Shifting Belly Fat

[SecretPro]

I'm reasonably fit but in the last year or so for one reason or another I haven't done as much as I'd like and I've developed a bit of a gut (but trim everywhere else, literally just a gut).

 

I used to box and I used to do competitive road cycling too so my go-to cardio had always been cycling and jump-rope. Cycling however never helped me shift belly fat and my knee's are like shit so jump-rope and high-impact exercise does my knees for weeks on end.

 

Any advise on ways to shift belly fat without high-impact knee exercises?

 

PS. Can't be arsed with the gym, so must be doable at home. I have weights and other equipment etc.

[Mark_w]

Have you thought about fattening everything else up? Could be a lot less effort.

[Babylon]

Best I've felt is just concentrating on weights for the whole body, mixed in with 10 mins of cardio as a warm up (could just be skipping at home). Then some core stuff chucked in for good measure, 5 minutes at the end of your weights... oh and skip the beer and don't eat puddings / sweets. 

 

Ive always struggled with belly fat, but funnily enough @Mark_w, bulking up everywhere else with weights does make that belly seem less flabby 

Edited 4 September 2023 by Babylon

[foxfanazer]

7 minutes ago, SecretPro said:

I'm reasonably fit but in the last year or so for one reason or another I haven't done as much as I'd like and I've developed a bit of a gut (but trim everywhere else, literally just a gut).

 

I used to box and I used to do competitive road cycling too so my go-to cardio had always been cycling and jump-rope. Cycling however never helped me shift belly fat and my knee's are like shit so jump-rope and high-impact exercise does my knees for weeks on end.

 

Any advise on ways to shift belly fat without high-impact knee exercises?

 

PS. Can't be arsed with the gym, so must be doable at home. I have weights and other equipment etc.

Nice to have you back Youri. I haven't got any advice but I'll always appreciate you for that FA cup final goal

[filbertway]

2 minutes ago, SecretPro said:

I'm reasonably fit but in the last year or so for one reason or another I haven't done as much as I'd like and I've developed a bit of a gut (but trim everywhere else, literally just a gut).

 

I used to box and I used to do competitive road cycling too so my go-to cardio had always been cycling and jump-rope. Cycling however never helped me shift belly fat and my knee's are like shit so jump-rope and high-impact exercise does my knees for weeks on end.

 

Any advise on ways to shift belly fat without high-impact knee exercises?

 

PS. Can't be arsed with the gym, so must be doable at home. I have weights and other equipment etc.

Calorie Calc (seancaseyfitness.com)

 

Work out your maintenance calories over a week. Figure out how much weight you want to drop per week.

 

1lb is approx 3500 calories.

 

So if you want to lose a lb of fat you need to eat your maintenance minus 3500 calories over the week.

 

In terms of training, resistance is probably best for weight loss as the muscle you gain will help increase your metabolism. 

 

For weight loss, the exercise is nowhere near as important as getting the calorie intake right though. 

[davieG]

You can get this on the NHS soon being trialled now. 

 

[deejdeej]

I know you say you can't be bothered with a gym but incline walking on a treadmill is always my go to if I'm putting on a bit of fat. 

[LcFc_Smiv]

Firstly, there is no quick easy fix or magic trick without a compromise to health, so avoid anything or anyone who tries to send you down that way.

 

There's a lot of different factors that go into it but:

 

Exercise:

-Perform regularly and be consistent

-A mix or cardio based activity and resistance work will work, 2 sessions of each per week as a minimum

-Cardio based activity can be non-loaded, so cycling can help either long rides or shorter rides where your putting intense efforts in ( 3 mins on/2 off) repeat 4-5 times. You can also try running but if you struggle with your knees I'd start by doing a run, walk interval approach to see how you get on and start small- see how you recover and then if you can build a bit more volume in. 

-Resistance based activity doesn't have to be done in a gym, if you have weights at home, look for some full body strength workouts you can do at home. You generally want something that goes through the full range of movements, squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull etc. Again each of those movements can be modified to make as easy or as hard as you need. If you want you can message me with what equipment you have got and I'll send you something over.

-You can't spot reduce fat so don't be tempted just to do lots of core work which many influencers will push as advice

 

Diet:

-Don't make huge changes all at once

-Be consistent

-Where you can choose good quality food sources, avoid processed/refined foods. Think shopping on the outside aisles of a supermarket, you can get pretty much everything you need, fruit, veg, meats, fish, bakery, dairy etc.

