# Lets talk about tummy fat, and how to get rid of it. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 13, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018 "2004-05-13T22:23:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/1 "2004-05-13T22:23:05Z")
So, I have some tummy fat. Lately I’ve heard talk of various diets or diet supplements that can help release abdominal fat - does anyone have any insights or suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/2 "2004-05-13T22:38:30Z")
The author of the South Beach Diet claims that following the plan gets rid of abdominal fat first. I’m not sure I’m buying it, but he does generally try to cite some evidence for his claims. I don’t have the book with me, though. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/3 "2004-05-13T22:45:10Z")
Humm - well, I’m not sure that South Beach would work - a) I’m vegetarian b) I don’t particularly want to lose weight - just tummy fat. I know you can’t spot reduce with exercise and diet, but I’ve recently read stuff about being able to release abdominal fat. I have no idea how this would be done and I’m interested. If I could get rid of my tummy fat without liposuction, I would be a happy, happy girl. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/4 "2004-05-13T22:51:00Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > If I could get rid of my tummy fat without liposuction, I would be a happy, happy girl. If I could flap my arms and fly to Paris, I’d be a happy, happy girl. But _that_ ain’t gonna happen, either. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/5 "2004-05-13T23:09:28Z")
Do crunches. LOTS of crunches. Cutting carbs will help, but if you only want to lose abdominal fat, crunches are the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/6 "2004-05-13T23:53:13Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Do crunches. LOTS of crunches. Cutting carbs will help, but if you only want to lose abdominal fat, crunches are the way to go. Actually, I doubt crunches are the best way to go. You might want to try Pilates, since it works on the deeper abdominal muscles (including the “suck in your gut” musculature). Once you train those muscles better, you’ll have better posture, which (along with the fact that you’ll…well…be sucking in your gut more) will make your abdomen look better even if you don’t lose any actual fat. ---
**Author:** ![angelicate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@angelicate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelicate)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/7 "2004-05-14T01:17:57Z")
FWIW, I actually did South Beach for a couple of weeks at the beginning of the year. I dropped about 15 lbs and haven’t gained any of it back, and although I don’t think I look that much different, I do have a pair of pants that were skintight across my waist that now almost fall off if I don’t wear a belt. I also got a Veg Times magazine at about that time that gave a bunch of vegetarian recipes that were suitable for the diet. If you would be interested in trying them, I could send you the magazine, I’ve still got it sitting around. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/8 "2004-05-14T01:58:35Z")
For the record, back when I was more of a fitness nut than I am now, I tried to get a sixpack mostly through crunches and weightlifting. Up to a point it works, in that it really tightens up the muscle underneath the flab. After you get your rock hard abs, though, it won’t help any more. After that point, only dieting and/or lots of aerobic exercise will do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/9 "2004-05-14T02:13:22Z")
It is impossible to spot reduce unless you have a topical of some sort. There are them, but I cannot think of any off hand. Doing crunches, while it will build up muscle in the area, will not burn the fat in that area. Where your body stores fat is entirely genetic, and while it often burns fat from areas in the opposite area it stored it, it does not always happen that way. This is largely genetic. Doing exercises isn’t going to spot reduce fat, no way, no how. You may lose over all fat, and in doing so, reduce fat in that area- in this case the abdominals. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/10 "2004-05-14T04:15:07Z")
South Beach can be done by veggies, it just takes a lot of creativity. Atkins and South beach both tend to take tummy fat off first. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/11 "2004-05-14T13:24:43Z")
Huh. That almost tempts me to try Atkins. Almost. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/12 "2004-05-14T13:31:37Z")
No it doesn’t, it just happens that many people store fat in their stomach last. Last on, first off. Here, have some sites by those with some education on the subject. YOU CANNOT SPOT REDUCE FAT!!! Links: [http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/74/89120.htm](http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/74/89120.htm) [http://www.protraineronline.com/past/oct1/spot.cfm](http://www.protraineronline.com/past/oct1/spot.cfm) [http://www.fatlosstips.com/abs.html](http://www.fatlosstips.com/abs.html) [http://www.zoneperfect.com/Site/content/Fitness\_Detail.asp?id=4647](http://www.zoneperfect.com/Site/content/Fitness_Detail.asp?id=4647) [http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com/articles/Abs\_the\_Truth.htm](http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com/articles/Abs_the_Truth.htm) [http://www.nutri-fit-health.com/con-excercisetips.html](http://www.nutri-fit-health.com/con-excercisetips.html) [http://www.ultimatefatburner.com/spot-reduction.html](http://www.ultimatefatburner.com/spot-reduction.html) [http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/hl/fit/star/alert10032003.html](http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/hl/fit/star/alert10032003.html) I can keep going too, I can provide hundreds and thousands of these puppies. Why is it so easy to find these? Because this mythis is so prevelant in our society. People seem to want to believe getting rid of a flabby stomach is as easy as some magic diet or special exercise. It isn’t going to happen. I am amazed at this level of spreading ignorance on a message board dedicated to fighting it. The spot reduction myth is busted, and has been for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/13 "2004-05-14T13:53:33Z")
