Post: #1

I've done a lot weight losing since joining this forum, I've chronicled a good portion of it on my lifestyle blog SWM, and I've also done a lot of researching into weight loss, what works, what doesn't, and I've become, I think, a good source of info, for an amateur.

I've run across one issue that I can't seem to crack though, and it might just be that there isn't anything to be known.

Love handles, that area around the back of the hips. Regardless of the weight I lose this shit will not piss off. I'm starting to see my ribs when I lift my arms up, yet my lovehandles have barely shrunk at all.

Now I know you can't spot lose fat, and I'm concerned that that might just be the answer and for my body type those are gonna be the last thing to go.

If anyone has ANY advice on how to tackle this one area please I'd love to hear it because I'm at a loss at this point. I eat paleo. I dont touch flour, potatoes, sugar, or rice. I lift weights 5+ hours a week. I avoid processed foods. Despite all that I do this will not go away.

Edit:

When to take a shower after posting this, took a long hard look, noticed that the excess seems predominately on my back rather then on the sides or hips. It seems, to me, like a strange place for fat to be, but maybe I just dont know shit about anatomy.

Chef In Jeans
A culinary website for men

Post: #2

(01-07-2012 08:25 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  If anyone has ANY advice on how to tackle this one area please I'd love to hear it because I'm at a loss at this point.

Mixx to the rescue!!

Have you considered (or even heard of) MIC Injections?

I have used them on problem areas, especially love handles, which of course, I don't have anymore, and now my obliques can be seen!!! wooooohooo!!

Of course, continue with your strict diet!!

http://www.nmrmedical.com/products/mic-l...njections/


** Do not buy these online, find a weight-loss clinic in your area that you can directly by these from.

Post: #3

One thing that isnt common knowledge despite all the information on weight loss, fitness and diet out there is the fact that it takes about 3 weeks for our skin to "catch up." That means that despite the fact that you may have lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 3 pounds of muscle the past couple weeks your core area may still look/feel a little bit fatter simply because your skin has yet to retract to your slimmer frame. Give it time and find solace in the fact that the more muscle you have relative to your body fat allows you to burn fat faster. In our society of instant gratification we tend to forget that things come naturally over time.

Having said that keep up the good work it will pay off as I am sure you have already begun to notice. And keep in mind that diet (assuming you know what your doing) is 80% of your results.

Post: #4

Fat gets deposited in preferential locations based mostly on your gender. For women it's tits and ass until they get past a certain threshold then it goes on the gut. For men it starts on the gut and past a certain threshold it's tits and ass. As long as you keep losing weight eventually you'll lose it in the problem spots.

The loose skin thing is one I can never find a straight answer on. I think the permanent deflated flap of extracellular matrix tissue is only an issue if you were really morbidly obese before. My current best theory is that for your standard chubby guy it's just the last blob of fat waiting to get burned off. The loose skin thing is just a scam to try and sell plastic surgery.

Post: #5

There's a reason most people aren't ripped -- it isn't easy. It doesn't matter if you eat all Paleo -- that rough heuristic to selecting foods will take you from fat to fit but not all the way to shredded.

It's about calories. Your body may burn 3k calories a day, and it will be heavily inclined to get those 3k calories daily through food even they're all "healthy foods."

Basically, just figure out your maintenance calories, then subtract 500 from it. You will lose weight this way. Guaranteed. Counting calories is the only sure-fire way to go. If you aren't willing to count and you just want to eat Paleo and be happy, then settle for having love handles.

You can also take your weight and multiply it by 10 and consume that # of calories. It's pretty accurate for getting a good caloric deficit going. It might be a pain in the ass having to weigh your food, but hey, that's what it takes. Otherwise, it's too easy to overeat, even on a Paleo diet. Hell, those nuts that Paleo people are in love with are easy as hell to over consume -- even more calorically dense than chocolate.

Post: #6

its estrogen.women have higher estrogen thats what makes them have wider hip bones/and or carry more fat around their ass and hips.its human biology.the reason your love handles are like that is due to,probably,being the last place on your body that fat will come off,just keep dieting.

UNLESS - you have higher estrogen.- this holds water.women hold more water than men.avoid gluten foods,this can cause higher estrogen in men (oatmeal,bread etc).rice is good though

Post: #7

I would say time will eventually rid your sides as it seems is it is your bodys sweat spot for fat.

Look also at your meat intake, your body isn't really processing dense animal fats and they have to get stored some place. If your limit your meats to strictly lean cuts for beef, chicken, etc, plus fish - my guess is your fat loss would be even more accelerated.

