Not looking for a six pack but I'd like to drop the spare tire

September 8, 2015 9:19 AM

Reasonably fit lady in her late 30s having trouble looking like I actually work out. How to actually get physical results when I do mostly all the right things? Snowflakes of mild despair inside.

At 38, I now understand what Douglas Coupland's protagonist in Generation X (or maybe Shampoo Planet) meant when he says his parents "discovered their bodies too late in life." I didn't really start getting serious about losing weight and getting healthy until nearly ten years ago. I have made serious progress in that time, but dammit, I cannot get rid of this flabby ring around my midsection. I am very busty so I got that working against me too.

I do serious cardio five days a week (high intensity spin classes), some yoga, some basic weight training (I have to be careful because of my lower back's tendency to be an asshole). I don't own a car. I walk or bike everywhere I go.

I want to do more to achieve a more toned body, what do I do? And since I have a finite amount of money and time, what do you recommend? Or am I just DOOMED?

I don't smoke, I'm vegan, I don't drink caffeine, and currently I'm not imbibing delicious empty calories in the form of craft beer. I am not looking for a quick fix, I am willing to put in the work. I feel I do pretty good for long term sustainable fitness goals. Hope me!

posted by Kitteh to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

I have a feeling a lot of the answers will be low carb-related-- have you tried low carb? Whole30 is a good place to start (if you're the type who likes to dive right in). I also know someone who had success with the South Beach Diet book.
posted by easter queen at 9:34 AM on September 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

First, I bet you look great! And some of this might just be where you will stay genetically.

You might see if you can dig into weight-training a little more. More muscle means more fat is burned. This article talks about weight-training with back pain.
posted by jander03 at 9:41 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Weight loss, or fat loss at least, has so much to do with diet, and while you may be eating very healthily, I'd start experimenting with low carb, high protein. I know this may be difficult for you as a vegan, hopefully other vegan Mefites can chime in with some recommendations.

It sounds like you're doing a lot of cardio. I suggest switching up the cardio for more weight training, consult with an experienced trainer to find exercises that don't load the weight on your back. As an anecdote, I have been an avid cardio (running, mostly) workout enthusiast for years and years and years, and my body stayed pretty much the same no matter how often I ran. I was maintaining thin, but with lots of "jiggle" areas. Once I started incorporating more strength training and re-vamped my diet to low carb (not no carbs, I eat plenty of vegetables) and upped my protein intake, I saw huge improvements. This is especially true for my gut, tummy area; I finally understood what people meant by "its like the fat just melted off" (in time...!)
posted by hollypolly at 9:42 AM on September 8, 2015 [10 favorites]

Apologies if this is simplistic, but are you tracking your calories? Every day? I have exercised my whole life (and been vegan and/or vegetarian a lot of that time), but I'm typically 10-15 lbs overweight because of the eating. I love eating. It's all about the food intake for me.
posted by something something at 9:45 AM on September 8, 2015 [8 favorites]

Tragically, abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. Eating less (and better, but mostly less) is thee only effective thing to do here. Count calories, and run a caloric deficit until you're happy, then bring yourself back up to maintenance.
posted by Kreiger at 9:50 AM on September 8, 2015 [9 favorites]

I haven't done spinning myself, but from experience and from many people I've heard that cycling doesn't do anything for mid-section. There are plenty of serious amateur cyclists with flabby bellies out there. And how high is high intensity? Do you feel so gassed you almost have to stop? Is it like pushing up a hill for 15 minutes? Breaking into a sweat for 60 minutes, 5 times a week, is GREAT for your health, but may not be enough if you want to look *athletic* (a lot of it is genetic though, I'm sure you know). If this is really important to you I think you might benefit from a personal trainer. Once you get into a fitness routine it's sometimes hard to know if you're pushing yourself hard enough and whether or not you can do more. A good personal trainer should be able to tell you that. And you know belly fat is the hardest to get rid of... you'll have to slim down entirely a lot for that last bit to go. If you are fairly happy with the rest of your body, you might reconsider whether or not you want to go to those extremes. Some people just look better with a little bit more fat.
posted by bread-eater at 9:55 AM on September 8, 2015

The low-carb and weight-training suggestions are great ones. You also have to take account of how you are naturally built. I, for instance, am irrevocably apple-shaped, because I am 5'2" with very long, slender limbs and a proportionately short torso (I sometimes joke that I have a thorax). I can't get a defined waist or a six-pack because that is how I am built. I can get firmer and more defined, I can get terrific legs and a shapely rear end, I can get toned arms if I work at it more than I do, but I will always be a waistless wonder, alas.

