I'm skinny-fat

[specialblend]

Yep, Skinny-Fat. I'm 168lbs and 5'11" I'm happy with my build but i can't shake this damn pot belly. I can pinch about an inch and a half of fat on my waist and i'm really self conscious about it. I'd like to lose it and 8-10 pounds here but it seems impossible to do. Where its really a problem is the beach, with my shirt off its like I have a different body altogether from when i'm wearing clothes. I'm 32 waist and 38 jacket and clothes covers up this little trouble spot no problem but it still bugs me.

I exercise regularly, swim three times a week and I snowboard two times a week in the winter season. So its not as if I'm inactive. But I am averse to weight training, just never got into it because i've never had anyone help me get started and show me what to do. I'd really like to avoid paying a physical trainer or expensive gym fees, my pool also has a weight room but I never use it. So I don't really have big biceps or pecs.

I think my problem must be diet related but I don't know what it is about my diet thats doing this to me! I eat a normal diet but I avoid fruits(too sour) so I just take vitamins to replace them. So I just don't know what i'm doing wrong here.

Any ideas or tips?

 

[iroh]

lipo

 

[specialblend]

Originally Posted by iroh

lipo

how much will that run me?

 

[bluemagic]

This is relevant to my interests.

 

[Ippo]

show us what your diet looks like

 

[specialblend]

Breakfast: Two slices of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, glass of OJ, tall coffee
Lunch: Subway 6inch roasted chicken sandwich with veggies and honey mustard sauce, bottle of water or small soda
Dinner: I either have stir-fry, salmon/rice/veggies, spaghetti/salad, chicken/rice/veggies
evening: glass of soda, maybe chips or cookies on occasion.

sometimes lunch becomes dinner and i eat only two meals that day, depending on my schedule. Once a month or so i'll go out for beer and wings with co-workers. I don't really drink alcohol much either.

 

[captainmo]

Originally Posted by specialblend

But I am averse to weight training, just never got into it because i've never had anyone help me get started and show me what to do. I'd really like to avoid paying a physical trainer or expensive gym fees, my pool also has a weight room but I never use it. So I don't really have big biceps or pecs. Any ideas or tips?
Start lifting. There's tons of info online. Try http://exrx.net/Lists/WorkoutMenu.html there are guides to creating a workout program. From the link pick a type of split. For a beginner, an upper/lower is good - upper body monday and thursday, lower body tuesday and friday for example. The website has a lot of types of exercises, with proper form for each. For starting out, you only need a few basic exercises for each muscle group. The gym I went to over the summer offered 3 free sessions with a trainer, so maybe look for something like that by you. The 1st day was a fitness evaluation, and the 2nd two were going over the routine he laid out for me. Most gyms should have trainers that can instruct you on exercise form without charge. Any of your friends workout? They should be willing to help you get started. If you look hard enough you can probably find a slightly run down gym that has a cheap monthly fee. Also, your work may reimburse you, or have discounts worked out with local gyms. Running, biking, etc mostly only burns calories while you're doing that activity. Weight lifting causes your body to continue to burn calories as your muscles are repairing themselves. Over the last few months I've put on a total of ~15 lbs while my body fat dropped slightly (measured with calipers). For your diet - stop drinking soda. For an after dinner snack, limit your carb intake. Get something high in protein with a bit of good (unsaturated) fat. You'll actually benefit from eating more, albeit smaller, meals. Your breakfast is pretty small as is though...maybe have a couple of eggs (or some kind of protein) with it. Eating poorly a couple of meals a month, won't really affect you. Don't get lipo.

 

[AintDatRite]

Do a few crunches every night and tighten up your abs and drop a few inches off your waist.

 

[captainmo]

Originally Posted by AintDatRite

Do a few crunches every night and tighten up your abs and drop a few inches off your waist.

erm....it doesn't work like that.

 

[specialblend]

Originally Posted by AintDatRite

Do a few crunches every night and tighten up your abs and drop a few inches off your waist.

tried that, it doesnt work because the fat hides muscle.

 

[mikespike2]

I feel the same way.. 6'0" 155 lbs.. but can't seem to get it away no matter how much I run, etc.

What are you recommending captainmo to eat that has less carbs and a bit of good unsaturated fat? I am open to eating pretty much anything or changing my diet, just don't know what to change it to.

 

[captainmo]

A good late night snack should have protein and unsaturated fats.

Tuna + mayo
Cottage cheese (protein) and some peanut butter
A few slices of deli meats (turkey or chicken) and some cheese. Most cheeses are rich in fat and protein. Cottage is generally low fat, that's what the PB is for.
Nuts (stick to unsalted if you don't mind the taste) are good sources of fat.

If you're willing to buy supplements, buy a tub of whey protein, and a tub of casein protein. Whey is fast digesting (take right after lifting with some carbs), while casein is slow digesting (take at night)

It really irks me when people say 'do crunches to get rid of belly fat'. A lack of muscle definition is because of fat over the muscles....doesn't matter which muscle group we're talking about.

Mikespike - at 6' 0" and 155 are you really trying to lose weight, or just lose fat? I'm 5' 9" and 155 lbs and I'm still working to gain weight. Again, I'd suggest weight lifting

If you start lifting and keep your diet the same you will lose weight. You'll even risk losing muscle. Of course, if you start lifting, you'll also find your appetite increases. So make sure you're eating more good stuff. Have some fiber (veggies are good) with your meals to help you feel full, get a lot of protein...1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, stick to unsaturated fats. As a general health rule, stay away from processed crap.


exrx.net Has a ton of information on it, covering virtually everything you could want to know about health and fitness. There's a section on diet development which is very thorough and will help develop a diet based on your needs. A lot of people recommend bodybuilding.com, which is pretty good too....but you sometimes have to sift through a lot of BS to find something good.

 

[thekunk07]

google the anabolic diet. a carb-heavy/exercise light diet will have a catabolic effect and will force your body to store excess glycogen as fat

 

[unexpected]

If you want to lose weight, you'll have to either eat less, or workout more.

If I were you, I would just start out slow. I hate the "please post your diets" b/c I oftentimes feel like whatever is posted is not an accurate representation of what people eat.

Incorporate weightlifting. Look on exrx.net- they have descriptions and videos of every exercise. Start off slow, but eventually you're going to want to work your way up to a nice workout that involves bench presses, deadlifts, and squats.

Also, train harder. I find it pretty easy to swim indefinitely at a certain speed that's not very taxing on my body. Also, snowboarding is great for balance/coordination but you're not going to burn a high amount of calories snowboarding.

Start running, and start lifting weights. Make gradual changes to your diet- don't do everything at once, or you won't stick to it. Focus on eating more protein, but keeping the same calorie level. Monitor results. Change accordingly.

 

[Mauby]

Your diet seems pretty reasonable. I'd strongly suggest cutting out the soda late night. That's about 150 empty calories at night, which are the hardest to burn off. If you must, try club soda, with lime and/or angostura bitters instead. (I never recommend diet sodas because I have no idea what the chemicals do to a person.) I was like you, lean with belly fat. For what it's worth, I started Capoeira a couple years ago and my belly went away within the first month.