Ok then, question for the STW experts. I am fairly slim, but have always had a roll of fat around my waist. I hate it, and always have. Despite years of cycling, running etc and watching what I eat it never seems to get any smaller. If I cut down on food I do lose weight, but it always seems to be from other parts of my body (or maybe a general all over loss), but the fatty roll is still there.

Is there a way of targetting fat loss from certain parts of the body? Or is it a case of toning up the muscle under the fat to make the fat less obvious?

Or do I learn to love it?

My better half says she doesn't want me to be skinny, but I just want to be a slightly better shape.

liposuction

Bacon slicer?

Try doing some core body exercise's.

crunch/sit ups and leg raises are your friend, and variations on this.

Thanks Simon – will a hoover work?

Sounds like muscle toning is the way forward. May even turn my party seven into a 4 pack

I know what doesn't work – drinking spirits neat in the evening. Is it of help?

Thanks Simon – will a hoover work?

sorry, but I think that's all there is – fat deposition is controlled by genetics and hormones, and there's little or nothing you can do about where it goes 🙁

Trainer I once had (yea, did expensive gym membership ages ago when I had cash and didn't cycle) said the best ay to lose weight from your belly was to run/ride/rowing machine for basically ages to lose it all. Crunches etc helped build muscle, so you'll look better once its gone, but grinding away was best way to lose it.
Seemed to be right.

you can't spot reduce fat. crunch all you like, it doesn't burn fat from the stomach. eat less, do intense exercise. steady state aerobic work won't do it – ever notice that sprinters have lower body fat % than marathon runners……

Local anaesthetic, nice new scalpel. No problem.

Mate, you've got a woman who doesn't mind. Buy her flowers and have a beer. 🙂

If you do a lot of arm curls your biceps will get bigger, because Muscle grows. If you do a lot of crunches, your stomach may grow too, (the muscles underlying the fat will develop)
Core exercises are excellent, but as SFB are controlled by gentetics so we don't have much choice.
Is the fat just on the sides (love handles) or around the whole mid?

I'm curious, can you take the surgery route for medical reasons, ie people with more belly fat are more prone to heart disease?

^^^
In a word – No!
This sort of surgery would be for cosmetic/psychological reasons.
Only the rankly obese get stomach stapling etc for 'health reasons', but personally I'm dubious of this…….

And as has been said, you CAN'T choose where you burn fat from – it'll simply disappear in the order your body chooses!

DrP

my MiL lost a load of weight which left her with a very unsightly flap of belly skin that had lost its elasticity. Her GP referred her to have it tucked on the NHS and for a 67 year old, I have to admit she looks pretty hot good. It was very uncomfortable though (think 2 x 14" deep flesh cuts)

I'm worried if I lose too much weight the same could happen to me – hence avoiding that risk 😕

I'm going the DIY surgery route. I reckon if I get really numbed to pain (ie. drunk), then can attach a vacuum cleaner to a straw that I insert through a hole in my tummy, then it will suck the fatty bits out. Beats doing months of crunches and rowing, although I might have to spend a short while in hospital getting it decontaminated and sewn back up. (Note to self – must make sure the vacuum is set to suck, not blow!)

Thanks all for the tips. I guess it will really be down to hard work.

book a trip to China, cosmetic surgery is cheap here. I know of someone (older lady) who had lipo and skin removal, and it cost her around 4000 RMB (£360) unfortunately she didn't keep to a sensible eating diet, so I think another trip is needed.

Like others have said you don't burn fat unless it's long duration exercise, never seen a fat marathon runner? And I've been doing crunches a lot recently and my waist is a size bigger. It's just added muscle to the bulk. Keep on with the biking, running might help as it might burn more off your handles. Bikers tend to have strong torsos but that doesn't necessarily mean they have no love handles I am afraid. If you find a secret way let the world know … Then you won't need a lottery ticket!!

burning fat is nothing to do with it. 100m meter sprinters never burn fat do they?

give me strength………

high intensity intervals and resistance work will get rid of more fat than long rides….

as long as you eat sensibly also..

forget all this fat burning bollox that is churned out by people who don't know their arse from their elbow

Low burn exercise gets rid of fat, but only after a long warm up. I was told an hour and a half to and hour and forty five minutes.

Fat deposition is genetic me thinks.

If you want to target an area it would have to be a bit of lipo, but frankly, I'd tell the misses to lump it!

Enjoy being healthy and don't worry about anything else!

Girdle?

low intensity exercise gets rid of hardly any fat

Oh yes, I'd look good in a girdle me!! Proper sexy and everything.

forget all this fat burning bollox that is churned out by people who don't know their arse from their elbow

Oh the irony. The only important thing in shedding fat is your overall daily energy balance. If you consistently burn more calories than you consume then you will lose weight. The type of exercise is largely irrelevant, although some forms of exercise will have secondary benefits.

my statement referred to the 'fat burning' exercise – ie, slow and long durations – that is so often spouted.

the type of exercise is hugely relevant. for example, interval training results in more fat loss than steady state training – even if the overall work done is lower – this is for many reasons. long slow stuff may burn fat as fuel, but the calorie cost is much lower than high intensity exercise and it also tends to stimulate as opposed to reduce post-exercise appetite.

i've never had a slim physique, even when i was able to win road races. i find cycling does little to improve the look of the waistline, but swimming does. i also believe that cycling can lead to bad posture which can make you appear fatter than if you stand straight.

iDave
How does/can someone with a degenerative arthritis condition, diabetes, high blood pressure do it?