Hi all,

I am not even sure if this belongs here but here goes. I have been successfully maintaining for the past 5 months and am comfortable (for the most part) with my weight and current size. Right now I am focusing on fat recomposition or toning. I am not happy with my lower abs and would like to get it down somewhat.

I lost the weight via calorie counting and did not have to restrict my carbs at all in the evenings - once I was within my calorie allotment for the day I ate carbs even if it was late at night. However a trainer recently told me that to get the look I am aiming for I should not be having any carbs in the evenings. The carbs I currently consume are mostly complex carbs - brown rice and sweet potatoes. Do I realy have to cut out carbs in the evenings to get the body I want? It seems very hard for me to do now and am not sure if it is sustainable.

Any experience or advice will be highly appreciated.

I have no idea, but in my humble opinion, you can only try and see and if it works for you great if not then ACCEPT IT! I refuse to live a lifestyle that restricts anything honestly. And if that means I have a little extra pudge, well then really who cares! Honestly, my pudge is just loose skin and there's no amount of carb restriction or stregnth training that's going to change that so acceptance is my only option. I personally just cannot handle the obsession of restricting this or don't eat that after this hour or that in order to see a minor change in my appearance that honestly no one other than maybe my DH will notice. In the right clothes I look awesome and life is just too short.

That said, you have to get to a point where YOU are happy with YOU. So give it a shot if you think it's necessary. I have heard that restricting carbs can help with the belly fat, but you have to ask yourself how much is loose skin and how much just needs more time to spring back. It can take up to a year for the skin to return to it's "firm" state after weight loss.

However, it sounds like you don't think it's sustainable for you.

Try lowering your carbs a little, and increasing your protein a little. I think that most people watching weight don't eat enough protein--because they are paying so much attention to the fats and carbs.

If you are already getting plenty of protein, then this wouldn't apply, obviously.

Jay

Sigh....sometimes I get down about this whole weight loss and fitness thing

Chin up, we all do I think what I'm discovering is that I need to lighten up. Fitness and eating healthy is a hobby for me, but I can become very obsessive about it and it leads to complete misery for me. SO I'm really working on making it apart of my life in a balanced way, in a way that I enjoy and finding other hobbies and things to do. I was getting to an awful point where I was obsessing about every meal, every meal composition, every work out, etc. etc. That led me to a bit of a break down, and a bit of a rebellion that has causes a small weight gain due to rebellious binging. So now that I'm over the hormonal hump of TOM, I'm trying to find balance. A balanace between fitness that I enjoy and will maintain my weight and a healthy eating plan that I enjoy and will maintain a weight that is sustainable over the long term. It's all a work in progress, possible one that will never end. But for me it's really all about balance, it's not an all or nothing thing. We can have it all, we just can't always have it all at once

I think to have really, really, really flat abs you need three things:

1. Great genetics
2. Very low body fat percentage
3. Taut skin. (If you've never been heavier than 198 and have never had children maybe you have this. I know I don't)

I think generally, most women will not be able to obtain the look we're all imagining when we think of the "perfect abs" without a lot of restriction, exercise, and possibly surgery. To me, it's not worth it. To you- maybe it is! I know that fitness competitors restrict carbohydrates to get that really toned look prior to a competition, so I would not be surprised to think that you have to do that if you want to look that way. It's worth a try if this is very important to you.

However, maybe it's worth asking yourself if it really is that important? I know I feel much happier now that I've decided to accept some "flaws" in my body and am no longer worried about having a perfectly flat stomach (not happening for me with the amount of weight I've lost anyway). But maybe you really like focusing on fitness and ultra low body fat. It's all individual. I'd suggest checking out the diets and exercise plans followed by fitness competitors if those are your goals.

I can't say I agree with your PT. IMHO, I don't believe you can "spot reduce" based on adjusting your nutritional macros. I think that due to genetics, different people are prone to hold onto certain fats in certain areas. In order to release that stubborn fat (first on, last to go type fat)...it just comes down to reducing bf% (calories in vs. calories out). Food timing, etc. I don't think is key.

Example - the last place my body will release fat from is my upper thighs. I can squat heavy until the cows come come...it ain't going no where til my bf% is somewhere around 14-15%. I eat fruit before bed every night.

Hope this helps....cheer up...this is the fun part (maintenance)...or so it's supposed to be!

I agree with all of you....how badly do I really want this? And is it worth stressing over? I really don't think so. I want to enjoy my exercise and the stress relief it provides - not worry and strain over routines and calories and ratios!

By the way- just curious since I noticed we're the same height and from your picture it looks like we're close to the same shape- Did you notice a lot of difference between 164 and 160? I'm at 164 now and it's the lowest I've ever been in my life! I can't help wondering what I would look like at 160 or even 155? I'm happy at 164, but maybe I'd like 160 too?

No...not really...but my body has changed in the past 5 months due to my incorporation of some weight training. I have not lost any pounds but have lost inches. Persons tell me that I look like I weigh 130lbs

Try doing some weight training and see where it takes you...

I do a lot of weight training- I think that's one reason I'm happy at this weight People tell me I look 130 also! Isn't it funny how off people are on what they think different weights look like? Especially taller women I think.

Sorry for the off topic

It's not off topic at all. It just confirms that sometimes we get caught up in our flaws when the world looking on is jealous of us........

Amen to that! I'm just happy to see someone else who's around my weight and height and pretty much happy with it. Sure, I'm still working on some toning stuff, but it's more for the joy of exercising than for any perceived flaws. Perfection is over-rated, IMO. Because it doesn't exist

I don't see how not eating carbs late at night will make a difference. Lots of bodbuilders used to eat high carb diets and they got tight and taunt. Low carb gets rid of water weight, so you'll look a bit tighter, but a high carb meal brings the water right back.