-Eat to the demands of your day. If you have a day where your doing a long cardio based activity or generally on the go quite a bit then you can afford to have more carbohydrates. On the opposite end of the scale if you do a job where your sat at a desk for long periods of the day and you don't get any activity in your not expending anything so you don't need to eat as much foods such as carbs that provide energy as it will be stored as excess. 

-As suggested previously in this topic work out your daily energy expenditure, then use an app such as myfitnesspal to track your daily intake through your diet. You want to be consuming roughly 500kcal less than your daily expenditure, so if your daily expenditure is 2500kcal and you have had a non-active day you would consume roughly 2,000kcal, if you did an activity that burnt 400kcal you would consume roughly 2400kcal for that day. 

-Reduce alcohol intake where possible, it tends to be one of the most overlooked contributors to increased body fat

 

Lifestyle:

-Regular 7-8 hour sleep where possible

-Try to be active daily- many people suggest 10,000 steps. If that's too much start at a smaller target such as 8k and build from there, if you already do that, set a bigger target, 13k for example. Again be consistent

-If you have a sedentary job try to break up your day by getting up and moving regularly

-If you can identify any potential areas that may be leading to increased calorie intake, lack of exercise, put small plans/changes in place to address them. For example, if you like a few beers and a takeaway on a Saturday night, can you swap the beers for a clear spirit (gin with a slimline tonic) and can you make a healthier takeaway swap, pizza and chips for a grilled wrap and white rice as an example.

 

This is very generalised advice, the truth is none of it is easy and it takes time. If you want to monitor it you can seek out an ISAK qualified practitioner who would be able to give you a body composition score, electric scales are ok but largely lack accuracy. You can monitor your body weight which will give you a rough idea of how your doing, choose one day and measure consistently, for example I check in with myself every monday morning as soon as I get out of bed pre-toilet. Any other time I step on the scales I take with a pinch of salt because theres other factors that could come into play. I'd say you can safely lose around 0.5kg a week consistently if your doing things right, any more than that and your probably under consuming on the diet side. 

[StriderHiryu]

@SecretPro I found I had this problem a lot too, in that all round I was in pretty good shape but still had those dreaded love handles. I would try and overdo it with Cardio, but all this really led to was looking gaunt and too thin, and still having the same proportions. During Covid on this site we had a Foxes Talk running club and I was posting some pretty insane distances, but it didn't really solve the problem. For me it was better to start doing weights and develop muscles instead. It boosted my metabolism and helped shift it.

 

At the end of the day everyone is different though and not all approaches work for everyone. Some people are blessed with great genetics that mean they either build muscle easily or don't put on weight, and then sadly some people like me clearly have Potato farmer genetics where you can baloon up in size very quickly indeed.

[Tommy G]

My diet is generally good until about 5pm then goes out the window!

[SecretPro]

5 hours ago, Babylon said:

Best I've felt is just concentrating on weights for the whole body, mixed in with 10 mins of cardio as a warm up (could just be skipping at home). Then some core stuff chucked in for good measure, 5 minutes at the end of your weights... oh and skip the beer and don't eat puddings / sweets. 

 

Ive always struggled with belly fat, but funnily enough @Mark_w, bulking up everywhere else with weights does make that belly seem less flabby 

Cheers Babs - I think I'm definitely going to have to focus on the weights with a bit of cardio as and when my knees allow

 

5 hours ago, filbertway said:

Calorie Calc (seancaseyfitness.com)

 

Work out your maintenance calories over a week. Figure out how much weight you want to drop per week.

 

1lb is approx 3500 calories.

 

So if you want to lose a lb of fat you need to eat your maintenance minus 3500 calories over the week.

 

In terms of training, resistance is probably best for weight loss as the muscle you gain will help increase your metabolism. 

 

For weight loss, the exercise is nowhere near as important as getting the calorie intake right though. 

Sedentary jobs means I snack way to much, even if when I'm at home its quite healthy. I definitely need to cut intake.

 

5 hours ago, deejdeej said:

I know you say you can't be bothered with a gym but incline walking on a treadmill is always my go to if I'm putting on a bit of fat. 

 

I'll have to find a hill to walk up and down!

 

4 hours ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

Firstly, there is no quick easy fix or magic trick without a compromise to health, so avoid anything or anyone who tries to send you down that way.

