Home workouts and tummy fat questions

[cmjf]

1. I currently have a fairly low caloric intake and do regular cardio (the "typical" woman regime). I am quite thin but have quite a lot of fat on my tummy and love handles. Any tips on how to really target those areas? (Yes, I understand that targeted fat reduction is not possible.) Will I have to eventually get down to a super low body fat level in order to get my flat tummy? Or will I be able to get those kinds of results by building up muscle mass, especially in those areas? I'm not willing to get my overall body fat much lower, as my face already looks quite guant. Just wondering what kinds of realistic expectations to have here...

2. I don't have a gym membership but hope to soon purchase some dumbbells, barbell and simple reclining bench for home. In the meantime, I've created my own work out routine based on the body weight exercises in the book (lunges, push ups, etc.) Can anyone suggest other exercises I can do at home without the weights?

Thanks!

[LancelotsLover]

It could be that you just carry more fat there than elsewhere. I have the same problem; have never been fat, but even when I had (mistakenly) dieted down to 103 pounds (I'm 5'4"), I still had handfuls of fat around the waist. I started weightlifting and eating more, got up to 125, looked good except for that stubborn fat. I admit I finally had lipo to get rid of it, just around the waist, and I am so much happier with how I look. I still carry a little extra there, but my proportions are much better. I finally have some curve in my waist, which had always been straight with that tummy pooch, even when my abs were tight. Some of us just have the fat in the wrong areas!

[Matmos]

I agree that you can't spot reduce in general, but a common issue which leads to belly fat is insulin resistance. I definitely have a tendency to belly fat and aside from reducing body fat percentage overall what really helped me to lose it was to go on a low-sugar diet. I.e. I cut out sugar (and sugar substitutes which can also trigger insulin production) and white/processed carbs, and limit grains generally to no more than 4 servings per day. Most of my carbs came from vegetables and fruits. I could eat as much food as I wanted with this diet and still see a big change in where the fat lived. Maybe something like this would work for you. Since they say belly fat measurements are correlated with heart disease problems it seems wise from a health perspective to get it under control, even aside from the vanity motivation. Good luck!

[Flyingdogs]

I thought I'd chime in to agree with Matmos; I had the same experience with a no sugar, low flour diet.

It also turned out I have a wheat gleuten allergy, and I've noticed that I've lost a lot of belly bloat since I've eliminated wheat from my diet, making my pants looser even though at that point I hadn't lost any fat.

I will have baked potatoes and rice with a lot of protein, meat or legumes, occasionally cottage cheese or protein powder.

I find it's simpler for me to simply eliminate things from my diet, rather than micromanage every meal.

There's a book called the "GI diet" that has lists of foods that really poke your pancreas. The lists may be useful if you decide to go that route. It's worth borrowing from the library anyway.

Suzanne Sommers (stop laughing) has written a couple of diet books that are also low in sugar, and she talks about the connection between refined sugar, flour and belly fat. I saw her on Larry King a number of years ago and despite my skepticism, I found what she was discussing to make a lot of sense. She does advocate her own specific brand of sugar replacement, but honestly, if you're going to eat sugar, just eat sugar. I think it's better to keep REAL sugar to a minimum, than to fill your sustem with stevia & aspartame and pretend you're doing yourself a favour.

As for the muscle building, I think that we're all doing ourselves a huge favour by building up muscle. I don't know how this would affect your belly specifically, but I'm confident that overall it'll be great for you.

Many women here noticed their pants getting tighter as they build up their muscles and have complained about "muffin tops" as their new muscles push their fat up over their pants. But it looks like that effect is just temporary - a growing pain of the process.

I hope some of this was helpful.

[TheWookie]

If you're planning on home workouts, I'd suggest picking up resistance bands until you can get your hands on some weights. Shop craigslist or your local bargain classified section for used weights. You can save a bundle.

[carolynq]

This is a VERY interesting thread! I've been very frustrated with my stomach fat, although having completed NROL4W I am very happy with my body overall. I haven't been able to eliminate the baby-bulge after baby #3 (although it is much better than before I started NROL4W). I found a couple of things very interesting about the points made about diet.

1. I have had gestational diabetes 3 times and was told by 2 different doctors that developing Type 2 diabetes is a question of "when" not "if" (I have never been overweight and during my third c-section the surgeon made the comment that I should have made a few more trips to the salad bar - and this with a 9lb 6oz baby!). I appear to have bad genes. Now I have been having trouble with belly fat since this last baby was born.

2. I went on a wheat-free diet briefly a few years ago and my shape and weight made a dramatic change for the better in the course of a month. I would have continued with the diet except that it was difficult and I discovered I was pregnant (a surprise).

3. I have been considering going wheat-free again and this thread has convinced me to do it, both because I would like to regain my waist/stomach, but also because it sounds like it would increase my odds of avoiding Type 2.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with this trouble and that there are some ideas to help.