Wanting to get rid of the beer belly

[Mrs M]

Weights and gym ball will help with toning up.
Good luck, but do things that you enjoy and are more likely to stick with.

 

[uclown2002]

Maybe not if it is solid muscle.

OP wants rid of a beer belly so unlikely!

 

[ColinJ]

I hope I am making sense here but the problem is a 'beer belly' right? and you are 27? Stop drinking beer.

Ha ha - too true!

I gave up alcohol about 3 years ago and have lost nearly 5 stone of beer belly! (66 lbs/30 kgs, corresponding to about 21 ins/53 cms off my waist.)

Cutting out the booze was the biggest factor but I also follow a 5:2 fasting plan, see this thread, cycle about 3,500 miles over Yorks/Lancs hills a year, and walk about 1,500 miles.

 

[MacB]

Swimming once or twice a week helps. I do at least 1 45 to 60 minute session per week, covering up to mile. Its hard on the shoulders to start with, but things get easier after about 6 weeks. 64 lengths in a 25m pool is a mile. When you first start you will struggle to do more than about 4 lengths at a time without stopping, i could only manage 2, but now i just get in, get them done and get out, the downside is the boredom, but a waterproof MP3 player helps. If you do take it up, then i suggest breast stroke till your arms and shoulder get strong, front crawl will kill you until then.

Cheers...............Howard

Good advice here, cycling does little for the upper body and, the way most people swim, swimming does little for the legs. So they should be a match made in heaven, I'm just about to start back into swimming. The above is exactly what I'll expect, I doubt I'll manage 2 lengths at a time without a breather. Once up to speed I expect to be able to swim non stop, at a decent clip, for 45 minutes at a time. The 45 minutes is just my own personal boredom threshold based on past experience. Get to that level 3 times a week and you should see a pleasing difference in physique within 3 months.

 

[Tin Pot]

Fitbit, MapMyRide and MyFitnessPal.

Record everything religiously and you'll lose weight.

 

[midlife]

Eat less so you use more energy than whats going in and you will lose weight. Cheaper than tech lol.

Shaun

 

[Flacka1987]

thank you everyone for your help and tips.

My last ride was 10.5 miles and done in 58 minutes so was quite happy with that.

I'm a broad lad, big chest but skinny legs.

To put it in perspective I bench between 80kg - 110kg depending on if free weights or on smith machine.

Lift 250kg on incline leg press.

So I'm not obese I just have I think 1 / 2 stone of fat I could shift.

 

[Travs]

Ok - I'm vastly overshadowed by the majority on here but that does show a few things - bear with me:

I'm the same height but 78Kg and I've done my fair share of gymwork, before I started cycling. Your bench is def better than me and at the moment, you're not built for cycling. All that muscle on the top half is generally just dead weight you have to carry. If your legs are skinny (although 250kg isn't light) then they have to work hard to carry it around. Which is why, unless there was a massive headwind or a fair amount of climbing in that, 10.5mph for an hour is a fairly relaxed pace - so it would appear your legs get tired or can't output high for long. Again, bear with me...

I don't mean as a criticism - its an indication of where you are currently. Cycling for any sort of endurance is not about power but about sustainable power. If you're flagging after an hour, this is something that you need to develop. In doing so, you will burn more energy. Your asthma is obviously something that will impact this as your breathing will be important to supply oxygen but set yourself a reasonable goal to increase length of ride. Change the pace up and down, to work different parts - but keep in mind the slower recovery pace as it really benefits in the longer term and you can keep going for longer.

You will get there but it'll just take a bit of time and changing the way you workout. Aim for longer rides I think to get your metabolism up and burning for longer. There is a mass of knowledge and advice on here so take what you can from that too. And update on the progress too!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Enjoyment is critical.

With an appropriate exercise and diet routine you will lose weight.

We can argue for ever over what that routine should be and the relative importance of diet/exercise but if you don't enjoy it you are unlikely to stick to it (unless you enjoy it in a masochistic kind of way) and hence you won't keep it up.

So in both diet and exercise try to find things that you like eating/doing. We're all different but my suggestion for cycling is to explore your local area. Seek out something odd/interesting on the map and ride to it. Or if you're more sporty than that then maybe delve into the world of PRs on Strava or something. If you like doing hill reps, do them. If you like long slow country rides, do them. Do what you like first and foremost, because you are most likely to stick to it.

There are loads of different approaches to improving your diet, which often cry out their great scientific credentials (often cobblers), the trick is to find a way of modifying your diet in a way you like. A long time ago I found myself needing to lose weight and unable to exercise due to serious injury. I went for the "F-plan" diet and found that it included lots of stuff I like eating, so therefore it worked for me. Whether its scientific credentials are sound or not is neither here nor there if you like it and it works.

By the way I'm not "built for cycling". I'm a great lumbering idiot. It doesn't stop me doing it and enjoying it.

 

[4F]

Eat clean and portion control is the only real answer. You can do as much exercise as you like but unless you address those 2 issues then exercise on its own will not make any difference.

 

[Ticktockmy]

The point is that some people naturally have a beer belly look, I am one of them, all my life my body shape has given me a beer belly look, even during my youth and in the forces, all the gym work did nothing to alter my shape, I had a wonderful;ll six pack just it hid itself under a fine covering of Body fat. Just keep yourself fit, cycle two or three times a week 30-50Kms will keep you ticking over just fine.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Cut out the carbs such as bread etc and eat more veg . The wife's following slimming world just now and what I've noticed with the recipes for meals is use of veg instead of rice or pasta etc I've dropped 2 kg just after following this. Still 93kg and 6ft but not what you would say overweight to look at but 90kg is my target!

 

[J1888]

Ach, I dunno.

I know a fair bit about nutrition from work but I've found the below to be good:

Fruit muesli, no added sugar
Black coffee
Brown roll with Turkey
Mixed nuts
Apple
Banana
Stir fry with raw pepper and red onion on the side

That's a typical days diet for me and I've lost excess weight

Oh and cutting down on booze...booo

 

[vickster]

Ach, I dunno.

I know a fair bit about nutrition from work but I've found the below to be good:

Fruit muesli, no added sugar
Black coffee
Brown roll with Turkey
Mixed nuts
Apple
Banana
Stir fry with raw pepper and red onion on the side

That's a typical days diet for me and I've lost excess weight

Oh and cutting down on booze...booo

But aren't you bored rigid by the lack of variety?

 

[J1888]

But aren't you bored rigid by the lack of variety?

Not at all - that's just a regular day say 4 out of 5 weekdays, with some great healthy dinners. On Fridays and weekends, I eat whatever the hell I want.

Fad diets are just that, fads - including 'no carb' diets etc - a healthy, balanced diet, similar to that seen in the eatwell plate is absolutely fine for most of the population to have a healthy diet.