Stubborn Fat Help


I’ll probably get destroyed here, but here goes. I’ve been dieting a while now, attempting to get as lean as I can. I’m not a bodybuilder and have no intention of competing, its just for myself. I posted in this forum as I assumed that more people would have experience dieting into single figures.

Anyway, the problem i’m having is stubborn fat around my navel, I have been dieting for the best part of a year (100kg to 81.5kg) very slowly and have managed to retain most of my muscle mass and strength on lifts, this fat just won’t seem to budge. What is my best strategy at this point? Is it just a question of slogging it out until it goes or are there things that i’m doing wrong?
I am currently carb cycling ( i detail evey day in my log: Jonny's training log - Training Logs - Forums - T Nation

Any halp at all would be brilliant. thanks

[quote]jonny142 wrote:

Any halp at all would be brilliant. thanks [/quote]

licorice ointment

I mean this in 100% seriousness, I see no fat around your navel area.

there is some fat there, or else his belly button would be a hole, as opposed to a straight line.

how long has it been since you haven’t lost any weight?

i would throw fasted morning cardio sessions (as simple as walking) keeping your heart rate below 120-130. work up to an hour on off days.

if your weight still won’t budge, slowly cut your carbs back and increase your protein a bit.

these suggestions are assuming your diet is spot on.

why on earth you would want to lose fat at this stage of your physique, i have no idea. good luck.

@moveitorloseit - is this because you feel my goal should be adding size?

I have added morning fasted walks over the past few days and will keep at it. If I see no progress i’ll try your carb suggestions.

Anyone want to have a guess at my bf% - i have no idea, leg photo should help.

[quote]Sharp4850 wrote:
I mean this in 100% seriousness, I see no fat around your navel area.[/quote]

x2. I’d suggest you get your BF measured more accurately. What are your ultimate goals?

Well, i was at 100kg and really quite fat - i’ve dieted to 82kg and retained almost all my strength - I have lost some muscle however. My goals currently are to diet into single figures then look at maintenance/very slow size strength gains while limiting fat gain.

[quote]jonny142 wrote:
Well, i was at 100kg and really quite fat - [/quote]

nice work on dropping 20kg, but it could be loose skin from when you were 100kg considering you dropped 20% of your body weight

[quote]jonny142 wrote:
Well, i was at 100kg and really quite fat - i’ve dieted to 82kg and retained almost all my strength - I have lost some muscle however. My goals currently are to diet into single figures then look at maintenance/very slow size strength gains while limiting fat gain. [/quote]

Congratulations on the fat loss.

I would still get your BF% measured just so that you know how far off single digit % you are. Also I don’t believe many lifters carry single digit BF% all year round (I think it’s quite rare). So just be certain you know what you’re aiming for and that in the pursuit of fat loss you don’t loss muscle mass, strength or anything else you’ve worked hard to achieve.

FWIW, maintenance goals are not very inspiring.

[quote]jonny142 wrote:

Anyone want to have a guess at my bf% - i have no idea, leg photo should help. [/quote]

8.141567%

Good job so far.
Google stubborn fat solution.

if it’s really stubborn fat (which i doubt) : drink plenty of water, relax, wait.

probably a cortisol related issue.

since you have lost a lot of fat very quickly, it could be loose skin too.
in which case the advice would be exactly the same.

[quote]moveitorloseit wrote:
there is some fat there, or else his belly button would be a hole, as opposed to a straight line.[/quote]
I just want to point out that the shape of his belly button is NOT due to body fat… if it were then every person on the planet with BF levels higher than his would have a straight navel instead of round…
Regardless, good luck reaching your goals Jonny.

The fat loss was a slow process (6-7 months) so I feel this may rule out loose skin. I looked into the possibility of it being cortisol related and i’m taking some measures toward this. I feel waiting it out may be the beat strategy, I just don’t want to cut mch longer and risk muscle loss.

[quote]jonny142 wrote:
Well, i was at 100kg and really quite fat - i’ve dieted to 82kg and retained almost all my strength - I have lost some muscle however. My goals currently are to diet into single figures then look at maintenance/very slow size strength gains while limiting fat gain. [/quote]

You are already into single digit BF… Time to add some more muscle

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]jonny142 wrote:
Well, i was at 100kg and really quite fat - i’ve dieted to 82kg and retained almost all my strength - I have lost some muscle however. My goals currently are to diet into single figures then look at maintenance/very slow size strength gains while limiting fat gain. [/quote]

You are already into single digit BF… Time to add some more muscle[/quote]

Yep.
Right now, you are in a great position to slowly start adding calories and take advantage of your metabolism/ability to gain lean muscle mass. I would start eating a caloric excess, check weight weekly, and add more macros/calories accordingly.

Thanks for the advice, I’d considered adding some calories back in, I almost feel like its a shame to come this far and not get to six-pack lean. Do you think there would be any negative consequence of continuing with low calories until the new year?

[quote]jonny142 wrote:
Thanks for the advice, I’d considered adding some calories back in, I almost feel like its a shame to come this far and not get to six-pack lean. Do you think there would be any negative consequence of continuing with low calories until the new year? [/quote]

Body fat isnt the problem. You dont have enough ab mass and/or your tendons arent deep enough to see deep separation in your abs. There are bodybuilders that diet down to 2% bodyfat and dehydrate and still dont have deep cut abs.

But you DO have visible abs. It is unlikely that they will get significantly better; slightly better? yea maybe.

I have full abs showing in the pic in my hub. Im about 10-11%. Youre leaner than me. My abs have deep tendons and are visible even when im able to pinch an inch of fat/skin on my stomach. And theyre thick from heavy lifting. Deal with it.

[quote]jonny142 wrote:
Thanks for the advice, I’d considered adding some calories back in, I almost feel like its a shame to come this far and not get to six-pack lean. Do you think there would be any negative consequence of continuing with low calories until the new year? [/quote]

What are your goals? I’m not you, I don’t know what you ultimately want. However, if I were in your position, already being as lean as you are, it would be more beneficial for you in the future to start gaining instead of trying to get leaner.