# need recommendation on belly fat burning diet



## cavo (Apr 18, 2011)

i am not overweight but not ideal either, 6'2" howering around 183lbs in geneal. biggest struggle is belly fat. 2 years ago i was in the same spot as i am today. was trying to loose belly. i started keto diet with great results, my belly flatened and was around 175lbs. i eventually gave up the diet, for it was negatively impacting my riding. so i am back at the beginning looking for more friendly diet for mountain biker. i am in co front range, we have trails that all start with pretty high intensity climbs so i need something that will not impact my ability co climb. doing research i get overwhelmed quickly as no diet i can find is targeted to mtbikers. just looking for ideas or tips as to what worked for folks here.

thanks


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## life behind bars (May 24, 2014)

Put in a solid 2 hours of cardio before you have breakfast. Then just watch your diet.


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## cavo (Apr 18, 2011)

thanks, i do exercise regularly, i do 1-2 hr rides every week day, the rides are pretty high intensity with anything from 1500- 2500ft gain in 10 miles. typically weekends are either off bike or big ride on saturday, in which case i dont ride friday. i have to admit i am not very good with diet, i dont eat sugars or processed but i do eat a lot of fruit.


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## ehfour (Oct 17, 2016)

In my opinion there is no specific MTB diet that will help with belly fat, or for that matter any diet to target that area.

what you might look at doing is refining your exercise routine, as you specifically didn't list the things that you do.

Some examples of routines to follow

Day 1- Push- bench, overhead press, etc...
Day 2- Pull- Overhead pull down, Lat pull, etc....
Day 3- Legs- Squats, extensions..etc

I alternate deadpulls between Day 2 or 3

As much as it pains me to say this, you might want to look at reducing or omitting one of your weekday rides. Your body needs time to recover after your excersize and your rides.

As for diet, you'll need to cut out unnecessary carbs, read NOT all carbs, but the ones that you dont need..Beer, etc

Focus on our Macros- Carbs, Protein and Fat- try looking into some type of food tracker

Good luck, we all could do without that 5 or 10 lbs


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## robbnj (Jul 19, 2013)

Can't do focused-zone fat removal.

That said, try carb reduction. 
Up the vegetables, and maintain good protein intake.
I replaced most of my carbs (I love chocolate and cookies and pastas and breads) with veggies (broccoli, peppers, more than lettuce). Lunches went from leftover raviolis, sandwiches, etc. to tuna on a bed of lettuce and diced tomato, peanut butter on corn chips, etc. Dinner went from spaghetti to broccoli stalks sliced into 1/16" thick discs smothered in tomato sauce and mozzarella, with a side salad.

Instead of snacking on sweets, I'd have a handful of lighlty salted (sea salt) peanuts. Good fill-up and healthy. Drinks would be water over a lot of ice with some RealLemon for flavor.

Knocked off 15 pounds in three weeks and never felt hungry or deprived...


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## Stonerider (Feb 25, 2008)

Cut out all alcohol except on special occasions. Alcohol is bad for your metabolism and sleep recovery. Eat lean meats and as many vegetables as you want.


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

As said, alcohol and junk like donuts etc, especially on a night. Like said above, get in a ride in the early AM before you have a good breakfast, get your bodies metabolism reving for the entire day, eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day, cut down on the carbs or at least make sure they're the healthier, more complex ones that take longer to digest and give your body work to do. Long rides over 2 hours with a HR over 110BPM, but under 140BPM, is where your body will draw on fat reserves for fuel, if your HR goes higher, and it's burned it's glycogen store, then muscle is easier to convert than fat.

Good luck, you live in such a great place, with such great riding to keep inspired. FYI 185lbs isn't heavy for your height _(I'm same height)_, just need to make it muscle and loose the fat  But totally understand the difference those 10lbs can make when climbing in the FR.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

robbnj said:


> Can't do focused-zone fat removal.


This. Especially with diet, can't focus where fat will be removed.

In regards to cutting carbs, I'd say focus on cutting crap carbs - processed foods. Carbs from veggies and good quality whole wheat grains, no problem.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

LyNx said:


> FYI 185lbs isn't heavy for your height _(I'm same height)_, just need to make it muscle and loose the fat


I think it depends on ones body type, I'm the same height too and 160 is my fighting weight. I'd feel pretty huge @185 but other people carry that much weight or more well.


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## Cuyuna (May 14, 2017)

You can’t target specific parts of your anatomy for fat loss despite what you see on the late-night infomercials. Your belly fat will go away as you lose weight from your whole body. As to weight loss, that involves dietary intake and not calorie burning. As to diets...diets don’t work for long term weight loss. Lifestyle change is necessary.


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## bank5 (May 7, 2008)

I'm looking to do the same - drop ~10 pounds. Here's what I'm going to try for a couple weeks:

Breakfast smoothie - almond milk, dry peanut butter, frozen spinach, banana, bit of protein powder, ice

Lunch - something small like greek yogurt with dry peanut butter or oatmeal w/ banana and dry peanut butter

HIIT workout (I haven't been riding too much)

Dinner - Metamucil to help fill me up (not sure if the benefits but I tend to over eat at dinner) along with some lean protein (more fish) and veggies

Snacks - only veggies (carrots, broccoli, tomatoes). This is a big one for me as I tend be a grazer eating throughout the day 

Alcohol - reduced to 1 or 2 nights a week (at most 2 drinks a night)

We'll see how well it works.

