Fat Staying On Certain Areas Of The Body, Regardless Of Dieting?

[MetabolicTrash]

I remember I dieted hard about 1-2 years ago because I wanted to get a full six pack, which is obviously not as easy for everyone as just eating clean and slowly dieting down.

I wasn't fat or anything at the start, so it wasn't like I needed huge amounts of time and effort. I went as far down as 145-150 at 5'9-1/2" of height, more or less.

After that point I started feeling so thin and got weaker, but still had no six pack. I was eating right with a good amount of muscle sparing protein and clean foods for the most part. I also was dieting pretty well as certain areas of my body kept getting leaner and more defined every other week or so, but some areas refused to change.

For example, my lower stomach just would not get leaner even after having lost 20+ lbs. -- and as I said I was not fat at all to begin with -- just more "average" body fat, but on the better side for a male.

I liked the way I looked but couldn't let myself keep getting leaner as I was losing muscle and not seeing any more progress in certain areas (legs stayed fattish; lower stomach stayed fat; chest didn't really lean up much either).

Arms got defined somewhat and shoulders too. I think my cheeks were a bit hollow looking even and everyone began to claim I was looking "too skinny." I was working out well and recovering okay-ish and getting plenty of protein, but at that point I could not seem to recomp anymore and was going in the opposite direction at times it felt. It seemed like I just kept getting smaller but at the expense of muscle loss while fat stagnated in said areas. I'm not a believer in the bulk and cut bit since that isn't healthy to fatten up and lean out nonstop in hopes of building enough muscle to look good and hold on to as fat and muscle is then supposedly lost on the cut.

I decided to just eat my way back up to a more stable weight and try to build muscle -- after that point I went back up to overweight not long after, but still not much above 180-ish.

Now I am back down to 155-160 and fear the same thing is happening, even after being more educated and health conscious now.

Getting leaner and upper abs popping and looking pretty decent overall, but certain areas never change much. I don't want to be 130 lbs. to see abs and be underweight/sickly looking. I have an okay amount of muscle so it shouldn't make sense that I'd have to drop tons of weight just to see a six pack when I already look pretty good aside from the lower ab area and chest/legs/etc., which remain soft and fatty, despite seeing definition everywhere else.

I also don't want to dip too low on weight because I will start seeing muscle weakness and losing muscle too like before. I worked out hard and felt I got myself too light while having killed off more muscle than I should have and never achieved the full lean body fat.

I don't know if I should add that I am 100% natural and diet and workout pretty well -- even better than before now.

My main concern is that fat doesn't seem to want to go away from certain areas without a long, muscle wasting battle of cutting food back and back endlessly or weight just never changes and neither does my body.

I am asking here to see if anyone can help me find where I might be lacking. Since I am dedicated with exercise bare minimum for the most part, we can assume my issue could be more with diet, metabolism, hormones, stresses, thyroid, supplementation or etc.

I know my diet isn't perfect and I do eat PUFAs and sometimes insufficient protein, although I am in the process of trying to reduce the PUFAs at least. I also used to be pretty obese at 250 + lbs. in my teens, which I had lost super fast but never really reached the lean point. My guess with this is also that some old fat is stuck/refusing to leave since I was pretty fat for a while when I was a bit younger and had crash dieted and etc. at that time since I didn't know much.

So if anyone had seen or been through or heard of something similar, it would be great to see what I could change to lean out healthier and better and note successfully this time.

I'm below 30 years old so pretty young for all intents and purposes.

 

[Ron J]

The look you are trying to achieve requires a decent amount of muscle mass. IMO a male with average height and genetics doesn't have the muscle mass to be 160-180lb and ripped without several/many years of heavy lifting and muscle maturity. 130-140lbs sounds about right for the average male to be ripped(IMO). Once you increase calories to maintenance, the facial "sickly" look should dissipate, as long as you have the right facial structure.
Muscle loss is very unlikely/mild unless you are on a no carb diet, or under stress hormones for too long(refeeds may be necessary). If I remember correctly, in a an anabolic state(surplus of calories) you add both fat and muscle, even if you don't lift while on the surplus, so that's the only "muscle" that you may lose.
Bulking to the point of gaining too much weight was a mistake. I'd keep my weight/body fat within a tight range to mostly get lean gains.

