Getting rid of fat below the belly button?

[G.T]

I have an issue of having some fat below my belly button which is extremely hard to work off.

For a couple of months now I've been trying to lose weight to get rid of it. I was 10 stone, and now I'm 9 and I'm becoming a little worried that it's staying there. I'm 5ft 10.5in so 9 stone is pretty light now and I don't really want to go under this. But the belly is really starting to annoy me since it sticks out pretty bad compared to friends who actually weigh more than I do and have pretty flat bellies.

I have cut down 95% of the fast food now, always usually have tuna or toast for lunch (or skip lunch altogether) and have a cooked meal for dinner, a few small snacks in the evening (a couple of buscuits and a packet of crisps). And I drink alcohol on average probably once a week, maybe longer. I can understand if this maybe causing it but I was eating considerably more junk than this before and my belly is no different to how it was then (probably slightly less bloated).

I do sit-ups every other day, and a couple of times a week use a jogging machine for about 20 minutes, including push-ups. And I use dumbells nearly every day. But I've read that only cardio exercises like running may get rid of it, but I don't really want to lose any more weight...

Are there any suggestions people can give?


By the way, there was no thread prefix for fitness, so I was forced to choose what was there and chose football.

 

[TB]

I'll steal a line from DA. Ignore the scale. Go with what the mirror is telling you.

Provided you aren't anorexic, bulimic or, Xenu help us, both.

If you don't want to drop weight on the scale but want to shed the fat off of your stomach, start weight training. Five to ten pounds of fat off of your stomach exchanged for 5-10 pounds of muscle onto the arms chest and legs certainly won't hurt anything.

Just out of curiosity, why the hang up on not dropping down to 8.5 stone (is that even a number?)

<-- Stupid non stone understanding Yank.

 

[G.T]

Under 9 stone I'd be classed as "underweight" medically. But people have told me they are very surprised that I am 9 stone - I look more than that. Like, more muscely than fat though. Just it's still definitely around my stomach more than I would like.

Yeah, I guess I could try losing more weight and then putting it back on if there's no difference. Ijust seem to be losing weight in all other places other than my stomach. I've just got to find the effort from somewhere to gain muscle. Although my arms are getting bigger now though, and may start doing squats for my legs (I've tried doing them a couple of times but don't really want to put pressure on my knees just before my holiday).

 

[Omnis]

Losing fat in one spot is the same as losing it anywhere else. Lift a lot of weights and do a lot of high-intensity interval training while eating less than you burn.

 

[Sage]

I have cut down 95% of the fast food now, always usually have tuna or toast for lunch (or skip lunch altogether) and have a cooked meal for dinner, a few small snacks in the evening (a couple of buscuits and a packet of crisps).

Our metabolism is designed to eat the opposite the way most people eat &#8211; more food earlier in the day, less food later in the day. When you wake up, you&#8217;re essentially waking up from a fasting, so your body wants to eat and metabolize as much as possible. Try moving those snacks more towards lunchtime. I didn&#8217;t start gaining weight until I started snacking after 8pm in college.

I do sit-ups every other day, and a couple of times a week use a jogging machine for about 20 minutes, including push-ups. And I use dumbells nearly every day. But I've read that only cardio exercises like running may get rid of it, but I don't really want to lose any more weight...

I wouldn&#8217;t bother with sit-ups. Remember, to over-simplify a bit, aerobic exercises burn fat while anaerobic exercises build up muscle. If your sit-ups are successfully increasing the bulk muscle in your abs, you&#8217;re probably just causing your belly fat to be pushed out more. (That&#8217;s probably wrong &#8211; don&#8217;t take it seriously). Anyway it&#8217;s pretty much universally agreed that spot-weight-loss is a waste of time, since that&#8217;s not how your body&#8217;s metabolism works.

You&#8217;re right that 9 stone (seriously guys, you need to stop using such a lousy unit) is very light already for your height. If you want to lose belly fat but maintain overall weight, you really have no choice but to do both cardio and weights. FWIW, I don&#8217;t think 20 minutes is enough &#8211; that&#8217;s a good starting point for like someone who&#8217;s overweight and wants to work their way into a running program, but for actual fact loss I think you should aim for 40 minutes. Just space it out so that it doesn&#8217;t mess with your weight gain days.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Leg raises!

