Oh, really? Interesting to know. I just have a fat belly (not very fat, but still fat) and I’m skinny myself. If I want to lose weight, I’m afraid that not only will I “not have" a belly, but even more serious health problems will arise
They're right. Where your fat is isn't based on areas that don't get exercise, it's just based on genetics. Some people carry most of their fat in their butt or hips, some in their belly, some basically everywhere. You'll lose fat from wherever it is if you burn more calories than you take in (with some weirdness as your body works for a while to retain it's current amount of stored fat).
So any exercise you get will contribute to burning more. You could get one of those exercise things that's basically bike pedals you work with your arms. Then the other side of the equation is to take in fewer calories.
One other note: you can have little body fat and still not have a flat stomach. If you have no tone in your stomach muscles, your tummy can look like you have a bit of a belly, even if it's not fat. Even just going around with your tummy held flat can help tone up those muscles if you can do that.
i have the same problem.
i am a tent pole with pouch.
when i asked my doctor about it he said 'thats where your intestines are, idiot' (im paraphrasing)
the only way to maaybe trim up the area, is strengthening your muscle mass in that area. sit-ups and the like.. but no. im not doin that.
Cut out high calorie drinks like soda and beer and cut what you’re eating in half. Supplement high calorie meals with more vegetables that will fill you up as well with a low calorie count. We eat a lot more than we actually need to.
That's it. You don't have to burn the calories you don't take in. If you don't exercise, you can easily loose wait by simply eating less calories than you use.
"Calories in, calories out" is so overused by this point it's almost just a static phrase but that's literally all there is to it. Either minimize your calorie intake or increase the amount of calories you burn.
The other user is right about not being able to target body fat, but you can target muscle groups that can minimize the appearance of the fat.
Seeing all the responses in here boil down to CICO and that you can’t target specific areas is great to see.
Always felt like reddit gave this topic the wrong information every time, glad to see us not make the same mistake here.
Eat less. No seriously, fat is excess food you have eaten. If you cut back on the food you are eating you will start loosing fat.
Calorie counting is a good way to see how much excess you eat and can scale back from there.
I think the best type of exercise is the one that you think you will keep doing forever. Basically it has to be fun and motivating for you to actually do it more than once in awhile. Find that activity. Doesn't matter what it is as long as it gets you tired and sore. Otherwise, eat less, which is also hard to do consistently. In fact I'm gonna go to the kitchen right now and make a bread platter and do 10 pushups which I do once in a while.
Ok, ive seen no bad info posted but I'm going to chime in too.
The bad news - You cant target fat, Flat belly is super hard and 6 pack is BULLSHIT levels of work, the best exercise to burn fat is the one that you want to do as opposed to the one you force yourself to and finally, you may be the kind of person genetically inclined to carry a bit of a belly.
Now, given your unique circumstance I'm going to say that you could probably benefit from some professional advice. I'm a big fan of James Smith (fitness youtuber, doesnt do paid promo or shill for anyone but himself) and his company does an online consultancy thing that might help, or you could find a dietician/nutritionist/trainer whatever locally.
The good news - theres more resources out there than ever. A decent fitness tracker or watch will give you an idea of what you're burning in a day, a decent macro calculator will give you an idea of how much to eat in a day to lose weight and then its up to you to find a diet that fits you and your life.
Are you able to walk? Incline walking on a treadmill burns calories very fast. All you gotta do is set the treadmill to max incline (or less, set it where you like, but the more incline the better) and just walk for a half hour or so a few times per week. The more you walk the faster you burn the fat. Sometimes when I run, I wonder why when I can burn the same amount of calories incline walking.
If you do choose to try incline walking, avoid holding the handles or the top of the panel on the treadmill. I see many people doing this. It effectively negates the incline. The whole point of incline walking is carrying your body weight up a hill. Holding a static surface and leaning back reduces the load.
Just walk as much as you feel comfortable with. You'll notice it gets easier very quickly. Its also quite enjoyable to watch videos or listen to a podcast to pass the time.
Yes, I can walk. I don't have a treadmill, but I once walked all over the city for several weeks, but my stomach remained the same :(
Swimming can be a type of exercise that puts less strain on your back. That and just eating less.
Eat less, that's more efficient than exercise to loose fat.
List sport you'd like to do, and have a talk with your doctor about the best one for you. Even if it's a niche sport, a short google search should give them a rough idea (also most federation publish detailed information for doctor about which pathology are OK and which aren't)
If you're skinny but have a belly, it is possible that you're just bloated. You might just have a body type that stores fat around your mid section, then yes, CICO is the answer. Or you might be able to adjust your diet to reduce bloat, you can read up on elimination diets to test for sensitivity to common things like dairy, wheat, etc. If you drink alcohol you can try cutting that out for a month or so to see if that helps- there's a reason it's called a "beer belly."
Everyone has already covered the diet part, so I don't need to repeat all of that. The other part that hasn't been mentioned yet it's your mental health, and in particular stress. Elevated cortisol levels are known to increase fat stores in the belly area.
Caveat: I haven't read too much about this, so I can't say with much certainty that it'll help, but it's a good idea to get a handle on your mental health regardless. What I do know so far it's that the levels of cortisol that come from certain medication side effects or physiological problems can lead to increased visceral fat. I'm not sure if the levels you experience with regular daily stressors would be sufficient for a significant effect size.
The best performing diet that has published research demonstrating its success is low carbohydrate also known as keto.
That means avoiding high sugar and high starch foods like bread, pasta, potato, fruit, juices, processed food
The best description I have seen is nothing made of wheat, rice, grain, no vegetables that grow underground, no pumpkin, no fruit, as much meat, seafood, fat as you like.
The current health advice is to avoid canola and vegetable oils as they do specific metabolic damage. The safe plant based fats are coconut and avocado. All animal fats are safe.
The odd thing about this diet is you can eat fat and get thin, but it makes sense in that it trains your body to burn fat, which is what you want!
Dr Ken Berry on YouTube has good advice about starting such a diet.