Lost Weight but Still Have Fat Belly: Cause, Solutions

The weight is all lost but the fat in your belly remains, but once you know the cause you’ll be able to cure this problem.

I’m first going to tell you the solutions to the problem of still having excess fat in your gut despite having lost all the weight you wanted.

But be forewarned: You will be stunned at the solutions to getting rid of BELLY FAT after you’ve lost all your desired weight:

• Intense strength training that targets the legs, back and chest
• High intensity interval training (HIIT), a form of cardio exercise

Pretty shocked, right? Nowhere in these solutions do I mention “belly,” “abs” or “stomach.”

Once you understand why hitting the legs, back and chest hard with strength training, and engaging in twice-weekly HIIT will solve your problem, you will be very eager to embark on these solutions to get rid of that remaining fat in your belly once and for all.

Why Your Belly Is Still “Fat” Despite Having Lost All the Weight

Most likely, you lost all of your weight (reached your goal according to the scale), with the simple formula of calories in vs. calories out.

This approach was also likely combined with more exercise than you normally do in your life.

Most people who go on a diet for weight loss increase their physical activity in some way.

But even though they’re now consuming fewer calories and have added an hour of walking in the park to their efforts (or maybe it’s a group fitness class, use of cardio equipment and even some strength training), the net result is ONLY weight loss.

But isn’t that what you want? Well of course, but here’s the problem with ONLY weight loss: This doesn’t mean your body composition has changed.

You’ve whittled down the number on the scale, but your body composition is essentially the same. You may even be termed what is known as “skinny fat.”

You fit into that size 8 dress, but that mushy gut is still there.

If you’re a man, you have that potbelly or paunch going on, even though the rest of you looks trim.

Your body’s energy needs are not high enough to use the fat in your belly for fuel.

You can read all you want about hormones like leptin, ghrelin and estrogen, but the bottom line — the simplest explanation — is that your body just doesn’t have a need to plunge into the fat storage of your stomach and convert it to fuel.

The solution is to increase your body’s energy demands.

That hour walk, that “body pump” class, those three-times-weekly stints on the elliptical machine, and your current strength training program (if you even have one!) are just not enough to…

…DRIVE UP YOUR RESTING METABOLISM.

Cure for Belly Fat After You’ve Lost Weight

You must give your body a reason to ransack the fat depos in your stomach: Slam your legs, back and chest with resistance workouts.

But wait…maybe you’re already doing that—or so you think. As a former personal trainer for a health club, I can’t begin to tell you how many men and women (new clients) reported to me that they were already hammering their body with various routines…

…but it turned out they were doing nothing of the sort. They weren’t lying; it’s just that they didn’t know what intensity really meant.

A 3.5 mph walk on a treadmill at 15 percent incline while holding on does not qualify as an intense workout. An old lady can do this if she holds on hard enough.

And doing lat pull-downs with a weight so light that you can do 20 reps even though you stop at 12, well, that’s hardly intense, either.

And spending half your gym time doing isolation exercises (dumbbell kick-backs, biceps curls, crunches, side bends, sit-ups) won’t pump up your body’s energy needs, either.

Trash the abdominal exercises. These target very small muscles which use very little energy.

Stop spending so much time on the triceps and biceps targeting routines.

Stop trying to balance on one leg while lifting little dumbbells out to your side.

The largest muscle groups are the quads, hamstrings, glutes, back and chest.

If you subject these muscle groups to crushing routines, this will dramatically spike your body’s energy needs.

So much so, in fact, that your metabolism will remain elevated even while you sleep.

In fact, in the hours right after a grueling weightlifting regimen, your body is in a state of deficit.

Now here’s the million dollar question: Where is your body going to get the energy it needs to recover from these strenuous workouts?

STORED BODY FAT

Where is most of your body fat stored? Your belly!

If you pummel your quads, hams and glutes with intense squats and leg presses, your body’s energy needs will skyrocket.

I’ve seen it with my own eyes: Skinny fat clients, with thin arms and legs but a plump midsection, slamming their legs with squats and leg presses and other big movements—and over a period of weeks, by golly, their stomach shrinks!

And this was without any ab-targeting exercises like crunches!

The Followng Exercises will Slice and Dice the Fat in Your Belly

• Barbell and dumbbell squat
• Deadlift (king fat-burner!)
• Leg press
• Seated row
• Standing barbell row
• Lat pull-down
• Bench press
• Dumbbell press
• Standing overhead barbell press
• Kettlebell swing

 

 

Stick with this plan for 30 days and see what happens to your waistline.

I can go on and on about how many times per week, how long per session, but this article is getting long enough without doing that.

But here’s a real simple rule: If you can complete 13 repetitions, even with difficulty, increase the resistance.

If you cannot complete eight reps, reduce the resistance.

Your rep range should be eight to 12; an 8-12 rep max. You should be battling it out for that last repetition.

Rest times should average 60-90 seconds in between sets.

Stick to this program and the pudge in your belly will go away, and you’ll also get leaner (less body fat) in your arms and legs too: a more “buff” look, though your NET weight loss may stay about the same as your body composition changes.

Here is how HIIT can strip off fat. 

Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained clients of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health. 

 

.

Top image: Shutterstock/ESB Professional