does anyone have suggestions on great exercises to trim your abs?
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I would get rid of the tofu and tempeh, and try using nutridiary. I’ve been using it for a few days, and it REALLY opened my eyes about the amt of fat i was eating. You might be surprised!
nutridiary.com is the addie, it’s free.
http://hillaryheidelberg.typepad.com/doing_the_…
nutridiary is cool….as is
http://spaz.ca/cronometer/
i had a similar experience a few years ago, going from a size 16 to a size 6/8. Yoga really really helped me tone up my body. first of all, it’s got a huge relaxation effect, and as we all know, stress makes us store belly fat. second, many of the poses are total body, and my stomach looked great after yoga once a week for 3 months. i can only imagine what would have happened if i had been going twice per week!!
I’ve heard both yoga and pilates is supposed to be very good for you.
Pilates is super for your core muscles…stomach, back…that’s what I like to do…and it’s fun, yet a good workout. But I wouldn’t call it that relaxing. :)
Ill give you some suggestions that I have found that work for me.
No matter what type of food it is, calories are calories. Raw or not. Those calories can come from carbs, fat, protein, whatever.
To get rid of fat, you eat less calories than you expend. Try to eat low fat foods (most raw fats are good for you though :) If, on your current daily calorie level, you use 2000 cal a day, you eat 1750 to start loosing weight.
But that alone wont help you get your abs. Exercise is important. A lot of people say that long distance running will help, and in the long run its true, but it isnt the best source to burn cal’s and fat.
Start doing HIIT, high intesity interval training. http://www.hiitsource.com/
It is said that that can burn 9 times more fat in in 20 minute period than an hour of jogging.
Lifting weights also help to get lean.
I am currently trying to shed the little fat I have around my belly to get some abs showing. I am very tall, and eat a lot of food. Because of my weight and height, i eat about 3500-4000 calories a day. That is if I wanted to maintain my weight where i am now (bout 200). SInce I want to loose fat, and only a little at a time, I eat only 200 calories less a day than my required amount.
Hope this helps ;)
ps: there are also little things that can help get your metabolism going. Eating small 5-6 meals a day instead of 2-3 big meals. Eat a good breakfast with some water also helps metabolism. Dont eat 2 hours before you go to bed.
Rules rules rules. But if you want to get those abs showin you got to follow em :)
‘The New Rules of Lifting for Women’ by Lou Schuler, is an excellent resource if you are interested in weight training.
Pilates in the morning works for me.
Fat is toxin storage. Adding layers of fat is our bodies way of potecting us from the toxins we ingest. This is why we all gain and hold on to fat in the same areas. Our bellys and buts are the safest place to create fat since these spots are the farthest from our vital organs. Our bodies are trying to protect our heart, lungs, etc from these toxins.
Lovebows, Chris
I use a foam roller. It has signicantly helped my abs tone up. You are required to balance when using a foam roll, so your back and stomach muslces are engaged the entire time you’re on it, plus when you’re doing repetitions. Here’s a link to a picture of a foam roller http://www.bannertherapy.com/Pic/48-020FOAMROLL… roll There are books with all kinds of tips in them for ab workouts. I think the best part of working abs on the foam roll is that you’re laying down and can relax your neck muscles so they don’t compensate. With crunches and sit-ups I would always compensate with my neck and never get any stronger in my core. They don’t take up much space and come in different densities. I suggest starting on the medium density. I recently “graduated” to the hardest. They do get flattened out and ineffective after a while, depending how much you weigh and how much you use it. I do it every day. Started its been 3 months since I started and I’m happy with what I’m seeing. Hope this helps
I have to agree with Chris on this one in that fat is used as a storage device for toxins; however, I think it also represents excess intake. Belly fat is unique to those with Metabolic Syndrome aka Syndrome X. Unruly cortisol levels cause weight to gather in the belly. This signifies a bad stress response and explains why belly fat responds so well to simple excercise like walking as any kind of excercise is good for stress.
You may want to consider having your adrenals checked as this is directly related to faulty cortisol production and bellt fat. You can google those terms to see if you have the other symptoms of adrenal issues (as sooo many people do, especially women, and conventional doctors usually miss this diagnosis). There are labs online that will send you a saliva test you do 3 times in a single day to get a proper adrenal profile. This way you can test yourself before you go to a healthcare provider and show thm from the outset if your levels are off.
