Home exercise for fat around organs

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What are the best ways of losing stomach fat for health - i.e. fat around organs rather than wanting to have a flat/toned stomach? Preferably things I can do from without much equipment (I do have some dumbells).

I've been trying planking and I can do 30 seconds x 3 so far, after 3-4 times a week for the last 3 weeks. I could barely do 10 seconds at first, so I am making progress, but from googling, I'm not sure if planks are good for this or not.

I have a healthy diet and no health problems, normal weight, but I have a big spare tyre (my waist measures about 3" more than half my height) so I am worried about the health impact of the extra fat around my stomach. I'm 57 and this is a combination of fat I never lost after pregnancies and the impact of menopause.

I do a lot of brisk walking (at least an hour a day) and half an hour of yoga 2-3 times a week. I'm not bothered about my body shape, just want to reduce health risks, but I'm confused from what I've read online about whether I'm doing the right thing with planks, do I add other exercises, or am I doing the wrong kind of exercise?

You can't spot reduce fat, and exercise won't do it. Building muscle helps boost metabolism which helps maintain healthy body mass, and cardio will give a modest boost to calorie burn. Ultimately fat loss comes from diet; lots of plants, some proteins, healthy fats and complex carbs in sensible portions.

Exercise is important for general health, but exercise calories are very easily eaten back. The yoga is great for your strength including your core, and will add strength to muscles, but burns little energy directly. Walking is roughly around 100 calories per mile depending on age, sex, build and metabolism and can be less. It's good exercise for general health though and important to maintain, but it's diet that needs a review.

You can’t, it’s just if you are an apple type it’s where any spare weight will go. If you want rid you would have to loose a bit

I agree with PPs who say you can't target fat in your stomach that way. Doing abs exercises will help strengthen your ab muscles and is likely to help the appearance of that area but in terms of fat loss you simply need to consume fewer calories than you are burning. You can find calculators online which tell you roughly how many calories you need to be eating (if you want a rough idea) or you need to cut down on the fatty and sugary foods you are eating and try to eat better. You could also exercise up burn more calories but I'd suggest cardio, running or walking.

Cyclists have a low body fat % so spin maybe helpful

Tour de France cyclists train 30 hours a week and this is why they have low body fat. It is also a natural selection of success. The heavier you are the more energy it requires to move you around, so a lighter cyclist will be faster than a bigger one and become a champion.
It is the same in many sports. Take ballet. A leg is actually a quite heavy body part. It is a lot easier to lift and hold a leg when it is leaner than when it isn't.

Planking won't reduce visceral fat. Losing weight will.

This is all quite depressing. I’m not actually overweight, BMI around 24. I think I’m just someone who carries my weigh on my stomach and boobs. My legs and arms and hips are slim.

I’ve never eaten a bad diet, lots of veg, no meat, nuts, pulses, dairy. I always cook from scratch. 4-5 years ago I was finding menopause difficult so I cut out most sugar, no soft drinks, very little alcohol, almost no processed food. I felt a lot better so I’ve mostly kept to that diet, but I could reduce quantities and completely stop sugar (maybe twice a week I’ll have a pastry or chocolate bar).

Planks aren't going to get rid of fat around your tummy, they'll just make your muscles stronger there. You need to reduce your overall body fat by being in a calorie deficit (burning more than you eat)

I think this has become about losing weight, which I don't need or want to. I'm in pretty good health, my diet is healthy, I don't overeat, and I don't want to get into calorie counting - been there and it was not good for my confidence or mental health.

My only concern is that on a workplace health check up I was told that ideally I should lose 3-4 inches of waist fat because it might indicate unhealthy levels of fat around my organs but, from the replies, it seems I'm unlikely to achieve that by targeted exercise.

I probably do need to do more cardio-type exercise. I used to go to a cardio dance class, but it didn't re-start after covid, so maybe I will look for a different cardio class. Interesting to know that planks are not going to help with my waist, but I guess they are good in other ways. Probably I just need to do whatever I can for good health and fitness but not waste time worrying about one thing that I might not be able to fix.

Upping the intensity of cardio is no bad thing anyway. Adding weights to strength work is also another good consideration for general health.

If your diet's in the right zone anyway, it might be that your eating patterns remained consistent, but your metabolism slowed. Forms of intermittent fasting/ time-restricted eating can often help with that situation.

Nicely though op, if you have high fat around your organs, then that's not healthy. The only way to get rid of it/reduce it is to lose overall body fat.

I’m in the same boat and it’s a common place to accumulate fat after the menopause. I exercise loads, swim lots, spin, do Pilates but I know I need to cut back on sweet treats requires a lot of will power! You sound like you eat a good diet anyway?

