Fat Around Button Area?

Discuss tips and advice for losing body fat.

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MartinBoy
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Fat Around Button Area?

Post by MartinBoy »

Hey everyone, im new here, ive just joined as it seems a good place to talk about keeping in shape and getting fit lets hope im right.

Im a 17 year old boy from england. Now at the moment im not bothered about being ripped or nothing. I wouldn't consider myself fat, however ive got a build up of fat around button area and i find it very unatrractive and would like to get rid of it as i have tried sit ups crunches and it just does not work. BMI is something like 23.8 and im about 5'9 or 5'10. 136 pounds last time i checked anyways please take the time to look at some of these photos.

http://tinypic.com/r/2vmeyk2/5
http://tinypic.com/r/5pqzjb/5
http://tinypic.com/r/i43af8/5
http://tinypic.com/r/essvug/5
http://tinypic.com/r/14j2kd5/5

Can someone please tell me how to sort the bottom of stomach out and how long it will take. What do i eat? I eat 3 meals a day - breakfast = cereal mostly, sometimes toast. Lunch = sandwich. Dinner = whatever mum or dad cooks, not usually takeaways but food they cooked, for instance last nite it was sausages, egg, spaghetti and some chips, oven cooked tho.

What excercises do i need to be doing. Im aware i have to eat alot of protein? I would be very helped if someone could provide me with what foods to eat and what excercises to do when and why. It would mean alot if you went into detail and thank you for taking the time to read this also best answer gets 10 points :) Thank you.
swanso5
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Post by swanso5 »

start with this:

http://www.uponlinetraining.com/articles/0007.html

and read the nutrition one's there too
cassiegose
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Post by cassiegose »

Hi there,

As for how long it will take... it really depends on how hard you work and how dedicated you are to getting in shape.

It sounds to me like you have some "skinny fat" and you might benefit from building a bit of muscle.

For food.. you definitely need to eat more often to get your metabolism revved.

I would eat more protein for breakfast... try adding in some eggs or low fat cheese or some kind of lean meat. Also make sure the cereal is low in sugar and high in grains and fiber.

I would also eat a snack between breakfast and lunch... some sort of protein and complex carb.

For lunch, make sure the sandwhich is on whole wheat bread and stay away from highly processed meats and things like mayonase.

For dinner, stay away from greasy foods and try to stick to complex carbs, veggies, and lean meats. I know this is hard as you are eating what your parents cook but you could always talk to them about wanting to eat healthier or just try to make the best choices with what you have.

I would have a snack after dinner in the form of lean protein and veggies.

Here is something that i recently wrote for another person... maybe it will help?

Perhaps this well help....

In order to lose fat and gain muscle we need a combination of lean proteins, complex carbs, healthy fats, fruits and veggies, and of course water.

Lean proteins: Protein is vital to building muslce, which aids in fat loss, increased metabolism, and injury prevention. For best results i try to aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. Examples of lean proteins include: skinless chicken breast, egg whites, lean red meats (venison is favorite), fish (the fatty fish like salmon are good too as they provide healthy fats), some slices of pork, soy, and low fat and fat free cheese/cottage cheese.

Complex Carbs: Complex carbs are usually those that have undergone little or no processing. White flour and sugar are both simple carbs. Complex carbs are best as they are broken down into glucose more slowly than simple carbs, providing a steady amount of energy instead of a sudden spurt, followed by a sudden drop. Examples of complex carbs include: oatmeal, sweet potatoes, whole grains, legumes, brown/wild rice, whole grain bread/pasta/couscous, quinoa, and high fiber whole gain cereals.

Healthy Fats: In recent years many have associated fatty food with body weight and obesity and as a result many drastically cut fat out of their diets. The truth about fat is that it is a vital part of every healthy diet and serves a wide range of purposes. Healthy fats help with brain function, cell function, heart function, lung function, eye function, digestion, and immune system function. Examples of healthy fats include: flax, fish, avacados, nuts, coconut oil, and olive oil.

Fruits and veggies: We all know that fruits and veggies are an important part of a healthy diet. I try to watch portion sizes when eating fruits higher in fructose and limit these to morning meals when metabolism is at its peak. However, fruits like cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers can be eaten throughout the day as they are low in sugar. When choosing veggies I usually go for things like asparagus, spinach, brocolli, and green beans. When choosing fruits I try to stick to thinks like apples, bananas (these are a great pre-workout food) berries, grapefruit, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes.

