Why do I still have belly fat?

[elmo3334]

I workout everyday on a soccer team and am in great condition. I m 20 years of age, a male and weigh 148lbs/67kg with a height of 176cm/5.9ft. I can t seem to get rid of the spare tire around my belly area. Do you think I might have a medical condition? I can t lose more weight, that s for sure!

 

[mensimageconsultant]

A medical condition technically is possible (let's include bloating -> there's information about causes thereof in the Abdominal Madness article). Loose skin is also possible. However, there's no mention of body fat percentage and no picture (which probably shouldn't be posted). The stomach is the hardest area from which to lose fat, in men. Maybe there needs to be more muscle mass to help divert calories away from the stomach.

 

[JohnHunt12]

Get your hormone levels tested.

Excess estrogen can cause belly fat. Weight training should raise Testosterone.

 

[tennisguru]



I workout everyday on a soccer team and am in great condition. I m 20 years of age, a male and weigh 148lbs/67kg with a height of 176cm/5.9ft. I can t seem to get rid of the spare tire around my belly area. Do you think I might have a medical condition? I can t lose more weight, that s for sure!

How much do you eat and what? How many calories do you burn per day (your BMR+activity) - balance the two equations and (roughly) you'll maintain bodyweight/bodyfat.

Obviously there are a few more things that come into it, like insulin resistance, cortisol levels, your genetics (Scandinavian origins tend to hold more fat around the middle for example), your lean body mass etc.

I would start by working out some rough numbers here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and then working out what you think your activity adds (ideally having used a HRM, but there are rough guides on the interwebs for calorific burn for different activities) and adding them together. The get MyFitnessPal and track what you eat on average for a week or so and see how the two values stack up (you probably eat more than you realise (I know I did!)...

You can increase your BMR by building a greater muscle density (and thus increasing your LBM) - go and lift some heavy s**t and put it down again (plus it might help your football!)

Oh, and if you genuinely think it could be a health issue, then go and consult a doctor.

 

[elmo3334]

Thank you guys for all the information. I think the issue has to do more with my diet and possibly some minor medical condition (if it was major I'd probably know it already). Wouldn't pre-diabetes show on my blood test scores?
These past 2 months a completely cut down on unhealthy foods and I'd like to hear your feedback on my choices to see maybe if I'm doing something wrong.


I drink a lot of water
No sugars whatsoever (occasionally have a little honey)
I have oatmeal, flax-seed, raisins and almonds
No bread or pasta (just brown rice now and then).
No alcohol or soda drinks
I have a lot of vegetable juices
A lot of salads with homemade vinaigrette that consists only of water/olive oil/vinegar mixed with some spices and garlic (no dairy products in it or syrups)
I eat meat 3-4 times a week (mostly chicken)
I stay away from milk but have Greek yogurt, feta cheese (small amounts) and boiled eggs
I eat my food with a lot of hot spices
I have some fruit (not too much though- mostly bananas)
I have beans and lentils (sometimes canned beans)
I eat potatoes and pop corn
and last but not least I think, I find it very difficult to cut down on sodium (I have a lot of Himalayan salt with my food).

So what do you think?

 

[tennisguru]

On paper that looks like a pretty "good" diet - next step is to figure out how much you are eating, whilst the foods you are consuming would generally be considered "healthy" (especially if you are eating organic produce and grass fed meats and dairy), you could still be over eating for your energy expenditure.

Try MyFitnessPal for a week or two and track what goes in to get a sense of where you're at - if you're "accidentally" eating 1000 calories of oatmeal and dried fruit /nuts for breakfast it would be good to know

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Is there bloating? Does the pants and shorts feel tighter during some parts of the day than others?

Also, no medications that might be causing weight gain?

 

[Szeph el raton]

Either get your bodyfat measured professionaly e.g. via DEXA scan (everyone and his mother underestimate how much they carry) or post a pic without a shirt (can crop out your head of course).

I'd judge you lack muscle mass and just dieting down even more won't really get you anywhere. We're exactly the same height but I had visible sixpack abs at 69kg and I'm not especially buff so it's hard to judge.

I don't think it's about being bloated. Your abs are over your organs so if you bloat, it pushes the abs out too (once you're shredded you're also shredded after eating).

But in the end, the fat over the sixpack and in the lower back/love handles is the last to go so you're probably just simply not lean enough. Judged by your height to weight ratio I wouldn't exactly suggest dieting even more though, you're already very light.

 

[Carrie Rosado]

Hi, I think it can also be the genes problem.

 

[canstyleace]

..............
Edit: too old to reply

 

[PeterMinkoff]

I had belly fat issues too and cryolipolysis AKA fat freezing treatment help me a lot!

 

[usmanqamar]

I had belly fat issues too and cryolipolysis AKA fat freezing treatment help me a lot!

It is good to know that AKA far freezing treatment working for you. Can you please tell me how many months ago you got this treatment. I heard that it can backfire and body can produce fat cells again after few months.

 

[PeterMinkoff]

It is good to know that AKA far freezing treatment working for you. Can you please tell me how many months ago you got this treatment. I heard that it can backfire and body can produce fat cells again after few months.

I had it three months ago. That's true, if you don't keep up with working out and a healthy diet.

 

[ilclassico]

Working with "soccer" does not mean necessarily your burning more than you consuming, and there many levels of workout in "soccer" or football for rest of world. When I used to work out in my "soccer" football team, we use to do different exercises everyday, and there are different levels, depends on your position and what the manager focus is. It also depend if your team is amateur or professional. But the do the math how much you putting in and how much you cutting, there are plenty of apps to help you with that. If you consuming during the day more than you burning than you wont lose it, nor if if you consume same as you loosing you will basically maintain the weight around. It also depends on the food you consuming. Also many pro teams manager will force you into strict dieting and give extra exercises beside everyday team exercises if they see you unfit so that is leading me to think that your are in some american amateurish teams. Without proper dieting and exercise don't expect miracles.

 

[freshcutgrass]

You are storing excess calories as fat. Switch your metabolism into ketosis and it should burn that excess fat off fairly quick. Maintain it by being careful with your diet (lots of carbs AND fats are not good...pick one fuel soarce and ditch the other).