 

[Hans]

Losing weight which results in muscle loss while keeping the fat is due to elevated cortisol and decreased thyroid hormone production.

How many calories are you eating and what's your macros? I too lose muscle and strength fast if my protein is too low. I found for myself that I do best when my protein intake is 180g+ when bulking and even higher when cutting.

With proper calorie cycling it's possible to stay lean on a bulk.

After prolonged periods of stress, the metabolism downregulates and then weight loss gets really frustrating because you feel so close to your goal yet you're not losing any fat.

Continuing dieting will just be more detrimental and it is best to boost metabolism again with higher calories before attempting to diet again.

A cocktail to boost metabolism and muscle growth is thyroid, 6-keto P4 (or regular progesterone if you prefer), DHEA, preg and maybe a bit of andro.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

Losing weight which results in muscle loss while keeping the fat is due to elevated cortisol and decreased thyroid hormone production.

How many calories are you eating and what's your macros? I too lose muscle and strength fast if my protein is too low. I found for myself that I do best when my protein intake is 180g+ when bulking and even higher when cutting.

With proper calorie cycling it's possible to stay lean on a bulk.

After prolonged periods of stress, the metabolism downregulates and then weight loss gets really frustrating because you feel so close to your goal yet you're not losing any fat.

Continuing dieting will just be more detrimental and it is best to boost metabolism again with higher calories before attempting to diet again.

A cocktail to boost metabolism and muscle growth is thyroid, 6-keto P4 (or regular progesterone if you prefer), DHEA, preg and maybe a bit of andro.

I have some DHEA but stopped taking it time ago out of fear that it might be pro-cancerous or etc.

I also can't get progesterone without a prescription and I don't want to go down that or any other roads for now. I'm also not going to take any androgens/etc. that will kill my natural HTPA-axis as that stuff has a whole host of other potential issues/can open a whole new can of worms.

What could I take for thyroid though, hypothetically?
I think I might have a slight issue there, but not sure.

Besides just following the Peat diet I mean.

 

[redsun]

I remember I dieted hard about 1-2 years ago because I wanted to get a full six pack, which is obviously not as easy for everyone as just eating clean and slowly dieting down.

I wasn't fat or anything at the start, so it wasn't like I needed huge amounts of time and effort. I went as far down as 145-150 at 5'9-1/2" of height, more or less.

After that point I started feeling so thin and got weaker, but still had no six pack. I was eating right with a good amount of muscle sparing protein and clean foods for the most part. I also was dieting pretty well as certain areas of my body kept getting leaner and more defined every other week or so, but some areas refused to change.

For example, my lower stomach just would not get leaner even after having lost 20+ lbs. -- and as I said I was not fat at all to begin with -- just more "average" body fat, but on the better side for a male.

I liked the way I looked but couldn't let myself keep getting leaner as I was losing muscle and not seeing any more progress in certain areas (legs stayed fattish; lower stomach stayed fat; chest didn't really lean up much either).

Arms got defined somewhat and shoulders too. I think my cheeks were a bit hollow looking even and everyone began to claim I was looking "too skinny." I was working out well and recovering okay-ish and getting plenty of protein, but at that point I could not seem to recomp anymore and was going in the opposite direction at times it felt. It seemed like I just kept getting smaller but at the expense of muscle loss while fat stagnated in said areas. I'm not a believer in the bulk and cut bit since that isn't healthy to fatten up and lean out nonstop in hopes of building enough muscle to look good and hold on to as fat and muscle is then supposedly lost on the cut.

I decided to just eat my way back up to a more stable weight and try to build muscle -- after that point I went back up to overweight not long after, but still not much above 180-ish.

Now I am back down to 155-160 and fear the same thing is happening, even after being more educated and health conscious now.

