My mom just came to visit. She brought Good's potato chips (potatoes and salt cooked in lard), and Tastycakes. Just what I need.

Get on the P90X train!!!!!

eat some around 1,3 lbs. of vegetables every day.
half at lunch the rest at dinner. skip most carbs - like bread, pasta and potatoes. and ofcourse sugar containing drinks(soda's) and alcohol.

Funny thing.... I was a bit over 200 when I left Michigan and within 6 months of being back in Philly I had dropped to 175 on a steady diet of pizza, cheesesteaks and beer. So clearly any extra extra weight you're carrying is due to lack of what your body has been genetically developed to need in order for proper functioning.....

within 6 months of being back in Philly I had dropped to 175 on a steady diet of pizza, cheesesteaks and beer. So clearly any extra extra weight you're carrying is due to lack of what your body has been genetically developed to need in order for proper functioning.....

From my experience of weight loss,this past summer i weighed 190 now i weigh 158 as of this morning and have gained a ridiculous amount of muscle compared to before. However the key to so much progress was a slow process yeah there was an initial 10lbs drop when i changed my eating habits but i plateaud several times once at 170, 165 and recently 160. The difference is although im not losing weight im losing fat slowly, which is key.
U dont want an instant drop, you will not lose your gut in that manner. Its a slow process, i spent alot of time reading up on best ways to burn fat. the method i found most effective is to start doing interval training. in other word high intensity with small burst of low intensity rest. the reson being is the constant change of intensity sends ur metabolism into shock, forcing it to overwork for up to 48 hours post workout.

just my 2 cents good luck sir!

I like to consider myself relatively in shape, as of this morning I weigh 196.3Lbs. I'm 5'10"... used to play soccer all my life until a mountain biking accident messed my knee up so I can't play.

I started climbing almost 2 years ago...currently my main weakness is my horrible days when my forearms pump out on the first climb. I try to pay attention to what I eat, but sometimes this forearm pump crap lasts a few days. I climb at the gym every other day.

Anyway on to whats bothering me.... I have a gut (I think anyway) I can vary my weight from 204lbs to around 175 by changing what I eat for a few days...but the gut is always there.

What do you do to get rid of your gut and get those abs exposed? I feel like getting rid of this extra baggage will get me that extra performance I need.

Eat less. Eat better. Move more.

Hi bbowers,
I trained various kinds of people for a number of years. I preferred to train athletes for sport reasons, but I also worked with lots of people who needed to lose weight as well as gain weight over this time. (I should mention I have appropriate credentials in this area as well that include a college degree.) Weight management and obesity issues are complex; even I don't understand everything.

That said, here is some general advice:

1. Android obesity (beer gut) is the most responsive fat storage to exercise, much more responsive than gynoid obesity (hips and thighs). Hopefully this encourages you.

2. Strenuous exercise that incorporates both aerobic and resistance training should elicit you the greatest gains if done properly and then maintained (typically less effortful) for the long haul.

3. By resistance training, I do not mean just bicep curls, abs, and bench chess or push ups.

4. The more variety you have in your aerobic exercise, the better. And really. When it comes down to it, who gives a fuck about swimming and your core or running and your core. The most important thing is to do the exercise you are most likely to do at all. Ultimately, though, you will need some variety in this area to overcome plateaus.

5. Do your aerobic exercise in HIT format if you can muster the intrinsic motivation. A number of studies are finding that High Intensity Training intervals appear to be more effective at burning fat than the typical Slow Moderate Pace to Nowhere that most people engage in. This is believed to be due to it causing elevated post-exercise oxygen consumption, but I won't get into that.

5a. High intensity intervals usually requires short bouts of pushing hard on your chosen activity. The duration of sprints is dependent on an individual athlete and what their aerobic requirements may be. I do anywhere from 30 sec-2 min usually. That is, my interval ends when I literally cannot push any longer at that pace at that time. I will warn you: the majority of people do not have the mental discipline or motivation to truly train HI intervals.

6. Although resting metabolic rate is only correlated at less than 20% dependent on skeletal muscle, clearly we know exercise, esp. strenuous exercise, has a profound effect on it anyway. Aerobic exercise alone typically has a correlation with a loss of muscle mass. This is bad. That is why I tell people to strength train. Not to mention I have personally witnessed far better results in my clients when they employ whole body strength training.

7. Which leads to my next point. Climber dudes who need to lose weight tend to try to go about it by only exercising half their body (the upper half). But you do need to preserve lean mass in your lower body, and as research shows, aerobic exercise doesn't do this. So strengthen your lower body; after all, it has the largest muscles in your body and can burn a whole lotta calories. Trust me, you can do this without getting huge legs which will weigh you down in climbing. Oh, and your knees will thank you for it eventually.

7. Yes, you MUST watch what you eat. BUT overly restrictive "dieting" can have very negative effects on your resting metabolic rate (i.e. it will decline), effects which studies show not even cardio or weight training will be able to reverse back up.

8. Do not deny yourself things completely. I have never told a client they cannot have this or that. Just areas where they need to cut back and/or employ other strategies. If you pig out one day, make sure you rein in the following two days to make up for it or do some extra exercise to help get into a calorie deficit. Also, avoid drinking your calories!

9. Accept that your problem areas will always be your problem areas, no matter how perfect your body eventually becomes on my advice. This is true for every person on earth. The battle will be eternal, and it will always be in the same place(s).

10. Lastly, most of rtwilli4's post was completely useless and/or nonsense. Please avoid reading it if you haven't already.

Sorry this was so long. This kind of stuff can't fit into a three-sentence post. Hope it helps a little!

WTF. Why do I hear all this shit about doing Pilates for your gut, doing swimming instead of some other aerobic exercise b/c it will "work your core [aka beer gut] more", and all other manner of core-specific workouts?

Do you guys honestly still believe in spot reduction???

Rule #1: don't give advice on weight loss when you have no idea what you are talking about--and when, in fact, you still subscribe to pseudoscience of years gone by.

7. Which leads to my next point. Climber dudes who need to lose weight tend to try to go about it by only exercising half their body (the upper half). But you do need to preserve lean mass in your lower body, and as research shows, aerobic exercise doesn't do this. So strengthen your lower body; after all, it has the largest muscles in your body and can burn a whole lotta calories. Trust me, you can do this without getting huge legs which will weigh you down in climbing. Oh, and your knees will thank you for it eventually.