Now that brings us to macro breakdowns. Throughout this forum you will often read about macro breakdowns.... a concept that i found very confusing when i first started. Macro breakdowns breaks protein, carbs (this includes complex carbs, fruits, and veggies), and fat down into ratios. The macro breakdown of 33/33/33 means that a diet is 33% protein, 33% carbs and 33% fat. The same goes for 40/30/30... this reflects a diet that is 40% protein, 30% carb and 30% fat. A diet that is 40/35/25 is 40% protein, 35% carb, and 25% fat.

So how do you calculate your macros for a certain number of calories? Lets assume a person is eating 2000 calories a day and wants to eat a macro breakdown of 40/35/25. They would need to figure out how many grams of protein, carb, and fat to eat each day in order to get this ratio while eating 2000 calories.

So to figure out how many grams of protein to eat you would take 2000 x .4 (calories time percentage of calories that will come from protein)=800 So 800 of this persons calories will come from protein. Now, we know that here are 4 calories per gram of protein so we simply take 800 / 4 to get 200. So this person will be eating 200 grams of protein a day.

To figure carbs we do the same process: 2000x.35=700 and 700/4=175 so this person would be eating 175 grams of protein per day.

To figure fats you again do the same process: 2000x.25=500. Now fats are different than proteins and carbs as there are 9 calories in one gram of fat. So to figure grams on this example we would need to divide 500 by 9 to come up with 55.56 or simply 56 grams.

Next we want to make sure our math is accurate so we simple add 500+700+800 and we get 2000 so we know these macros are correct for a 2000 calorie diet with macros of 40/35/25 (remember the macros always must add up to 100%).


One last thing... what does your workout routine look like? Simply doing situps will not help because fat reduction is pretty much impossible. You can work the muscles like crazy (as sit ups will do), however if you do not lose the fat on top of the muscles your hardwork will be for nothing. Have you ever lifted weights before? What kind of exercise equipment do you have access too?
MartinBoy
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Post by MartinBoy »

Thanks for the replies. Cassie, to be honist i don't really have a routine, i just do excercises now and then like sit ups, crunches push ups. However when i was leaning back on a chair yesterday abs are really hard and you can see them if you look carefully but they are covered by the fat. The equipment i have access to is a cycling machine (Stationary bike) dumbell weights, however i tend to not use as i heard they stunt growth.
cassiegose
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Post by cassiegose »

Hi there,

Hmm.. I've never heard of weights stunting growth. I suppose you could have a problem if you were very young and trying to lift, however at the age of 17 I think you are plenty old enough to begin a weight/exercise routine.

If I were you I would definitely utilize those weights and exercise bike! You could do bench press variations, row variations, squat variations, lunge variations, deadlift variations, military press, and if you have two chairs you could pull them together for dips. For the exercise bike.... I would get on that and do one long slow workout each week and a couple of shorter faster workouts (you could add in some intervals to your shorter workouts for extra fat burning). Adding a bit of muscle will help with your overall physique and should help rev up your metabolism to help get rid of that stomach fat.

I hope this helps!

Cassie :)
MartinBoy
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Post by MartinBoy »

Thanks for the reply, i may start using the weights then :) Also, How many calories should i be eating a day and burning? Because isn't it true your body burns calories all the time? Past 2 days ive been burning 800 calories according to the excercise bike. Twice i have done it and done 300 then 500 later on and that's without moderate excercise from college/work.

Im trying to keep this up everyday although there may be some days where i don't get the time or im physically to tired for it?
cassiegose
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Post by cassiegose »

Hi there,

I believe you naturally need around 1900-2300 per day (depending on if you are lightly active or moderately active). I would actually shoot for around 2000 calories and see how that goes. I would go for 1 gram of fat per pound of body weight (so shoot for around 140 grams of protein and get the rest of your calories from carbs and healthy fats.

Yes, it is true that you naturally burn calories even when you aren't exercising. Even when you aren't moving around your body is still working to repair damage, digest food, and perform everyday functions.. which means that you are burning calories 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Of course you burn more at certain times of the day. For instance during and immediatly following a workout you will be burning MANY more calories than when you are sleeping or sitting still.

Yes, I would start the weights immediatly... I think you will be pleasantly surprised at your results if you give it an honest try and watch your diet.

For weight training exercises you can check out this section of the website: http://www.shapefit.com/trainingmap.html and see how to do exercises properly while developing an understanding of basic muscle groupes.

As for the cardio.. I would shoot for cardio 3 days a week and shoot for weights 3 days a week also.

