Flab to ab: is it even possible?

[VanDeinse]

So here's the deal, I've been overweight my whole life- obese for most of it. In highschool I was around 240lbs. I think this year is the first time since kindergarten that I've not been overweight. It's been a long and shitty struggle.

 

Anyway, now I'm pretty happy with my body. I'm around 5'8 and 160lbs. Most of my body is pretty awesome; I like my bone structure and my proportions. The only thing I really have left is my midsection. And seriously, it's a mess. Years of being fat take a serious toll, and I'm kind of wondering if it's even too late to fix it.

 

I've got some huge abs, I can feel them just behind that little layer of fat that's left. But it just won't go away. I sort of feel like I'm destined to be fat, even when I'm not really fat, ha ha. I've lost about 15 lbs in the last two months, during my first real "cutting stage". But I really just want to accelerate this as much as I can and get nice abs.

 

Help? Suggestions?

 

Here's what I'm doing right now:

 

I have a cup of oatmeal with a banana and some flaxseeds first thing in the morning. After that settles I go jogging/walking (intervals) around the lakes by my house for about 1.5-2 hours.

 

My diet consists mostly of protein (a lot of primal strips- 100 cals and 10g of protein, a nice snack I think, tofu, seitan) and fruits and vegetables. I don't eat very many carbs, and definitely not white bread or anything like that. I usually eat 70-100g of protein a day. Also most of what I eat is organic. I try to eat about 1500 calories a day, in about 6 meals.

 

4 days a week I go to the gym, which involves an hour and a half round trip walk, and about 45 minutes of weight training. Lately it's been a little lacking because I've been limiting my food intake so much, but I do enough to maintain my muscle I think, and still burn some calories.

 

Any help would be awesome....

[LizWorld]

Yes, you will be able to get them abs showing, BUT, you will probably have to work your ass off for it! It's important to constantly change your diet and training. This because the body adapts very quickly! There are many ways to do this!

The more you stress over it, the less results you will get! Also think about if it's worth going through getting as quick results as possible. Try to make it a long term goal instead! That way it is more likely you will be able to stay motivated, turning it into a lifestyle.

Sometimes you can even train too much and because of that you put the body through too much stress for it to cooperate with you. There is a limit for how much you can cut back on calories and how much you can train a day. A diet should last for a certain period of time. Then it's important to go back to normal eating and training habits to let the body have some rest, then you can go back to it again.

Personally, I don't count calories and I don't give a rat's arse about protein. I've come to the conclution that if I want to shread some weight, I eat as much raw as I possibly can and add an extra class of muay thai and a few walks a week. Every once in a while I give my body a rest from training, like a week or so. During that period I try to eat more to help recover!

But we all have to find what works best for us.

[Guest]

I'm about 120lbs lighter than my heaviest weight and I've got my BF low enough that I can occasionally see my abs. Actually they should look really good but I was so big from such a young age(as were you) that my skin is really stretched out. My skin looks a bit smaller than last year but I don't think its gonna go away within a reasonable amount of time. I'm thinking at least 10 years at this weight. However I think if I decided to bulk up again by building muscle in my lower/upper back, and my chest I think it has the potential to pull some skin from my stomach up to those areas. So thats my ticket away from my stomach. If you have less extra skin than I do then you may get there with just fat loss. For me(topping out at 320) I think I looked best at 240 on the trip down and if I stopped losing there and kept lifting I'd have a nice stomach but as a cyclist thats too heavy so I kept going.

[cubby2112]

I have this same problem. I have lost lots of weight and now I can see the upper portion of my abs, but the lower portion is still blocked by some fat/extra skin. I think the main thing you have to do, like Liz said, is just to stick to a healthy diet over a long period. My abs are showing a little better all the time and I think rushing may only cause harm.

[Aaron]

Keep working at it. I had a belly for years and this summer it's finally started to flatten out. Lots of small meals throughout the day, healthy eating, cutting salt, increasing raw food (fruits mostly in my case) and doing my weight workouts hot (fleece sweatpants, sweatshirt, and hat with little rest between sets to keep me sweating) seems to have had a decent impact. I can now find some veins at my waistline that I never saw before.

 

I also stopped doing any abwork.

 

I want it flat, not super-strong but puffy

[VanDeinse]

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.

 

Since posting this I've already lost around 8lbs (putting me at 152). I've been lifting the same amount of weight, so I don't think I'm losing any muscle. I can see noticable results in my stomach.

