Want to burn off belly fat before summer.

[AndrewG9]

First off I;m no body builder but I figured you could at least help me get started. I am a rower but I have fat on mybelly that I am disgusted with and really want to get rid of before lets say June 10th toset a goal. I am in good shape cardivascularly so I can do an intense workout and I have good self control over my eating habits but I just really want to see my abs that I do core workouts for by summer,

Where do I start?

[brgrman]

Ab fat can't be burned alone. It takes a good diet, muscle building so that your body's metabolism is more efficient, and some cardio. I'd suggest reading the "nutrition" section, including journals, and also the fat burning guides in "workouts". If you use a "cutting plan" then you're going to burn fat all over your body, not just in the belly.

Hope that helps.

[JHI]

"First off I;m no body builder but I figured you could at least help me get started. I am a rower but I have fat on mybelly that I am disgusted with and really want to get rid of before lets say June 10th toset a goal."

You can't spot reduce. ( only burn fat from abs, etc )

In order to burn fat you need to burn more calories in a day then you consume.

Quote from President Wilson (Take Burning Fat to a Whole New Level)

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Caloric Deficit Very Important!

You need to understand that the only way to lose fat is to burn more calories in a day then you consume! If you do not then you cannot reach your goal. Therefore you must lower your calories or up your workload in order to tap into your fat stores. However you do not want to lower your calories too low too quickly! If you do, you will undoubtedly trigger your bodies alarm systems and your metabolism will immediately suffer. To avoid this travesty, start by slowly lowering them by 500 and when you hit a plateau lower them slightly again. Perhaps only by 200 to get your fat burning going again. ( or you could calorie cycle, see below )

My point is that I do not advice dropping your calories by 1500 in one day! You need to slowly lower them! For example, say someone was bulking up with 4,000 calories a day. They would start their cut by lowering them to 3,500. They burn fat for a while with this and then hit a plateau. The problem may only be that they need to change their workout up. But if that doesn't work then they should lower their calories down to 3,000 to give their fat burning another kick start. By the end of their cut they may be all the way down to 2, 500 calories a day. But they did not get their over night! Doing so would cause their body's to go into shock and slow their metabolic rate to a crawl! I urge you to take this into consideration when you come up with your caloric intake. Starvation is never an option! If you do starve yourself then you have defeated the purpose of this article which is to control your body. Not for your body to control you!

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Quote from President Wilson (13 Weeks To Hardcore Fat Burning The Diet)

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Nutrient and Macronutrient Balance And Tricks To Maintain The Metabolic Rate

You will never reach your goal of becoming shredded, if your body does not receive a proper balance of macronutrients and micronutrients. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing good can come out of this article! In other words, if you try and force your body into a state of fat burning, by starving it of one or more nutrients, you will hit a plateau in a head on collision that won't be easy to recover from! That being said, it is my intension to include everything in your diet so as to keep your body running at 100 percent of its capacity, and in turn it will reward you by maintaining a high metabolic rate. Lets analyze these concepts:

Macronutrients

Proteins - You will get plenty of protein in this diet. Each meal will be chalk full of this vital food source. Too many people make the mistake of lowering their protein when they go on a cut. This is one of the most costly things you can possibly do! Without adequate protein you will lose your muscle at an extremely high rate and sabotage your fat burning efforts! note: a high protein intake also facilitates glucagon release. Your body secretes more glucagon after a protein rich meal.

Fats - We will also emphasize essential fatty acids here, both from omega 3 and omega 6 sources. Read more here, Essential Fatty Acids - An In Depth Analysis

Carbs - All of your carbohydrates will come from fibrous sources. You will not be allowed any simple sources unless you are taking in your post workout shake. The role they will play is to spare protein, maintain energy levels in the gym, and also induce the release of insulin post workout. Remember, after you workout, your body releases cortisol ( see take your fat burning to the next level ) at an unmatched rate! Cortisol has been proven to lower thyroid hormone output. The lower your output in this area, the slower your metabolic rate will become.