Does this all make sense? Please feel free to ask as many questions as necessary. :)
MartinBoy
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Post by MartinBoy »

Thanks Cassie. Basically ive been using cycling machine (stationary bike) for the past 2 days and been doing 800 calories burned on there according to it. 300 in a go then break and then i do 500. Ive just got in from work but am thinking of going on it. What ive eaten today is. Breakfast = 3 weetabix and milk to keep me full. Near lunchtime i had a bannana For lunch i had a cornbeef sandwich (2slices of white bread). Drinks, water and a bottle of lemonade (15 calories.) I had a yougurt when i got in low fat (97 calories) and for dinner i think ive got tuna pasta.

So, should i continue the cardio on excercise bike burning around 800 calories a day alone on that. Im really trying to lose this fat which i feel uncomfortable about.

Thank you do i need to do any other excercises once doing cardio?

Thanks again i really appreciate it
cassiegose
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Post by cassiegose »

Hello again,

Keep in mind that sometimes those machines aren't totally accurate in calculating calories burned. :)

Your diet doesn't look terrible... what if we made a few simple changes though? How does this look:

Breakfast = 3 weetabix, ***scrambled eggwhites with 1 whole egg***, **skim** milk to keep me full.

Near lunchtime a bannana ***AND lean protein (low fat cheese is good)**

For lunch a cornbeef sandwich (2slices of white bread)*** Have you thought about switching to whole wheat bread instead? I would add some veggies in here too.***

Drinks, water and a bottle of lemonade (15 calories.) I had a yougurt when i got in low fat (97 calories). **Yogurt isn't terrible but it is quite high in sugar. I would go for lean protein and veggies instead.**

and for dinner i think ive got tuna pasta. **The tuna here isn't bad but i would go for whole wheat pasta and make sure it isn't covered in a fattening sauce. I would add veggies here.**

I would continue doing the cardio a few days a week and add in some weight training 3 days a week. Trust me on this... the weight training is going to give you MUCH better results than the bike alone. Weights will help you add a bit of muscle, which will help you keep the fat off easier (as added muscle will help you burn more calories). Plus, girls dig a guy with some nice muscles.

Keep the questions coming if you have any more. I'm glad to see that are already making healthy changes to your lifestyle!

Cassie
MartinBoy
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Post by MartinBoy »

Soz to keep bothering ya, all the foods you said seem ok however im not making exscuses for myself but we don't always have them foods or im not sure of them such as lean protein what to be eating how to cook if i need to etc. So sometimes it's difficult, if i must get them other foods i will try and find a way.

As for the weight training, where i said before i have dumbell weights, what should i do with them for ? Should i just lift them up and down like normal to pump iron? Ive now done 3 days of cardio excercise, should i not do this tomorow? I feel like if i don't then it will be fault when i don't lose weight/the fat.

Right now i am realllly hungry but im not eating after ive done all that excercise

Thanks for your time once again.
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Boss Man
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Post by Boss Man »

Weights shouldn't stunt growth. They might cause issues to Bones and possibly connective tissues in under 16's, from maxing out on lifts, or going for really heavy low rep sets like 3-4 reps per set, and 1RM's.

This would be because Bones don't finish developing until around 17-18.
cassiegose
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Post by cassiegose »

Martin you're not bothering me at all. :) I want to make sure you fully understand that stuff so you know what youre doing. The only way to learn is to ask questions and keep on asking until youre sure you understand it fully. Its pleasure helping you understand this stuff as I know how confusing it can be!

For exercises how about doing these exercises 3 days a week (preferably every other day)

http://www.shapefit.com/quadriceps-exer ... unges.html
http://www.shapefit.com/back-exercises-pullups.html
http://www.shapefit.com/quadriceps-exer ... quats.html
http://www.shapefit.com/chest-exercises ... ess.html[b] OR[/b]
http://www.shapefit.com/chest-exercises-pushups.html
http://www.shapefit.com/shoulder-exerci ... esses.html
http://www.shapefit.com/middle-back-exe ... -rows.html
http://www.shapefit.com/triceps-exercis ... -dips.html

As for lean protein... Chicken, lean cuts of steak, fish, low fat/fat free cheese and eggs(eggwhites) are probably some of the best and easiest protiens. For the chicken, I just grill it up on the stove top... same with the fish and steak. For the eggs I simply boil them for about 12 minutes. Could your mom show you how to do this? Its a good lesson to have. You're gonna have to learn to do these things eventually, might as well learn now! :)

If you were to ask your mom to buy whole wheat bread instead of white and whole wheat pasta instead of white and brown rice instead of white rice would she go for it? I realize living with your parents kind of prevents your food choices.. best advice is to simply try to make the best choices possible.

