Losing a beer belly

[Fundi]

I'm generally fairly toned/slim....but have a beer belly.

I am vegetarian, and generally eat healthy (rarely eat fast food) but eat so damn much and drink a lot. Furthermore, as a vegetarian, my staple foods, potatoes, rice and pasta are full of carbs.

-So I'm going to gym twice a week
-Eating less for breakfast and lunch with minimal carbs
-Taking Phrase 2 'Carb Minder' tablets before dinner which apparently prevent absorbtion of up to 66% of carbs.
-No more unhealthy snacks, crisps, sweets etc.

Is there anything else I can do, or any foods to avoid?

Thanks

 

[MrBastard]

Go to the gym more often or just walk more in your everyday life if possible. More salads and fruits instead of carbs.
And i got no faith in your 66% carb tablet. it got to have some kind of side effect and if it do work and you stop taking it, your weight will just pop up fast again. Do it the real way without bs tablets.

Since you are a vegitarian i guess you take a multivitamin or b vitamin.

 

[Fundi]

Thanks.

I already take multivitamins and try to walk to the station whenever possible.

As for the Carb Minder tablets, they are natural and proven by several clinical studies. However, I don't have much faith in them either, but they were on special offer so I figured what's the harm.

What exercises are good for specifically losing belly fat? Or is it just general cardio stuff such as running?

 

[the Last Fight]

Step 1 .. stop being a vegetarian

 

[sandyc]

Ignore this ^

You're basically eating a poor veggie diet.

Cut out the carbs (especially if it's white pasta) white rice and normal potatoes.

Have sweet potatoes (low gi, less holding onto fat) instead. Eat broccoli, pulses, more greens, chick peas, tofu.

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

Is there a particular reason you're a vegetarian? It's much easier to switch to a more protein and fat based diet if you weren't. Humans are omnivores for a reason.

 

[sandyc]

^That's debatable but whatever..

If you're drinking a lot, that beer is sitting in your stomach at night and turning to fat.

Being a vegetarian is easy and it's more than easy enough to get enough protein if you're not an athlete (even then it's easy). Sounds to me like you have a bit of a carb addiction.

Stop drinking beer (until you're at your ideal weight then factor it in your calories for the day/week)

Cut out all pasta, rice, bread, white potatoes (for the time being at least, these things probably aren't helping your hair loss either)

Get a bunch of frozen veg, make stir fries (no noodles) curries etc. Add chick peas, soy beans into your diet.

 

[Brains Expel Hair]

I am vegetarian, and generally eat healthy
Thanks

Wait, which one is it? Unless you're a part of the very small % of the human species that thrives off of a vegetarian diet then you can't both be vegetarian and eating healthy.

If you're aiming for optimum health then you'll have to start consuming the foods that your body needs and that's largely animal based with 0% grains.

Although if you don't care about your muscle tone/heart health/cognitive functioning then don't worry about the meat, all you really need to do is cut out all of those carbs to get rid of the belly. "Beer belly" is really just "insulin resistance belly". ie: that's the start of metabolic syndrome.

 

[wi11iam]

If i could give only one piece of advice, it would be to change your gym workout. No cardio (f*** that), get a whole-body routine going and push yourself to the limit. Cardio is boring in the gym (running, rowing), instead play a new sport that you're interested in or an old one you love.

I stay fit because I ride my bike EVERYWHERE for cardio, and lift weights in the gym.

In terms of diet, always think more protein and less carbs. For veges chick peas are awesome, im not veggie but eat them almost every day.

 

[Fundi]

I'll try and cover the points raised.

Being a vegetarian, mix between psychological and habit. I love the look and smell of meat, don't care about animals but can't bring myself to eat it.

I rarely eat junk food for things high in fat.

I do eat a lot of potatoes, rice and pasta but have started to cut down on this. And also, taking the pills I referred to containing Phase 2 before eating carbs and sea kelp.

I take protein shakes after working out containing minimal carbs.

I'm now also eating smaller portions.

