Trying to lose fat around belly

M

matts0344

0
I'm currently 5'3 125 lbs. About 9 months ago I was 160 lbs. (lost about a lb /week)
I did this through eating better and cardio (5-6 times /week)

My arms and face look pretty small but my lower torso is still fat!
I hate it, especially when I sit down.

My family is getting concerned and tells me I'm getting too skinny, like you can start to see my ribs when I stand up cause I have a big frame but I have so much belly fat. Its so frustrating.

Now, I'm pretty confident I can lose more weight but should I?
Is < 120 lbs for a 5'3 male ok?

I'm starting to add weight training in 3 times a week full body.

Should I still be in a calorie deficit so I can lose the rest of the fat or what?

Should I just go to an excess and try to gain muscle everwhere and will the fat go away or tighten up?

If I keep losing weight will more fat be lost from my arms? I don't want my arms to lose anymore fat just my stomach. Or will it mostly now come from my stomach since thats where most of it is left.

I'll attach some pics:
Let me know what you guys think I should do. How much more I should cut if I should still cut.

This is what equipment I have access to:
Treadmill
Dumbells of various weights
Bench w/ no squat rack
Barbell w/ weights

Pics:
 
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I can see what you mean, and as Chillen said in a previous post in one of my threads you need to be lifting apparently..
Just try full body for a while, doing some cardio in between and see where that gets you..
I was also thinking of doing the same as you quite soon, adding a bit more protein to my diet for muscle and doing it maybe 3/4 times a week :)

I'd like to see someone post who has a past experience with what you and I are experiencing. Someone who successfully lost this last bit of weight. From the "Losing the fat pad" thread, philsaigon said this

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCD View Post
Wow, that was fast.

So, I keep lifting weights, do my cardios, eat my proper meals and hope that one day it dissapears.


Yep, exactly. I didn't even realize I had that until it was gone. I unzipped at a urinal one day and noticed damn that's hard, used to be fat there. Just keep at it and it'll disappear.
Click to expand...

So in conclusion you should be lifitng weights, doing cardio and eat proper food and voila it'll dissappear some day! :)

I'm aiming for about January or so to have lost my whole belly (shouldnt be that hard in my opinion, since I've only a bit to lose, I think I have muscle underneath this area which is pushing out on the flabby little area around my lower stomach).
Its known that most men lose fat last on their stomach (and I think torso?).

Just keep at it like I am, and some day you'll get what you want :)
 
Another thought I've been having is maybe your stomach is loose? Causing flab to hang out perhaps?

If you did weights and a full body workout wouldnt they "contract" sort of ?

Oh yeah, and dont go obessesive on the diet, if you gain a little weight or are just feeling down.. dont get depressed over it, its not the most important thing in the world :)
No one expects you to be perfect.
 
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If you want to get really lean without looking emaciated you need to bulk up and add some muscle to your frame first.

There are many more versed in this than I, but I might try kind of a zig-zag approach. Maybe bulk up a few pounds, then cut a few pounds doing each for a few weeks at a time, slowly building muscle, then burning fat.

Or you could just say damn it all and get lean now even if that means looking skinny then bulk up a little at a time...after all what is that body fat doing for you?
 
I really do hate the fat on my body and I really don't want to gain any fat back.

Maybe cut for another 10 lbs (should I only take me 2.5-3 months) and then bulk from there then cut after?
 
matts0344 said:
I really do hate the fat on my body and I really don't want to gain any fat back.

Maybe cut for another 10 lbs (should I only take me 2.5-3 months) and then bulk from there then cut after?
Click to expand...
ok... here's a thought; you ever know big people that are quite strong even if they don't do exercise? yea... thats cause they eat more and therefore more is made into muscle... mostly fat, but the body somehow tries to "proportion" what goes in... I suggest getting some muscle on you because you already have a good foundation. If you lose weight, then you will have to get some of the weight back! In other words... you'll kinda be wasting your time... unless you're just interested in being skinny... I do a full body work out 3 times a week and run afterwards or play soccer. I do cardio like 5-6 times a week, so its good... prob. should be doing a bit more... Its working for me... I'm happy..
 
I dont really see how building more muscle will help lose body fat, can anyone explain (as simply as possible? :/)
 
By the way can anyone link a good full body workout that can be done with a barbell and set of dumbells?

Thanks :)
 
Tal106 said:
I dont really see how building more muscle will help lose body fat, can anyone explain (as simply as possible? :/)
Click to expand...
ok... when you eat... anything in excess (that the body doesn't need) gets broken down to either fat ot just goes down the toilet. Fat is like the body reserve of nutrients if you will... like storage. Therefore, when you lift, the fat is used up making it go away and making more muscle....
 
matts0344 said:
I'm currently 5'3 125 lbs. About 9 months ago I was 160 lbs. (lost about a lb /week)
I did this through eating better and cardio (5-6 times /week)

My arms and face look pretty small but my lower torso is still fat!
I hate it, especially when I sit down.

