I'm going to Hawaii in February. there's no way i'm spending 10 days in Maui when it's -30C back home and NOT getting my butt into a bikini.
i'm more or less happy with my weight now but i carry too much around the belly. i know it's unhealthy so i want to tone it, so it'd be nice if i could do so before i go away.

how can i burn the fat around my belly and tone the muscles without burning too much elsewhere?
i'm going to start by drinking more water, and eating less sugar, as i'm sure a good part of the problem is water retention/dehydration. but i want to get some definition as well.

Pilates.

actually, crunches and core work do not work for 'spot reduction' of fat in a certain area. cardio will do it. if you do any regular form of abdominal exercise (crunches, pilates, yoga, etc), then you likely have enough muscle, just a different level of leanness.

also, it's important to note that different body types hold fat different--some hold more fat than others in general (over the whole body) and some hold fat in one area longer than in others. kaphic body types typically have 'soft tummies' and there's nothing unhealthy about this. it's just the way that they look.

so if you're comfortable with your weight, if you feel that your abdominals are strong enough, and you are comfortable with your overall leanness and don't want to be leaner anywhere else, then i recommend staying as you are with the routine that you do, buying a bikini that fits and suits you, and accept your belly as it is. it is likely quite lovely as is and will look lovely in a bikini as is.

The Hawaii trip is in February now?

Get yourself a stability ball. I use one during my wokouts and it really works. It helps you tone your whole body while focusing on one area. There should be an excersie guide with one if you buy one. I got mine at target for under $10.

yep Randy there's a bunch of other family stuff going on in october so we pushed it back to feb. this gives us more time to save up and organize and we get to have the ceremony on our anniversary :cool:

as for bellyfat being harmless, i've heard that it can be a sign of worse problems that can lead to heart disease later in life. i already have that in my family history so i'm going to do what i can to prevent it. plus i don't enjoy being "too skinny" everywhere but with a gut that hangs over my pants. i don't think it's particularly attractive, or comfortable, and i'd rather not flash that around in a swimsuit :p

anyway as i said i'm underweight (just barely) but have gained back a lot of what i needed to gain so i'm pretty happy weight-wise. i've pretty much accepted that i'm always going to be a "stick" and nuts to anyone who has a problem with it. but i don't like the gut. so i need to trim and tone it without burning too much calories and overall fat. my bodyfat is pretty low which is why i think a lot of the problem is water retention and not fat. so i think building muscle and working on hydrating myself is all i need. plus as much cardio as i need to be healthy without overdoing it and losing more weight :) i'm pretty good on that front anyways as i bike or walk to work and back most days.

You cannot lose fat on your belly and not elsewhere.
Abdominal exercises will make your waistline larger, if anything

You cannot lose fat on your belly and not elsewhere.
Abdominal exercises will make your waistline larger, if anything
:confused: Huh?

You cannot lose fat on your belly and not elsewhere.
Abdominal exercises will make your waistline larger, if anything
Fallacy, while the waist may get a tiny bit larger in the short term it is almost always water retained by the body to help in repairs.
In the long run lean mass is much more compact than fat and lean mass uses calories more rapidly, so the mid section would indeed shrink.

as for bellyfat being harmless, i've heard that it can be a sign of worse problems that can lead to heart disease later in life. i already have that in my family history so i'm going to do what i can to prevent it. plus i don't enjoy being "too skinny" everywhere but with a gut that hangs over my pants. i don't think it's particularly attractive, or comfortable, and i'd rather not flash that around in a swimsuit :p

anyway as i said i'm underweight (just barely) but have gained back a lot of what i needed to gain so i'm pretty happy weight-wise. i've pretty much accepted that i'm always going to be a "stick" and nuts to anyone who has a problem with it. but i don't like the gut. so i need to trim and tone it without burning too much calories and overall fat. my bodyfat is pretty low which is why i think a lot of the problem is water retention and not fat. so i think building muscle and working on hydrating myself is all i need. plus as much cardio as i need to be healthy without overdoing it and losing more weight :) i'm pretty good on that front anyways as i bike or walk to work and back most days.
It sounds like it's a genetic issue to me, since you area already lean everywhere else. Some people just happen to store fat around their stomach area and hold onto that fat. And yes that does put them at risk for certain diseases, but it's not really their fault. You can try doing more abdominal exercises to build muscle in the area, but it's impossible to spot reduce fat. The only way to reduce fat is to burn more calories than you take in, but you don't get to decide where the fat that is burned comes from.

though situps won't help you spot reduce fat, they will help strengthen the area and make the abs look better (even with some flab on them!). sometimes a little flab can't be helped as you get older, but eating right (like, not late at night, not too many processed foods, etc) and general cardio exercise and weight lifting will bring your body to your potential :)

Fallacy, while the waist may get a tiny bit larger in the short term it is almost always water retained by the body to help in repairs.
In the long run lean mass is much more compact than fat and lean mass uses calories more rapidly, so the mid section would indeed shrink.

No, the waist gets larger because the muscles are getting larger. Situps do not reduce the volume of fat on the waist and they do increase the volume of muscle there.