Getting leaner and upper abs popping and looking pretty decent overall, but certain areas never change much. I don't want to be 130 lbs. to see abs and be underweight/sickly looking. I have an okay amount of muscle so it shouldn't make sense that I'd have to drop tons of weight just to see a six pack when I already look pretty good aside from the lower ab area and chest/legs/etc., which remain soft and fatty, despite seeing definition everywhere else.

I also don't want to dip too low on weight because I will start seeing muscle weakness and losing muscle too like before. I worked out hard and felt I got myself too light while having killed off more muscle than I should have and never achieved the full lean body fat.

I don't know if I should add that I am 100% natural and diet and workout pretty well -- even better than before now.

My main concern is that fat doesn't seem to want to go away from certain areas without a long, muscle wasting battle of cutting food back and back endlessly or weight just never changes and neither does my body.

I am asking here to see if anyone can help me find where I might be lacking. Since I am dedicated with exercise bare minimum for the most part, we can assume my issue could be more with diet, metabolism, hormones, stresses, thyroid, supplementation or etc.

I know my diet isn't perfect and I do eat PUFAs and sometimes insufficient protein, although I am in the process of trying to reduce the PUFAs at least. I also used to be pretty obese at 250 + lbs. in my teens, which I had lost super fast but never really reached the lean point. My guess with this is also that some old fat is stuck/refusing to leave since I was pretty fat for a while when I was a bit younger and had crash dieted and etc. at that time since I didn't know much.

So if anyone had seen or been through or heard of something similar, it would be great to see what I could change to lean out healthier and better and note successfully this time.

I'm below 30 years old so pretty young for all intents and purposes.

If your legs really are carrying more fat, it sounds like pear-shaped body, aka estrogen dominance. Zinc, and P5P(active B6) help a lot with that as well as anything that keeps estrogen lowered in the long term. Also B5 will help burn through body fat better. B5 is needed to metabolize fats completely and there is likely a B5 insufficiency situation with those who are obese or overweight and/or can't seem to keep weight down after it is lost because of extreme hunger likely do to poor fatty acid metabolism.

"A clinical study was carried out in 100 individuals of Chinese descent, 40 males and 60 females The age range was 15- 55, with even distribution. The participants were given a carefully designed diet containing about I000 calories a day, together with all the essential nutrients. To go along with this diet, about 10 gm of pantothenic acid a day, in 4 divided doses with each dose taken 4 hours apart, is administered. In practice, there are alternative ways of doing it The idea is to give pantothenic acid in between meals and when symptoms of hunger arise. The dieters have varied goals which range from losing less than 5 kg to more than 30 kg. Approximately half of them aimed at shedding 10-20 kg The average weight loss was about 1.2 kg per week. Ketone bodies in urine were monitored and were found absent in most instances. Occasionally, small amounts were present, indicating that in some individuals, an amount of pantothenic acid larger than 10 gm is required. The patients exhibited no weakness. Often, there was the desire to eat, but no actual hunger. Daily activites could be carried out normally. With determination and perseverence, this process can be continued day after day, week after week, until the desired weight is achieved. The rate of weight loss can be regulated if the calorie deficit is made larger by eating very little, or it can be slowed down by eating more, keeping the calorie deficit to a very low level. However, it is not a good idea to lose weight too quickly for health reasons. "

A Stone that Kills two Birds: How Pantothenic Acid Unveils the Mysteries of Acne Vulgaris and Obesity - Lit-Hung Leung. M.D.

That whole link is a good read especially in understanding the extreme importance of B5. If you already down to a good weight, 3g B5 a day might be enough to help weakness and other side effects you have been having while you refeed yourself better and should prevent regaining of fat for the most part. Your goal should be now to maximize muscle mass by eating normal amounts of food which will help keep your physique leaner. You can also do as they do sometimes to provide more B5 if you get extreme hunger bouncing back causing too much weight gain in the form of body fat. Of course you should by no means use B5 to drop your weight even more. As Ron J said, abs need muscle. You need more muscle mass if you want the abs to pop out as well as the rest of your muscles. I also was victim to this kind of process of severe cutting. Managing to do it then the weight coming back up eventually and I actually ended up at heavier set point. Increasing muscle mass helps to maintain a leaner physique as muscle burns fat at rest.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

If your legs really are carrying more fat, it sounds like pear-shaped body, aka estrogen dominance. Zinc, and P5P(active B6) help a lot with that as well as anything that keeps estrogen lowered in the long term. Also B5 will help burn through body fat better. B5 is needed to metabolize fats completely and there is likely a B5 insufficiency situation with those who are obese or overweight and/or can't seem to keep weight down after it is lost because of extreme hunger likely do to poor fatty acid metabolism.

