Getting rid of belly fat

Abby · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 10:53 AM

Hey everyone,

I heard that you'll lose weight more efficiently if you run in the morning (before work) rather than in the evening (after work) because you don't have all those meals in you. Any truth to this?

I workout about 6 days a week, running for 30 minutes after work (6pm) and have yet to see any change in my belly. Any thoughts on what else I should do?

Jim · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 10:58 AM

I've heard two sides to this story.

You won't see a change in just your stomach, you can't spot reduce. Check out your diet, that could be your problem.

Andy · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 12:07 PM

If you are dedicated enough to spend that much time working out It is obvious that you’re serious about getting in shape.

What you need to realize is that the food you eat is a lot more important than working out, when trying to lose weight. You can run 20 miles a day and still eat unhealthy food, and guess what? You’re not going to lose weight. To break it down as simply as you can- to lose weight you must burn more calories than you take in. That rule will never change. So if you’re burning 500 calories during your run, but then eat a hamburger and French fries…. Your workout is useless. You also have to realize that you can NOT spot reduce fat. Your body is going to lose fat throughout your entire body no matter how many sit ups you do.

The best advice that I can give to you is read this site, he has tons of great info.

Also here is a site where I have gotten tons of information over the years. www.philkaplan.com  spend some time here and read as much info as you can. You will quickly learn that much to the info you hear on weight loss is completely false. But this site may be able to point you in the right direction.

Good Luck,

Andy

Jono · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 12:23 PM

obviously your diet is not in check.

and running isnt the best thing to lose fat. running hinders and depleates lean muscle mass.

cardio and lifting weights should be seperated by at LEAST 8 hrs, the more the better

Matt · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jono

obviously your diet is not in check.

and running isnt the best thing to lose fat. running hinders and depleates lean muscle mass.

cardio and lifting weights should be seperated by at LEAST 8 hrs, the more the better

Only running for 30 minutes though.

Matt · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abby

Hey everyone,

I heard that you'll lose weight more efficiently if you run in the morning (before work) rather than in the evening (after work) because you don't have all those meals in you. Any truth to this?

I workout about 6 days a week, running for 30 minutes after work (6pm) and have yet to see any change in my belly. Any thoughts on what else I should do?

Post your stats and diet. Some of us can probably help with that.

CuttinKing2183 · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 12:56 PM

In my opinion, running for ONLY 30 minutes is fine...the only thing shunned upon is marathon running...which burns muscle...can someone confirm this?

DuoJet · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuttinKing2183

In my opinion, running for ONLY 30 minutes is fine...the only thing shunned upon is marathon running...which burns muscle...can someone confirm this?

Training for and running in a marathon places very different demands on a diet, the biggest being that there is no such thing as too many carbs. Running a marathon is a very different goal/training regimen than adding lean muscle mass. Poor training strategies and nutrition will break down lean muscle mass.

CuttinKing2183 · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 01:52 PM

Right...I was saying that if you are going for the transformation a.k.a. Stoneing (I like it!), you shouldn't do marathon running/training...

Jono · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 02:30 PM

i read an article somewhere tha running should be avoid if your goal is to lose fat and gain lean muscle tissue.

it has hasome to do with certain kinds of muscle fibers and how running activates a certain kind and depletes the lean muscle tissue..

personally i go on a recumbent bike and use an eliptical cycle for cardio

brownguy · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 02:57 PM

Most of the replies have covered everything. It's been said before, but you can't spot reduce and if you take in more calories than you burn, you won't lose weight. Also 30 minutes of cardio may or may not be enough depending on your level of intensity.

The rationale for doing cardio first thing in the morning is that your glycogen stores will be depleted from not having eaten, and your body will use your fat stores instead. I'm not sure if it's been proven, but I swear by it.

Abby · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 03:47 PM

Thanks for all the great information. I know that you can't spot reduce, I should have just said "lose weight".

My diet may be to blame, but only for a small part. In college I was an athlete for a Division I program, we worked out twice a day / 6 days a week / cardio and weights. I am happy w/ the rest of my body, but my stomach will not lose that extra layer of fat.

brownguy · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 04:03 PM

If the only thing left to lose is that stubborn fat around your mid-section, I think there's only two ways to do it. Increase your cardio and intensity, go extremely low-carb or both.

That's the only thing that's worked for me in the past, but I could never maintain it.

And is just me, or is the older you get, the harder it is to get lean?

soltrain · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 06:21 PM

I would change how you are doing cardio. If you are not doing HIIT's try doing it - works great. If you are doing HIIT's trying putting in a long 40 minute cardio session at the same rate.

Diet definately could be the key too. You may have to increase your calorie intake as your body is holding on the fat.

In other words - mix it up when you hit a plateau. Keep your body guessing and it will change. Good luck!!

vortex72 · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 10:58 PM

I could never do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Well, I take that back, I probably COULD, but I wouldnt WANT to.

It could be true that running first thing in the morning prior to eating is more effective, but I believe the old calories in vs calories out is the gold standard. If your BMR is 2000cals/day, and you are eating a clean 2000cals a day and running long enough to burn 500cals/day you WILL lose weight. Even if you are doing that running right after dinner.

I prefer to do my cardio at least 2-3hours after I've eaten last, unless it was just a protein shake then I might do it an hour after that.

I have blown past my recent weight loss plateau by upping my cardio time from 30minutes to 40 minutes and slightly increasing the intensity.

seeDerekNow · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 11:07 PM

I've read a lot of good things about HIIT cardio, so I've made it a part of my program. I'm only a week and a half into it so I'm still waiting for results to show through. However, it certainly is a HUGE time saver for busy people on the go. I'd rather bust my butt for 23 minutes instead of jog at an even page for 40.