Sorry the Ladies Home Journal misled you on this.

run, run, run!!

I have been running the past 5 weeks and have noticed a LOT of difference in my abs. I have no washboard tummy, but it's amazing the difference.

Remi and I run about 4x a week... 30-45 minutes 3x on weekdays, and 1 mile longer each Saturday (5 miles one saturday, 6 miles the next, 7 miles the next, etc).

It will do wonders for your abs. And your arms. And your pecs. And your legs. Really.

Ladyfaile: I am in the same boat as you. I lose weight too easily everywhere else but my stomach keeps the fat.
I just lift weights right now, but I have come to terms with the fact that I probably have to add cardio to my workouts if I ever want to get rid of the stomach flab (sounds lovely) once and for all. I just hope I don't get too thin.
The cardio of choice is going to be dance (I can't dance but I love to do it anyway :)) and I will continue with ab workouts 5 X a week.
I think a low carb diet helps as well!

Good luck!~

No, the waist gets larger because the muscles are getting larger. Situps do not reduce the volume of fat on the waist and they do increase the volume of muscle there.

Sorry the Ladies Home Journal misled you on this.
I somehow do not think my personal trainer missleads me and nor do I care for some moronic statment assumeing I ( or any other woman) get my information from some magazine.
Yes the muscle is increased there but lean tissue is dense and it also burns quite a few more calories than fat cells, as I said if she keeps at her diet it will shrink because her fat cells will shrink.
lean tissue uses more calories factor in the workouts and her keeping to her diet she will lose fat all around maybe not spot reducing but her waist will get smaller in the long run.

I somehow do not think my personal trainer missleads me

ask your personal trainer if doing curls will make your arm smaller because, by your logic, it will (along with any other weight bearing excercise)

ask your personal trainer if doing curls will make your arm smaller because, by your logic, it will (along with any other weight bearing excercise)
And by your logic everyone who works out would get huge with both lean mass and fat.
There is a reason I stressed diet in every post. because in the long run things get slimmer what you are describing is a very temporary condition and it is people like you that make others give up working out because they fear getting "big" because they might have a little extra body fat over the muscle
.
Even if it did get bigger with a diet and working out it would in the long run get smaller.
Your logic is like telling someone hey do not go lift weights because you might retain water for a few days after you start hiting it seriously which makes the scale go up and that makes you fat.
I mean come on, everyone and I do mean everyone knows that lean mass burns more calories, now if you do not eat more calories than previously that results in what?
Say it with me, fat loss which would do what??
Make her slimmer.

BTW doing curls did make my arms smaller and I might add no more jiggle.

Fat has a higher mass than muscle, so to put this in a very simple matter you can have 2 people both 5'2 and both weight say 130 pounds, one can be jiggly and wear a size say 9 and the other can be firm and wear say a size 3.

so when you say situps will make my waist smaller I was supposed to assume that you meant in conjuction with a reduced calorie diet and cardio?

clearly situps alone serve to make the stomach larger, just like curls alone do

guess what, if you eat less and work out more your stomach will get smaller at a faster rate if you aren't doing situps

remilard is right.
The human body CANNOT spot-reduce fat. You can reduce overal fat via diet and cardio, but where you lose it will be genetically determined.

You can, however, spot-tone muscle (please refer to my big-ass legs and skinny torso and arms).

ebola

I never once mentioned that anyone could spot reduce , I was just saying that sit ups would not make her waist larger has remilard said they would.

so when you say situps will make my waist smaller I was supposed to assume that you meant in conjuction with a reduced calorie diet and cardio?



guess what, if you eat less and work out more your stomach will get smaller at a faster rate if you aren't doing situps


Yes you were supposed to assume I ment in conjection with a diet since I did clearly was advocating excerise and diet in most posts plus given what the thread was about.

As for your stomach getting smaller without doing sit ups that depends on what is going on with it, if the problem is just excess fat then you are right.
If the tummy has a pot belly apperance because of poor muscle tone then no, just dieting will not do the trick.

I have the second problem due to several abdominal surgeries and let me tell you I can drop down to 90 pounds and still have a fat looking tummy if I just diet.

I never once mentioned that anyone could spot reduce , I was just saying that sit ups would not make her waist larger has remilard said they would.

you said that situps in combination with a reduced calorie diet and cardio would not make her waist larger

are you really not getting the difference?

If I say that candy corns will not make me drunk, using your reasoning, you could say that they would because of course candy corns and a fifth of jack would make me drunk.

you said that situps in combination with a reduced calorie diet and cardio would not make her waist larger

are you really not getting the difference?

If I say that candy corns will not make me drunk, using your reasoning, you could say that they would because of course candy corns and a fifth of jack would make me drunk.

I was simply stateing that your comment was wrong, simply because in the long run it was, it had nothing to do with spot reducing nor did I think anyone in thier right might would take it that way since it has been proven time and timeagain that there is no such thing as spot reducing.
I just did not want the OP think that by working out instead of loseing inches in the long run they would get bigger which was how you came across.

your avatar is cute.

your avatar is cute.

thanks!