Guy With Big Fat Belly Needs Stomach Workout Advice

[Hey Man]

I am very overweight (350 pounds) and in the process of losing weight through diet and exercise, however all of my weight has mostly gathered directly onto my stomach and it's gonna take a lot to even begin making it look remotely flat again. I don't belong to a gym, but I have an eliptical for cardio, some dumbells, tension bands and that's pretty much it.

I was thinking of sitting on the edge of my bed similar to that of the exercise ball (as the bed also has bounce), taking the dumbells and essentially doing sit-ups or crunches with the dumbells. Would this be fine? Say 3 reps of 10-12?

If anyone has any advice or exercise routines that they could recommend for a beginner to help get my big ass stomach to shrink, I would greatly appreciate it.

One other thing I am worried about is that the stomach won't go back and the skin might hang. I really really hope that I can avoid this and I have heard people say that skin can bounch back, but I have seen obese people lose the weight and they just have hanging skin all over the place. This would be a living nightmare to me.

I thank you for any and all advice.

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by Hey Man

I am very overweight (350 pounds) and in the process of losing weight through diet and exercise, however all of my weight has mostly gathered directly onto my stomach and it's gonna take a lot to even begin making it look remotely flat again. I don't belong to a gym, but I have an eliptical for cardio, some dumbells, tension bands and that's pretty much it.

I was thinking of sitting on the edge of my bed similar to that of the exercise ball (as the bed also has bounce), taking the dumbells and essentially doing sit-ups or crunches with the dumbells. Would this be fine? Say 3 reps of 10-12?

If anyone has any advice or exercise routines that they could recommend for a beginner to help get my big ass stomach to shrink, I would greatly appreciate it.

One other thing I am worried about is that the stomach won't go back and the skin might hang. I really really hope that I can avoid this and I have heard people say that skin can bounch back, but I have seen obese people lose the weight and they just have hanging skin all over the place. This would be a living nightmare to me.

I thank you for any and all advice.

Crunches aren't going to do anything really. The only way for you to shrink your stomach is by losing weight and lowering your body fat percentage.

 

[Matt]

take up boxing. I lost 7 kilos in 2 months, all from the gut.

 

[Hey Man]

drizzt3117,

I understand that completely, however I would like to at least begin the process of flattening and ultimately tightening my stomach. If I just lose the weight, I would have a flabby and most likely hanging stomach.

 

[TheHoff]

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

Crunches aren't going to do anything really. The only way for you to shrink your stomach is by losing weight and lowering your body fat percentage.
^^^ Exactly. Concentrate on losing fat and the stomach will go down quickly. You don't need a gym or any more equipment than what you have. Once you get down fifty or sixty pounds you'll probably want to consider joining a gym and adding a real strength training routine. The last thing you want is to be skinny-fat with no muscle tone. You didn't say how tall you are or how much muscle you have underneath but for the first while at least your body will easily drop fat and only fat because there is so much to burn off. To start, do some power walking for at least 40 minutes where you break a good sweat. In regards to skin, it really depends on your age, genetics and how long you've been large.

I understand that completely, however I would like to at least begin the process of flattening and ultimately tightening my stomach. If I just lose the weight, I would have a flabby and most likely hanging stomach.

The hanging stomach is skin, it has nothing to do with the muscle tone underneath that you might gain from crunches. Sit-ups, crunches, etc, do *nothing* to flatten the stomach. Losing weight too quickly or simply being over 30 will increase the chances of hanging skin.

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by Hey Man

drizzt3117, I understand that completely, however I would like to at least begin the process of flattening and ultimately tightening my stomach. If I just lose the weight, I would have a flabby and most likely hanging stomach.
Doing abdominal exercises is just going to make your stomach protrude further. If you think about it you'll quickly figure out why... Lose weight, don't worry about ab exercises, although by all means, weight lifting is good, just not ab isolation exercises. Compound exercises like bench press, deadlift, and squat will help you lose weight quicker by building muscle and increasing your metabolism.

 

[capnpyro]

I forget what the 'safe' amount of weight to lose for optimal health and no hangy skin is, 2 lbs. a week seems to stick out in my head.

 

[Hey Man]

drizzt3117,

Let's use John Goodman as an example as I am comparable in weight - if he was to lose weight by diet and exercise alone (and if he was younger), would his skin probably hang or by your recommendations - would the skin would bounce back and only people that lose weight very quickly by gastric bypass or other means will have a skin hanging problem.

 

[TheHoff]

How old are you?

 

[Hey Man]

The Hoff,

To answer your questions:

I am 36
350 pounds
5'11

I have been overweight for about 4 or 5 years. My concern about my skin is because I have developed a little pouch of skin under my stomach - sort of a little mini stomach which is gross and hangs loosely. I pray to my personal God that once my stomach shrinks, so with this excess pouch of skin. However if I do an operation to remove this pouch of skin, I can live with that.

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by Hey Man

drizzt3117,

Let's use John Goodman as an example as I am comparable in weight - if he was to lose weight by diet and exercise alone (and if he was younger), would his skin probably hang or by your recommendations - would the skin would bounce back and only people that lose weight very quickly by gastric bypass or other means will have a skin hanging problem.

Usually it'd be fine as long as you didn't lose the weight extremely fast. I know a guy who lost 100 lb in 6 weeks (illness) and he definitely had a problem but I think as long as you're doing it pretty consistently and not overly quickly (3-4 lb a week at the most) you should be fine.

 

[TheHoff]

I'd worry about the skin when you get to your ideal weight. Also lots of people confuse hanging skin with still having excess fat. You may have to get down to 10% bodyfat or lower to eliminate the stubborn pockets of fat (typically love handles on men).

You'll still look good in clothes either way.

 

[zjpj83]

I wish you best of luck. It's not about looks, but health. I remember my uncle, an avid amateur fisherman, was 350 lb too (but at 5'6"). I remember my father said if he lost weight, he'd buy him a boat. Years passed, and he never did. My point is that sometimes, even when great reward and literally your life are at stake, it's sometimes really, really hard to motivate yourslef and actually to make it happen. You've indicated a desire, and that's the first huge step. I am not an exercise guru, but I have done well with South Beach diet (if you don't want to follow it closely, the bottom line is cut out sugar and bad carbs like white flower and potatoes). Exercise can also be fun. I hate exercising, particularly, running/treadmills, but now that it's summer you can do things like long walks in the park - it all counts. Once you've lost a bit, you can also try pilates, which I enjoy and feel is very good for tightening the midsection. Good luck

 

[globetrotter]

one other point - you want to build up the structure of muscles in your body. muscles burn energy a lot faster than fat. every pound of muscle you can build will help you burn fat faster.

doing squats, bench presses and lat pulldowns with large weights help build up muscle. if you do that 2-3 times a week at a gym, and then wallk an hour every day, you will be well on your way. sit ups aren't going to help you in the short term.

 

[Hey Man]

I know it's not about looks, but there is something to be said when you are dating a new woman and it's gotten to the point when you are going to ******** - only for her to be disgusted that your stomach fat is hanging down to your crotch. With that perspective, it's important as hell to do all you can to minimize any hanging skin problems.