If anyone has any other suggestions or anything I should modify, I'm all ears.


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## OwenM (Oct 17, 2012)

Same diet that worked for you before, but carbs pre and mid-ride.


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## Ryder1 (Oct 12, 2006)

One or more of the following: improve diet, intermittent fasting, carb cycling, address anterior pelvic tilt if a problem, do core exercises. The last two may not target belly fat but will make your stomach look more "toned" and improve aesthetics in general.

I don't ride after a night-long fast, but I do avoid fat calories for at least a couple hours before riding.


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## Wacha Wacha Wacha (Sep 27, 2017)

Raspberries and green veggies like spinach and kale!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## life behind bars (May 24, 2014)

bank5 said:


> I'm looking to do the same - drop ~10 pounds. Here's what I'm going to try for a couple weeks:
> 
> Breakfast smoothie - almond milk, dry peanut butter, frozen spinach, banana, bit of protein powder, ice
> 
> ...


Cardio before breakfast torches fat.

"aerobic training in a fasted state lowers body weight and body fat percentage."

from here;

https://www.verywellfit.com/is-fasted-cardio-really-better-for-fat-loss-4057205


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Cycling isn't particularly good for tightening up your stomach. Yes, you can burn fat if you cycle enough but that's only part of the problem. The other part is the flabby stomach with little muscle that will hang out all by itself.

Try some things that specifically work your stomach, like sit-ups or a rowing machine. These are far more effective than cycling. But don't stop the cycling, do that as well. 

And don't eat junk! As you get older your metabolism just keeps slowing down, you just can't get away with it any more.


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## Aglo (Dec 16, 2014)

Just sharing my personal experience.
I was around 80Kg and wanted to lower my weight to 75Kg, mostly I wanted to lose my belly fat. As mentioned already several times, you can't choose from where you will lose the fat, but I only had visible fat on my belly so if I was to lose weight it would be there.
I like sweets, and love to eat, but I have a Mediterranean diet.
My workout regime was to ride 3 or 4 days a week, mostly I did around 20km round rides with one and a half hour duration. 3Km flat, followed by 7km with 600m of elevation gain mostly spinning (cardio), followed with 6Km of downhill, and finally 4km flat. And also as mentioned, I did half of that rides before I had breakfast.
It took me around two months to achieve my goal, mostly because I refused to not eat dessert at least a meal each day, and I "need" to eat something before I go to bed.
I am no expert, and my metabolism had a big impact for sure, but I think that a Mediterranean diet with low red meat, low fat fish, and a lot of veggies helped me to get to the target weight.


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## BlackCanoeDog (Jul 26, 2003)

Another approach other than dieting is fasting 1 or 2 days per week. Meaning try to go at least 20 hrs with no eating, drinking only water or black coffee,tea, etc. You still eat one meal a day of your choice, and skipping the other two. In my case I would not eat after dinner until dinner the next day. My days were Mondays and Thursdays. Rest of the week you can eat whatever you want. I'm almost 67 yrs old ( 5' 9") and weigh ~165 lb. I got down to 157 lb this way and noticeable difference in belly. It wasn't too difficult to maintain but I stopped the fasting eventually and weight went back up to 165 lb. My body just seems to like that weight and stays stable there. Just an alternate suggestion for those who struggle with "diets" and giving up certain foods entirely. If interested in more info you can read about this in detail in Brad Pilon's book Eat Stop Eat.
Here is a review of this method and I'm sure google can provide more...
My HONEST Eat Stop Eat Review - Does Intermittent Fasting Work?


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## Cuyuna (May 14, 2017)

Ryder1 said:


> .... The last two may not target belly fat but will make your stomach look more "toned" and improve aesthetics in general.....





Mr Pig said:


> ....Cycling isn't particularly good for tightening up your stomach. Yes, you can burn fat if you cycle enough but that's only part of the problem. The other part is the flabby stomach with little muscle that will hang out all by itself.....


You can't target belly fat with an exercise program (or anything else). You can, however, tone the abdominal muscles and give it a better framework to hang from. If you want it to _look_ toned, you have to actually modify the diet and lose weight from your whole body, which will help get rid of some of the fat over the abdomen that is obscuring the view of the muscles.

As noted by our porcine friend above, cycling isn't particularly good for abdominal muscle toning.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

I'm 5'9" tall and 155 pounds (age 66, so metabolic rate is decreasing). Up until about a month ago, I was 166 pounds. 

I had developed acid reflux and decided to eat slightly smaller meals and stopped eating after about 6:30 at night. I dropped 11 pounds in a very short period of time and I have posted multiple PR's after the weight loss on climbs starting above 7000 feet going as high as 10,000 feet. 

Years ago, I tried a low carb diet and got to the same weight and was also pretty slow on the climbs due to the lack of fuel, so I think this has worked quite well.


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