How to get rid of belly fat

[SweatyBettyy]

I exercise 3 times a week, body pump once a week and can't get rid of my baby belly, although dd now 6 years old. Any tips..

You can't target one particular area. Losing weight will help, as will toning that area, but unfortunately you cannot specifically lose weight from one place.

Up your cardio workouts and look at your diet. It's a simple more out, less in and you will lose weight. Think about where you are getting your calories from and try and make healthier choices.

As pp said, you can't target one area unfortunately.

I don't want to lose weight, I'm
A size 8 and weigh 8 stone 9 ounces but I just have a flabby belly.

Diet.

Exercise is such a tiny part of your core, it's 80% diet.

Thinking about it, it probably is my diet. I have a lot of sugar and chocolate

I would also love to know the answer. Like you I don't want to loose weight (I weigh 50.3kg) - just get rid of the flab around the belly!

Most other parts of your body you can tone through exercise, but your tummy is the one part that really is mainly diet

I'm going start today by cutting out sugar

Increase your walking.

Try to cut back on alcohol, sugar and carbs, that will help you lose the weight and a mix of cardio and toning like Pilates will help tone up your stomach.

I decided to do this as my baby is now 20 so I can't use him as an excuse for my belly any more

Losing weight and losing fat don't always amount to the same thing.

OP, it sounds like you want to change your body composition rather than get smaller.

The answer is very similar though, it's 80 % diet and 20 % exercise. I would suggest lean protein at every meal, veg, some fruit and good quality starchy carbs (grains, rice, potatoes, pasta) after training, some good quality fats (nuts, salmon, etc). And as little alcohol as possible.

Focus on strength training, with a bit of cardio afterwards (it doesn't have to be anything crazy, long walks can really do wonders!)

If you want to get into the details a bit more, there are science-based programs you can follow, like Renaissance Periodization (there are others but I have personal experience of this one and can vouch for it)

The main thing to remember though, OP is that changing your body composition can take time, and requires consistency. Don't be discouraged if you don't see results straight away, it is a marathon rather than a race, but if you stick with it you will get there!

Thank you @AntennaReborn I found that really helpful

Hi OP
I think strength training as opposed to cardio is the answer. There's Kayla Itsines on insta (sweat / BBG - can't rem what is called) and she helps a lot of young mums. She posts may of their before and after and many are ok but with flabby belly. I think her app has a section esp for mums. X

,I have a lot of sugar and chocolate
Did it really take until now for the penny to drop .

@MyLifeMyLife you're welcome

You’ve been given some good advice OP.

As PPs have said, you can’t target fat loss in a particular area. You can tone your abs but they won’t show if they have a layer of fat over the top. Diet is more important than exercise when it comes to weight loss but you say you don’t want to lose weight generally.

I had my baby just over a year ago and still have some loose skin so wondered whether that could be an issue for you as it sounds like you are generally slim? My belly feels flabby but it could be skin rather than fat?

Also your abs. Did you have any diastasis recti / ab separation? I had this (still working on it) but understand it is very common so wondered whether you could have this and that might be contributing to your stomach not being as flat as it was?

To test, lie on your back, knees bent and feet pulled in towards your bottom. Lift your head and shoulders off the ground and feel down the centre of your belly, bead belly button, and see whether there is a gap. If so, you need to be careful about certain exercises that can make it worse and there are videos on YouTube about what you can do eg planks, twisting and anything that puts too much pressure on your abs can make it worse. I say this particular because you are working out a lot and I was guilty of this for a while and think.

Genetics play a part too: we all hold fat more in different areas.

Surgery or reincarnation for me

I'm slim, but with a saggy, flabby, overstretched, post-CS mum tum.

Core exercise helps with the structure of my waist plus all the other physical benefits, but it can't do anything about the flabby, fatty zone on top.

I can't be bothered with a life long strict diet, so I'm going for acceptance.