Humm. I already do pilates for an hour, 4 or 5 days a week. My abs are the “of steel” variety - the just have a nice layer of marshmellow over them. And only the top ones. My lower stomach is nice and flat. I guess I best start flapping my arms… ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/14 "2004-05-14T14:04:02Z")
OK, hold on. You already do ab-specific exercising (pilates), have great abs but also fat? Please forgive me, I just can’t get a mental image here of what you’re talking about. Do you have a picture you could link to? It seems to me that if you’re eating a good well balanced vegetarian diet _and_ doing ab exercises you should be on top of the world! ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/15 "2004-05-14T14:31:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Humm. I already do pilates for an hour, 4 or 5 days a week. My abs are the “of steel” variety - the just have a nice layer of marshmellow over them. And only the top ones. In this case… There are a couple of products that I would recomend that you look into that have had decent results with most people… Both topical gels… I don’t know if you are interested in this sort of thing, but they do actually help. Ab-Solved, and Lipoderm Ultra… both are made by Avant Labs, and are pretty well respected by the bodybuilding/fitness industry. ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/16 "2004-05-14T14:43:44Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > No it doesn’t, it just happens that many people store fat in their stomach last. Last on, first off. Here, have some sites by those with some education on the subject. YOU CANNOT SPOT REDUCE FAT!!! > > I am amazed at this level of spreading ignorance on a message board dedicated to fighting it. The spot reduction myth is busted, and has been for a long, long time. I have to second what **Epimetheus** said. No such thing as spot reduction. Doing crunches or pilates or whatever will just give you a nice layer of muscle under the fat. If you don’t lose the fat that may have the effect of making your tummy appear larger :eek:. You have to lose the fat in order to see the muscle underneath. That involves taking in less calories than you expend. You can either cut calories or increase exercise. The choice is yours. The low carb options out there make it easier to lose fat by keeping your insulin in check which helps you to burn what you eat rather than storing it. There is no magic bullet but there are a lot of folks out there making money by telling us there is. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/17 "2004-05-14T15:28:14Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Do crunches. LOTS of crunches. Cutting carbs will help, but if you only want to lose abdominal fat, crunches are the way to go. Um, **Lou**? Spot reduction doesn’t work. Never has, never will. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar or is misinformed. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/18 "2004-05-14T15:32:31Z")
You could probably benefit from doing cardio 2-3 times a week. The “layer of fat” isn’t going to disappear even if you do Pilates 5x a week. But, the fact that you do have strong abs under the layer means you can probably lose the weight quickly if you get in there and work at it. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/19 "2004-05-14T15:39:14Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > OK, hold on. You already do ab-specific exercising (pilates), have great abs but also fat? Please forgive me, I just can’t get a mental image here of what you’re talking about. Do you have a picture you could link to? It seems to me that if you’re eating a good well balanced vegetarian diet _and_ doing ab exercises you should be on top of the world! I have no picture. I have low body fat in general (under 20% - I don’t particularly want to go much lower than that - I’m not training for a competition or anything, and I happen to like having boobs). I have a small waist, and small hips (26 and 35 inches respectively). I just happen to have a little pooch of fat over my upper abdominal muscles. Some women are thin and fit with saddle bags. I’m thin and fit with a little tummy pooch. I might look into the products that **merge** has recommened. I currently am using AbdoChoc which feels great when you put it on and I think I may have noticed a small difference (I’ve only been using it for about 2 weeks so that may not be enough time). I was just wondering if there was any sort of supplement that people had used with success. FWIW, I’ve had some success with Siberian Gensing - unfortunatly it really upsets my stomach, and I get hot flashes when I’m taking it, which is kind of a drag, given the fact that I’m only 31. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018/20 "2004-05-14T15:55:32Z")
Small nitpick, sorry cant resist: While there is an upper _portion_ of the abdominal muscle, there is only one abdominal musle. You might be aware of this, but I am only brining it up because you keep refering to abdominal muscles, the plural, which suggests, to me, that you see them as being multiple muscles. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-tummy-fat-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/245018.md?page=2)