How can I Lose Belly Fat Weight and Ma... - Weight Loss Support

Weight Loss Support

115,083 members61,310 posts

How can I Lose Belly Fat Weight and Maintain a Healthy Diet Plan?

JimmyNeu profile image
11 Replies

I’m 20 years old. Weighing approx 13 stone. Fairly skinny build but recently I’ve been putting on a bit of belly fat from excess drinking and eating at the weekend.

My daily calorie intake was somewhat near 2000 and I’ve cut that to about 1000-1500 max.

I’m currently doing a 5km run in the gym daily and doing weights after and then going for a swim.

I also walk approximately 2/3 miles a day.

If I’m only burning somewhat 500-700 Calories a day and eating more than double that, how am I supposed to lose this belly fat as I find it hard to believe I can eat under 500 Calories a day?

Thanks

Written by
JimmyNeu profile image
JimmyNeu
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
11 Replies
TheAwfulToad profile image
TheAwfulToadVisitor

Sounds like you're making good progress with your exercise, but the purpose of exercise is to give your body more options for using excess dietary energy (as opposed to just storing it as fat). It's not to just "burn off calories". Broadly speaking, your body will demand food such that calories-in = calories-out. That's why most people maintain a constant weight, albeit with an undesirably-high bodyfat ratio.

You have a big advantage in being 20 years old, so all you really need to do is knock the junk food on the head. You're probably consuming a lot more of this than you realise: it's not just kebabs and burgers, but all the processed rubbish that we accept as normal. White bread; pasta-n-sauce; breakfast cereals; frozen chips and pies and chicken whatnots. We buy this stuff without even really considering what's it's made of. Most of it is just cheap ingredients tarted up with flavourings and colours so it looks like food. It isn't.

Base your meals on veg, meat, eggs, and dairy (in roughly that order), and you can't go far wrong.

Oh, and you're eating far too little. Baseline energy burn for a 13-stone 20-year-old will be around the 1700-1800kCal mark. That's the energy you need just to sit in a chair all day. Eat less and your body will go into "shutdown mode", attempting to conserve as much as possible ...including your bodyfat.

JimmyNeu profile image
JimmyNeu in reply toTheAwfulToad

Thanks for your reply. Very helpful.

If I maintain a healthy diet consisting of eating eggs for breakfast and then having meat for dinner will I still be able to lose this weight as I’m feeling that would still be too much food consumed compared to what I work out.

TheAwfulToad profile image
TheAwfulToadVisitor in reply toJimmyNeu

It's physically impossible to give your body less than it wants/needs. If you eat too little, it'll aggressively demand more, and you will comply ... eventually. The aim is to eat the energy you need in a form that your body is less likely to store as fat. Start with vegetables (not potatoes; vegetables) and add as much meat/eggs/dairy as you wish to complete the meal. Eat until you're full.

I realise this sounds counter-intuitive, but simply eating less won't work. The key is to eat less of the wrong things, and more of the right things. When you do this, your appetite will crank downwards of its own accord as your body "discovers" that you have some spare bodyfat that needs using up.

in reply toJimmyNeu

Don't forget you burn calories each day just staying alive. The gym extra calories is on top of this.

IndigoBlue61 profile image
IndigoBlue61

Hello and welcome to the forum Jimmyneu 😊

I agree with TheAwfulToad I’m afraid, it’s a question of just sticking with it and celebrating being fit and energised. You have said it yourself that excess abdominal fat is probably the result of the beer (which converts to sugar in the blood and will be stored as fat)

If you haven’t already, then please read the Welcome post here which has lots of useful information about all the things we have on offer healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

For your own privacy and safety online we suggest that you lock your posts by selecting ‘members of my community’ when you write a new post. Please read our security post here healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... especially as your post isn’t locked

Best wishes in your weight loss journey

Indigo 😊

S11m profile image
S11m

I am only a few months short of being half a century older than you.

When I was cycling 15,000 miles a year (in my fifties) I thought I could eat anything and not put on weight - but it did not work.

I met a man who lost 4½ stone in 50 days - but that was dragging a sledge to the South Pole!

It seems that my belly fat is the last area to go - I think targeted exercise can give you muscle definition where you want it - but I think we have no control over which areas of fat burn off when.

ChicagoGirl1961 profile image
ChicagoGirl1961 in reply toS11m

That's over 40 miles average per day. Where did you find the time?

S11m profile image
S11m in reply toChicagoGirl1961

My first wife left me, and I was officially self-employed - but actually unemployed.

ChicagoGirl1961 profile image
ChicagoGirl1961 in reply toS11m

Is cycling or exercise still a part of your daily routine?

S11m profile image
S11m in reply toChicagoGirl1961

I was disabled for years but, for a few months I have been walking regularly- about 30km week.

cheritorrox profile image
cheritorrox

You need a certain amount of energy (calories) just to be alive. It's called Basal Metabolic Rate and you can calculate it here:

bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calc...

The energy you use up on exercise goes on top of that!

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

Weight Loss Goals!

I’m wanting to lose 4 stone by at least December time? I don’t know if that’s achievable?...
Laurennxoxo profile image

I’ve been trying to lose my belly by changing my diet. I need advice and tips. Thank you

I’m 30 years old. I been fat all my life. I was going through a depression period where I lost 90...
Shadoe profile image

I lost my belly fat

I completely stopped snacking and reduced my supper by half. I'm a 58-year-old Japanese male who is...
Nobu profile image

The Whoosh effect. How we lose weight.

I was very interested to read how we lose weight. How many of us weigh each day (me ☺️) or are...
wakywoo profile image

How many calories on the NHS diet plan?

Hi Just a general question, are you all sticking to the 1400 calories (for women) or are you going...
lisajane0401 profile image

Moderation team

See all
TeamAdmin profile image
TeamAdminAdministrator
BridgeGirl profile image
BridgeGirlAdministrator
TheTabbyCat profile image
TheTabbyCatAdministrator

Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.

Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.