I'm 37 and fighting to lose the very last of my stomach fat after giving up smoking a few years back. I'm almost there but this last mile is a nightmare.

I drink only water, no refined sugar (only natural sugars) and a very healthy (so i think...) diet with reduced portion sizes. I do at least 30mins cardio (bike riding) 5 days a week and an hour long yoga session every other day.

Here's a typical day's diet:

* Quarter - half bowl muesli (no nuts though)
* Apple or Pear mid morning
* 2 carrots, apple and a pear, piece of rye bread and some lean ham for lunch
* Apple or Pear x2 during the afternoon
* Some kind of lentil/brown rice or chicken dish. Low fat, small portion
* Muesli or fruit again sometime midway through the evening

I don't seem to be making progress and wonder if it's the sugar in the fruit? I have low-blood-sugar so need to eat little and often. Is to much fruit stopping me from reaching my flat abs goal, or is it something else?

I don't know what I weigh unfortunately, but im 5'8 and slim built all but being able to pinch an inch and a half on my stomach


thanks for any help and advice!

How many calories a day are you getting and are you keeping track of them?

Programs like FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal can help out with that info -

You might be eating healthy -but I can speak from personal experience if you're going over calories -you aren't going to lose weight...

That sounds ridiculously low in protein, but I don't know.

I'm not really tracking them apart from roughly in my head. That typical day looks to be about 1500 calories to me?

Hi. It doesn't seem to me like you are eating enough. Like a previous poster said, you need more protein.

You should only have TWO servings of fruit a day. Also, where is your dairy? You need a serving, at least, of dairy in there.

Maybe it's worth trying something like this:

1/2 c Fiber One cereal with strawberries and/or blueberries (I do 1/2 c strawberries and 1/2 c blueberries OR 1 c strawberries)

Mid morning: FF yogurt or cucumber with FF Greek yogurt or orange with some trailmix, granola bar (I eat the Luna bars), etc.

Lunch: Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, lentils, basically anything but add 4 oz of lean protein.

Mid day: Piece of fruit

dinner: 5 oz protein and steamed veggies or veggie burger on fiber One bread or bun with side salad

Of course this is just a sample menu, but I definately think you are not eating enough.

Good luck!!!!

Why can't you have more than two servings of fruit per day?????

As long as you fit it into your calorie range surely you can eat more.

Yes, I'm a bit confused about the fruit also. I have started eating more, because it was making me as bad tempered as when i gave up smoking. Trust me, no one in my family want's to go through THAT again!

There is so much conflicting information to be found. But from what I can gather, I should be aiming to eat only a few less calories that I need to sustain my current weight/fat ratio right?

Is there a good percentage combo / equation for fat / protein / fibre (or whatever) that I can try to follow?

many thanks!

I eat tons of fruit in amongst a balanced diet. I have also lost plenty of weight in the process. I am also interested to hear why the poster proposes that fruit should be limited to two portions.

Hello,

Have you considered changing your workout schedule at all? Adding just a few extra (10-15) mins of cardio a day can help burn more fat. It seems to me that you are on track with your diet and maybe a slight tweek to your exercise routine will do the trick.

Well I certainly have to do something. All this healthy eating and exercise is making my belly EXPAND! Sheeesh..

I swear I'm getting bigger not smaller..

it sounds like you have been doing the same workout routine for a while. if you continue to do the same exercise for long periods of time your body will eventually hit a plateau and the exercise will stop being effective. i would increase your cardio to at least 60 minutes and mix in different activities, such as swimming or jogging. interval training is also a great way to burn calories and raise your metabolic rate. also, don't forget about the important anaerobic (muscle building) exercises that help tone your body and build muscle, which in turn will increase your body's metabolism.

Interval training exercises cause loss of belly fat more rapidly than hours of regular excercise. It has been determined that this is the best method of shedding stubborn belly fat. If you are speculating about how to shed belly fat, use interval training, rather than regular workouts, and see your belly shape up quickly.

You will be well on track to finally lose belly fat if you combine interval training with a "lose belly fat diet" of correct food at the proper times. Of all the suggested ways to shed belly fat, one of the fastest, most stimulating, and easiest in time and effort, is certainly interval training.


