Upper body fat - how do you get rid of it?!
Discussion
I've got quite an odd situation. Excessive pie consumption (or metabolism or whatever) has left me a little bit overweight, but it's only from the waist up! I cycle about 25km a day so the bottom half of me looks like an active twenty something (which I am - I'd say my general fitness is actually pretty good) but from the beer gut upwards I resemble an overweight middle aged slob.
My diet isn't the best, but it's hardly Supersize Me, and I'm not a huge drinker either, but all the fat seems to gather on my torso. I think I'd get bored of weights rather rapidly and although I like the idea of cannoeing or rowing, it's not really something you can do every day, so what are the options? A diet of some description I guess?
My diet isn't the best, but it's hardly Supersize Me, and I'm not a huge drinker either, but all the fat seems to gather on my torso. I think I'd get bored of weights rather rapidly and although I like the idea of cannoeing or rowing, it's not really something you can do every day, so what are the options? A diet of some description I guess?
It goes last from the place it goes on first. I've been doing serious and regular exercise fr about 4 months now and it's only just starting to go from my stomach!!
You need to ensure you are doing enough cardio to burn the fat and keep at it. And make sure you are eating good calories - not pies
and burning more than you consume.
You need to ensure you are doing enough cardio to burn the fat and keep at it. And make sure you are eating good calories - not pies
and burning more than you consume. blindswelledrat said:
Exercise is a terrible and inefficient way to get rid of fat.
Go on any machine which gives you an indication of calorie burn and you realise quite how massive an effort you need to burn a tiny amount of calories.
Or... isn't it great how little food the body needs to get you across the plains to hunt that woolly mammoth when your family hasn't eaten for a week? Go on any machine which gives you an indication of calorie burn and you realise quite how massive an effort you need to burn a tiny amount of calories.
But yes, in < out = weight loss. There are "cheats" you can do like drinking black coffee before exercising, not eating dinner within 2 hours of bedtime and going easy on the carbs (but not cutting out or doing a low carb diet!) but largely it's simply eat less, move more.
king delicious to the average palate and low calory food are all fblindswelledrat said:
The eating before bedtime thing has been proved as an urban myth.
Yes-ish. The supposed reason has been shown to be inaccurate, but eating a large meal prior to retiring is less than ideal. The digestive system 'sleeps' as you do so while it doesn't affect the number of calories consumed it may be better to not eat a large meal too close to bed time.Still... horses for courses and all that. If it works for you, why not?
Chris71 said:
I've got quite an odd situation. Excessive pie consumption (or metabolism or whatever) has left me a little bit overweight, but it's only from the waist up! I cycle about 25km a day so the bottom half of me looks like an active twenty something (which I am - I'd say my general fitness is actually pretty good) but from the beer gut upwards I resemble an overweight middle aged slob.
My diet isn't the best, but it's hardly Supersize Me, and I'm not a huge drinker either, but all the fat seems to gather on my torso. I think I'd get bored of weights rather rapidly and although I like the idea of cannoeing or rowing, it's not really something you can do every day, so what are the options? A diet of some description I guess?
calories in < calories outMy diet isn't the best, but it's hardly Supersize Me, and I'm not a huge drinker either, but all the fat seems to gather on my torso. I think I'd get bored of weights rather rapidly and although I like the idea of cannoeing or rowing, it's not really something you can do every day, so what are the options? A diet of some description I guess?
garyhun said:
It goes last from the place it goes on first. I've been doing serious and regular exercise fr about 4 months now and it's only just starting to go from my stomach!!
Is that a fact?Just wondering as I have been dieting since the 1st Jan and really have totally changed the way I eat. But my large overhang hasnt decreased hardly, yet my shirts etc fits much more nicely. It seems that my legs are less fat as are my shoulers, top of arms and man boobs but my gut is nearly the same.
Your explanation would explain it, as I only put the fat on the "extremities" in the last year, while I have had a fat belly for a long time.
bull996 said:
garyhun said:
It goes last from the place it goes on first. I've been doing serious and regular exercise fr about 4 months now and it's only just starting to go from my stomach!!
Is that a fact?Just wondering as I have been dieting since the 1st Jan and really have totally changed the way I eat. But my large overhang hasnt decreased hardly, yet my shirts etc fits much more nicely. It seems that my legs are less fat as are my shoulers, top of arms and man boobs but my gut is nearly the same.
Your explanation would explain it, as I only put the fat on the "extremities" in the last year, while I have had a fat belly for a long time.
AB said:
man this upper body fat thing is soooo frustrating.
not so much entire upper body as just stomach. chest, arms, back etc are great at the moment but it's my stomach that just doesn't look like it belongs to the rest of my body.
c.r.a.p
Your name is ironic, then. not so much entire upper body as just stomach. chest, arms, back etc are great at the moment but it's my stomach that just doesn't look like it belongs to the rest of my body.
c.r.a.p
So, I guess if you want to build a decent body, lower carb intake, increase protein intake?
from all the books i've read you can't target fat loss. i.e. you can't force your body to lose fat from any one particular area. people are just dispositioned to store/lose fat in certain areas which can vary person to person.
as someone said it's simple: calories in < calories out (usual guide is 200 to 300 less i think but i may be corrected on this). The beer belly flee eventually..
as someone said it's simple: calories in < calories out (usual guide is 200 to 300 less i think but i may be corrected on this). The beer belly flee eventually..
ShadownINja said:
AB said:
man this upper body fat thing is soooo frustrating.
not so much entire upper body as just stomach. chest, arms, back etc are great at the moment but it's my stomach that just doesn't look like it belongs to the rest of my body.
c.r.a.p
Your name is ironic, then. not so much entire upper body as just stomach. chest, arms, back etc are great at the moment but it's my stomach that just doesn't look like it belongs to the rest of my body.
c.r.a.p
So, I guess if you want to build a decent body, lower carb intake, increase protein intake?
a good, well balanced diet with approx 50% of energy from carbs, 35% from fats and 15% from protein, with a reasonable caloric intake and a decent amount of exercise is the key to a good body build.
that said...."body build" does have a genetic link, as someone has already mentioned people store fat in different places for starters. but what isn't genetic is you get to choose how much of the bad stuff you eat
i'm a big fan of general healthy diets combined with exercise, rather than all these fad diets like atkins.
IMO of course
blindswelledrat said:
Exercise is a terrible and inefficient way to get rid of fat.
i've done 2x 11 mile runs in the last 2 days, the first one at least i came back feeling relatively fresh, not exhausted. 11 miles for my age, weight, height etc works out at about 1200kcal, probably more because it was a very very hilly route. that's over half your daily caloric intake on average....the run took me about 80minutes.....that's not toooooo inefficient Edited by E21_Ross on Monday 12th April 22:58
E21_Ross said:
about 1200kcal, ...the run took me about 80minutes.....that's not toooooo inefficient
KFC can sell you a single burger with that many calories! How long would it take you to not eat one? I'll echo the 'diet' call. Not in a 'starve yourself' way, just eat less but better day after day until you get the result you want.
Edited by grumbledoak on Monday 12th April 23:06
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