Losing weight from tummy & love handles

[abby_p]

Hi I am 28. 5FT 6.5INCH & I weight about 70 Kg. I just kind of fit into the correct BMI as per my height but no matter how hard I try (crunches, waist exercises & strict diet) I am unable to get a totally flat tummy. I do not have a ponch but there is a very small amount of fat near the waist & side waist(which still less than what an average person has). I am overall getting in shape but these 2 areas worry me a lot. Any suggestions on how to do get rid of em???

[shipo]

@abby_p, as a general rule fitness experts say, "You cannot spot reduce."  Personally I've never seen any hard and fast science either proving or disproving that adage, so for the moment at least, let's assume it is true.  So, you wanna lose some fat around your mid section?  I would suggest you start running; that combined with everything else you're doing should get you to where you want to be.

[A_Lurker]

Actually, using BMI you're probably just at the top end of the normal category.  Now, BMI isn't necessarily the correct tool.  Looking at a 28yr old who is 155 lbs (70kg=154) that would push you to an overweight BMI, 114 lbs (51.8kg) would class you as underweight.  See what dropping 10 pounds does for you. Reassess at that point and see what you think.  Unfortunately, you can't always change where your body holds that extra weight.  Look at family members, especially the women, and see where they carry it.

[emili]

genetics plays a huge role in where one carries extra weight. I do think a few pounds will reduce that for you if it bothers you enough.

[SunsetRunner]

I recently came across this article: https://legionathletics.com/how-to-lose-belly-fat/?utm_source=vinfb&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=pag...

I don't know how credible Legion is, but the author does explain more about it than I have read in other articles. It's worth a look.

[Dominique]

The only way to lose fat (short of surgery) is to eat at a deficit. "Clean" eating, crunches, waist exercises etc. won’t help (much). Even then, there’s no guarantee fat loss will come from your belly and love handles. If you were to lose 3-4 kg from your current level, you’d probably start to see a difference. You’d want to do resistance training and eat enough protein during your fat loss so as to minimize lean mass loss.

[abby_p]

Yes, I have started running 30 mins + cycling 20 mins & cardeo(crunches etc) every alt day accompanied by weights on the remining day. Keeping fingers crossed!

[Dominique]

I did deadlifts (4 x 4) and weighted chinups (4 x 😎 yesterday, and guess what: my abs were sored today! No crunches needed. Abs are a relatively small muscle group. You get more bang for your bucks training larger muscle groups with compound movements that also work your abs as a fringe benefit. That being said, I prefer legs raises to crunches as an isolation exercise for abs (less risk for lower back).

[Dominique]

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@shipo wrote:

I would suggest you start running;

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Yes, running is an efficient way to burn calories, and thus create the deficit required by fat loss (provided you don’t eat those calories back), but I don’t think running would be any better at targetting fat loss to your midsection than any other form of exercise that would burn the same amount of calories. Of course, improving your cardio-vascular performance (which running would do) has benefits in terms of body composition.

[Dominique]

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@A_Lurker wrote:

Now, BMI isn't necessarily the correct tool.

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Yes, BMI is known to be inadequate for people who have a very muscular build (as appears to be the case for @abby_p based on his profile pic). I always like to show the photo of this Fitbit friend of mine:

His BMI is 29.6, making him almost obese, LOL!

[JamieS_Wisco]

I am really glad you shared that pic @Dominique.  Really, really really...  really glad! lol 

I spot abs but I do them on days that I already target them a bit, for instance on days I do lats.   I am seeing some good definition starting.  However,  having  been pregnant and also post surgical for a mid-line hernia repair.. not sure how much actual definition I will see even after training. I am hoping lots though lol.  At the end of the day there is only one way to find out right?!

Before anyone worries about the heavy ab work with a hernia.. The surgeon said that I was probably born with a small defect and tore it more though life.  I am not to them, so after I healed up I was good to go.

[Zimni]

The cardio you are investing in is all good for reducing fat, if that is what you are after. Again, as someone has already stated above, you cannot spot reduce. The body will reduce fat as you burn calories through exercise. Crunches and ab work is great for strengthening the muscles of that area and it will surely help in attaining tonicity in the waist area, so keep going till you get there! I understand your problem because mine is similar - my body will store fat in the mid region - first to pile up there and last to go. Running and swimming has been key in shedding weight for me, coupled with body weight exercises with a focus on core.

Good luck!

[SBeezzzy]

I've had to dig deeper to find what works for my body type I took my measurements and plugged them in and came across different body types like I found that I'm an ectomorph and I have to do more full body workouts to achieve my goals and slow down the cardio since I don't have very much body fat and I'm already small don't want to disappear maybe look into that and it could possibly guide you in the right direction... there are ectomorph endomorph and mesomorph look into them let me know how it goes

[abby_p]

Hi, Yes dropping about 7-8 pounds has really worked for me. Love handles have shrunk & abs have become a bit prominent.

[Annabel398]

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@abby_p wrote:

Hi, Yes dropping about 7-8 pounds has really worked for me. Love handles have shrunk & abs have become a bit prominent.

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@Pics, @abby_p ... Pics, or it didn't happen!