Micronutrients

A game that many athletes play with their diets, is to lackadaisically take their vitamins. In other words, they take them when they feel like it, and that is a rarity! You need to take a multivitamin and multimineral everyday without fail! You also need to take chromium everyday and 3 grams of vitamin C.

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Quote from President Wilson (13 Weeks To HArdcore Fat Burning The Diet)

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How To Find Your Caloric Needs

It is important to understand that your caloric needs are different than mine, or the next person you come in contact with. This is a personal endeavor, that you must carefully calculate for yourself.

Take The Average

Taking your average calories per day is extremely simple. I personally do not like to list formulas, because they apply differently to everyone. What you do is count the total amount of calories you eat in a day for the next 3-5 days or so, then average out that amount. If you neither gained nor lost a pound, then that is your maintenance. Its important to find a regimen that maintains you. This is purely a testing method. Most bodybuilders already know how many calories they need to maintain. Which is why so many of you will like this as you have a good idea of what your maintenance calories are. For example, lets say you ate 3, 500 calories today, 3, 300 tomorrow and 3, 400 the next day and maintained your current weight. That's an average of 3, 400 calories a day. Therefore this is the total you need to remember, because this diet will force you to subtract calories from this amount.

Important note: Last time I discussed this method, I received several emails saying, that they ate the amount of calories that I discussed in the article exactly as I wrote it. This is understandable, because an example is easy to misread. However, it was still an example. Nothing more, nothing less, so it's important that you apply the principle to yourself, not by consuming exactly what I wrote down( I.E. 3,400 calories ), but by counting exactly what you consume to maintain your current weight.

Other Formulas

I'm sure many of you would like to know what formulas people end out using in this case. As I stated I prefer the athlete to get to know his or her body and calculate from there. However, I will list the 3 most popular methods for calculating your caloric needs, aside from the one listed above.

Method I - Method one for finding ones maintenance calories is to simply multiply your current body weight by the following numbers:

12-14 if your metabolism is slow
15 if you have an average metabolism
16-18 if you have a fast to super fast metabolism

For example, if you weigh 200 pounds and have an average metabolism, general maintenance for you would be 3, 000 calories. 200 x 15 = 3, 000 You can see how this can vary for many individuals, but it may give you a broader base of where you are at. If you have a super fast metabolism multiply this times 18. If you have a slower metabolism multiply your weight by 12-14, depending on how slow it is.

Method II - This is a method that calculates your basal metabolic rate, based on your height, weight and age. You expend energy no matter what you are doing, even when sleeping. Thus your Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day - that's my kind of day!

Women: 661 + (4.38 x weight in pounds) + (4.33 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age) = BMR
Men: 67 + (6.24 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.9 x age)= BMR

Lets take a 200 pound male who is 22 and is 5-10.

67 + (6.24 x 200) + (12.7 x 70) - (6.9 x 22) - ( 6.9 x 22 ) = 1986

Next you need to calculate your activity level for the day by multiplying your BMR x's the following number that suites you.

1.2-1.3 = Very Light

1.5 for Moderate -

1.6-1.7 for Heavy -

1.8-2.1 for Insanely Rigorous -

If his energy expenditure is moderate than I would multiply 1986 by 1.5 and get 2,979 calories to maintain his current bodyweight weight.

Method III - This method is based on your lean body mass and your activity level. In order to find out your lean body mass simply purchase a pair of calipers and get a measure of your current body fat percentage. The calipers will have instructions. You can also have someone measure it for you at the gym. Its a rather simple process. Here are the steps to finding your daily maintenance needs.

1. Measure your Current Body fat. For example, lets say that you are 180 pounds and 12 percent body fat.
2. Calculate the amount of lean body mass that you have. Like so: 180 x .12 = 21.6 pounds of fat. Now subtract that from your weight. 180 - 21.6 = 158.4 pounds of lean body mass
3. Next in order to properly determine this formula you need to change your pounds into a measure of kilograms. This is simple, just divide your lean body mass weight by 2.2. So your lean body mass in kilograms is 158.4 / 2.2 = 72
4. The next thing you will do is calculate your Resting metabolic rate.

