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To lose the belly fat, he needs to eat more protein, more veggies, more fruit. Same calories, but not the bread/oatmeal/pasta.
He needs to work on his core, doing yoga, and crunches, weight lifting.
"Body for Life"...get the book.
Actually he's going to have to lose the fat everywhere to get rid of the belly fat. Also the type of exercise he does is irrelevant as long as it's causing him to burn more than he takes in. There's no such thing as spot reduction. He might want to do the strength and flexibility exercises to tone up and not lose muscle while losing the fat.
Clue #1: He doesn't say "my goal is to lose weight" or "consume less" or "lose the belly with diet."
Clue #2: That entire paragraph indicates that he is concerned he isn't eating enough calories, that he feels he should eat more, to get "to" his 1600 calories.
Conclusion:
He is at the weight he desires to be but wants to tighten his abdominals with exercise, and he wants to maintain his current weight with healthier foods.
Since we don't know what kind of exercise he's doing, or the size of his portions of food, we don't know whether or not to recommend decreasing carbs. I don't recommend adding more, however I do recommend making those choices more nutritious with the addition of fruits/veggies/good fats.
Clue #1 - He is overweight.
Clue #2 - He is eating SIGNIFICANTLY LESS calories (1600) than a person who desires to maintain their weight would normally consume (2000 - 3000 calories per day), so YES he is trying to LOSE weight. He is eating like a person who is on a DIET!
Clue #3: He did not mention ANYTHING about wanting to tighten his muscles. He simply stated he wanted to lose his belly. They are NOT the same thing. You can lose belly fat, and still have small and weak abdominal muscles.
Conclusion: He wants to LOSE WEIGHT, especially in the belly.
But instead of you and I going back and forth like this ... why don't we wait for him to respond himself????
And CAVA is right ... you can't simply "spot reduce". He needs to drop his weight from 148 to around 130 - 135, and that will occur over his entire body, not just his belly. I ate pretty similar foods to him when I was attempting to lose weight and I also ate roughly 1400 - 1600 calories per day during that time of dieting. I then watched as my waist went from a 34 down to 29, and my entire body lost excess fat ... not just my belly. My face became thinner and more defined. Then I began to grow more muscular due to weight lifting at the gym and home exercises (situps, pushups, pullups) and my 6-pack abs began to show after I dropped my overall bodyfat down to around 10%.
oh man. I feel bad for causing an argument. Does this type of debate always go on in these sites? I hope it's all with good nature. Whatever the case, I'll take all the blame because I did not provide enough information.
My biggest goal was to lose the belly fat, and I also planned to hit the gym to tone up and gain some muscle. Right now, I'm one of those 'skinny-fat' people - very small frame, but belly protrudes.
I didn't think about my actual weight, but if I am considered overweight, then I need to lose some too, I goess. What should I be aiming for? 135 to 140?
oh man. I feel bad for causing an argument. Does this type of debate always go on in these sites? I hope it's all with good nature. Whatever the case, I'll take all the blame because I did not provide enough information.
My biggest goal was to lose the belly fat, and I also planned to hit the gym to tone up and gain some muscle. Right now, I'm one of those 'skinny-fat' people - very small frame, but belly protrudes.
I didn't think about my actual weight, but if I am considered overweight, then I need to lose some too, I goess. What should I be aiming for? 135 to 140?
Depends on a lot of things. Are you wanting to be body-buildingesque muscular? If you do, then your poundage is a good number, but you need to replace the fat with muscle. If your "small frame" means you are small AND have small bones (not just short, but actually petite), then losing 5-10 pounds would do you some good. Unless of course you want to build muscle, because you're still going to need to replace fat pounds with muscle pounds, and there's more muscle weight per square inch than there is fat weight in the same square inch. Muscle is dense; fat is not.
The belly thing will -reduce- if you do crunches, because it will tighten your abdominal muscles. It won't get rid of the fat. If it's mostly loose skin and not much fat, then diet and exercise will do little, though exercise will - again - tighten up your stomach muscles.
If you lose weight to the point where you're at your optimal weight, and you STILL have a big belly, then obviously - losing more weight won't be a good idea. Because then you'll be underweight, and have a big belly.
What is the "right" weight for you? Dunno. The charts online are GUIDELINES; and even the documentation on the websites that explain their charts, specify that the actual "optimal" weight is a very explicitly individual matter. The "perfect" weight for one guy who's 5'4" with a small frame, might look lousy on the next guy who's 5'4" with a small frame.
Don't take too much stock in the "right" weight, according to internet charts. Use them as a guideline. And, as a guideline, if 130-145 is an "ideal range" and you're 148, then those 3 pounds is probably all belly weight, and dieting ain't gonna help.
Inadvisable. Going low fat and low carb together is a recipe for failure.
Not necessarily. Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss diet is low fat and low carb and works extremely well. Granted it is meant to be a short term diet, but it does work.
Not necessarily. Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss diet is low fat and low carb and works extremely well. Granted it is meant to be a short term diet, but it does work.
What is the point of a short term diet? Most people who go on short term diets gain all of their weight back and then some.
Just eating a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, staying away from sugar and sodium as much as possible and totally avoiding hydrogenated fats. And of course eating less calories than you burn.
All these specialized diets lead to failure for most people.
Most people who go on short term diets gain all of their weight back and then some.
That's because most people are idiots with zero self control. That is an issue with the individual, not the diet.
Quote:
Just eating a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, staying away from sugar and sodium as much as possible and totally avoiding hydrogenated fats. And of course eating less calories than you burn.
That advice is perfectly fine, but there are people out there who for a variety of reasons may need a more focused diet.
A diet with pasta, bread, and oatmeal is not exactly "unprocessed" food.
Switch out the pasta, for a baked potatoe with skin.
Switch out bread, with an apple, and celery sticks.
Switch out oatmeal, with whole grain unprocessed wheat cereal.
After all, the oatmeal could be Quakers Instant.
A diet with pasta, bread, and oatmeal is not exactly "unprocessed" food.
Switch out the pasta, for a baked potatoe with skin.
Switch out bread, with an apple, and celery sticks.
Switch out oatmeal, with whole grain unprocessed wheat cereal.
After all, the oatmeal could be Quakers Instant.
Steel cut oatmeal is a good choice. An organic whole grain bread is fine. Whole wheat pasta is not a bad choice either. Portion size is key.
Baked potatoes are great choices too. Too many people are grain phobic for no real solid reason. Whole grains are a great source of fiber and minerals. They help people stay fuller longer as well.
Oatmeal has more protein in it than wheat. It's actually a very nutritious food. Not instant oatmeal with artificial flavorings and sugar and dried corn syrup solids added. I mean - just - oatmeal. Milled oats, or steel-cut oats. Both qualify as "oatmeal." Everything added to it is "stuff added to oatmeal." Yes, the package on the instant says it's oatmeal. But it's oatmeal AND other stuff, as per the ingredients list.
If you want -just- oatmeal, you can easily get it, and it will be healthier per cup, than the same portion of whole wheat.
As to why anyone would want to lose weight fast...I needed to lose 10 pounds fast to fit into my wedding gown properly. When I bought it, it was 4 sizes too small. It was a one-of-a-kind hand-made antique, so buying it in a larger size wasn't possible. I had it let out as far as it would go, and it was still a little snug, at the time of my second fitting, which was only a month away from the wedding date. So I wore a full-boned merry widow underneath, and lost 10 pounds in just under three weeks.
I didn't need to lose 10 pounds to be healthier, at the time I was the weight I felt comfortable being. I only lost it to fit into the dress. I gained it back shortly thereafter, and was fine with that.
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