 

So close! I'm excited.

[TheSkinnyVegan]

Instead of running for an hour and a half, try doing interval sprints, as they are proven to be much more effective at burning fat and are better for your heart. You can find some info on them at bodybuilding.com

 

Also, check out the book "Fat Flush Plan".

 

Good luck, friend!

[scrodhi]

IT'S ALL ABOUT bf% which is all about your metabolism....you loose a tiny % of fat and you'll probably look better than 85% of the people you see iin the gym.......just a few less calories, and keep the muscles strong.....piece of ......quorn lol!!

[VanDeinse]

Thanks everyone. I hit a plateau at 152 for a while, like 2 weeks without any change. I'm around 150 right now. The last few pounds are so hard. I'm working out twice as hard and getting results in half the time. Oh well, I'm less stressed about it because it's obvious that the shredded 6 pack is inevitable, even if it takes annoyingly long-- like 2 months haha.

 

No stress, it's gonna happen relatively soon.

[Aaron]

Thanks everyone. I hit a plateau at 152 for a while, like 2 weeks without any change. I'm around 150 right now. The last few pounds are so hard. I'm working out twice as hard and getting results in half the time. Oh well, I'm less stressed about it because it's obvious that the shredded 6 pack is inevitable, even if it takes annoyingly long-- like 2 months haha.

 

No stress, it's gonna happen relatively soon.

 

When I added a sweatshirt and sweatpants to my workout (and wore them through the entire thing) I dropped a couple hard to lose pounds.

[wolfy]

Don't stop drinking water!

 

I think its best to concentrate on other areas, instead of trying to lose weight/fat/skin, its better to visualise what you do want. Look in the mirror couple a times a week, and also do stretches, especially your spine - you can gain a few inches height, and also lose the stomach instantly - its a question of posture, which if you do often enough, will become second nature. Don't slump. It takes time to retrain the body to work differently, and not sloppily, that is .. if you find thats happening to you.

 

Yoga is good, especially exercises twisting the top body half, but slowly whilst breathing. Twisting the abs, also helps to stretch them out, after situps. To get a sixpack, do situps x3 (or more), feet should be hip/shoulder length apart (whichever is more comfortable) and firmly on the ground, but for each rep have your legsandfeet further away from your bottom. Use weights to keep them on the ground if you have to.

[Dr. Pink]

ME and you are in the same Wagon. I was skinny like a freakin twig when I was younger. Mostly from kindergarten all the way to mid elementary. Much like you. But for some reason once I hit Middle School it all went to hell. My first year of middle school I weighed 120 pounds. That's how much Potter weighs now. Then by High school I was up to the 200 pound range until I peaked at 220 pounds in Junior year of High School.

 

Like you I lost weight and lost it too quickly. I was a terribly vegan when I first started. My diet for like a month once was nothing but Home Cooked Pinto Beans on Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. I lost pounds so fast I looked like a Time Elapse Sequence. Went down from 220 pounds to 150 pounds in half a year to 3 months. Now I am down to 139 pounds and I am still a stuggling Vegan struggling with both money and time. But one thing I need to work on just like you is my mid section. I don't like crunches much either. And I wanted to get the Sauna belt, strap that bad boy on me and go to work with it on. But that doesn't seem possible anymore as I herd the belt can injure you're insides.

 

Have you tried you're local gym? I hear they have ab machines. Just work and Work and Work. I kinda want to get the Ab Lounger and just be on it all day on my free time. But I'd much rather get a Gym Membership and use a proffessional machine. So yeah I am in the same boat as you. Best of Luck to ya.

 

Oh yeah and there is also surgery. But it hurts like hell and cost's alot. And they proaboably have to drug you up to( I'd do it if they use natural animal free drugs. The pain is not a problem and if I had the money I'd do it) But perhaps the natural wya is best,

[Zack]

I weighed 120 pounds. That's how much Potter weighs now.

 

Potter, you lost a lot of weight since VV!

 

[cubby2112]

I started using this Palmer's cocoa butter lotion made specifically for after birth and weight loss. I researched online and found it to be vegan friendly, which took a long time to find out. Probably should have just emailed the company. It is working really well for me, unlike other cocoa butters I have tried, toning the loose skin I have from losing my weight so quickly. In a few months, I should know if it is really doing the job.

[wolfy]

I like the Jason range of products, and the aloe vera body rub, also good for toning the skin