i got one too

[aa9t8]

i am 46
i have a daily exercise routine that is stretches crunches and situps. i started it to help me manage my arthitis pain. i ride about 5 kms a day often more. i am not fanatical about my weight. or my diet. i do not eat red meat, fish, poultry or seafood. i rarely drink pop eat chips or donuts. i try not to be too fanatical about anything. and i am willing to settle for progress. but for six months or so now this little belly friend of mine will not budge. i never had it when i smoked. not that i want to start that again. i feel better than i have ever felt. and i have very minimal pain. so it is all good. but i would like to feel less there? you know? i do not want to do anything drastic. any suggestions for patient progress would be appreciated. thanks

 

[mattjf]

Heh, first off it's great that you are looking for the patient road. I think most people want something they can do for a week (even a week might be too long) and drop 30 pounds. The patient road is the best road, though I sometimes (often?) forget this. I've lost a lot of weight already, still have some more to go.

Can I ask why you don't eat meat? Is it for religious or ethical reasons? If it's not for either, could you start eating meat?

The biggest thing is probably your overall calorie intake. I have family and friends that want to lose weight, so they give up junk food and switch to "healthy" stuff, but then over eat on healthy foods. I use http://www.fitday.com to track all my calories and make sure I am in a slight deficit every day.

What does a typical day of eating look like for you?

-Matt

 

[aa9t8]

i do not eat meat as a political protest about the way we treat our food crops. and now i do not think i could put it in my mouth. probably if i were starving.
breakfast would be cornflakes with brown sugar, and penut butter toast
lunch would be 2 bagels with cream cheese. and supper might be spagetti with nothin fancy in it cause the kids wont eat it any other way. i try to snack on fruit and veg. but sometimes a bowl of ice-cream with cookies is way too good. i know that i suffer from disordered eating. which means that i sort of eat based on the way i percieve my body to be. i have cut way back on a lot of the junk i used to eat. and am trying to continue to change. i know that the belly fat is a different kind of fat and that it will require a different kind of effort than i have been trying.

 

[FrankBattle]

Have to get your body fat down before crunches/situps will make a dent. Increase your caloric expenditure aka cardio. Yes, cutting down on fatty foods is a step in the right direction.

Run, bike more, eat better and more freuently. Worked for me as I went from a 40-42 inch waist to now a 33-incher. I eat more frequently, bike more, run or stationary bike if/when I can't ride.

There is a lady at the gym I sometimes go to who can probably knock out 100 situps without even taking a breath. But she's HUGE!

I never see her do much cardio ..

 

[aa9t8]

i can not run, or jump for that matter.
so i should bike more. eat smarter and more often.
basically i have to do more cardio. only lately has walking not been painfull. so i do not do it for fun. it is just nice to not hurt. i have riden at least 5 kms every day for 2 years now (maybe i have missed 4 days). what else can i do for cardio? i know matress hockey? seriously what other kinds of cardio is there?

 

[FrankBattle]

i can not run, or jump for that matter.
so i should bike more. eat smarter and more often.
basically i have to do more cardio. only lately has walking not been painfull. so i do not do it for fun. it is just nice to not hurt. i have riden at least 5 kms every day for 2 years now (maybe i have missed 4 days). what else can i do for cardio? i know matress hockey? seriously what other kinds of cardio is there?

Really, the key, for many, to reducing the spare tire is to reduce body fat, then you can crunch your way to a six pack. Since you can't run etc, you need to ride more. At this point, after 2 years, your body seems to have adapted to that level of exercise. And you'd probably find that you don't burn that many calories any more with the ~5 km/day riding.

Now I know many of us can't ride as often as we'd like (work, life etc), but there are other ways to increase the calorie burn: as I said before, eat more. You may have heard this analogy before but it's a good one: your body's like a locomotive (one that runs on coal). You have to continue to feed it in order to keep it going. There are oodles of resources online on what to eat throughout the day that you can tailor to you. Me, breakfast is usually oatmeal before 8:00 am on most days. Around 10, I eat something .. banana, carrots, cauliflower, fig newton or the like, I eat a reasonable lunch (turkey sandwich, t.v. dinner at around 300-350 calories), 2-3 hours later, I snack again (similar to morning snack), then around 6-7 I eat a reasonable dinner. Now, if I work out in the evening, then I have a bar before I workout, then eat a regular dinner (whatever I want pretty much).

I only eat ice cream or the like if I've done enough to deserve it (like burn at least 1500 calories working out or riding). the calories you eat throughout the day should be good calories (ones with fiber, so that your body works to digest them = more calories expended). In general, try never to be hungry. If I'm ever hungry, I've messed up. But it happens. Overall, this keeps my weight down. And when I stick to it for a few weeks, along with riding, or gyming, I actually drop weight. But more importantly, I keep the mid section trim.