"A clinical study was carried out in 100 individuals of Chinese descent, 40 males and 60 females The age range was 15- 55, with even distribution. The participants were given a carefully designed diet containing about I000 calories a day, together with all the essential nutrients. To go along with this diet, about 10 gm of pantothenic acid a day, in 4 divided doses with each dose taken 4 hours apart, is administered. In practice, there are alternative ways of doing it The idea is to give pantothenic acid in between meals and when symptoms of hunger arise. The dieters have varied goals which range from losing less than 5 kg to more than 30 kg. Approximately half of them aimed at shedding 10-20 kg The average weight loss was about 1.2 kg per week. Ketone bodies in urine were monitored and were found absent in most instances. Occasionally, small amounts were present, indicating that in some individuals, an amount of pantothenic acid larger than 10 gm is required. The patients exhibited no weakness. Often, there was the desire to eat, but no actual hunger. Daily activites could be carried out normally. With determination and perseverence, this process can be continued day after day, week after week, until the desired weight is achieved. The rate of weight loss can be regulated if the calorie deficit is made larger by eating very little, or it can be slowed down by eating more, keeping the calorie deficit to a very low level. However, it is not a good idea to lose weight too quickly for health reasons. "

A Stone that Kills two Birds: How Pantothenic Acid Unveils the Mysteries of Acne Vulgaris and Obesity - Lit-Hung Leung. M.D.

That whole link is a good read especially in understanding the extreme importance of B5. If you already down to a good weight, 3g B5 a day might be enough to help weakness and other side effects you have been having while you refeed yourself better and should prevent regaining of fat for the most part. Your goal should be now to maximize muscle mass by eating normal amounts of food which will help keep your physique leaner. You can also do as they do sometimes to provide more B5 if you get extreme hunger bouncing back causing too much weight gain in the form of body fat. Of course you should by no means use B5 to drop your weight even more. As Ron J said, abs need muscle. You need more muscle mass if you want the abs to pop out as well as the rest of your muscles. I also was victim to this kind of process of severe cutting. Managing to do it then the weight coming back up eventually and I actually ended up at heavier set point. Increasing muscle mass helps to maintain a leaner physique as muscle burns fat at rest.

Interesting you mention estrogen dominance as I have noticed at some points that it can be hard to make any muscle gains.

I heard this could be hormonal or as you said a dominance of estrogen and possibly other issues like thyroid and etc. Not saying I don't build muscle as pretty much anyone can given enough training and time, but I've always been the "hard gainer" type I guess who advances but stagnates a lot and takes more time and etc. I really doubt I have low testosterone or anything, but I don't know if maybe for a guy my estrogen or cortisol or thyroid and etc. could be out of a more optimal balance/range by itself.

I've never really had any of this stuff tested/looked over thoroughly either.

I do know that I have had fatigue periods where you are tired and it takes more to get going/recover/recuperate/etc. Sometimes this has been correlated with depression or such, but other times not exactly, which makes me lean toward a hormone or thyroid issue possibly, along with maybe the PUFAs and other stuff.

 

[redsun]

I have some DHEA but stopped taking it time ago out of fear that it might be pro-cancerous or etc.

I also can't get progesterone without a prescription and I don't want to go down that or any other roads for now. I'm also not going to take any androgens/etc. that will kill my natural HTPA-axis as that stuff has a whole host of other potential issues/can open a whole new can of worms.

What could I take for thyroid though, hypothetically?
I think I might have a slight issue there, but not sure.

Besides just following the Peat diet I mean.

