How to burn belly fat

28-04-2021 9:45pm

I was skipping breakfast for years before finding out it was now called intermittent fasting.

It's definitely sustainable. I just don't understand why some people get really into it. A black coffee instead of Muesli is just calorie control through the most basic level of omission.

01-05-2021 3:29pm

I came across this article and it made me think of this thread. It turns out Otzi the Iceman, a man who died over 5000 years ago and who was a hunter/gatherer in the late Neolithic had heart disease.

https://www.livescience.com/47114-otzi-had-heart-disease-genes.html

I guess heart disease has always been with us.

markmoto · 01-05-2021 8:21pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I came across this article and it made me think of this thread. It turns out Otzi the Iceman, a man who died over 5000 years ago and who was a hunter/gatherer in the late Neolithic had heart disease.

https://www.livescience.com/47114-otzi-had-heart-disease-genes.html

I guess heart disease has always been with us.

Thanks for that article.

Interesting story, it says along with calcium buildup in arteries Ötzi also had Lyme disease and tooth decay.

I assume Ötzi had Chronic Lyme at that stage.
"Chronic Lyme is a disease of inflammation. Although the primary cause of the disorder is an infection, transmitted by ticks, as the disease matures, the symptoms change drastically. Antibiotics, which have been proven to be very effective in the initial acute stages of Lyme disease, are not enough to treat the condition once it reaches its chronic stages. This is because very little of the initial bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, remains in a patient’s system over time. Instead, the majority of symptoms are caused by an inflammation response, which becomes constant and overreactive when it can’t eradicate its target."

If someone is diagnosed with Lyme disease first thing the Doctor will tell to take Sugar & Dairy out of the diet.
And since he had tooth decay most likely Ötzi was on a high carb diet.

Inflammation major cause of cardiovascular disease which triggers cholesterol and calcium to patch & cement the area of inflammation. (plaque builds up)

Genes play an important role too but without environmental triggers, illness might never happens.

Superrr · 23-05-2021 1:06am

I find my belly fat has closely connected with my diet. When I eat healthy and clean, my belly and waist look smaller. And when I eat heavy or sit too much, my belly can be a disaster. Besides, cardio and exercises targeted abs help. But to be frank, a healthy and balanced diet is more important for me to keep the shape.

23-05-2021 4:31am

Surely ab work if you have the same amount of fat covering them just makes your belly bigger. It's like doing bicep curls because your arms are too big for your shirt.

Ramasun · 23-05-2021 6:08am

Deleted User wrote: »

Surely ab work if you have the same amount of fat covering them just makes your belly bigger. It's like doing bicep curls because your arms are too big for your shirt.

That must be what's happened to me then.

bladespin · 23-05-2021 9:10am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Surely ab work if you have the same amount of fat covering them just makes your belly bigger. It's like doing bicep curls because your arms are too big for your shirt.

Unless you’re pulling very serious weight (or ‘enhancing’) while doing an work it won’t, normal and work (pretty much every one) just refines the abs, under the fat layer that is.

Edit, just to add that unless your bf is low there are far better exercises than an work for getting in shape, though any core work is good.

iguana · 23-05-2021 9:33am

Deleted User wrote: »

Surely ab work if you have the same amount of fat covering them just makes your belly bigger. It's like doing bicep curls because your arms are too big for your shirt.

Yes and no. Simplistically adding muscle bulk to your body will obviously add rather than reduce inches. However when you are talking about your core there are other factors to take into account. The main factor is posture. Having bigger biceps doesn't make a huge difference to your posture but having a stronger core can. You take pressure off overworked back muscles, reduce back tension and pain, make it easier to stand taller, pull up the belly area, etc.

If built correctly with a well engaged core, you can pull once slack muscles up and back. Then with a stronger core you are better placed to build your other muscles, correct an incorrect pelvic tilt, build a stronger, more flexible back, etc. A strong core will help you stand taller, help reduce how much height you lose as you age, allow you to exercise better, play a part in improving your endurance, allow you to do more push-ups, pull-ups, help you build everywhere.

Good posture will definitely improve the appearance of excess belly fat. Or even just belly fat which isn't necessarily excess. Many women's initial fat stores will be on the lower belly and they would have to get to a potentially unhealthily low level of body fat in order to get rid of it. Women are classed as 'underfat' below 21% when they are young, 23% past 40. As a 42 year old woman there is some fat on my lower belly that I probably can't lose while maintaining a healthy level of body fat. The appearance of which is worsened by pregnancy and c-section damage. But keeping my core strong helps with keeping my lower waist appear smaller as my lower abs naturally engage up and back and help me correct the anterior pelvic tilt that I (like most people) am inclined to.

Probes · 23-05-2021 10:01am

I’ve been doing intermittent fasting, I don’t eat before 12:00 and don’t eat after 20:00, and I eat whatever in between. It’s very easy, I never really feel hungry and I’ve lost 5-6kg over the last couple of months.

