Hey guys

Just want some advice from anyone who has been able to lose a lot of stomach fat or from anyone who might work as a dietician or nutrionist.

I've come down a lot in weight, I dropped about 30kgs and then started working out and picked up some muscle weight and I've pretty much stayed the same since then.

I can see on my arms and legs and chest that I've lost a lot of weight in those areas - I'm starting to get a bit ripped, which is awesome, but I still need to get rid of my gut.

I don't buy into the Men's Health "LOSE YOUR GUT IN 8 WAYS" thing.
I know it takes hard work and discipline (which I sometimes disregard; I tend to eat unhealthy on the weekends) - I just want to know if there are any specific exercises/routiens that has worked for you guys.

Also, I heard somewhere you shouldn't really eat after 8?
Currently my training only ends at 8. Should I substitute the meal with a post-workout drink or something like that?
I'm normally pretty hungry afterwards.

Last I checked, fat loss cannot be targeted at a specific region of your body, although males are more disposed to carrying their body fat in their stomach.

Ah, ok. I see.
So it's more a case of keep on exercising until it goes away?

Same boat here. I don't think I've ever been able to see my abs - save for the top row and a little definition at the side - even when I was 25 and weighed almost 50lbs less than I do now (ie. working out and skinny as hell). I've resigned myself to the fact that you get dealt a genetic hand and you live it.

There's no point doing a million crunches. Focus on good cardio, all-round fitness and sport-specific training.

Oh - and eat less fat. Sports diets can be abysmally complicated, but I had success a few years ago just by focusing on eating less than 40 grams of fat a day. I've also used www.fitday.com to count calories. Both are helpful if you stick to them, but best of all is finding a healthy diet you can live with day in day out.

Not sure i agree about eating less fat (unless he is eating a crazy amount).

Carb cycling seems to be the direction the experts are headed these days from what i am reading at the moment (although I am certainly not one of the experts). I am starting carb cycling next week so will have to see how it goes.

Take a look at bodyrecomposition.com and check out some of the articles.

The biggest issue with seeing a "cut" stomach is you have to be sub 9% body fat which is not easy to do.

If you have not had your body composition checked it might be a good idea. If you are sitting around 12-15% body fat then you are perfectly healthy and shouldn't worry. If you are really obsessed about having a flat stomach then you need to get down to a lower body fat, usually between 6% and 9%.

Fat cells also do not go away they just shrink. So if you were way overweight (i was 220, now 160)...some of that is not going to go away.

I've read about the fat cells just shrinking and not going away yeah.

I'm not in the market for a killer pack of abs, just not as much gut as what I have now.
I've lost excess weight everywhere else, just want to have my body a bit more proportionate. Definitely don't want to be sub in stuff that's necessary for my body.

Thanks for the advice so far though! Checking out the links now.

Interval training is a good way for burning off body fat. I got rid of abdominal fat pretty quickly through the following workout:

Treadmill: 2 minute sprint followed by 1 minute jog - do that for 20 minutes
Rowing machine: 1000 meter dash followed by 2 minute rest x 3
Bike: 2 minute sprint followed by 1 minute free wheel - repeat for 20 minutes
(Sprint = as fast as you can manage, not just 'pretty fast')

If you do something similar to that you should start to lose body fat (assuming your diet is up to scratch). When you get your BF to a level you are comfortable with you can switch from interval training to more intensive cardio. There is no spot training that can target body fat, the only way is through diet and training.

The above or a variation of it twice per week should be more than enough to start losing body fat - especially if you are lifting and training MA on other days.

It can be frustrating.

Your body puts on and takes off fat in a pattern that's fairly consistent and unique to each individual (unless you have screwed up hormones, like in Cushing's syndrome). For a lot of people, the abdominals are one of the places the body likes to store fat -- it's the first place the fat goes and the last place the fat leaves.

Also, it seems that the longer the fat is in a particular cell, the more resistant it is to mobilization.

The upshot is that they key to seeing your abs is body composition from a good diet for most people. Bodybuilders and fitness competitors are very good at this kind of diet manipulation. Simply eating less is often counterproductive -- your body gets acclimated to it and shuts down your metabolism.

Check out the beginner forums at this site, especially the must reads: http://tnation.tmuscle.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_begi nner?pageNo=1&s=forumsNavTop

Also, I heard somewhere you shouldn't really eat after 8?
Currently my training only ends at 8. Should I substitute the meal with a post-workout drink or something like that?
I'm normally pretty hungry afterwards.

That depends on when you go to bed. A good rule of thumb is to not eat within 3 hours of bedtime. If you're eating a full dinner after 8pm, it may help to eat a light dinner before training, and a snack afterwards. You may find that you have more energy when you train. Try to avoid fatty foods right before training, they can make you feel sluggish.

Personally I'm not too crazy about sports drinks for weight loss. In general I think its better to have your food/meals in a way that is as unprocessed as possible. It builds better habits, and ultimately it will be your habits that will determine how long you will keep the weight off, once you lose it.

Keep at it, sounds like you're doing great.

right, its probably not all that healthy but when I cut for a boxing match I got ripped and did it like this.

eat your meals in reverse. ie. dinner sized breakfast, normal small lunch, small dinner. dont eat after 6pm.

I managed to lose ten pounds in 3 weeks this way and I was still getting the same amount of calories

I managed to lose ten pounds in 3 weeks this way and I was still getting the same amount of calories

I'm sorry, but this seems, well, impossible.

That is not an unusual method for loosing weight

That is not an unusual method for loosing weight

How do you lose weight without a caloric deficit? Amputation?

How do you lose weight without a caloric deficit? Amputation?

He said he was getting the same amount of calories. So I would assume he upped his conditioning work, since he said he was cutting for a fight.