Losing Belly Fat to Look Good on Camera?

[Mermaid Stark]

So as you may or may not know, my BFF Elena and I are making a Youtube mermaid series called "Mystic Waters". We actually ditched our other script because we thought it was too "light". Instead, we re-wrote the first episode and we're gonna start filming this summer.
Even though I'm a dancer, I still have quite a bit of belly fat. Last time we tried to film, I felt like I looked really bad in my tail. I know, I know, I shouldn't worry about body image, etc, but being a former athlete, no matter what anyone tells me, I'm gonna do it! It's just gonna be something that's always there.

So I was wondering, what do you mers do (if you do anything) before a photo shoot, event, etc, to look a little more "fit" in your tail?

[Christopher Chandler]

So as you may or may not know, my BFF Elena and I are making a Youtube mermaid series called "Mystic Waters". We actually ditched our other script because we thought it was too "light". Instead, we re-wrote the first episode and we're gonna start filming this summer.
Even though I'm a dancer, I still have quite a bit of belly fat. Last time we tried to film, I felt like I looked really bad in my tail. I know, I know, I shouldn't worry about body image, etc, but being a former athlete, no matter what anyone tells me, I'm gonna do it! It's just gonna be something that's always there.

So I was wondering, what do you mers do (if you do anything) before a photo shoot, event, etc, to look a little more "fit" in your tail?

Fiona,

As a photographer, I can tell you that a good tan and turning your body in the correct manner can really do a lot with the way you current look. It is the job of a good photographer to bring out your assets and hide any flaws. We are formally trained to do this with every subject we photograph. I will tell you that cutting out starches, sugar and pasta and drinking water, water and more water will help to tighten up any loose areas. Remember to give yourself about four to six weeks of doing this prior to the shoot. Hope this helps a little.

Christopher

[roamingmer]

There are many 'fitness' diets out there - detox solutions etc - but Christopher is correct that cutting out processed foods; sugars and wheat based products (pasta) and drinking more water than normal is definitely good. Im currently reading up on Sinus Survival Guide and there the recommendations are more or less the same - except with the addition of cutting out dairy (which I did a year ago) and yeast products (from 2 years ago). I can really tell the difference in pictures - but it is NOT a starvation diet; it is about eating healthily, and being comfortable with your body image.

http://www.deliciouslyella.co.uk/ has some great recipes; http://thenaturalnutritionist.com.au/ http://www.staysharpbestrong.com/ also, http://www.superfoodsiobhan.blogspot.co.uk/ has many sweet tooth ideas - without the sugar.
I regularly view these sites and they are all healthy and consciously avoid trying to push body image stereotypes. Im currently following Nikki Sharp's detox plan - as it fits the Sinus Survival Guide plans very well - as I really need to fix my chronic sinusitis.

[Mermaid Varshana]

Lifting weights helps A LOT, even more than cardio. It's a myth that weightlifting doesn't burn calories. Cardio burns calories in the moment, while lifting weights will help you build lean muscle that will raise your metabolism and help you burn more calories when you're not doing anything. Even just buying a few dumbells at a used fitness supply place and learning a few exercises to do with them on YouTube will help shape your body.

[Spindrift]

Nooo... not pasta! :(

[Mermaid Varshana]

Also, don't drink soda pop or juice. Even most "fruit" juice is nothing but pure nasty sugar. What a lot of people don't know is that eating and drinking lots of sugar will give you heart disease. Sugar looks like a cube on a microscopic level. The sharp edges scratch up your veins and arteries. Your body will lay down cholesterol to make them smooth again. Over time, you can guess what happens. Lots of people lose a lot of belly fat just by not drinking their calories, and they also save a lot in hospital bills in the long run.

[ShyMer]

Ooh, I second the sugary drinks idea. I had no idea how much sugar I was taking in on a regular basis until recently.

Check out this site (http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm). It shows you how much sugar is in various everyday drinks and foods. I find it to be pretty entertaining to read anyway:)

[Mermaid Tula]

Over the last year, I've lost around 20+ pounds just from not drinking soda pop anymore. I also started eating a little better, working on portion control and just getting out and walking more. I'm working on loosing around 60 more pounds. Incentives also help me. My hubby and I agreed that once I lost 80 pounds, I could get what ever tattoo I wanted.