Cill94 · 23-05-2021 11:59am

iguana wrote: »

Yes and no. Simplistically adding muscle bulk to your body will obviously add rather than reduce inches. However when you are talking about your core there are other factors to take into account. The main factor is posture. Having bigger biceps doesn't make a huge difference to your posture but having a stronger core can. You take pressure off overworked back muscles, reduce back tension and pain, make it easier to stand taller, pull up the belly area, etc.

If built correctly with a well engaged core, you can pull once slack muscles up and back. Then with a stronger core you are better placed to build your other muscles, correct an incorrect pelvic tilt, build a stronger, more flexible back, etc. A strong core will help you stand taller, help reduce how much height you lose as you age, allow you to exercise better, play a part in improving your endurance, allow you to do more push-ups, pull-ups, help you build everywhere.

Good posture will definitely improve the appearance of excess belly fat. Or even just belly fat which isn't necessarily excess. Many women's initial fat stores will be on the lower belly and they would have to get to a potentially unhealthily low level of body fat in order to get rid of it. Women are classed as 'underfat' below 21% when they are young, 23% past 40. As a 42 year old woman there is some fat on my lower belly that I probably can't lose while maintaining a healthy level of body fat. The appearance of which is worsened by pregnancy and c-section damage. But keeping my core strong helps with keeping my lower waist appear smaller as my lower abs naturally engage up and back and help me correct the anterior pelvic tilt that I (like most people) am inclined to.

There’s actually not much support for the idea that you can meaningfully change posture with exercise, or that there is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ posture to begin with. Exception being if one specific posture is more efficient for completing a given task.

Also correlation between ‘core strength’ and mitigating back pain is weak as well.

iguana · 23-05-2021 12:09pm

Cill94 wrote: »

There’s actually not much support for the idea that you can meaningfully change posture with exercise, or that there is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ posture to begin with. Exception being if one specific posture is more efficient for completing a given task.

Also correlation between ‘core strength’ and mitigating back pain is weak as well.

Really? Can you back that up because it's contrary to both common sense, my own experience, the experience of many people and absolutely everything I'm finding when I look up up those claims. The internet is full of not just articles but studies and advice from health services like the NHS showing how to improve posture and back pain with core strengthening.

As for posture being good or bad, we were specifically talking about the appearance of the belly area, which while appearance is subjective to what looks good or bad, we can all make our belly area look better or worse with posture. And we can certainly make our bodies feel better or worse depending on posture.

Cill94 · 23-05-2021 12:46pm

iguana wrote: »

Really? Can you back that up because it's contrary to both common sense, my own experience, the experience of many people and absolutely everything I'm finding when I look up up those claims. The internet is full of not just articles but studies and advice from health services like the NHS showing how to improve posture and back pain with core strengthening.

As for posture being good or bad, we were specifically talking about the appearance of the belly area, which while appearance is subjective to what looks good or bad, we can all make our belly area look better or worse with posture. And we can certainly make our bodies feel better or worse depending on posture.

Here's a review on the posture topic:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11710670/

And some studies looking at core strength/stability and pain:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22270245/

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052082

In general there is not a lot of research on core strength and low back pain, but what we do have suggests that core focused exercise is no more effective than general exercise (or just strengthening the back with squats, deadlifts, etc.). If someone has told you different, then they simply aren't speaking in line with the research, as all the leading experts in the spine will be pretty upfront about how little we really understand about most of this stuff.

I don't disagree that adopting a certain posture can make your belly look bigger or smaller, and that some postures may make you feel better. I'm simply correcting the other stuff you said about posture and core stability which just isn't supported.

iguana · 23-05-2021 1:35pm

Cill94 wrote: »

In general there is not a lot of research on core strength and low back pain, but what we do have suggests that core focused exercise is no more effective than general exercise (or just strengthening the back with squats, deadlifts, etc.). If someone has told you different, then they simply aren't speaking in line with the research, as all the leading experts in the spine will be pretty upfront about how little we really understand about most of this stuff.

Ah ok, I see where we are each coming from. I completely agree that core focussed isn't better than general exercise that also builds your core. But that general exercise brings about certain physical improvements because there are benefits to having a stronger core. (Or more accurately; drawbacks to having too weak a core.) I had back pain for nearly 20 years following an injury when I was 20. It was always there at some level. Mostly just low level pain but intermittently painful enough to drastically limit my life for months at a time. A few months after I started skating regularly the pain was almost gone. I had no more constant pain and only a nagging pain toward the end of several hours of skating. Another few months on and the pain went away completely. Which then allowed me to tentatively increase the range of motion in my back. Even when injured I had very good forward back flexibility but any sort of 'cobra' stretch would cause immediate sharp pain and days/weeks of issues. Now I can get into a gymnastic bridge and just feel good, not a great one, it needs a lot of work but I would not have achieved that kind of mobility again without having built a really decent core.

I didn't start out doing any sort of specific core exercises. Initially the only exercise I did was skating, I rarely even thought about my core. The first time I even realised I was affecting it was when I went to show my son how to use monkey bars and felt my core engage and I flew right across them. I hadn't been able to do a monkey bars in years and they had just become almost effortless. Gaining a stronger core gave me back a huge range of abilities that I had thought were lost to me through my back injury and age.