So far, I've noticed, as well as my girlfriend, that my stomach looks less bloated. However, on the scales, I don't seem to have lost any weight. (Could be because of more muscle gained in my arms from working out).

 

[bigentries]

What is up with all the carbs scare? It is as ridiculous as the fat scare of the 90's

A "beer belly" is just a lot of visceral fat. Get rid of that fat and you'll get rid of that belly

The magic way is, consume less calories to create a deficit, and you'll lose the fat.

Now, people, are going to give you a hard time about protein. While I don't believe a vegetarian diet is "healthy", just because you don't consume animal protein doesn't mean you can't exercise.

Train hard, count your calories, and you are done. Going twice a week to the gym and expect to lose weight is just a path to

What kind of pills are those? How are they able to stop the absorption of a macro nutrient? sounds like BS to me. What happens to all the glucose that is broken down if you don't absorb it? A bathroom nightmare?

 

[Fundi]

Not sure about the pills, as stated I purchased them on at the spur of the moment as they were on special offer.

They contain 500mg of

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaseolamin

Read clinic trial results.

They're endorsed by several celebrities in UK (not that that counts for much). No side effects.

As well as going gym twice a week I also work out at home.

 

[the Last Fight]

Counting calories is BS, whos going to live there lives like that, its a short term solution and is why diet never work.

The best carbs for the body are veggies and fruit, the others have the potential to cause issues, and weight gain is only one of them

 

[JLL]

Why all the recommendations for fruit? While a small amount of fruits and berries is probably useful, fructose is problematic for several reasons. Juices are pretty much out of the question.

If you don't want to go entirely low-carb, the first thing I would cut out is pasta and bread and see what happens. Most people can handle potatoes and white rice pretty well. I definitely think starch is a better option than fructose.

I used to be pretty anti-carbs, but I've changed my mind somewhat -- I think there are lots of people who can stay thin on a high-carb diet. That said, I was thin even before I started my high-fat diet and intermittent fasting, but that experiment lowered my body fat into the single digits.

Like someone already said, I would also opt for strength training instead of cardio, but if you are going to do cardio, taking green tea before exercise might help you burn more fat.

I'm thinking a few cups of coffee won't hurt either (see the adiponectin connection).

 

[marklee]

z

Jogging is an excellent exercise because it let you lose weight
evenly throughout your whole body. If you want to lose weight in
specific areas, you should target them with exercises. If they are
your problem areas, they will be very difficult to tone. You will have
to work double on them.
Eat healthy: eat 3 whole meals a day. For your meals, you want something healthy and that fills you up so that you don't get hungry again for a long time. You need to also make healthy choices like eating whole wheat bread or whole grain bread instead of white bread and brown rice instead of white rice. Cut all junk food.

 

[Primo]

Firstly you have to at least cut down on the beer slightly as all those calories will turn to fat, secondly just doing free weights only at the gym will not burn stubborn belly fat...

You should try to incorporate High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into your work out plan at least once a week, HIIT basically involves more sprinting and less slow jogging. This high intensity running will actually promote muscle growth and burn a lot more fat than a slow leisurely 45minute jog. All professional athletes, including footballers, rugby players, do HIIT training, hence their trim physique.

Your carb diet is absolutely fine as long as you burn enough of it off through a weekly combination of weight training and HIIT.

 

[powersam]

^That's debatable but whatever..

You could debate it I guess, but the HUGE amounts of rock solid evidence that anyone could bring to bear against anyone claiming that humans are not omnivores, would make it a very short debate.


To the OP - Want to lose your beer belly? Eat Paleo.

 

[powersam]

If you make a thread I'm more than happy to answer any questions. Got lots of studies backing it up as well.

Probably best if I just talk about Paleo though, I tend to blurt out quite insulting things about the vegan diet when asked

 

[Rawtashk]

Ditch the gym and do p90x instead. It works, and I'm living proof

Before p90x

90 days later

 

[the Last Fight]

LOL .. I hope your joking .. loose the beer and all wheat products and you will loose the belly