[AniaR]

I haven't read any of the other replies but I am sensitive about my belly fat. I work out every second day at the gym and I swim constantly in my tail and my day job is very physically demanding. You'd think I'd be perfectly flat in the tummy area, but meds I take make me retain water so I get fairly bloated. I have my tail come up over my belly and then I don't even have to worry XD

[Mermaid Stark]

Thanks for the help everyone!
I've cut out ice cream from my diet for about a month now, and let me tell you, I feel a whole lot better!
I'm gonna surf YouTube for new cardio workout routines and find which ones work best for me.
Just a question, I've heard that eating snacks throughout the day helps you lose weight, rather than eating three big meals. Is this true?

[Echidna]

Just a question, I've heard that eating snacks throughout the day helps you lose weight, rather than eating three big meals. Is this true?
I think all the different regiments (5 small meals; 3 average meals; lots of meals) don't differ much;
it's everything summed up in the end that counts.

I've gone years eating only once per day; as a child, I ate all the time snacks in between;
now I usually daily eat twice a moderate amount.
Just evaluate how much it is all in all at the end of the day.
Eating a lot of snacks in between can help if you are prone to build too much appetite otherwise, but usually, you just can't remember how much you've already eaten if you do, so it's counterproductive.

I'm underweight and trying to build up some more muscle and body fat :D
it's really hard, because I'm so used to not eat any fat, oil, or sweets.
Despite being so thin, sometimes my belly looks a bit bloated; the only thing it could possibly come from is fruit juice
(fruit juice IS a sugar bomb, even 100% pure juice. I drink about 3 glasses a day),
but it could also be from the meds I have to take.

[MerGrrl]

Sugar looks like a cube on a microscopic level. The sharp edges scratch up your veins and arteries. Your body will lay down cholesterol to make them smooth again. Over time, you can guess what happens.

Are you kidding?

Sugar, which is found in foods like fruit and milk, is broken down by your digestive system into its individual molecular components before it even reaches your bloodstream. Unless you are suggesting that the carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms that make up the molecules are somehow "scratchy," this doesn't even make sense.

If you are referring to the way the molecules connect in a lattice to form crystals (salt has the exact same form, BTW), this structure is broken down far before it reaches our blood stream. That's what digestion does. Otherwise, our ancestors eating fruit and preserving things with salt would have all died of heart disease.

Please don't spread false information.

[Mermaid Allie]

I do ab workouts! I do them like once a week and it keeps my 4 pack perfect. I do the Jackie Warner ab workout. Its really great. You can get it on amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/Workout-One-On-One-Training-Rebecca-Cardon/dp/B0015D20FY/ref=pd_cp_mov_3
this is the DVD I have, and its literally a 20 minute ab workout and I see results like right after. seriously its that good. Give it a try! I do it with my mum and we love doing it together and encouraging each other!

[Echidna]

a tiny bit of fat doesn't hurt though, if you are mermaiding. Ask seals and whales!
Water is cold.
I need a wetsuit if I want to stay in longer than 1 hour :/

[Mermaid Kalliope]

I used to dance and do all sorts of athletics... I still have a trim figure, but I do have a bit of a belly blub. Arch your back and keep your abs tight. That will be your best bet. ALSO! Don't look at cartoons/anime, they won't show you the truth. Look at videos of others. There WILL be belly lines and what not, even if it is just muscle. Most people don't notice unless you make a big deal about it.

[Mermaid Varshana]

Are you kidding?

Sugar, which is found in foods like fruit and milk, is broken down by your digestive system into its individual molecular components before it even reaches your bloodstream. Unless you are suggesting that the carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms that make up the molecules are somehow "scratchy," this doesn't even make sense.

If you are referring to the way the molecules connect in a lattice to form crystals (salt has the exact same form, BTW), this structure is broken down far before it reaches our blood stream. That's what digestion does. Otherwise, our ancestors eating fruit and preserving things with salt would have all died of heart disease.

Please don't spread false information.

i wasn't aware that I was. I was an exercise science major, and a registered dietician came in to speak to us at the college about why a diet with huge levels of refined sugar causes heart disease. It can absolutely damage your arteries. I'm not talking about moderate levels of sugar in the diet. At any rate, no matter how it happens, high sugar intake is bad and causes heart disease and diabetes. Don't eat too much of it.

