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poisonedantidote's avatar

How to burn the last bits of fat on my body?

Asked by poisonedantidote (21685points) September 9th, 2011

As some of you will allready know from my past posts, I have been losing weight and getting in shape.

My problem is that I seem unable to burn the last bits of fat that I need to get rid of. I have a rock hard 6 pack, but I can’t see it yet as it is under about ¼ inch of fat and skin.

I work out 3 hours to 4 hours a day, 7 days a week. I eat salads, chicken breast baked in the oven, and am doing all the right things. However, for the last week or two I have made no visible progress. I am heavier now than I was two weeks ago because of muscle gain, but I look exactly the same.

How do I burn off the last bits of fat and get that 6 pack to show? As far as I know I am doing everything I can.

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14 Answers

marinelife's avatar

Just keep going. If your body has been through a big transformation (a lot of weight loss; new muscle definition), then plateaus go with the territory.

Celebrate the change; don’t obsess over the unachieved.

incendiary_dan's avatar

Too much fat loss can be bad for you in several ways. Don’t worry about it. Your body probably wants you to have that bit of fat one there.

rebbel's avatar

Man, you must be extremely fit right now, and having a quite nice body, and feel good in general, I suppose.
Why would you be concerned about those last bits, at this moment?
I am sure you’ll lose those in the near future if you continue this regime.
Can I use that phrase? “I have a rock hard 6 pack, but I can’t see it yet as it is under about ¼ inch on fat and skin.”…. it is hilarious!
I will change it a bit: “I have a rock hard 6 pack, but I can’t see it yet as it is under about 4 inches on fat and skin.”

Pandora's avatar

My son had the same problem.He is in the military and is pretty solid muscle only he always had this tube of fat around the middle no matter how fit he got. He was only 12% fat. He was told to cut back on carbs (not completely cut out) and eat more protein and run instead of doing crunches and weights. He was suprised at how quickly he was seeing results.
Hope this helps.

poisonedantidote's avatar

@rebbel hehe, feel free to use it. I wonder what else it works with

As for my level of fitness, It is not so good, at least compared to when I was 17. I still find it hard to do more than 100 situps, in my teens I could do unlimited situps. It will take me a good 5 years to get where I want to be, just these last bits of fat are so annoying.

It is even more annoying as it is a problem I had once before in my life. I used to do a lot of gym and martial arts in my teens, for years and years, but I never got the 6 pack because I was always a fan of chocolate, and a couple of snickers bars will really add fat fast.

In my teens I was extremely healthy, I was yet to smoke or drink booze, and if I tried to go back in time and fight my 17 year old self, I would need to bring at least 3 or 4 clones.

This time round, I am off the chocolate, I only eat healthy things at healthy times, but the abbs still don’t show.

Cruiser's avatar

Eat 5 low-fat high protein meals a day that coincide with you caloric needs and drink only water and lots of it. That should do it.

Judi's avatar

Your body needs SOME fat to stay healthy. Are you a girl or a guy?

SpatzieLover's avatar

@poisonedantidote If you go to this page on bodybuilding.com you can for free get a custom weight loss plan. They have weight loss plans specifically tailored to get your abs to show.

BTW: I’m so glad things seem to be working out so well for you right now! Good going! Don’t forget to celebrate your accomplishments…don’t dwell on the work you feel you still want to accomplish…you’ve come along way in a short time.

mrrich724's avatar

The less fat you have, the more you have to do to lose it. If you have lots of fat, you can moderate your calories with some diet and exercise and just melt off the fat.

But you probably noticed that the more in shape you got, the harder it became to see the same gains. That’s because the less mass you have, the less calories you need to begin with, so it becomes harder to remain in the “negative calorie” range, the range needed to burn fat.

You need to curb calories even more, and work out longer is the short version!

filmfann's avatar

You’re gonna need some ceremonial knives, and an altar…

Seriously, dude: you don’t need to have a 0 body fat rating. Some is good for you.

Neizvestnaya's avatar

Less weights and running will give you a sleek look. A runner’s body doesn’t want to hold muscle or weight where it’s bulky rather than streamline and it will adjust accordingly.

Now, if you’re wondering why your torso isn’t ripped like a Men’s Magazine cover model? That’s not ideal for a regular man. Like professional bodybuilders, male models manipulate their sugar and salt intake in order to kind of temporarily dehydrate in order to expose their muscles and veins through thinner skin. It will make you an older hide before your time.

Coloma's avatar

Your body NEEDS some fat to be healthy, don’t become OCD about it.

No fat, you burn muscle, and if your body fat is too low your body will consume organs and heart muscle. This is how most anorexics meet their ends, heart failure from atrophied heart muscle.

Ltryptophan's avatar

Hydroxicut?

mrrich724's avatar

To add to what @Neizvestnaya said about the “men’s health” guys, their bodies are their professions. They work out more than 4 hours a day. All they have to do is work out!

And that’s unrealistic for most people who have other responsibilities so that they can’t make health a career.

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