Quote:
Originally Posted by
micbain 
Alright - I'm about 6 foot 1 and weight in at 170lbs. Sounds decent but man, I have a gut I can't get rid of. I used to weight 200lbs + and lost 30lbs over a year through eating better and exercising more; however, I can't lose the love handles. What I'm doing (and have done in the past to lose weight): 1. Cardio for 30-45mins 3x a week (treadmill jogging) 2. Caloric intake of 1500 a day (on average) Anything you fitness/health guru's can suggest? I've tried lowering the caloric intake to 1000 calories but I can't survive more than a few days on that. I don't lift weights as I've been told that you can't build muscle when on a caloric deficit. Thoughts?
1500 kcals/day sounds awfully low for a guy your size. If it is accurate I wonder if you are putting your body into starvation mode which triggers fat storage as a defense mechanism. Your BMR should be around 1800 depending on your age. Add to that whatever activities you do throughout the day (walking, typing, eating) plus your jogging (300-400 calories every other day). You should be burning 2200-2300 daily (a rough guess). Anything less than that and you should be losing, unless you are too low. I have the same problem, can't get rid of the damn luv handles, so I am doing the following which you could try. I've never quite reached 6 pack territory because I lose my discipline after a few weeks, but I can testify that this stuff shrinks the stubborn spare tire if you do it. I just end up falling off the wagon after a while. 1. Keep an accurate food diary. This really helps nail down your intake and prevents you from cheating. 2. Mix in weight bearing exercise at least 2x per week. Even if you don't gain, this ups your metabolism and prevents excess muscle loss while you catabolize fat. Without this, dieting and cardio may cause you to lose muscle in addition to fat. Don't listen to anyone who tells you not to lift. 3. Increase the intensity of your cardio. Run a little faster, mix in some stairmaster, whatever. Burn more calories in less time. 4. Increase protein and decrease sugar and enriched flour in your diet. While loss depends mostly on calories in vs. calories out, these help control the hunger and cravings that f up your dieting, ie they help you comfortably eat less. It also helps drop excess water which bloats you up, and it may aid in reducing abdominal fat depending which studies you believe. 5. Don't do a 1000 calorie shock diet. You'll lose lean muscle mass and slow your metabolism down, which is the opposite of where you want to be. 6. Accept the fact that you, like me, will probably never completely lose the handles. Also realize that the last 5 pounds are insanely hard to get rid of and even if you do they will come back if you don't maintain a rigorous routine for the rest of your life.