Good luck.

 

[aa9t8]

so here is my plan so far

i put the recumbent bike back in the living room on the trainer. now if i try to put some time on it a few nites a week, and try to cut back on junk food, and try to eat smaller amounts more often. over time i should see some progress. i will check in before i hit 200 lbs

 

[Hookyrider]

Also remember fat is like the tide... it disappaers first from where it was deposited last. An last from where it was left first. For us guys usually the belly area is the 1st place to collect. Spot reduction is a fantasy, as said above. Getting a good grip on what you are taking in (eating) and what you are putting out (using) is key. Strength (and core) trianing, and intervals are good ways to help persude your body to build muscle, and burn fat. The bigger your engine the more you burn.

The other point is once you get to 7% body fat, you will probably still think you have a belly. So take it in stride, don't get discouraged, and know it doesn't happen over night.

HR

 

[aa9t8]

well i can not be positive because we have not got a scale but my gut is LESSOR (smaller) i am sure. now i only rode the recumbent in the living room about 3 times so that was not it. but i did add some hills to my daily ride. and on days off i ride longer. and one thing that i am sure helps is i try not to get hungry. i do not work out on an empty stomach. and i eat more often. still had a few donuts and ice cream. i just put effort into not eating too much junk. still got a gut but my 30 inch pants are no longer snug. wife says something else is a little better too! thanks!

 

[Hookyrider]

well i can not be positive because we have not got a scale but my gut is LESSOR (smaller) i am sure. now i only rode the recumbent in the living room about 3 times so that was not it. but i did add some hills to my daily ride. and on days off i ride longer. and one thing that i am sure helps is i try not to get hungry. i do not work out on an empty stomach. and i eat more often. still had a few donuts and ice cream. i just put effort into not eating too much junk. still got a gut but my 30 inch pants are no longer snug. wife says something else is a little better too! thanks!

Good for you! It sounds like you are making progress, which is what it's all about.

My weight gain was due to joint and tendon injuries, being stuck on the couch, and allowing my bad habits to become the norm. Went from 171 to 205+, while tht's only 35 pounds, I had alos lost virtually all of my muscle, so just about any physical activity would wipe me out.

Once I got healthly enough, my first workouts were an extension of my physio therapy. Like "pre-workouts" for example I couldn't do 20 minutes of anything with my heartrate at 140, I remember my first night on the rollers, I could do 5 minutes "in the zone".

10 years later there is no one that knows me now (due to military moves) that can see a fat weak me. I'm one of the fastest riders in my area, and I am the fastest swimmer in my club (PR is 4050 meters, short course in 1 hour), I can do a mile and a half run in 9:27 or 5K in 19:50. The point is they all see a fit, lean, athletic guy.

Over the years I have improved my nutriational skills (still have to eat some of the "bad" stuff) and have made improvemnts to my workouts and such, all which have made a huge change for me. It took years to do, but it has been worth it. Keep your head in the game, don't let set backs derail your goals, understand they'll happen and you can get past them.

HR

 

[guidosan]

How long does it take for you to ride 5km? I think I heard you need to do cardio for at least 30 min for it to be beneficial. If you can increase your ride time, you may start to see a change. Good luck

 

[Hookyrider]

How long does it take for you to ride 5km? I think I heard you need to do cardio for at least 30 min for it to be beneficial. If you can increase your ride time, you may start to see a change. Good luck

Generally I can cover 5k on my MTB in under 12 minutes, don't think I have ever bothered to get a time hack on the road bike. Running flat out I can still nip a 5K in under 20. Normally when I run for fitness I run for 35 to 50 minutes.

Yes you "go aerobic" as early as 20 minutes, and maybe a little earlier if you are a highly trained athlete. 30 minutes will get you about 10 minutes "in the zone" to burn some fat. The longer you are aerobic the longer your body has to burn the fat. Fat is like burning wet wood, it takes a while to light, and it goes out pretty easy. On the same note getting your HR up above 65-70% you begin to burn glyogen that is stored in your blood and muscles as the primary fuel instead of fat... (overall calories burned is higher, but a smaller percentage is from stored fat) The longer you are aerobic the more body fat you burn as fuel.

Not too worried about loosing body fat these days, in fact I have to be concerned with maintaining a healthy weight, as I have a tendancy to loose weight if I am not carefull, then I get sick. 9% body fat seems to be perfect, any thing less and I have problems.

HR