Some people store weight preferentially in their stomach and it is genetic, nothing else. Lowering body fat % with ideas listed above will be the only thing that will help in this case—aerobics and strength training, in addition to diet (including less of the denser raw foods).
I agree with jkd_soccer801… Interval training for 20 minutes a day along with a raw diet of 10% fat max will get rid of the stomach fat.
As far as strength training goes. I think its an absolute must. Functional exercises with medicine balls are great as is yoga with your own body weight. If you want to try a dvd. I am currently using Jari Love’s routines. They are solid, tough, but straight forward. Sometimes she gets a little cheezy with the pep talks but it just makes me giggle. And after the 70th freakin push up I could use a laugh!
Thank you for all of the great advice, y’all. I’ve been meaning to start yoga/pilates for a few years. I was at Marshall’s yesterday looking for a new cutting board, and they had a ton of DVD’s on sale. I picked up a yoga, pilates, and a yoga/pilates fusion that specifically targets abs. I’m about to go put one on. And I have lost 2-3 lbs. in two weeks, so yay! This is a good start for me, because I’m only aiming to lose like 10-15. Well I don’t really have a numerical weight loss goal so much as I just want to fit into a size 4 :)
Kelley, Doing ab work is not going to get rid of the fat around your waist. It is just going to build the muscles underneath the fat. My wife can tell you the same thing after trying for years. Yoga and pilates are great but their main purpose is not fat loss. Add some weight training (get yourself a set of dumbells up to 25lbs from Walmart) and high intensity interval training for 20 minutes a day like running/biking/skipping, etc.
I really, really like fitday.com. I was stuck and my weight wasn’t moving. At the beginning of the week, I started using fitday and have lost 2.5 pounds this week. You input the foods you eat and it has a pie chart that shows what % of your foods are from carbs, protein, fat, etc. It also shows you calories, calcium, protein, fat, etc. It really opened my eyes to what and how much I was eating.
Be sure you lower your fat content a LOT. I had a belly (2 kids later…) and I got rid of it (most of it) using a high raw, low fat diet (like 90% plus raw). My pics are here: http://www.giveittomeraw.com/forum/topic/show?i…
nycgrrl, you look amazing. it’s seriously like my dream to have a body like yours… i don’t look nearly as good as you at 19. wow.
athomelaurel, thanks for the recommendation. i opened a fitday account too! i had no idea how much fat a little bit of almond mylk has! wow!
I agree with Meditating… you should definitely get your adrenals checked… If you’re in the Bay Area, my father does adrenal work specifically for weight loss. .. let me know (anyone) if you’d like his information. :)
low fat % and definitely pilates and yoga have done wonders for me. I have done raw food for a month and a half and lost twenty pounds I only have a few more to go to have the flat stomach and reduced love handles. I do a combination work out and some cardio.
nycgrrl—wow!! you have that body just working out 3 times a week for less than an hour? that’s serious Madonna stuff!
thanks dorian don’t and kelleys for the kind words! Right now I am running 4 days a week, anywhere from 2-5 miles at a time, so usually 20 minutes to 50 minutes.
But REALLY, the raw thing is what’s changing my body, because I only starting exercising again about 1-2 months ago, and my body was changing alot before that. I have more energy to exercise since I’ve been raw, and my body is so much more efficient—I think when you consume cooked food your body gets clogged up and fat and bloated. Raw, even higher fat raw, is SO much better.
For the last month or so (since I wrote the post above) I haven’t been watching my fat intake as closely, and I have actually lost 2 more pounds. Of course, I am not eating THAT much fat anyway: some udo’s oil on salads (I need omega 3’s to stave off depression), 1/2 avo every day sometimes none at all, and some nuts occasionally. LOTS of greens and fruits. LOTS. My salads are usually about one foot wide and 8 inches high! (it’s hard to explain how big they are…bigger than a breadbox? LOL anyway, they’re really big!)
Exercising is the best option.
I never did find a way to target select areas. The fat comes off where it wants to come off.
Some persons are genetically engineered to store their weight in their stomachs and need help professionally, example from the fitness trainer to reduce stomach fat.
That's always the last spot for me too. Working on those muscle groups definitely helps some.
Yes, that is what is needed. Just some work to target those specific muscles so that the weight can be lost and kept off. Working on those muscle group helps aaaa lot.