Stubborn Gut and nothing works?

[Johnsmith1003]

So for a long time I've had this gut of mine. Not a big one, but still flabby and noticeable. I've had this mindset that cardio will get rid of it because cardio and fat burner and all (treadmill or elliptical at the gym). I would do a full hour cardio maybe everyday, mostly every other day on/off for a year. My butt will lift, and even that stubborn subtle man tits I have but the stomach won't budge. My wife told me too much cardio actually creates 'flab flat' so it won't go away and instead do stomach exercises (which, incidentally, I've also read doesn't help with gut but maybe I'm wrong?). So any advice? I'm a 23 male.

[Cali408]

Wife's right about cardio. Long cardio releases cortisol.

 

The way to burn fat is through your human growth hormone secretion. HGH secretes its highest levels when you are 1. Sleeping, 2. Fasting, 3. Working out. So you can double it up by working out in a fasted state.

 

It's all diet.

 

You might not get it perfect, but here's what to do.

 

1. Cut out all sugar including fruit.

2. Cut out all grains, breads, cereals, pasta. Carbs should be in the 50-100 g range for the day.

3. Eat lots of vegetables, eggs, meat and fish Protein and fat. Fat doesn't make you fat.

4. Fast for 24 hours 1-2 times a week.

5. No drinking, period.

 

Lift heavy things, do sprints, jump rope, burpees, circuit training

Edited November 6, 2013 by Cali408

[whirl3daway]

I concur.

 

Lift heavy.

Eat meat/veggies/fats.

Don't drink anything but water.

Supplement with HIIT.

???

Profit.

[RightThere]

Exercise is a small part of reducing your gut.

 

It's all about diet. Calories in versus calories out. Switch it up to consume way more fruits and vegetables (fresh) and remove some of the higher calorie things from your diet.

[RightThere]

It's all diet.

 

You might not get it perfect, but here's what to do.

 

1. Cut out all sugar including fruit.

2. Cut out all grains, breads, cereals, pasta. Carbs should be in the 50-100 g range for the day.

3. Eat lots of vegetables, eggs, meat and fish Protein and fat. Fat doesn't make you fat.

4. Fast for 24 hours 1-2 times a week.

5. No drinking, period.

 

I agree with most of this. However there are all kinds of theory's so I'll add what I do different.

 

If you are eating fruit, that's better than 100 other things, so maybe change that later. I still eat tons of fruit to replace other junk I used to eat.

 

I would skip fasting. I don't believe in it only because I find it makes your body hungrier if you are initially making diet changes.

 

And there are some low calorie drinks. That one is hard to give up if you're suffering through other diet changes.

[Johnsmith1003]

I agree with most of this. However there are all kinds of theory's so I'll add what I do different.

 

If you are eating fruit, that's better than 100 other things, so maybe change that later. I still eat tons of fruit to replace other junk I used to eat.

 

I would skip fasting. I don't believe in it only because I find it makes your body hungrier if you are initially making diet changes.

 

And there are some low calorie drinks. That one is hard to give up if you're suffering through other diet changes.

 

The fasting thing can come a tad easier if I go work out first thing in the morning (fasting for the night seems to work since, you know, I'm unconscious). I prefer fruit over veggies any day, but mostly because I'm not as seasoned of a cook (no pun intended) as I'd like so I'm not familiar with many dishes. The drink thing will be very difficult, but water boosts metabolism so I'll have to keep that in mind.

[MrNate 2.0]

I really don't think you need to fast. Just work out harder and tune up the diet.

 

Don't deprive your body of essential nutrients.

[LoveTKO]

Too much cardio does nor create "flab fat" or any other kind of fat. That is utter "bro science" "gym" talk nonsense and it's not based on science. I am a long distance runner and my abs look totally shredded. Burning fat is a simple equation: (crappy diet) + (no calorie burning exercise)= FAT PERSON.................... (good diet) + (burning calories)= lean physique. It's very simple....calories consumed minus calories used will dictate your body weight.