[Mermaid Isabela]

It depends a lot on your body/metabolism as well. For example, I don't drink sodas. I drink a lot of iced teas and water. I walk and do crunches every other day, and I still get messages on how I'm 'too fat to be a mermaid'. (I'm sensitive about my belly!) I honestly got to the point that as long as I try to be happy with my body I think things will turn out okay. Just enjoy yourself, be as healthy as you possibly can, and exercise when possible. Besides, who says mermaids can't have a little pudge every once in a while!? >:p

[ShyMer]

From what I understand, working out one place on your body doesn't make you lose fat there in particular, but it does tone your muscles. It's good to do crunches for strength and burn calories, but it's not going to make you lose fat in that one place.

Also proper lighting and camera angles can make a world of difference. The wrong angles make me look so much bigger than I am :(

[Mermaid Kalliope]

Mermaids should have pudge! :-P It's the insulation from the cold waters! I know that I need sugar... Like fruit wise not let me just eat sugar packets. I also need a high protein diet no matter how active I am. I've always needed high protein. There is no "blanket diet" that works for everyone. You need to learn what your own body needs and what you should be giving it. <3

Best of luck with your series!

[MerGrrl]

i wasn't aware that I was. I was an exercise science major, and a registered dietician came in to speak to us at the college about why a diet with huge levels of refined sugar causes heart disease. It can absolutely damage your arteries. I'm not talking about moderate levels of sugar in the diet. At any rate, no matter how it happens, high sugar intake is bad and causes heart disease and diabetes. Don't eat too much of it.

100% agree with you re: too much sugar, etc. In fact, many people aren't aware that many carbohydrate sources convert to sugar before hitting your blood stream. I'm hypoglycemic, so for me, eating any kind of carb without balancing it with protein and fat to sustain my blood sugar levels would result in a similar high and low as candy.

I don't know where you heard this idea about the "scratchy" sugar molecules, but if you have a source, I'd love to read it.

[ShyMer]

I would also like to read some sources on how sugar scratches arteries and such if you know of any good ones. I tried searching for information, but anything I found was really vague. It seemed that they don't really know much about it yet. I don't understand how it would scratch if they're broken down, but I admit I don't understand much of how sugar actually affects things. I know it's bad for you and hidden in food I wouldn't expect, so I'm trying to be more mindful.

[Mermaid Varshana]

100% agree with you re: too much sugar, etc. In fact, many people aren't aware that many carbohydrate sources convert to sugar before hitting your blood stream. I'm hypoglycemic, so for me, eating any kind of carb without balancing it with protein and fat to sustain my blood sugar levels would result in a similar high and low as candy.

I don't know where you heard this idea about the "scratchy" sugar molecules, but if you have a source, I'd love to read it.
The dietician who spoke to us told us about it. Looking at glucose molecules in the blood with an electron microscope, it's still shaped like cubes > http://biosingularity.com/2009/02/02/nano-tetherball-biosensor-precisely-detects-glucose/

Glucose is natural, energy-providing and won't hurt you if the levels in your blood are normal. I'm sure you know that. But if you eat and drink lots of crap that elevates the glucose in your blood to obscenely high levels for years on end, that's when you get arterial damage due to high acidity and physical harm on a microscopic level. It also creates sorbitol, which causes the nerve problems in diabetics.

[Mermaid Varshana]

What is for certain is that spikes in blood sugar causes an inflammatory response in your blood vessels and can raise triglycerides. The "scratchy sugar molecules" theory may just be a theory that the dietician taught us. We had to know it for an exam. Given the shape of glucose and the sheer amount there might be in the blood of someone who loves soda pop, bread and sweets, I wouldn't be surprised if that's at least part of how inflammation happens.

[Mizuko]

I have the same issue- I hate my belly fat! It sucks, because being on the pill makes me hold weight RIGHT below my belly-button, giving me a pouch. :P I eat healthy and exercise reguarly, I dont eat much sugar and I'm allergic to gulten so I cannot eat any wheat (no bread, pasta, etc, unless its specialty, and even then in moderation). But when I sit up in my tail- POW- this ball of skin. I've actually got a six-pack, but its impossible to see the bottom of it thanks to this pouch :P
The only way I can conquer it is via leg-raises, which work the lower abdominals, and crunches, etc. Other than this I dont really concentrate on that area because, as others have said, working on one area does not make you lose fat in that area only.
Models avoid complex carbohydrates before shoots, no wheat, milk, sugars, etc; and I know drinking green tea is good as it flushes out any excess water you might be retaining. And of course, a tan! hehe!

