[pawde]

Hi all,

Need some fitness/weight loss advice. I’m about 6ft 2” about 15 stone male. I would be well built but could do with loosing about a stone or even ½ of fat from the front of my stomach and my chest. Don’t seem to have fat anywhere else. I eat fairly healthily. I would of played a good bit of sport over the years (I’m 30) mainly squash and soccer. Both I found great for aerobic fitness. When playing them regularly I am comfortably 13 ½ -14 stone which I am quite happy with but still have that puppy fat on my stomach and chest to a much lesser extent. I haven’t really done any squash or soccer in the last 2 years due to 2 new kids but am starting back next week. I should get the weight down pretty easily but I am worried that it’s the muscle that I’m loosing, not the fat. Normally I would play a game of squash or soccer at about 8pm, come home, shower and then bed for about 10ish and wouldn’t really eat but would drink loads of water or dilute orange (low cal). I like smoothies which I make myself with mixed fruit, orange juice, a banana, and maybe ice cream. Would this be good to drink after the exercise? But I find that I lose muscle more than the fat. The fat seems impossible to shift. But after the exercise I want to keep the calories down to shift the weight!

So the advice I’m looking for is what should I do to supplement my squash and soccer nights? Should I do a quick weights session before I go play, say 20 mins bench press/ press ups, a few sit ups, nothing majorly stressful, and that way the body would be more inclined to want to keep the muscle and let the fat go? Or should I come home and eat something, and if so what? A high protein sandwich? Or a bowl of high fibre cerial (Weetabix or Alpen mixed with grapes/a banana). The next morning I am up early too, what should I eat? I gained a lot of weight by eating about 3 or 4 slices of toast with butter and jam very early every morning but have recognised that and replaced that with either Weetabix or Alpen and fruit mix.

Apologies for being a bit long winded, I know the difference between carbs and proteins etc and the types of foods etc but just don’t know when to have them.

When I do have a hard game and am wrecked afterwards, I find by not eating I weaken my body for the next time I play. I am not as strong as I was before, so that’s why I think that not eating after exercise is bad, I should eat a small amount of protein, combined with the weights before exercise, should lose more fat for me? How much eating after exercise, and what do I eat is getting the balance right to lose fat but keep muscle.

Finally, I read somewhere that that fat on the stomach area and chest on a man is almost impossible to shift once you get it there and some kind of liposuction is the only way. How true is this?

Many thanks for any replies in advance