My family is getting concerned and tells me I'm getting too skinny, like you can start to see my ribs when I stand up cause I have a big frame but I have so much belly fat. Its so frustrating.

Now, I'm pretty confident I can lose more weight but should I?
Is < 120 lbs for a 5'3 male ok?

I'm starting to add weight training in 3 times a week full body.

Should I still be in a calorie deficit so I can lose the rest of the fat or what?

Should I just go to an excess and try to gain muscle everwhere and will the fat go away or tighten up?

If I keep losing weight will more fat be lost from my arms? I don't want my arms to lose anymore fat just my stomach. Or will it mostly now come from my stomach since thats where most of it is left.

I'll attach some pics:
Let me know what you guys think I should do. How much more I should cut if I should still cut.

This is what equipment I have access to:
Treadmill
Dumbells of various weights
Bench w/ no squat rack
Barbell w/ weights

Pics:
Click to expand...

I totally know how you feel. I was pretty much in the same position as you, trying to get that last little bit of fat off the gut. But I started to realize that besides that little bit of fat, the rest of me WAS getting way too skinny - and people were telling me this daily. I didn't want to put in a whole sh'tload of effort down at the gym so that I could look emaciated.

I want to be lean, fit, and muscular. Think about it, if you're going to be lean and fit, you need some muscles, right? So I have (the best I can) quit worrying about that last little bit of fat, and I've changed my mindset. My goal now is getting down to the gym and getting some MUSCLE on these bones.

It's not easy to shift your mindset, because you work hard to lose that fat and you are fearful of getting it back. It has been mentally difficult to change my diet to surplus calories. I have been surprised though, at how quickly I stopped focusing on abs and started going after building the rest of my body. What's the point in having abs if there's nothing else there? I think with a more muscular body, even if that little bit of fat is still there, it'd be a lot less noticeable.

Anyway, I only made this goal shift a few months ago and had a crap work out at the beginning. I have only just begun to see some results. That little bit of fat is still there, and I have even added a little more, but I'm also seeing some muscle gain. When I feel I've added enough muscle, then I'll go back and attack that bit of fat and I bet it'll come off a lot easier. I'm still in the midst of this, and have a long way to go, so I can't really tell you what to do, but I just thought I'd share where I'm at. Feel free to take a look at my journal if you like and best of luck.
 
Did you simply lose the weight by hitting a calorie defacit? If you were sedentary and lost weight simply by dieting good for you, and there's your magic answer. If your exercise was lacking over the past few months, HIT THE GYM. You will restart the metabolism that has slowed down, and you should see even more transformations.

When you eat a calorie defictit your body goes into storage mode. Since there isn't adequate energy coming in, you're body is going to store everything it can as fat stores. If you start exercising regularly, increasing the intensity as time passes, you should lose even more fat; in addition to put on some of that lady friendly muscle. Your metabolism is probably in a lull right now, and you need to wake that mother up.

Good luck, there are several people here, myself included, that have succesfully done what your going thru. It is true that you won't notice this last bit dissapearing until one day you realize you've reached your goal.
 
jimaug87 said:
Did you simply lose the weight by hitting a calorie defacit? If you were sedentary and lost weight simply by dieting good for you, and there's your magic answer. If your exercise was lacking over the past few months, HIT THE GYM. You will restart the metabolism that has slowed down, and you should see even more transformations.

When you eat a calorie defictit your body goes into storage mode. Since there isn't adequate energy coming in, you're body is going to store everything it can as fat stores. If you start exercising regularly, increasing the intensity as time passes, you should lose even more fat; in addition to put on some of that lady friendly muscle. Your metabolism is probably in a lull right now, and you need to wake that mother up.

Good luck, there are several people here, myself included, that have succesfully done what your going thru. It is true that you won't notice this last bit dissapearing until one day you realize you've reached your goal.
Click to expand...


Well, I lost it by eating less and more often and doing a lot of cardio (45 mins on treadmill 5-6 days a week)

I did some weight training, but it was only with dumbells and I didn't really know what I was doing or had a training plan per se.

I know I can probably lose 10 more lbs doing this but I'm worried about my muscles, I wish I could lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

On one hand I want more muscle, but on the other hand I don't want to gain any more fat through a bulking diet.

I feel kind of trapped and confused, just don't know which way to go.
I'm afraid if I start doing weights and eating more I'll screw it up and just end up a little stronger and a lot more fat, then these 9 months will be a total waste.

Like I said, I now have a bench, barbells, and dumbells, I just need a workout plan, I'm trying to figure it out by researching it on this forum and online but theres so many different ones and different opinions on what to do.

Also, if I'm cutting and lifting weights I know its possible to get stronger, but how do I get stronger without putting on mass?

Like low reps give strength, 8-10 give mass, but how does it get stronger without more mass?
 
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