Small amounts of androsterone would not kill your own androgen production btw. But providing adequate protein and carbohydrates especially as well as all the crucial micronutrients will play a part in helping thyroid function as well minimizing PUFA. Your thyroid will not recover until you go back to at least maintenance level calories though. Keep in mind that your history of dieting and large changes in weight likely have played a part in increasing estrogen dominance over time.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

Small amounts of androsterone would not kill your own androgen production btw. But providing adequate protein and carbohydrates especially as well as all the crucial micronutrients will play a part in helping thyroid function as well minimizing PUFA. Your thyroid will not recover until you go back to at least maintenance level calories though. Keep in mind that your history of dieting and large changes in weight likely have played a part in increasing estrogen dominance over time.

I used to be high protein and low carbs at one point.

But I know my weight history and obesity of the past still likely plays a bad role in my body/etc. today. I just thought dropping all of the weight would transform me, but way back when I did just a crash diet and got out of that bad obesity phase, I just ended up with excess skin to a small degree and possibly the same issues with stubborn old fat and metabolism/hormones/etc.

I'm hoping that when I get lean enough, things will shift to a better state, along with the diet changes, exercise and supplementation.

I just wanted to try and recomp again as much as possible for now (try and not worry about calories alone, but more so about muscle building and fat burning working together as efficiently as possible without the bulk/cut stuff). So far things have been looking sort of good as I don't notice any muscle loss (actually, probably even some gains too) but keep slowly seeing myself getting leaner and my physique improving.

But yeah, the cortisol and estrogen dominance and possibly thyroid and etc. still could be issues I need to work on.

 

[redsun]

I used to be high protein and low carbs at one point.

But I know my weight history and obesity of the past still likely plays a bad role in my body/etc. today. I just thought dropping all of the weight would transform me, but way back when I did just a crash diet and got out of that bad obesity phase, I just ended up with excess skin to a small degree and possibly the same issues with stubborn old fat and metabolism/hormones/etc.

I'm hoping that when I get lean enough, things will shift to a better state, along with the diet changes, exercise and supplementation.

I just wanted to try and recomp again as much as possible for now (try and not worry about calories alone, but more so about muscle building and fat burning working together as efficiently as possible without the bulk/cut stuff). So far things have been looking sort of good as I don't notice any muscle loss (actually, probably even some gains too) but keep slowly seeing myself getting leaner and my physique improving.

But yeah, the cortisol and estrogen dominance and possibly thyroid and etc. still could be issues I need to work on.

Certain vitamins are especially important and have a role in reducing estrogen levels as they have potent aromatase inhibiting effects. All fat-solubles have potent anti-aromatase effects. K2 is especially strong and increases androgens very reliably. Androsterone can inhibit the aromatase by 90% which is powerful and probably the large part of androsterones effects is the fact that it inhibits the aromatase so well.

 

[Hans]

I have some DHEA but stopped taking it time ago out of fear that it might be pro-cancerous or etc.

I also can't get progesterone without a prescription and I don't want to go down that or any other roads for now. I'm also not going to take any androgens/etc. that will kill my natural HTPA-axis as that stuff has a whole host of other potential issues/can open a whole new can of worms.

What could I take for thyroid though, hypothetically?
I think I might have a slight issue there, but not sure.

Besides just following the Peat diet I mean.

DHEA is luckily not pro-cancerous. On the contrary, it might help against it.

Idealabs has progesterone. A little bit of prohormones will not suppress you. Even 500mg preg or 400mg DHEA doesn't cause any suppression. I'm not encouraging the use of these substances, but they can be very useful in lowering cortisol and assisting in building muscle.

You can take dessicated thyroid. Aspirin can also boost thyroid hormones. Eating at maintenance or surplus for a while will boost thyroid.
A proper diet with all the micros is also essential.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

Certain vitamins are especially important and have a role in reducing estrogen levels as they have potent aromatase inhibiting effects. All fat-solubles have potent anti-aromatase effects. K2 is especially strong and increases androgens very reliably. Androsterone can inhibit the aromatase by 90% which is powerful and probably the large part of androsterones effects is the fact that it inhibits the aromatase so well.