 

There's a lot of different factors that go into it but:

 

Exercise:

-Perform regularly and be consistent

-A mix or cardio based activity and resistance work will work, 2 sessions of each per week as a minimum

-Cardio based activity can be non-loaded, so cycling can help either long rides or shorter rides where your putting intense efforts in ( 3 mins on/2 off) repeat 4-5 times. You can also try running but if you struggle with your knees I'd start by doing a run, walk interval approach to see how you get on and start small- see how you recover and then if you can build a bit more volume in. 

-Resistance based activity doesn't have to be done in a gym, if you have weights at home, look for some full body strength workouts you can do at home. You generally want something that goes through the full range of movements, squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull etc. Again each of those movements can be modified to make as easy or as hard as you need. If you want you can message me with what equipment you have got and I'll send you something over.

-You can't spot reduce fat so don't be tempted just to do lots of core work which many influencers will push as advice

 

Diet:

-Don't make huge changes all at once

-Be consistent

-Where you can choose good quality food sources, avoid processed/refined foods. Think shopping on the outside aisles of a supermarket, you can get pretty much everything you need, fruit, veg, meats, fish, bakery, dairy etc.

-Eat to the demands of your day. If you have a day where your doing a long cardio based activity or generally on the go quite a bit then you can afford to have more carbohydrates. On the opposite end of the scale if you do a job where your sat at a desk for long periods of the day and you don't get any activity in your not expending anything so you don't need to eat as much foods such as carbs that provide energy as it will be stored as excess. 

-As suggested previously in this topic work out your daily energy expenditure, then use an app such as myfitnesspal to track your daily intake through your diet. You want to be consuming roughly 500kcal less than your daily expenditure, so if your daily expenditure is 2500kcal and you have had a non-active day you would consume roughly 2,000kcal, if you did an activity that burnt 400kcal you would consume roughly 2400kcal for that day. 

-Reduce alcohol intake where possible, it tends to be one of the most overlooked contributors to increased body fat

 

Lifestyle:

-Regular 7-8 hour sleep where possible

-Try to be active daily- many people suggest 10,000 steps. If that's too much start at a smaller target such as 8k and build from there, if you already do that, set a bigger target, 13k for example. Again be consistent

-If you have a sedentary job try to break up your day by getting up and moving regularly

-If you can identify any potential areas that may be leading to increased calorie intake, lack of exercise, put small plans/changes in place to address them. For example, if you like a few beers and a takeaway on a Saturday night, can you swap the beers for a clear spirit (gin with a slimline tonic) and can you make a healthier takeaway swap, pizza and chips for a grilled wrap and white rice as an example.

 

This is very generalised advice, the truth is none of it is easy and it takes time. If you want to monitor it you can seek out an ISAK qualified practitioner who would be able to give you a body composition score, electric scales are ok but largely lack accuracy. You can monitor your body weight which will give you a rough idea of how your doing, choose one day and measure consistently, for example I check in with myself every monday morning as soon as I get out of bed pre-toilet. Any other time I step on the scales I take with a pinch of salt because theres other factors that could come into play. I'd say you can safely lose around 0.5kg a week consistently if your doing things right, any more than that and your probably under consuming on the diet side. 

 

Superb info! Thank you!

 

51 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

@SecretPro I found I had this problem a lot too, in that all round I was in pretty good shape but still had those dreaded love handles. I would try and overdo it with Cardio, but all this really led to was looking gaunt and too thin, and still having the same proportions. During Covid on this site we had a Foxes Talk running club and I was posting some pretty insane distances, but it didn't really solve the problem. For me it was better to start doing weights and develop muscles instead. It boosted my metabolism and helped shift it.

 

At the end of the day everyone is different though and not all approaches work for everyone. Some people are blessed with great genetics that mean they either build muscle easily or don't put on weight, and then sadly some people like me clearly have Potato farmer genetics where you can baloon up in size very quickly indeed.

 

Sounds very similar to me!

 

I should have said, I'm type one diabetic - so I have the issue of exercise affecting (dramatically) my blood sugar levels and then the issue of trying to get my blood sugars up without consuming copious amounts of sugar afterward. It's what I;d say is the worst part of being Diabetic. I'm a hiker, obsessed with hill/mountain climbing and Ideally I'd love to do more multi-day hikes and wildcamping but the amount of food I have to consume even during just a 5 hour hike is frankly ridiculous! The fitter I get the further I can go on less food but it's still always going to be an issue! It's a depressing aspect of the illness. I remember Steve Redgrave having to consume literally a bucket of Jelly Babies to get through a race...