During the breaks while working out to reduce fats the "lose belly fat exercise method" can be done. For more effective results the time for exercises during the break can be increased. This program needs proper rest and sleep as well. The best would be taking enough rest, increasing the interval training and physically exerting more towards the effort exercises for shorter time. Weight loss hormones which hold high significance towards the loss can be produced while having proper rest.

Start with a cardio workout, then do some stretches. After your stretches, alternate short, intense intervals of exercise repetitions with periods of rest. Build up to intense intervals but don't over do it. Over eight weeks, increase the reps to a maximum amount. Maximum amount would be no more than 15 if you are using 30 second intervals. If you exercise and use out "lose belly fat nutrition" plan (including eating plans and timing), you have made a good start on the road to belly fat loss and a healthy lifestyle

No. What is with the blanket recommendations? One is not better than the other. Each has their advantages and depending on the person and the timing, one might be preferred over the other. Use critical thought and logic when reading up on this stuff please. Especially if you're going to be handing out advice.

OK well a few things to start:
Excercise:
As most of us know cardio is great to build indurance, strength and toning but it is how you do your cardio that counts. Like mentioned by Lizzy I believe in this post interval training will help shed off the cals faster than steady straightfoward cardio. You need to push yourself every single time. When your ready to give up is when you really start to burn fat. The hardest part is what counts the most (Unfortunatly). Although cardio is a good start strenght training (Weights) is an absolute must if you want to shed the pounds. The more muscle you have the more calories are burned day to day.
Hmmmmm I could go on forever about excersises routines etc etc but unless I get a request I will cut it short. All said is both weights and cardio are important to loose fat.

Diet:
Fruits - (As the hot topic here) in my many years of nutrition expertise fruit is great for you but when trying to loose weight I recommend keeping a close grip on your intake. Fruit is natures desert. It is packed with natural sugars and although ok for you needs to be monitored. I tend to only recomend fruit before lunch excluding possibly a banana before a training session or an apple in the afternoon.

As for the diet above from the original post as most mentioned "MORE PROTEIN" is a must. You should be eating a more balanced meal plan - I would be happy to come up for one for you if needed. Nutrition is the number one most important factor when it comes to weight loss. Most people on diets eat to little. This is counter productive. Your body needs food to build muscle. Muscle uses more calories. Without the food your body uses muscle for energy and deplits your muscles resulting in fewer calories burned.

It sounds like you hit a cutting plateau. I was there for awhile but I'm just now starting to break through it. I think your diet is pretty good too. I don't think you should cut out the fruit if it makes you feel terrible when you do due to low blood sugar. If you can get away with it .. cut it back a little and substitute with more vegies. Here are a few things that helped me break through.

1) Do intense/heavy weight-lifting targeting the large muscle groups. The best exercises you can do are squat/hack squat, bench press, military press, deadlifts. These exercises will melt the fat during the exercise and they will aslo build your large muscle groups increasing your metabolic rate. "Don't worry ... you will not get bulky" Hit these exercies hard but you need to get on a full workout plan .. upper and lower body.

2) Do 10 minutes of cardio to warm up and stretch. Next do a full weight lifting workout. Finally, get in your 30 minutes of cardio or more. You can supplement your cardio with a sport some days if you like. This way it will be fun hobby that you enjoy .. instead of greuling exercise that you have to do.

3) Consider .. supplementing with protein powder to get in your protein if you have a hard time with that. Consider trying a fat burner like "ECA stack" or Mitotropin to help raise your metabolic rate. Look into CLA, Fish Oil

4) Yeah .. yeah you can't spot reduce belly fat. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do chrunches/situps. If you do them consistantly .. you will start to see your belly cutting up. The abs are still covered with fat but for me seeing the abs start to take shape gave me more focus and desire to lose the weight to reveal them. It's kind of a 1-2 punch driving the fat outta there LOL.

Here are a few good ab exercises:
1) Bicycle Crunch
2) Oblique Crunch
3) Swiss Ball Crunch
4) Hanging Leg Raises
5) Decline Situp with dumbells