If you are short-torsoed then you might always be fighting belly fat. It sucks and I hate it but there are women who wish they had my legs - everyone has trouble spots and strong points. Low-carb and weight-training are good for you no matter what your body composition is.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:59 AM on September 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

Can you maybe mix up your exercise routine and include other types of exercise? The body tends to get used to whatever kind of exercise you put it through, so for me, it's always been good to mix it up as much as possible. Yoga, biking, dance classes, hiking, weight lifting, etc.

Also, look at your diet. I was a vegan for about ten years and weighed about ten to fifteen pounds more than I do now. I ate healthy, but there's something about a pescatarian diet that's just better for my body. Not saying that you should stop being vegan, but a vegan diet tends to be really high in carbohydrates and not so high in protein.
posted by Lingasol at 10:08 AM on September 8, 2015

Response by poster: Popping into add:

I have been using Lose It! to track food/calories/exercise since 2010 and credit it with helping me lose 20+ pounds over the last five years. I am very consistent with it.

I do love carbs but do not need any questions about how much protein I get. I get plenty. Tracking fat/carbs/protein is one of the great things Lose It! offers. (I will confess that my carb intake can be high depending on stress and other factors. I get I need less not more and it is something I constantly work on. But fries!)

My spin studio is going to add spin classes that incorporate HIIT with weights later this month and I am hoping that helps.
posted by Kitteh at 10:17 AM on September 8, 2015

I think your solution will be found in diet, not exercise. High fat, moderate protein, and very low carb is what helped me with solving similar issues. It can be challenging with also being vegan as those foods tend to be very carb-intensive, but it can be done.
posted by quince at 10:20 AM on September 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

If some of that spare tire is fluid retention, eating hot peppers may help, especially if you eat them prior to walking/cardio.
posted by Michele in California at 10:43 AM on September 8, 2015

I'm in my mid-twenties but a workout program that transformed my body was Tracy Anderson Method. I did the Precision Toning DVD but she has a ton of DVDs (metamorphosis being the most popular) and you're bound to find something of hers that would work best for you.
posted by newthirdworld at 10:51 AM on September 8, 2015

Girls Gone Strong is a great resource. If you want to see less fat and more muscle, strength training and eating to support muscle is what you want to do.

Here's Molly's simple guide to nutrition for women. She does a good job of breaking down the different kinds of carbs (leafy greens vs sugary fruit) and gives good precise protein goals. Match your diet up with this guide and your body will respond. There's a reason why people with good muscle definition eat this way. It works.

Back to The Basics Nutrition
posted by littlewater at 10:54 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Two things to reconcile: 1) women have higher needs for body fat for ideal body function than men; 2) you can't choose where that fat is stored. What I'm trying to say is that while it is absolutely possible to banish the fat from your midsection, I am not convinced that it would make you healthier if you did.

Setting that aside for now, there are a million ways to get there from here, but dropping some of the cardio and focusing on weight training would get you there faster. If you have safety concerns because of prior injuries, a physical therapist can be helpful.
posted by telegraph at 11:18 AM on September 8, 2015

Barre class did this for me. I always carry more weight in my stomach but barre made my abs so much stronger that everything started to sit flatter and it's great for posture etc. I had always heard that nothing would ever make me feel better about my stomach area because genetics, but barre did it.
posted by zutalors! at 11:51 AM on September 8, 2015

I highly recommend rock climbing. It's the only thing I've found that I kinda like that is inexpensive enough for me to do regularly. The cost of a four family membership is less than joining our local Y and renting the harness and the shoes is all of $6 at our gym.

I'm definitely starting to see some strength and toning in my legs and a reduction in my stomach area and I don't even go regularly. Only about once/week for two or three hours. But I think the fact that it uses my entire body helps.
posted by zizzle at 2:40 PM on September 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

Try experimenting with low carbs. That made a big difference for me.
posted by salvia at 2:49 PM on September 8, 2015

A few weeks of reducing carbs dramatically reduces bloating/ water retention in me. I’m guessing I don’t lose significant amounts of weight, but when I keep carbs down I go down 1-2 pants sizes in weeks, but back up again within days when I start eating carbs again (which I do, because they are delicious). It may be worth a try for you just briefly, to see if bloating is more of your problem than fat per se.

I know you said you don’t want to talk about protein because you’re getting plenty, and as a vegetarian I know it’s super annoying when people claim you’re not getting enough. However, I do find that my strength training goes better if I eat well more than the RDA for protein. Building more muscle can help weight loss by increasing your metabolism a bit.
posted by metasarah at 8:14 AM on September 9, 2015