Post: #8

@MiXX

I'm weary of injecting anything to get results that should be doable naturally, plus something tells me my insurance isn't gonna cover that

@Def and Bort

Loose skin is something I'm aware of, even to the extent that during the bulk of my weight loss I was taking vitamin E supplements to keep my skin "springy" I also started applying cocoa butter to "problem areas" to help keep the skin taught, something I still do to this day

@Mangadooza

Thing is, I dont wanna be ripped. I"m not asking "why dont I have a six pack" I dont want crazy abs and a cut stomach, I just want to NOT have these last little deposits that wont piss off even though I'm losing fat mass everywhere else.

@Kosko

I have a feeling it is my sweetspot, its just gonna be the last thing to go, if it ever entirely goes away. As for calories and fat consumption, I actually dont eat that much fatty animal product. Despite my repping up of high fat Atkins-esque diets I dont pound down bacon and lard simply because I know that while low carb dieting works, it'll work better if you have control over the macronutrients you put in.

I eat A LOT of chicken and a good amount of fish. Eggs are probably the worst thing I eat on a regular basis. Pork and red meat are rare for me simply because they're expensive.



thanks for all the input guys, hopefully keeping my nose to the grindstone will pan this out eventually.

Chef In Jeans
A culinary website for men

Post: #9

(01-10-2012 03:20 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  I eat A LOT of chicken and a good amount of fish. Eggs are probably the worst thing I eat on a regular basis. Pork and red meat are rare for me simply because they're expensive.

What's wrong with eggs?

Post: #10

egg whites are good.

drink shitloads of water.

cut out all sugars

do shitloads of cardio

eat lots of fruit and veg

Post: #11

(01-07-2012 10:27 PM)mangadooza Wrote:  There's a reason most people aren't ripped -- it isn't easy. It doesn't matter if you eat all Paleo -- that rough heuristic to selecting foods will take you from fat to fit but not all the way to shredded.

It's about calories. Your body may burn 3k calories a day, and it will be heavily inclined to get those 3k calories daily through food even they're all "healthy foods."

Basically, just figure out your maintenance calories, then subtract 500 from it. You will lose weight this way. Guaranteed. Counting calories is the only sure-fire way to go. If you aren't willing to count and you just want to eat Paleo and be happy, then settle for having love handles.

You can also take your weight and multiply it by 10 and consume that # of calories. It's pretty accurate for getting a good caloric deficit going. It might be a pain in the ass having to weigh your food, but hey, that's what it takes. Otherwise, it's too easy to overeat, even on a Paleo diet. Hell, those nuts that Paleo people are in love with are easy as hell to over consume -- even more calorically dense than chocolate.

how do you figure out your maintenance calories?

Post: #12

(01-10-2012 08:39 PM)BortimusPrime Wrote:  

(01-10-2012 03:20 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  I eat A LOT of chicken and a good amount of fish. Eggs are probably the worst thing I eat on a regular basis. Pork and red meat are rare for me simply because they're expensive.

What's wrong with eggs?

Nothing! That's my point lol

Chef In Jeans
A culinary website for men

Post: #13

Chad when I talk about the skin retracting I am not referring to loose skin, I am talking about your skin staying thick around the core ie the love handles even though your skin is thin everywhere else, check your arms, back and legs. It takes several weeks of diet/workout consistency for the skin around your core to retract.

Ask a trainer and they will tell you not to do a bodyfat test after you workout because your bodyfat goes up during a workout (weird huh?). Skin thickness and bodyfat can vary on a number of factors in just a matter of minutes. So to have realistic expectations, it wont be until about a month until you see those lovehandles and the thickness of your skin start to shrink. Keep up what your doing, it will start to really show results soon enough.

Post: #14

(01-11-2012 02:27 PM)defguy Wrote:  Chad when I talk about the skin retracting I am not referring to loose skin, I am talking about your skin staying thick around the core ie the love handles even though your skin is thin everywhere else, check your arms, back and legs. It takes several weeks of diet/workout consistency for the skin around your core to retract.

Ask a trainer and they will tell you not to do a bodyfat test after you workout because your bodyfat goes up during a workout (weird huh?). Skin thickness and bodyfat can vary on a number of factors in just a matter of minutes. So to have realistic expectations, it wont be until about a month until you see those lovehandles and the thickness of your skin start to shrink. Keep up what your doing, it will start to really show results soon enough.

