Why can't I lose belly fat?

[Anonymous]

In the past 12 months I have managed to lose 30kg (66lbs) after I put on a heap of weight shortly after I quit playing rugby due to work and study commitments. My body shape is a natural heavy build, I'm 5'8 with broad shoulders, large chest and a generally large frame ie even my rib cage is larger than the majority of guys. For some reason no matter what I have done I cannot lose any more belly fat. I still weigh 213lbs and although I have a lot of muscle I cannot get rid of my belly even though the rest of me is in great shape. My diet is great as far as I know. It consists mainly of chicken/fish/salad/vegetables and a few mixed nuts and no preservatives and very little fat. I do about an hour and a half of exercise 6 days a week and I consider myself to be a great deal fitter than the average person on the street but its like my body has decided that I'm still going to have a gut no matter what I do.

Has anyone else gone through this?

Any advice?

[DeepBlue]

Damn dude you are a tank. I weigh about the same as you but I'm 6 feet. Wouldn't want to face that low centre of gravity on the rugby field, lol. I think you just need to be patient. It sounds like you are doing the right things and getting fit and healthy. Not every body type is conducive to having six pack abs. Doesn't mean you aren't in shape.

[Belgie]

You have too much carbs in your diet.

To get rid of the belly fat, you need to go on the sort of diet that body builders use, to massively reduce the amount of overall fat% in their body.

When you can reduce your body fat down to something like 4% of your weight, you'll find the belly fat is long gone.

[Jordikinz]

I can't get rid of my belly fat either. I've lost 45 lbs and no matter what I do the belly fat won't go away. The stomach might just be one of the harder areas to target. I've been trying to concentrate on just ab workouts. Like electric boogaloo said, " I can feel my abs under my chub but they're not coming through." lol It's true for me too.

[Myrrth]

ab workouts do not target the belly fat, they target the creation of belly muscle. If you want to lose fat you need to burn more energy than you eat or drink. Eating very small amounts is not comfortable (and often not healthy). Exercising more is also uncomfortable but is healthy unless taken to great extremes. I'd say that most people who lose a lot of weight, such as you and the writer of this post, have a high tolerance for such discomforts, but have hit your limit.

[Electric_Boogaloo]

I'm going through the same as you. You need to remember you don't burn fat off in one area, it's all over. Kinda sucks because my Pecs are coming in nicely, and I can feel my abs under my chub but they're not coming through.

[ICantStop]

Are you 100% sure it belly fat? Because if you look at powerlifters, they have big guts not because of fat, but because the muscles in that area are so large that it looks like they have a gut.