Fat that refuses to leave!

This is geared to Kickchick, but any help is cool. She seems to be the "health" person for the forums

I know it was mentioned before about how to get rid of fat ..... diets, exercise, ect. But I looking for something for my situation (maybe a certian diet, exercise program).

Overall, I'm pretty fit. My legs are "tight." I do TKD 4 days a week, and most of our classes are pretty intense (good for cardio). But I have this annoying fat around my "middle" and that "extra wave" on my upper arms. I can't seem to get rid of it. I do a lot of crunches, sit-ups, push-ups, ect (they make me in class LOL).

I heard from people at work that this girl who eats anything she wants, but she don't eat after 5pm. And she is (looks) fit. Is this a cool thing to do?

You can do all the crunches you want in the world but you'll never made your abdominals visible without shedding fat. Spot reduction is a myth!

If you have a look at the NAVY SEALs post I posted and have a go at that routine, you'll be shedding fat like anything - just eat plenty of protein and calories to try to keep the muscle.

Although muscle is made of protein consuming excess mounts won't cause growth. Strength training causes muscle growth and eating extra carbs (stored as glycogen) fuels the workout.

The key to effectively lose fat is a combination of several things. There is no one easy solution .... (there never is it seems)

You need to increase your metabolic rate and include cardio and weight training along with your martial art practice (that alone won't do it) and also combined with a good diet!

Eat small meals every 3-4 hrs. or so which will keep your metabolism in fat-fighting mode and prevents your body from clinging on to its fat deposits. Never go without food for long periods. This is a common mistake many women make. Keep meals between 300-400 calories. Keep a steady calories intake. By going up and down with calories causes muscle loss and you need them to burn fat even when you are resting.

Choose healthy fats and lean protein. Stay away from saturatd fats and stick with omega-3 and -6 fats which burn as heat during aerobic activity and thus inhibit fat producing enzymes.

I have found that switching to artificial sweeteners (I love my java!) instead of sugar has shown some fat loss in me. Drink diet soda and stay away from refined sugars as well. Drinks lots of water which sends those impurities (hopefully some fat!). Fewer waste products in the blood takes a load off your liver whose fat fighting ability can now be more avtivated.

Remember that too much steady state cardio can cause a metabolic plateau By adding power exercises like sprinting, jump roping or any type of plyometrics requires the muscles to use more energy in a shorter aount of time and gets the heart rate even higher than the regular cardio workout does.

If you train the same --- you will stay the same .... you need to mix it up! Many of our cardio instructors at our school (including myself) l teach back to back classes, or a class every day or every other day and find that our bodies stay the same (no added weight or fat loss) You would think with that much activity there would be a change however our bodies have gotten used to it.

And now the importance of adding muscle! ... The more you have, the more calories you burn, even when you are resting. A fat woman doesn't burn as many cals as a muscular woman of the same bodyweight because she has got more fat. Thats why those supermodels preserve their muscle by lifting twice a wk. After a good warm up -- do 3 sets of 8-12 reps using a difficult weight for each of 10 exercises covering the whole body. Ex: dumbell rows for back, push-ups for chest, squats for quads and glutes , lying leg curls for hamsrings, crunches for abs, vertical leg raises, barbell curls for biceps, dumbell kickbacks for triceps, front barbell raise for delts.

All in all you need to keep that metabolism going! I have supplemented with a metabolic increaser. I have a poor metabolism and notice it does regulate me more. I have increased energy and can achieve a better workout with the aid of it. There are many out there ---metabo(whatever), hydroxycut, etc.etc.) My rule is 3 months on .... and give my system a rest ....

Hiya Kickchick.

Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty good in the muscle department. I don't want anymore muscle. I'll start looking like a guy!

I just have trouble loosing the fat. So, increasing my metabolism will help with that, right? And eating better, of course.

Yep you got it! Good Luck.... minimal strength training will increase fat loss ... don't lift to build mass just to define and get metabo going.... I use resistance bands each morning after stretching and weights occasionally ... Good Luck -- let us know how it goes! You may want to get your bodyfat # done to see how you progress!

Damn, that KickChick is smart. She knows a lot about dieting etc.

But here's one story I got:

My brother used to weigh 14+ stones. He was dying to lose fat around the waste, coz summertime was comin' and all.

So, he went on a real strict diet. This meant, no carbohydrates i.e. no potatoes, pasta, crisps, chocolates, cakes, eggs etcc.

For breakfast, he used to have fruit juice and a banana (or any fruit)

For Lunch, just a sandwich, with lots of salad, and fruit and chicken if he was really hungry.

For dinner, he had roast chicken or grilled fish but no red meat. if he was still hungry he'd have a lot of salad, or fruit (try different fruits).

He did all this (with some exercise, not much), for 6 weeks and he now weighs 11.5 stones (that's a huge loss). He's lost 2 inches around the waste.

So, although what KickChick said, is probably better for you, that's a quick yet difficult way to lose some weight.

Oh, and by the way, boys love girls that got some muscle on them. It means they can hide behind them in confrontations.

I'm wary of any diet that lets you lose a lot of weight quickly. Has he come off the diet? Did he gain weight immediately after?

I prefer a much more gradual program; it can involve a lot of work, but the weight loss shouldn't be immediate, or chances are it won't stay off.

Yeah, but this quick fix approach does set you up for failure. Drastic calories reduction leads to a slowdown in metabolism.

And remember fruits contain .... sugar!!!

Remember those quick fixes are just that .... you won't be able to maintain the results.

... and thanks Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ...

Good Luck to your brother .... !

I don't wanna loose weight fast. That spells trouble. I'll go with Kickchick's idea Thanks again, Kickchick.

On 2002-05-22 11:10, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon wrote:

 

he went on a real strict diet. This meant, no carbohydrates i.e. no potatoes, pasta, crisps, chocolates, cakes, eggs etcc.

 

For breakfast, he used to have fruit juice and a banana (or any fruit)

 

For Lunch, just a sandwich, with lots of salad, and fruit and chicken if he was really hungry.

 

For dinner, he had roast chicken or grilled fish but no red meat. if he was still hungry he'd have a lot of salad, or fruit (try different fruits).

Bread have carbs, as do fruits! Fruit jucies also contains carbs..

No carbohydrates at all, or minimal carobydrates (around 20g or so) will get you into ketosis in about 3 days, where the body burns fat for fuel since there are no carbs to be used.. A low carbohydrate diet is a sure and gradual way to lose weight.

With ketosis, you can expect to lose around 2 - 16 lbs a week, depending on weight, sex & other factors..