So we will calculate the calories you would need to maintain your weight if you were to lay on your behind and watch soap operas all day! In other words, if you did absolutely nothing. In order to do this
you would take the number 500 + ( 22 x your lean body mass ). Or 500 + ( 22 x 72) = 2084 calories

Next you need to calculate your activity level for the day.

1.2-1.3 = Very Light

1.5-1.6 for Moderate -

1.6-1.7 for Heavy -

1.9-2.1 for Insanely Rigorous -

Now multiply your caloric needs times the number that fits you best. Lets say this particular person has a moderate activity level during his day. Then you would multiply 1.5 x 2084 = 3126 calories a day to maintain his weight.

These are the three of the most popular formulas. Again I prefer the averaging of calories per day. But these will certainly give you a better base to work with.

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Quote from President Wilson (13 Weeks To Hardcore Fat Burning The Diet)

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Average Calories You Will Consume On The Diet

This is where things get tricky. In order to tap into your fat stores you will need to lower your overall caloric intake. The key here is to not lower it all at once, or lower it too drastically. Here is my recommendation:

weeks 1-3 Lower calories by 250 calories. If your maintenance is 3, 000 calories, you will drop them by 250 to average 2,750 calories a day.

weeks 4-6 Lower calories by 250.

week 7 Raise calories this week to increase metabolism. We will get into more detail on this latter.

weeks 8-10 Lower calories by 250.

Weeks 11-13 Lower calories by 250.

This is the end of the diet. Once you reach the end of it. I would suggest again resetting your metabolic rate. I will discuss this in an article in the near future.

What you notice here is a gradual lowering of your macronutrient intake over the 13 week span. This is to compensate for your bodies possible adaptation to the diet. This is a general guideline, however, I want you to watch yourself carefully on this diet. If you do not hit a plateau, then do not lower your calories. Instead, leave them as is until you reach a plateau. This is why it is important to monitor yourself carefully.

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Sample Meal Plan For Someone Cutting At 2,500 Calories A Day

Quote From President Wilson (13 Weeks To Hardcore Fat Burning The Diet)

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Breakfast:

1 1/2 servings of Oatmeal 250 calories
50 grams of Whey Protein 250 calories
Two Glasses Of Water

total: 500 calories, 50 grams of quality protein

One hour before your workout drink 2-3 tall glasses of water.

workout ( This is what its all about, so give me 200 percent effort! )

meal two post workout meal

Follow the Window Of Opportunity guidelines here.

meal three

a baked or steamed sweet potato 115 calories
small tossed green salad with safflower oil 185 calories
broiled chicken breast 200 calories
two tall glasses of water

total 500 calories, 40 grams of protein

meal two:

broiled Salmon 200 calories
One heaping Spoonful of a mixture of Flax Seed & Safflower Oil (150 calories), A glass of water

total: 350 calories, 40 grams of quality protein

Meal Five

Mixture of Efa's - 100 calories

Lean Tri-Tip Steak - 300 calories
Steamed Spinach - 100 calories
glass of ice water

total 500 calories, 60 grams of protein

Meal Six

30 grams of Cottage Cheese - 150 calories
One Spoonful of A mixture of Flax Seed Oil and Safflower Oil - 150 calories

Steamed Spinach - 50 calories
A glass of water

total: 350 calories - 30 grams of quality protein

Total is 2, 500 calories and 260 grams of muscle sparing and repairing protein! In addition you get plenty of efa's and complex carbs for energy!

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DIET

13 Weeks To Hardcore Fat Burning - The Diet

WORKOUT

13 Weeks to Hardcore Fat Burning The Workout

CARDIO

Analysis of Nutrient use during Low, Moderate, and High Intensity Exercise

Direct Comparisons of Fuel use during Low, Moderate, and High Intensity Exercises