Cill94 · 23-05-2021 1:55pm

iguana wrote: »

Ah ok, I see where we are each coming from. I completely agree that core focussed isn't better than general exercise that also builds your core. But that general exercise brings about certain physical improvements because there are benefits to having a stronger core. (Or more accurately; drawbacks to having too weak a core.) I had back pain for nearly 20 years following an injury when I was 20. It was always there at some level. Mostly just low level pain but intermittently painful enough to drastically limit my life for months at a time. A few months after I started skating regularly the pain was almost gone. I had no more constant pain and only a nagging pain toward the end of several hours of skating. Another few months on and the pain went away completely. Which then allowed me to tentatively increase the range of motion in my back. Even when injured I had very good forward back flexibility but any sort of 'cobra' stretch would cause immediate sharp pain and days/weeks of issues. Now I can get into a gymnastic bridge and just feel good, not a great one, it needs a lot of work but I would not have achieved that kind of mobility again without having built a really decent core.

I didn't start out doing any sort of specific core exercises. Initially the only exercise I did was skating, I rarely even thought about my core. The first time I even realised I was affecting it was when I went to show my son how to use monkey bars and felt my core engage and I flew right across them. I hadn't been able to do a monkey bars in years and they had just become almost effortless. Gaining a stronger core gave me back a huge range of abilities that I had thought were lost to me through my back injury and age.

That's great to hear but I do think you're still misattributing the success to your core getting stronger, when that's actually unclear.

Simply it just sounds like you began doing a type of exercise you enjoy, which encouraged movement and strengthening of your back. That is totally in line with what research has shown to work.

Your 'core' is used in just about any type of movement where you don't allow your spine to flop over - so it's extremely difficult to attribute improvements to core engagement, as it's already a necessary part of all movement, whether you focus on it or not.

Anyway, I'm glad that your back is feeling better now and by all means keep doing what has worked for you.

iguana · 23-05-2021 2:22pm

Cill94 wrote: »

That's great to hear but I do think you're still misattributing the success to your core getting stronger, when that's actually unclear.

Possibly but I did an awful lot of physio, especially in my 20s, all of which focussed on my back. I did a physically active job and I did quite a bit of martial arts. None of which ever made my back better (my job tended to make it worse at times). Skating on the other hand requires a lot of core engagement even though you may not be conscious of it. Initially I had no idea but over time I started feeling my core engaging in a way I hadn't ever felt at all before. I also developed visible abs after about 6 months, something that actually freaked me out initially when I noticed them in the mirror.

So yeah, it could be me taking the wrong thing from a complete coincidence. But years and years of back focussed exercises did nothing whereas the development of a strong core that I could feel and see coincided completely with the pain disappearing. I also do a number of activities where core engagement become increasingly important the more complex the movement. If you don't have a really strong full core engagement you aren't going to maintain a headstand or handstand. I feel it all the time when I let my core go just a little bit and I lose it and fall out it if I can't re-engage fast enough. There are other muscles involved too obviously, but in a headstand, in particular, the whole movement starts and ends in the core.

bladespin · 16-07-2021 5:41pm

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117619534#Comment_117619534

No amount of waist training will reduce fat, please don’t fall for gimmicks like that.

bladespin · 29-07-2021 11:39am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117676997#Comment_117676997

You're completely wasting your time, those exercises are very ineffective compared to any properly physical activity - planks to burn fat? Joke right???

You can train your abs all day long but that won't trim your waist or burn much fat, you'll just have a great six pack covered up by layers of fat.

Dial Hard · 30-07-2021 1:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117677993#Comment_117677993

I don't know why you're bothering, they're clearly a shill.

bladespin · 30-07-2021 3:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117683280#Comment_117683280

I know but can't resist! Chasing shills is my new ab routine - works too!

Francie Barrett · 23-08-2021 4:54pm

It can be done and it's not particularly hard if you stick with a routine.

5ft 11 male here, went from 92kg to 74kg after starting the 1st of January and have been the same weight since July. Have a little excess pudge/fat/skin that's not very noticeable that won't go, but I am in my 50s and can live with it.

I eat three meals a day and snack only very rarely. I would do intermittent fasting about 1-2 times a week (usually skip breakfast). My meals are a lot healthier than previously (most of my plate is veg rather than carbs). I cut sugar and sugary foods out of by diet 90% (no sugar in tea ever, maybe a small kit kat once a week as a treat). My takeways have went from 1-2 a week to once a month (even then I don't go mad with portions). Beer and bread almost entirely out of my diet as well (gin and slimline tonic to replace the beer), maybe a bit of bread every 2 weeks. I increased my exercise a little by walking, but it's maybe only 1/2 an hour every few days or so.

Not saying this will work for everyone, but the weight will come off slowly. It was difficult for the first few weeks, but gets a lot easier. By the end of the first month, my stomach shrank and I was rarely hungry between meals. If I ate a big meal (that I could have done easily before), it would now feel uncomfortable. One thing I was conscious of was not cheating often, and if I did cheat, it was maybe just one meal, and not a weekend of losing control.

How to burn belly fat

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