 

Basically it's hard to create a calorie deficit being type 1 because you always have to consume food to keep everything balanced, the slightest bit of exercise etc can means your bloods drop and then you need to eat extra, likewise stress can affect blood sugars etc. So many factors!

Edited 4 September 2023 by SecretPro

[Bryn]

You can't focus any particular area of body fat, anything that says you can is at best poorly evidenced and at worst an outright lie.

You CAN balance your body by increasing muscle mass in specific areas. Having larger shoulders, chest, arms and legs will make your belly look smaller and obviously means you're working out so likely burning fat that way.

 

If you only had one modality of exercise available to you, you will see the best results with weights training without doubt.

If you can afford it I would highly recommend a personal trainer.

Edited 4 September 2023 by Bryn

[Bryn]

10 minutes ago, SecretPro said:

Cheers Babs - I think I'm definitely going to have to focus on the weights with a bit of cardio as and when my knees allow

 

Sedentary jobs means I snack way to much, even if when I'm at home its quite healthy. I definitely need to cut intake.

 

 

I'll have to find a hill to walk up and down!

 

 

Superb info! Thank you!

 

 

Sounds very similar to me!

 

I should have said, I'm type one diabetic - so I have the issue of exercise affecting (dramatically) my blood sugar levels and then the issue of trying to get my blood sugars up without consuming copious amounts of sugar afterward. It's what I;d say is the worst part of being Diabetic. I'm a hiker, obsessed with hill/mountain climbing and Ideally I'd love to do more multi-day hikes and wildcamping but the amount of food I have to consume even during just a 5 hour hike is frankly ridiculous! The fitter I get the further I can go on less food but it's still always going to be an issue! It's a depressing aspect of the illness. I remember Steve Redgrave having to consume literally a bucket of Jelly Babies to get through a race...

 

Don't let your T1DM be a barrier to working out. See if your GP will refer you to the specialist diabetes service in secondary care to map out an insulin plan for you.

[Unabomber]

You can’t spot reduce fat. You just need to eat at a sustained calorie deficit with enough protein and you will lose fat. Eventually you will lose it from the belly area.

[Lionator]

Halve your carbohydrate intake, replace it with healthy fats (nuts, avocado, olive oil, mackerel, sardines etc). 

Edited 4 September 2023 by Lionator

[Trav Le Bleu]

The best way to move belly fat is to have a wheelbarrow in front of you.

[MPH]

Are you SURE it’s belly fat and not fluid retention?

[SecretPro]

12 minutes ago, MPH said:

Are you SURE it’s belly fat and not fluid retention?

Checked this with GP and he confirmed I was just a chubby ****er

[Bellend Sebastian]

9 minutes ago, SecretPro said:

Checked this with GP and he confirmed I was just a chubby ****er

I'd demand a second opinion.

 

You don't need to actually, you can have mine: you're doing great

[Raj]

Don't listen to anyone on here except me!

You e got as much chance of shifting belly fat as of me shgg1ng Kim Kardashian.

 

Millions of so called experts, bodybuilders, influencers, fitness stars will give you loads of tips.

Unless you live like a monk and eat like a hollywood star forget it!!!

 

Good luck😁👍

Edited 4 September 2023 by Raj

[Raj]

6 hours ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

Firstly, there is no quick easy fix or magic trick without a compromise to health, so avoid anything or anyone who tries to send you down that way.

 

There's a lot of different factors that go into it but:

 

Exercise:

-Perform regularly and be consistent

-A mix or cardio based activity and resistance work will work, 2 sessions of each per week as a minimum

-Cardio based activity can be non-loaded, so cycling can help either long rides or shorter rides where your putting intense efforts in ( 3 mins on/2 off) repeat 4-5 times. You can also try running but if you struggle with your knees I'd start by doing a run, walk interval approach to see how you get on and start small- see how you recover and then if you can build a bit more volume in. 

-Resistance based activity doesn't have to be done in a gym, if you have weights at home, look for some full body strength workouts you can do at home. You generally want something that goes through the full range of movements, squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull etc. Again each of those movements can be modified to make as easy or as hard as you need. If you want you can message me with what equipment you have got and I'll send you something over.

