STUBBORN stomach

**Missee** · 09-10-2011 06:00 PM

Hello!

I am looking for any tried and tested ways for shifting belly fat...
I am not over weight in general- 8stone at 22 (though i would ideally like to reach my pre-university 7.5 stone). However i have always had a problem with my middle- this is where all my fat lies- as well as my thighs.

I have had a reasonably healthy diet over the past 6 months, though do not count calories or anything of the sort- just avoid fatty foods in large quantities and eat quite a lot of fruit and veg.

I also do half an hour of exercise atleast 6 days a week. By exercise i mean running up and down the stairs of my house 150 times, followed by 150 ab crunches. I have been doing this for about 6 months everyday, and for about a year before this 2 times a week. This work out does seem to help in that my weight is staying constant and not increasing even when i do eat the odd unhealthy snack. Though it does not seem to be doing anything for my belly- which is the main area i would like target. I would love to have a flat stomach and have been trying to achieve this for years. Though it is not huge it still has quite a bit of fat on it which rolls when i sit or bend over- and also it is not at all toned and seems to be quite wripply when i look from the side.

I understand that you cannot target a certain area for weight loss which is why have mainly focused on cardio- though i do not seem to be seeing any results whatsoever.

Are there just some people who can never have a flat stomach no matter how much they work out? Or has anyone else who has had stubborn stomach fat found an exercise plan or diet which actually does show some results?

I welcome any suggestions as I feel I have tried practically everything in my years of trying to rid myself of my unsightly middle!

P.s. I do have pcos- dont know if this is affecting my ability to lose weight!

**Tahoe** · 09-11-2011 10:52 AM

It's all about what your eat. Cut the calories exercise and the weight will come off.

**Beautiful Disaster** · 09-11-2011 11:36 AM

Do you have a short waist? I do, and it makes it very difficult to achieve that flat belly look gals with long waists have.

Sounds like you're doing great on the exercising. I would very highly recommend logging your food for a while, (in our Fitness Challenge thread you'll see that we love using LoseIt). My guess is, you're not getting near the fiber you need in a day. At the end of logging daily, you'll see what you're getting. You need around 30 g of soluble and insoluble fiber per day. Not getting this, causes water to store up in your fatty tissues (and for us, abdomen is a highly affected area for this). I've added whole psyllium husks into my diet to get my needed fiber...it is WONDERFUL! While avoiding fatty foods is good, you do need SOME fatty foods, but should target the monounsaturated fat foods and steer clear of the others. Also, a low fat diet doesn't necessarily mean a healthy balanced diet. If what you're eating is high carb, this could also be a culprit IF you're not getting enough protein and fiber. Commit to logging your food for a week, log everything (even your splurges), even coffee creamer has calories so make sure you log even drinks that contain calories. I have a feeling that once you do this, you'll get a better feel for where you are and what you need to strive for. It will give you a "roadmap". Most people are getting MANY more calories per day than they need, even though they don't realize it until they start logging.

In addition, get that 2 liters of water down per day. I make up my water at night, with cucumbers, ginger powder, lemon, and mint leaves, then drink the entire container throughout the next day. (I got that idea from something the Flat Belly Diet). It's not miracle water by any means, but ginger and cucmbers are great for digestion plus it gives your drink a "kick" that makes it more enjoyable.

**Pooja Sharma** · 09-13-2011 01:04 AM

Hi,

Your PCOD is the culprit here. You should visit your gynaecologist immediately and get yourself examined. Start with the treatment right away. PCOD might take a few months to get treated. In PCOD, there is a cyst formation in the body due to the abnormal production of hormones. If not treated timely, the cysts need surgical removal. You are lucky that you havn't gained weight because of this didorder but your stubborn belly paunch could be a result of PCOD.