Sit-ups and crunches will focus on the top 4 abs alot more than you realise. Leg raises will hit the bottom two like crazy and the muscle there will tone and "pull" the fat in.

 

[G.T]

I heard about leg raises. I've done them occasionally and know how much it kills the lower abs, but wasn't sure whether they would do anything. I'll give it a go anyways it won't hurt.

But yeah, looks like cardio and weights is probably the way forward. Just gotta find the effort from somewhere. ;p

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[kikie]

You can't burn fat locally!

If you burn fat, you burn it equally all over your body. Some places on your body have less fat than other. So when you start burning fat, the places with less fat will disappear first and thus make you think you burn fat locally.

 

[Aldo]

Leg raises!

Sit-ups and crunches will focus on the top 4 abs alot more than you realise. Leg raises will hit the bottom two like crazy and the muscle there will tone and "pull" the fat in.

Ohhh
In the pic it looks like you don't go to the ground. Is this the case?
I essentially have a four-pack. The lower two abs suck!
Gonna start doing these!

 

[Dijital Majik]

As others have stated, you can't spot reduce fat. Seeing as you weigh so little for your height, I'm going to guess you don't have much muscle mass if you still have belly fat. You mentioned that your belly sticks out despite being fairly light, being "skinny-fat" is more common than most would think.

Your best bet would be to bulk with muscle at this point. Higher muscle mass will increase your resting metabolism rate thus helping to burn fat all over, as well as evening out your weight without you becoming underweight. Having bulk on your upper torso will help even out the look and give you a flatter looking belly anyway.

Lift heavy, eat like a bull (with lots of protein), and maybe look into creatine. At your weight, you might not even want to do too much cardio depending on your bodytype.

There are plenty of resources of the how-tos out there now that you have an idea. I can recommend a book called "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Ventura.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Ohhh
In the pic it looks like you don't go to the ground. Is this the case?
I essentially have a four-pack. The lower two abs suck!
Gonna start doing these!

That's correct, touching the ground changes it alot.

Variation include doing static leg raises, so just holding your legs straigh and heels 6 inches off the floor (a favourite of my karate instructor, I could hold for 2 minutes at one point)

Or having a friend standing with his feet either side of your head and as you raise your legs to the top position he pushed them back down and you attempt to stop your heels hitting the floor.

Further variation of this is he pushes them to the side, and it works your obliques more. A favourite of my housemate.

 

[Aldo]

Cool
Thanks mate
It's pretty tough

 

[G.T]

It's VERY tough... haha it started to hurt so quickly I wondered if I was doing it right.

 

[lbsf1]

Pain=sucess in this excersice.
I do it everyday as soon as I get up and just before I go to bed. (along with 50 press ups and 30 sit ups )

 

[mr_VOLCANO]

Losing fat in one spot is the same as losing it anywhere else. Lift a lot of weights and do a lot of high-intensity interval training while eating less than you burn.

So true, its not possible to loose weight on one spot. Just make sure you dont eat more then you burn and you will loose weight

 

[Aldo]

It's VERY tough... haha it started to hurt so quickly I wondered if I was doing it right.

I was thinking the same. It feels good though! I can already see an improvement in my lower 2 abs, all be it a slight one.

Pain=sucess in this excersice.
I do it everyday as soon as I get up and just before I go to bed. (along with 50 press ups and 30 sit ups )

I do the opposite of that
30 pressups, 60 situps, and however many of these I can do before it hurts too much

 

[ExigeEvan]

Cool
Thanks mate
It's pretty tough

It's VERY tough... haha it started to hurt so quickly I wondered if I was doing it right.

Glad I could be of help

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

You cant target individual bodyfat.
Fat on the lower stomach is the very LAST place the body burns it off. The only way to get rid of lower stomach fat is to lower your bodyfat. Most people wont see the lower bodyfat disappear until they are under 6-8% bodyfat. Just keep in mind sit ups or any ab workouts will not target the stomach fat. They will help your stomach muscles get stronger but they wont magically burn the fat off your stomach. One of the best quotes I have ever heard "Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym". So very true.

So you can either weight train to build muscle which will also burn fat, do cardio to burn the overall body fat, or simply eat less calories per day.

My fiance has created one of the easiest ways in the world to burn bodyfat. Its actually quite amazing how well it works and you can be lazy at the same time. lol