Also, try to stay away from things like sugar, fried foods, baked goods/pastries, and other junk food as those things are terrible for you!

As for not wanting to eat after doing all that exercise... its ok to eat after working out. After working out you want to replenish your energy stores. You could have a bowl of cereal or a sandwhich for that. :)

Does that all make sense Martin?

Cassie
MartinBoy
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Post by MartinBoy »

It mainly does make sense, im just not very good at understanding. Why would i eat a bowl of cereal or sandwich after burning all those calories? I thought the idea was to burn it and not put back on by eating?:shock:

Also them proteins seem ok, but i don't see where i would fit the chicken in and stuff as breakfast is normally a cereal lunch a sandwich (im usually at work/college can't grill chicken there) :P unless dinner but that's if we even have it.

Am i getting enough protein anyway though? Here is what i have eaten today

Breakfast = 3 wheatabix and milk, bout 9 30 i had a apple. Lunch time i had sandwiches (2 slices of white bread) and about a hour later i had another. So basically 4 slices of white bread but there cut in 2. (They were kinda small) I got offered to get food from the cafe and stuff but have put it off i.e fried sausages, bacon and fizzy drinks like coke. Insted for drink i have had a coffe this morning at work no sugars though. 2 500ml bottles of water. A diet coke can. When i got in i had a cup of sugar free cherry add (2 calories per 250ml) And for dinner i had a salad with a sausage roll. Sausage roll was 200 calories. Salad + 200 if that? So that is only 400 calories for a dinner, pretty good. However the only excercise i have done has just been from work. And as i sit here now and type this i can feel the fat folding over.

I have done cardio 3 days a week already as i have explained (cycling machine) Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday and now you said do weights 3 days a week? Bit of a relief if i don't have to go on the bike today as i have a bit of a dead lol.

As for the dumbell weights, i have 2 single ones. (1 per arm)

If your there could you try to get back asap please. Im greatful that you can share your advice and help it really is kind and i am so greatful. It's just time is getting on and i will have to go to bed in 4 or so hours, so if i have to excercise on bike or whatever i best get started.

Another thing is, just incase i haven't said this already. I'm not too bothered about getting abs muscley (so they show off) don't get me wrong i won't mind them at all but the goal im trying to achieve here is trying to get stomach more inwards if that makes sense so it's flat, because at the moment it's solid but sticks out to look like fat

Also if i have to use weights, how many of what type would be prefferd?


Cheers again!

p.s do i need to do weights or just sit ups and crunches and stuff?

Thanks again :lol:
MartinBoy
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Post by MartinBoy »

Sorry to double post but id like to show before and after stories lol.

I did some of them excercises you suggested cassie and im sitting here now and the fat thats folded over feels alot harder although it may stop soon.

I did these ones

http://www.shapefit.com/quadriceps-exer ... quats.html

Did about 20 of them i think.

http://www.shapefit.com/triceps-exercis ... -dips.html

Like 10 of them i think (couldn't do properly because i used bed lol)

http://www.shapefit.com/shoulder-exerci ... esses.html

Think i must of done about 40 of them.. weights i used were bigger than the ones in the video.

I also did 50 crunches (properly i hope) 30 sit ups, some air cycling (laying down and moving legs as if i was on a bike) and some leg lifts (20)

I feel kinda tired now however i have noticed this yesterday when i was doing some excercises. NECK is aching at the sides, i dunno if it's where i was doing crunches or if there ment to but at both sides they feel tense.

Also as for the stomach, ive been doing this for 4 days now however the fat on the stomach where im sitting down has still folded over and also looks no diff when im standing. I don't expect to see results yet but do you know how long til i do? And am i doing well the way im go overall, with the food,excercise, and just all together.

Also will this stunt growth or stop me from getting taller?

Thanks a bunch trying to tilt neck as we speak lol


EDIT: DID 500 CALORIES ON EXCECISE BIKE ANYWAYS BUT AS IM LOOKING DOWN IN CHAIR AND SEEING THE ROLL OF FAT IT'S REALLY PUTTING ME DOWN, BUT THEN AGAIN IT'S MAKING ME MORE DETERMINED.
cassiegose
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Post by cassiegose »

Martin...

Sorry for delayed response... i'm responding as quick as possible. :)

Ok.. fast response is YES weights 3 days a week and cardio 2-3 days a week. I would not do cardio every day, instead alternate between cardio and weights.

No i do not think you are getting enough protein in your diet. I would definitely increase the protein and decrease the carbs.
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