I've been at this for damn near 2 years! I get what you're saying though.

And bodyfat going up when you workout is no surprise. I've got the physique of a strongman and the workout routine to back it. I think it is just a matter of the right combination of factors (some genetic, some dietary, some historical, and others) thats put me in a position where this is the very last bit to go.

Again, thanks for the input, knowing that just keeping on is the right path is all I need to know.

Chef In Jeans
A culinary website for men

Post: #15

(01-09-2012 09:46 AM)kosko Wrote:  I would say time will eventually rid your sides as it seems is it is your bodys sweat spot for fat.

Look also at your meat intake, your body isn't really processing dense animal fats and they have to get stored some place. If your limit your meats to strictly lean cuts for beef, chicken, etc, plus fish - my guess is your fat loss would be even more accelerated.

Agree with kosko. But since you're already eating lean meats, try going vegetarian for two weeks and see what kind of effect it has on your body. I turn to an all veggie diet (fast or whole foods) every few months for two weeks because it's the only way I can burn my stomach and obliques down to where they should be.

Post: #16

I agree with Smitty, protein esp meat is the highest calories you can consume in your diet. Going full vegetarian is a pain in the ass but Ive tried it once and I lost 10 lbs in 1 week, went below 4% bodyfat. It may be your best bet at this point esp if youve been at this for 2 years. Just dont stay full vegetarian switch back to your paleo or ABS diet after you reach your goal.

Post: #17

I would drop the 5 hours lifting to 2 separate intense hours.

Then replace the 3 hours lifting with running 3-4 miles x 3 times a week with basic callesthenics.

You don't see many serious runners with much fat on them love handles or other areas!

Post: #18

(01-12-2012 06:03 AM)Pilgrim37 Wrote:  I would drop the 5 hours lifting to 2 separate intense hours.

Then replace the 3 hours lifting with running 3-4 miles x 3 times a week with basic callesthenics.

You don't see many serious runners with much fat on them love handles or other areas!

I wouldn't want the body of a runner anyway. HIIT would be better, imo.

Post: #19

I would suggest training like a sprinter. You NEVER see a fat sprinter nor will you ever really look like a meathead.

Here is what I do.

I alternate 3 month cycles between strength building (heavy weights/4-6 reps) and building size/endurance/definition (less weight 8-12 reps) with a week of rest in between each cycle then start in on periodization. I lift 4x per week and run 4-5x per week.

Here is a sample week:
Mon: 6x 100m dash, 6x 30 yard high knees, 6x lateral running 20m, 6x backpeedling 20m then sprint 20m, 6x stadiums(or steps) in the AM -- Chest/Tris in the PM
Tues: 6 Mile Run with lots of stretching afterwards in the AM -- Back/Bis in the PM
Wed: Legs in the PM
Thursday: Shoulders/Abs in the PM
Fri: 5 Mile Interval Run (There are light/phone poles on my route that I sprint the distance between 2 and then jog the next 3 for the whole run)
Sat: 8 mile JOG to loosen the legs and then stretch with some abs in the AM. If something fun is going on like pickup football or skiing etc I go do this during the day too (or instead of ) the jog.
Sun: OFF -- Maybe some stretching.

You need to figure out your BMR, which you can do here. BMR Calculator

Figure out how many calories you burn from exercise and add that to your BMR. Then you should be running a 500-1000 calorie per day deficit to drop weight. You really need to be vigilant about it.

Post: #20

Liposuction is the only way to get rid of love handles. Diet and excercise will not work, I know from experieice. Don't look at the procedure like the easy way out, you will feel and look 10 times better. I struugled for 20 years with love handles, I had lipo done in september and the results are amazing. She (surgeon) did stomach, flanks, and upper chest area. Recovery was about 2 weeks, pretty painful in the beginning, after 3 months reslults are obvious.

Post: #21

Chad, try Hydroxycut or Lean Muscle X and train high intensity (5 reps with 95% 1 rep-max).

Post: #22

@ jdelisi thats not true, I know from personal experience because I used to wrestle in High School. Fighters and wrestlers are experts at losing weight especially the closer they get to Pro the better they are at cutting and losing weight.

My friend who was your average joe took about 2 months to lose his love handles, he thought love handles was genetic for him but by staying consistent he lost the love handles, he literally pulled the "before/after" results you see in the Hydroxycut commercials. It can be done it just takes 2+ months of insane "dieting." The guy was consuming less than 1K calories a day for over a month and all the calories were healthy, no alcohol either. To this day he no longer drinks alcohol.