I do take K2 everyday now, especially because I've read that it helps combat stuff like plaque/atherosclerosis potential and other stuff.

I don't know how much to take, but I think I get 1 mg per day or so. There are no guidelines for this stuff so I have no idea how much I should take.

What do you think/take and would it have negative effects with higher doses?

The type I use is superbulkings diluted K2 powder -- one to two scoops per day, which is 1 mg of menatrenone MK-4 and 99 mg of dicalcium phosphate.

I've heard of people taking many GRAMS of K2 a day so I have no clue if I'm taking in less than I could benefit from or what my upper-limit should be from any side-effects if they exist.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

DHEA is luckily not pro-cancerous. On the contrary, it might help against it.

Idealabs has progesterone. A little bit of prohormones will not suppress you. Even 500mg preg or 400mg DHEA doesn't cause any suppression. I'm not encouraging the use of these substances, but they can be very useful in lowering cortisol and assisting in building muscle.

You can take dessicated thyroid. Aspirin can also boost thyroid hormones. Eating at maintenance or surplus for a while will boost thyroid.
A proper diet with all the micros is also essential.

Thanks for the advice. I still do think DHEA might have some role in heart problems/disease, but maybe that is just me being anxious about it for no solid reason. I know I -- for a while -- would take it everyday or so. It made my skin more oily and I got pimples on 50-200 mg, but didn't continue to take it for more than a few months at most. I don't recall much of a difference with muscle on DHEA alone (maybe I wasn't using enough or not working out and getting all macros right/etc.). I also take creatine every now and then as well, but that seems to help more with pushing harder than with building more muscle in my case.

But that was then when I wasn't as knowledgeable as now, so maybe it is irrelevant.

 

[redsun]

I do take K2 everyday now, especially because I've read that it helps combat stuff like plaque/atherosclerosis potential and other stuff.

I don't know how much to take, but I think I get 1 mg per day or so. There are no guidelines for this stuff so I have no idea how much I should take.

What do you think/take and would it have negative effects with higher doses?

The type I use is superbulkings diluted K2 powder -- one to two scoops per day, which is 1 mg of menatrenone MK-4 and 99 mg of dicalcium phosphate.

I've heard of people taking many GRAMS of K2 a day so I have no clue if I'm taking in less than I could benefit from or what my upper-limit should be from any side-effects if they exist.

Yeh 1mg K2 is good. Overduing K2 causes its own problems. If you are talking about what I take for lowering estrogen, B6 in P5P form and zinc do help a lot. B6 is anti-estrogen, anti-cortisol, anti-adrenaline, pro-dopamine, pro-androgen. I take vitamin E occasionally. Zinc also synergizes with vitamin D because it increases vitamin D receptors and B5 and zinc also synergize. If you can get access to sunlight daily for half an hour a day and you arent too far from the equator that would be good for vitamin D, if not 5000 IU/day. Vitamin D is a must for men. B5 is necessary to synthesize cholesterol and steroids in the body including progesterone and cortisol(helps relieve adrenal insufficiency aka low cortisol) and androgens and has a role in virtually all bodily processes.

In short, vitamin D(either by sun or supplement), B5, B6, zinc, and B-complex to help fill in gaps for Bs.
I also take 50mcg T3, 25mcg 2x a day and consume 300-500mg caffeine a day as caffeine is very helpful as it reduces serotonin and estrogen, helps increase thyroid and androgens.

I think the DHEA link to heart problems or diseases is not what you think. In chronically stressed individuals, cortisol and other adrenal steroids are constantly secreted and DHEA levels as well as other pro-hormones are raised in the body as a means to counteract cortisol. But eventually cortisol will win if the stress is not alleviated and DHEA as well as other pro-hormones will drop and excessive cortisol and estrogen secretion will continue to happen. Cortisol and estrogen is involved in heart disease, not DHEA which usually is meant to convert to androgens. In a poor hormonal environment, DHEA can convert to estrogens instead. Aromatase inhibitors prevent that.