 

 

Have you ever seen a person with a flabby gut in Sub Sahara Sudan or Ethiopia? Of course not. ****WATCH WHAT YOU EAT

[Emilia]

So for a long time I've had this gut of mine. Not a big one, but still flabby and noticeable. I've had this mindset that cardio will get rid of it because cardio and fat burner and all (treadmill or elliptical at the gym). I would do a full hour cardio maybe everyday, mostly every other day on/off for a year. My butt will lift, and even that stubborn subtle man tits I have but the stomach won't budge. My wife told me too much cardio actually creates 'flab flat' so it won't go away and instead do stomach exercises (which, incidentally, I've also read doesn't help with gut but maybe I'm wrong?). So any advice? I'm a 23 male.

You don't need anything hugely drastic like only drinking water but you do need to change your food and exercise habits.

 

Food is number one: while you don't need to cut out grains completely and do anything too drastic, do make sure you eat clean, you cut out sugar as much as you possibly can and reduce pasta and bread as much as you can (use potatoes and rice instead). Eat grilled fish and chicken, etc. Try to avoid fried food.

 

You need to embrace intensity in your training, that means lifting heavy and interval running ie changing between fast and slow running to get your metabolism going. Slow runs on the treadmill do very little for fat burning despite what you read on those machine charts.

 

What your wife meant is 'skinny fat' ie when someone loses weight they lose muscle as well as fat and if they don't replace the muscle (by lifting/weight training), they will often either have still fat remaining and/or just get really skinny.

 

It's best to build muscle and increase intensity in your training.

[theonlyjuan]

A lot of it is down to diet. Use online caloric calculator to find out your caloric maintenance. Go 500 below and when you hit a plateau cut back a bit more.

 

HIIT is good for burning stubborn fat. Only takes up to 20 minutes but it has to be intense or you will be cheating yourself. Throw in some residence training too

 

 

When I cut back on fat I use Intermittent Fasting. I eat for a 6-8 hour period and fast for 18-16 hours.

 

I drink 4 liters of water per day. My diet is 60% Protein/30%carbs/10%fat

 

I only have a tiny bit of simple sugars and only have simple carbs

 

It works for me, you just have to experiment and find out what works for you.

 

It isn't impossible, it's actually easy when you have the right information and work hard

[Emilia]

Whatever you do OP, work out a diet that works for you long term - and be prepared to change it/experiment as your body shape changes if you decide to train with weights.

 

Please avoid anything too extreme that cannot be maintained long term.

[whirl3daway]

Please avoid anything too extreme that cannot be maintained long term.

 

 

This is such an interesting statement, that I see people repeat all the time. No offense to you, of course, but I think it's the wrong idea to tell people.

 

If the OP is skinny-fat, and he is trying to lose the last bit of weight, unfortunately he WILL need to stick to something more intense that will need to be maintained long term.

 

I always feel like people bring this up when it comes to cutting out carbs, or drinking only water, and this is just a theoretical thing to say, but prehistoric man maintained living and evolved into who we are now by living this lifestyle. It's definitely the choice of the OP, but cutting carbs down to low-levels will help him lose the weight, as well as improving his health (numbers, heart, internal fat, blood sugars, metabolism).

 

This may not be what you meant, so forgive my rant, but it does drive me nuts when people call cutting carbs an "unsustainable fad diet" when in reality... it's the diet the majority of the human race has been following except for the last 10K years... which interestinglly is when the first evidence of cavities, etc were noticed in skeletons. Since the advent of agriculture, and larger amounts of carbohydrates in the diet.

 

ANYWAY!

[Emilia]

This is such an interesting statement, that I see people repeat all the time. No offense to you, of course, but I think it's the wrong idea to tell people.

 

If the OP is skinny-fat, and he is trying to lose the last bit of weight, unfortunately he WILL need to stick to something more intense that will need to be maintained long term.

Not offended but you need to learn to read. I said 'too extreme you cannot maintain long term'. If you read my first post in the thread, it will give more detail of what I think can be maintained long term - from experience. People need to set long term goals, it's completely pointless to try to force them to do something short term that cannot be maintained and possibly isn't healthy to maintain.

I always feel like people bring this up when it comes to cutting out carbs, or drinking only water, and this is just a theoretical thing to say, but prehistoric man maintained living and evolved into who we are now by living this lifestyle. It's definitely the choice of the OP, but cutting carbs down to low-levels will help him lose the weight, as well as improving his health (numbers, heart, internal fat, blood sugars, metabolism).

We don't live in caves anymore, we don't die at the age of 40 (well, most of us). If he perhaps does end up lifting, he will need a carb rich diet.