Post: #23

(01-11-2012 09:44 PM)Smitty Wrote:  

(01-09-2012 09:46 AM)kosko Wrote:  I would say time will eventually rid your sides as it seems is it is your bodys sweat spot for fat.

Look also at your meat intake, your body isn't really processing dense animal fats and they have to get stored some place. If your limit your meats to strictly lean cuts for beef, chicken, etc, plus fish - my guess is your fat loss would be even more accelerated.

Agree with kosko. But since you're already eating lean meats, try going vegetarian for two weeks and see what kind of effect it has on your body. I turn to an all veggie diet (fast or whole foods) every few months for two weeks because it's the only way I can burn my stomach and obliques down to where they should be.

(01-11-2012 11:53 PM)defguy Wrote:  I agree with Smitty, protein esp meat is the highest calories you can consume in your diet. Going full vegetarian is a pain in the ass but Ive tried it once and I lost 10 lbs in 1 week, went below 4% bodyfat. It may be your best bet at this point esp if youve been at this for 2 years. Just dont stay full vegetarian switch back to your paleo or ABS diet after you reach your goal.

I believe it does a fast detox and flushes out bad stuff stuck in the body fat. I've read a lot of stuff on Raw Food stuff that helps as well.

(01-12-2012 02:04 PM)defguy Wrote:  @ jdelisi thats not true, I know from personal experience because I used to wrestle in High School. Fighters and wrestlers are experts at losing weight especially the closer they get to Pro the better they are at cutting and losing weight.

My friend who was your average joe took about 2 months to lose his love handles, he thought love handles was genetic for him but by staying consistent he lost the love handles, he literally pulled the "before/after" results you see in the Hydroxycut commercials. It can be done it just takes 2+ months of insane "dieting." The guy was consuming less than 1K calories a day for over a month and all the calories were healthy, no alcohol either. To this day he no longer drinks alcohol.

Defguy - What kind of workouts was he doing to get rid of them so fast?

Post: #24

If I had the money for lipo I'd keep the idea open but I dont have a few grand to drop on vanity. I've always been told the Hydroxycut and the like are a scam and dont work, if anyone else can attest to a product like that working I'd consider it.

@defguy

Less the 1k calories a day for over a month is just flat unhealthy and you'll never convince me otherwise. Thats not dieting, its starvation. Sure he lost his love handles and I'm sure he also lost a few pounds of muscle along with it. I'm not into sacrificing health and strength for vanity. Especially at my size. I'm 6'3" 220lbs and I lift heavy 3x a week AND I work on my feet 40 hours a week. 1k calories a week would put me on the floor.

The idea of an all raw fruit/veggie "fast" is something I've thought about. There's another thread about the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead which I've seen and the guy had amazing weightloss from that type of diet, my only reservation is the lack of protein and the fact that both guys in the movie weren't really "fit" they lost weight but neither was trim or skinny, just average.

Chef In Jeans
A culinary website for men

Post: #25

(01-12-2012 11:10 AM)CGS Wrote:  I would suggest training like a sprinter. You NEVER see a fat sprinter nor will you ever really look like a meathead.

Here is what I do.

I alternate 3 month cycles between strength building (heavy weights/4-6 reps) and building size/endurance/definition (less weight 8-12 reps) with a week of rest in between each cycle then start in on periodization. I lift 4x per week and run 4-5x per week.

Here is a sample week:
Mon: 6x 100m dash, 6x 30 yard high knees, 6x lateral running 20m, 6x backpeedling 20m then sprint 20m, 6x stadiums(or steps) in the AM -- Chest/Tris in the PM
Tues: 6 Mile Run with lots of stretching afterwards in the AM -- Back/Bis in the PM
Wed: Legs in the PM
Thursday: Shoulders/Abs in the PM
Fri: 5 Mile Interval Run (There are light/phone poles on my route that I sprint the distance between 2 and then jog the next 3 for the whole run)
Sat: 8 mile JOG to loosen the legs and then stretch with some abs in the AM. If something fun is going on like pickup football or skiing etc I go do this during the day too (or instead of ) the jog.
Sun: OFF -- Maybe some stretching.

You need to figure out your BMR, which you can do here. BMR Calculator

Figure out how many calories you burn from exercise and add that to your BMR. Then you should be running a 500-1000 calorie per day deficit to drop weight. You really need to be vigilant about it.

Fuck me ..you must have a lot of free time on your hands with that schedule ,or a very flexible job!