 

[Hans]

Thanks for the advice. I still do think DHEA might have some role in heart problems/disease, but maybe that is just me being anxious about it for no solid reason. I know I -- for a while -- would take it everyday or so. It made my skin more oily and I got pimples on 50-200 mg, but didn't continue to take it for more than a few months at most. I don't recall much of a difference with muscle on DHEA alone (maybe I wasn't using enough or not working out and getting all macros right/etc.). I also take creatine every now and then as well, but that seems to help more with pushing harder than with building more muscle in my case.

But that was then when I wasn't as knowledgeable as now, so maybe it is irrelevant.

DHEA is also good for the heart :)

It's inverse correlated with coronary heart disease risk, cardiovascular disease, fibrosis, etc. Like redsun said, androgen are elevated to protect organs especially the heart from the catabolic effect of cortisol.

It's only advise to take small dose though as it's easily converted to estrogen especially if stressed. 50mg is probably too high a dose and 10-20mg daily is more appropriate.

DHEA isn't effective at boosting muscle growth at all in young healthy men because their DHEA is already ok. In older and more sick people it's anabolic. Progesterone/6-keto P4 is more anti-catabolic than DHEA so should have a greater effect on muscle growth than DHEA that's why it's good to combine the two.

Creatine is a great supplement, one of the few effective ones.

 

[Inspired]

I'll write more about this later, but some of the stubborn fat you're describing, particularly on the abdomen, is a problem for most people. That fat is often more connective fibrous tissue, than fat. Well, it's all intermingled together.

The likely problem here is that the former obesity caused you to grow additional fibrous tissue networks to store your extra fat. Can that tissue be reduced? Yes.

Sometimes it does away if you get lean enough. Sometimes that tissue just feels like a bag of loose skin and fat.

I think I know your problems. What I would do is eat with discipline, at least 150g protein per day. Preferably more. And, take creatine. And load carbs with that creatine. But continue your weight loss. That protein and creatine will build new muscle mass all over your body, and maintain it.

Sometimes you have to do a lot of fasted cardio to destroy those fibrous fatty tissue areas.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

I'll write more about this later, but some of the stubborn fat you're describing, particularly on the abdomen, is a problem for most people. That fat is often more connective fibrous tissue, than fat. Well, it's all intermingled together.

The likely problem here is that the former obesity caused you to grow additional fibrous tissue networks to store your extra fat. Can that tissue be reduced? Yes.

Sometimes it does away if you get lean enough. Sometimes that tissue just feels like a bag of loose skin and fat.

I think I know your problems. What I would do is eat with discipline, at least 150g protein per day. Preferably more. And, take creatine. And load carbs with that creatine. But continue your weight loss. That protein and creatine will build new muscle mass all over your body, and maintain it.

Sometimes you have to do a lot of fasted cardio to destroy those fibrous fatty tissue areas.

Whoa. Thanks for the tips. I never would've guessed it was new fibrous tissue.

But really 150g of protein? That is insane. I used to have a lot time ago but rarely that much.

As of now I average 20-80 grams per day. I stopped with the high protein hype because I grew to believe so much is just excess and unnecessary. Maybe I can aim for 80-100 per day steadily eventually because 150 would be a long shot to maintain without added expenses significantly.

Will do with the creatine, K2 and other basics though. As for cardio, I am trying to get back in to jogging/running more as that is how I initially was in better shape. Can't let myself over cardio though as that has its own downsides.

 

[redsun]

Whoa. Thanks for the tips. I never would've guessed it was new fibrous tissue.

But really 150g of protein? That is insane. I used to have a lot time ago but rarely that much.

As of now I average 20-80 grams per day. I stopped with the high protein hype because I grew to believe so much is just excess and unnecessary. Maybe I can aim for 80-100 per day steadily eventually because 150 would be a long shot to maintain without added expenses significantly.

Will do with the creatine, K2 and other basics though. As for cardio, I am trying to get back in to jogging/running more as that is how I initially was in better shape. Can't let myself over cardio though as that has its own downsides.