I agree with PPs that you cannot spot reduce fat deposits. However, a strong core is key for all kinds of exercise, including walking and strength training, which in turn can aide fat loss.

Planking:
Bowflex 3-minute plank
Caroline Girvan's 15-minute plank workout

Abs:
Rebecca Louise's Best Abs
Caroline Girvan's Braced Core & Abs

Strength training/weights:
Anything by Caroline Girvan

@xyz111 I get what you're saying. I suppose I just feel like my mental health is good at the moment and I think dieting would make that worse, which isn't good for physical health either. But maybe I will just try it in a low key way, reducing portion sizes a bit (not huge anyway).

@trader21c yes, I thought my diet was really good - I try to eat a mediterranean diet, lots of veg, cooking from scratch, etc. I'm not sure where I'm going wrong, maybe just my age/menopause, and not having really lost my post-pregnancy stomach years ago.

@PaminaMozart thanks I will look at those.

Tour de France cyclists train 30 hours a week and this is why they have low body fat. It is also a natural selection of success. The heavier you are the more energy it requires to move you around, so a lighter cyclist will be faster than a bigger one and become a champion.

Have you ever looked at the size of a track sprinter? Robert Forstemann isn't going to purchase of the shelf jeans

A lot of this is just body shape and isn’t your fault. I don’t hold my fat in the top half of my body so my BMI/waist size is less risk than others who hold it around the middle. I can’t help this shape it is my shape. I haven’t done anything specifically to have a smaller waist apart from lose fat but I still have a BMI of 27 as it’s all on my lower half. I can’t choose where I am losing it from, I’ve lost 3.5stone and it all went from face, boobs, arms and tummy and last to go is bum and legs so I kind of look quite ridiculous triangle shape in some ways! I try to do all over exercises to build muscles and really like Pilates. I do a 5 mile brisk walk every day too. All exercise is good for you and will boost your metabolism. Getting a strong core isn’t a bad thing at all, so go for it.

If your waist to height ratio isn’t healthy, then you do need to lose weight.
https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/08/ensure-waist-size-is-less-than-half-your-height-health-watchdog-says

I think this has become about losing weight, which I don't need or want to. I'm in pretty good health, my diet is healthy, I don't overeat, and I don't want to get into calorie counting - been there and it was not good for my confidence or mental health.

Unfortunately fat loss is weight loss and the only effective way is through diet. I have learnt this lesson the hard way - BMI less than 20 but holding it all on my stomach. I was convinced I did not need to lose weight because my BMI was the very lowest on the healthy weight range. What I needed to do was build muscle through resistance training whilst adjusting my diet to lose the fat. I haven’t nailed it, but I also am not prepared to count calories and track my food closely. The regular exercise keeps me strong though which is a great feeling and I am making a point of keeping this up

Take a look at Jason Fung on youtube, intermittent fasting and a low carb diet are excellent ways to target visceral fat.
Good luck!

You say you don’t need to lose weight but your doctor has told you to lose fat.

That is the same thing. If the fat disappears then you will weigh less!

If you happen to build some muscle at the same time then this will bring your weight up again, so it might cancel out. But you still lose the weight of the fat.

When I'm strictly low carb my stomach flattens within days. Also keeps my appetite at bay, although I don't count calories.

Are you cooking with oil? Heating olive oil makes it a hydrogenated fat.
Mediterranean diet uses olive oil cold, and includes plenty of omega 3 (oily fish, avocado, linseeds/ chia seeds, walnuts). Other nuts and seeds are high in omega 6, not 3.

@Sweetdreams98 you don't need to be training 30 hours a week to lose fat. Plenty of people who commute by bike a couple of times a week, and maybe go for a longer ride at the weekend can maintain low body fat through exercise. Same goes for running and swimming.

Somebody who is a 24 BMI has more fat that someone who is a 19 BMI, even though they're both in the healthy category. If you're not happy with your body size, lose weight 🤷‍♂️

Sprinters are very muscular, because what makes you a champion in that field is explosive power over very short distances in very short time frames. Anybody who goes at their sport for hours at a time is built very, very lean, because that's how you are competitive in endurance sports, you carry no extra bulk at all, because it just wastes energy.

But you can sculpt your waistline. Start with moves like Russian twist
Beginner level: feet on ground, then add a small weight, then with weight and feet off ground, then for advanced, increase the weight to around 10kg, feet off ground and keep adding reps. Side stretches with weights 4kg minimum or a kettlebell 8-10kg also help.

These will tighten your muscles and give your waistline a more defined shape, even with a bit of padding on top.