This may not be what you meant, so forgive my rant, but it does drive me nuts when people call cutting carbs an "unsustainable fad diet" when in reality... it's the diet the majority of the human race has been following except for the last 10K years... which interestinglly is when the first evidence of cavities, etc were noticed in skeletons. Since the advent of agriculture, and larger amounts of carbohydrates in the diet.

 

ANYWAY!

Sorry but it's dumb advice. Cutting out whole food groups is just generally not a smart thing to do - unless someone has allergy issues and no choices as a result.

[whirl3daway]

Not offended but you need to learn to read. I said 'too extreme you cannot maintain long term'. If you read my first post in the thread, it will give more detail of what I think can be maintained long term - from experience. People need to set long term goals, it's completely pointless to try to force them to do something short term that cannot be maintained and possibly isn't healthy to maintain.

 

We don't live in caves anymore, we don't die at the age of 40 (well, most of us). If he perhaps does end up lifting, he will need a carb rich diet.

 

Sorry but it's dumb advice. Cutting out whole food groups is just generally not a smart thing to do - unless someone has allergy issues and no choices as a result.

 

 

You should do some research. It's quite clear you're not keeping up with nutritional science.

[Emilia]

You should do some research. It's quite clear you're not keeping up with nutritional science.

Perhaps but I'm fit and strong

[KatZee]

If you want to burn fat and lose that gut you should do weight training. Some people can live on the treadmill and the elliptical and it will do absolutely nothing for them.

 

Circuit train, strength train, work your core, lift weights, and keep your diet clean. If you want to put on muscle, you want a protein rich diet, carbs only after working out. No sugars/junk.

 

Abs are made in the kitchen, not at the gym.

[austyre]

listen mate just eat more fruit and vegetables and you can't go wrong I will always remind people it is that simple fruit veggies and water with whole foods you cannot go wrong however if you eat the other crap processed food along with it then it would just make it a lot harder

 

try eating less sodium and fat which would cut out fluid retention yeah you can exercise till the end of the day but you will never lose weight long term unless you have plans on being a elite athlete for the rest of your life which also involves diet

 

but just keep it simple have a simple lifestyle with Great food and exercise if you want to lose the gut think long term health not weight loss only because there is so much more to losing just weight but overall picture of your life

 

But no harm in starting with what you eat as someone mentioned abs are made in the kitchen:cool:

[melell]

I am wondering if you mean 'gut' or just a bit of 'flab' over your stomach?

 

If you have a gut- enough for it to stick out, then I totally think you just need more weight loss by whatever means. I have had it before when I worked out constantly was fit an toned pretty much everywhere by my stomach was still rounded.

 

I did a few weeks of intermitent fasting and drop a bit of weight. Once that layer of fat was gone there was serious abs there. So work out all you want, but if you aren't dropping lbs you won't be seeing your muscles in some areas.

 

If you have low body fat and the area is just not toned then I highly recommend lifting that targets a large range of muscles. This will help.

 

Everyone has given great advice re nutrition. But it is all opinions, there are loads of diets that could give you the same result. Food combining - detailed chart B Food combining is excellent. And the nutritiarian lifestyle is excellent as well.

 

All in all drop the lbs and the gut will go.

[Jon Tenzo]

The easiest way is to adopt a traditional diet of any non-Western culture.

 

You will drop pounds without even trying. This will take research, creativity and innovation but is a lot easier than TRX/Crossfit/Fasting and all this other stuff out there.

 

In addition investigate TCM and Chinese Herbs. Start with Pu'erh tea which is widely recognized to burn abdominal fat. That and take herbs that strengthen your liver functioning which affects cortisol release (which leads to fat storage).

 

Part of getting rid of my belly fat was stop drinking beer. Beer is less harmful to the liver but more carbs. Liquor is tougher on the liver. So I started taking L-glutathione which supports alcohol detoxification. I can enjoy my alcohol without having to worry about gaining a gut again.

 

When your liver is at optimal functioning you burn fat more efficiently. Even if you aren't really a heavy drinker try glutathione which will boost the liver either way, since we are exposed to toxins everyday which the liver must filter through. Some people have stronger livers than others, and that shows in more ways than just alcohol detoxification, but also sugar level control and fat deposit control. The liver does more than one thing. It does hundreds of things. And that is why you can't live without it, hence the term vital organ.