A range of 20 to 80g protein a day is worrying. Low protein in and of itself can lead to high estrogen levels as the liver would not have enough protein to detoxify all the hormones it needs to not to mention creating T3 which is mostly made in the liver. Minimum 80g/day is recommended around here and thats more like for average sized women. Most people do better with 100g and even 120g or more depending on height and muscle mass. The High protein hype is hype, but 150g is not considered high if you workout a lot and have considerable muscle mass and height. I would start right away at 80g/day if possible, low protein is bad news for anyone especially active males.

 

[Inspired]

Whoa. Thanks for the tips. I never would've guessed it was new fibrous tissue.

But really 150g of protein? That is insane. I used to have a lot time ago but rarely that much.

As of now I average 20-80 grams per day. I stopped with the high protein hype because I grew to believe so much is just excess and unnecessary. Maybe I can aim for 80-100 per day steadily eventually because 150 would be a long shot to maintain without added expenses significantly.

Will do with the creatine, K2 and other basics though. As for cardio, I am trying to get back in to jogging/running more as that is how I initially was in better shape. Can't let myself over cardio though as that has its own downsides.

You have to correct your diet first.

150g protein minimum for your height and sex is non negotiable. I say this as someone who is around 5'9 and I have weighed between 155-220 pounds throughout my life, but I've been at different combinations of muscle and fat.

Your specific weightloss efforts only get you to being "skinny fat".

I became skinny fat a few times. Then one time, I realized how "jacked" I was, and how vascular and pumped, but I also had hard muscle tissue that was entirely new and I wasn't lifting or taking anything. However, I had been focused on eating a lot of protein for awhile, so I had been unknowingly consuming a lot protein (probably what I needed). This became easier for me because of protein powders too.

I realized that I had been protien deficient during precious weight loss attempts, and I just became thin but "fat".

Also, at 30 years old you are still growing and developing. No joke.

First, the reason for fasted cardio is because there is better blood circulation to those typical problem fatty areas, for whatever reasons. The fibrous nature of the tissue means it isn't as vascular or well supplied with blood. The cardio gets the blood circulation going.


But look: you are losing muscle in proportion to fat lost. And when you can't lose anymore muscle, your fat loss stalls out. You need to maintain and build muscle while you lose weight. The easiest way to do this is eat 150g protein minimum, and I recommend creatine along that.

 

[rei]

Intermittent fasting has been shown to preferentially burn away the bad fat (visceral&ectopic). So start looking for how long you can go without food without a stress response. When the bad fat is gone insulin sensitivity is on a new level, and at this point you can start to build lean mass without things immediately spilling over into ectopic and ultimately visceral "emergency" deposits.

 

[Dino D]

You have to correct your diet first.

150g protein minimum for your height and sex is non negotiable. I say this as someone who is around 5'9 and I have weighed between 155-220 pounds throughout my life, but I've been at different combinations of muscle and fat.

Your specific weightloss efforts only get you to being "skinny fat".

I became skinny fat a few times. Then one time, I realized how "jacked" I was, and how vascular and pumped, but I also had hard muscle tissue that was entirely new and I wasn't lifting or taking anything. However, I had been focused on eating a lot of protein for awhile, so I had been unknowingly consuming a lot protein (probably what I needed). This became easier for me because of protein powders too.

I realized that I had been protien deficient during precious weight loss attempts, and I just became thin but "fat".

Also, at 30 years old you are still growing and developing. No joke.

First, the reason for fasted cardio is because there is better blood circulation to those typical problem fatty areas, for whatever reasons. The fibrous nature of the tissue means it isn't as vascular or well supplied with blood. The cardio gets the blood circulation going.


But look: you are losing muscle in proportion to fat lost. And when you can't lose anymore muscle, your fat loss stalls out. You need to maintain and build muscle while you lose weight. The easiest way to do this is eat 150g protein minimum, and I recommend creatine along that.

How to get 150 gram of protein?
Dairy isnt working 4 me... i get hemoroids and blood in stool from it, i bloat... whey can help, but some products dont, i also bloat and get blood and hemoroids from it...
Eating to much meat cant be that good... so how to get 150 gram of protein? Or more