-You can't spot reduce fat so don't be tempted just to do lots of core work which many influencers will push as advice

 

Diet:

-Don't make huge changes all at once

-Be consistent

-Where you can choose good quality food sources, avoid processed/refined foods. Think shopping on the outside aisles of a supermarket, you can get pretty much everything you need, fruit, veg, meats, fish, bakery, dairy etc.

-Eat to the demands of your day. If you have a day where your doing a long cardio based activity or generally on the go quite a bit then you can afford to have more carbohydrates. On the opposite end of the scale if you do a job where your sat at a desk for long periods of the day and you don't get any activity in your not expending anything so you don't need to eat as much foods such as carbs that provide energy as it will be stored as excess. 

-As suggested previously in this topic work out your daily energy expenditure, then use an app such as myfitnesspal to track your daily intake through your diet. You want to be consuming roughly 500kcal less than your daily expenditure, so if your daily expenditure is 2500kcal and you have had a non-active day you would consume roughly 2,000kcal, if you did an activity that burnt 400kcal you would consume roughly 2400kcal for that day. 

-Reduce alcohol intake where possible, it tends to be one of the most overlooked contributors to increased body fat

 

Lifestyle:

-Regular 7-8 hour sleep where possible

-Try to be active daily- many people suggest 10,000 steps. If that's too much start at a smaller target such as 8k and build from there, if you already do that, set a bigger target, 13k for example. Again be consistent

-If you have a sedentary job try to break up your day by getting up and moving regularly

-If you can identify any potential areas that may be leading to increased calorie intake, lack of exercise, put small plans/changes in place to address them. For example, if you like a few beers and a takeaway on a Saturday night, can you swap the beers for a clear spirit (gin with a slimline tonic) and can you make a healthier takeaway swap, pizza and chips for a grilled wrap and white rice as an example.

 

This is very generalised advice, the truth is none of it is easy and it takes time. If you want to monitor it you can seek out an ISAK qualified practitioner who would be able to give you a body composition score, electric scales are ok but largely lack accuracy. You can monitor your body weight which will give you a rough idea of how your doing, choose one day and measure consistently, for example I check in with myself every monday morning as soon as I get out of bed pre-toilet. Any other time I step on the scales I take with a pinch of salt because theres other factors that could come into play. I'd say you can safely lose around 0.5kg a week consistently if your doing things right, any more than that and your probably under consuming on the diet side. 

 

7 hours ago, Mark_w said:

Have you thought about fattening everything else up? Could be a lot less effort.

I'd stick to what @Mark_w posted, alot less fecking around!!

Go for a walk, moderate your eating  and enjoy life...its too short to f@nny around trying to get a six pack unless your income depends on it!!

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Intermittent fasting.

[Chiltern Fox]

9 hours ago, SecretPro said:

I'm reasonably fit but in the last year or so for one reason or another I haven't done as much as I'd like and I've developed a bit of a gut (but trim everywhere else, literally just a gut).

 

I used to box and I used to do competitive road cycling too so my go-to cardio had always been cycling and jump-rope. Cycling however never helped me shift belly fat and my knee's are like shit so jump-rope and high-impact exercise does my knees for weeks on end.

 

Any advise on ways to shift belly fat without high-impact knee exercises?

 

PS. Can't be arsed with the gym, so must be doable at home. I have weights and other equipment etc.

Campylobacter did it for me. Lost a couple of stones.

[Tommy G]

Follow and listen to Andrew Huberman, Tim Spector. You can go around the houses with diets but In my opinion just try and eat whole foods where possible, I don’t think you will see many overweight or unhealthy people that have a low processed diet. I have tried to eat more, although I still like a bag of crisps, sweets, takeaway where possible I eat more whole foods. Easy to follow and feel 10 times better. 

[MPH]

2 hours ago, SecretPro said:

Checked this with GP and he confirmed I was just a chubby ****er

 

just plenty of sit ups and  a high protein diet. I wouldn’t over do it with the exercise as being a type 1 you’d have to scrape yourself up off the floor a few times a week, I’d imagine. I’m sure you know the rescues aspect of carbs and sugars but what goes up quickly will also come down quickly. Proteins will slowly raise your sugar  to a more sensible level but is more likely to keep it stable..