[Mermaid Stark]

Thanks everyone! I'm cutting out sugar completely now, but going to the U.S in a few weeks won't be easy. They really have sugar in pretty much anything! As much as I would like to move back, the food there doesn't compare to the food in Switzerland.
My brother is getting conscious about his weight all of a sudden (after eating a pitcher of ice cream almost every night for a while. But what can I say, he's a teenager!) and he wants to eat healthier too, so I'll kind of have someone on board with me.

Mizuko: I have the same problem! I clearly have abs on the top, but then there's this little pouch covering up the bottom! Ugh, hopefully I'll find a way to get rid of it and I'll let you know if it works. :P

[AniaR]

So many women have a pouch! That's what I've got. I have like the best diet ever though and it still hasn't changed it. Sometimes meds just drive ya bonkers

[Mermaid Varshana]

Sugar is okay...in extreme moderation or in fruit. Real fruit, not fruit juice. Tons of people are lactose intolerant, so I can't endorse the sugar in dairy.

[MerGrrl]

The dietician who spoke to us told us about it. Looking at glucose molecules in the blood with an electron microscope, it's still shaped like cubes > http://biosingularity.com/2009/02/02/nano-tetherball-biosensor-precisely-detects-glucose/

Just FYI, the link is to an article about a new nano-biosensor for detecting blood glucose levels. The picture is of man-made, "gold-coated nano-cubes," not glucose molecules.

Glucose molecules (AKA "blood sugar") are structured like this: 11927

C=Carbon, O=Oxygen, H=Hydrogen

Hemoglobin molecules, which are a part of your red blood cells - are, in fact, why your blood is red - are structured like this:

11928

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Structures_of_Hemoglobin_forms.png

I don't know if this is clear enough, but as you can see, there is nothing cube-shaped or physically scratchy about the first molecule, unless you are counting hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The second molecule, which is part of your blood, is much more "scratchy" looking - but these are only models scientists use to understand these structures. They don't actually look like this.


Glucose is natural, energy-providing and won't hurt you if the levels in your blood are normal. I'm sure you know that. But if you eat and drink lots of crap that elevates the glucose in your blood to obscenely high levels for years on end, that's when you get arterial damage due to high acidity and physical harm on a microscopic level. It also creates sorbitol, which causes the nerve problems in diabetics.

What happens when your blood has more glucose than your body can handle is that your pancreas produces more insulin to deal with it, so your muscles, etc. can use it. In diabetics, their bodies have what's called insulin resistance, so they have to inject extra insulin. Excess insulin is thought to inflame arteries, causing atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup in the arteries. When you have too much glucose in your blood, you can thus have too much insulin, and thus inflame your arteries - possibly. There does't appear to be a consensus on this.

Registered Dieticians usually know their stuff, so I'm still confused as to what this one was talking about. Perhaps it was a metaphor to help the information stick?

Again, I'm all too happy to be corrected on this, but I'd need to see sources. Thanks for the conversation, I think it's important for folks to try to understand this stuff, since it relates to our daily lives and our health!

[deepblue]

Thanks everyone! I'm cutting out sugar completely now, but going to the U.S in a few weeks won't be easy. They really have sugar in pretty much anything! As much as I would like to move back, the food there doesn't compare to the food in Switzerland.

That does depend on what part of the US you're in. In big cities, you can almost always find healthier choices. Esp in places like San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

I recently started working off belly fat because since having my daughter nearly four years ago, even losing the pregnancy weight didn't take my belly back to what it was. And as silly as it sounds, you know what works amazing for me? Along with a good diet, of course. The original Buns of Steel video. He does an abs workout toward the end, so you get a good core workout and it works.

I used to be kind of a fitness nut, and I'm not now, so I've been exposed to lots of different kinds of workouts, and doing this DVD (which is from the 80s and has terrible hair and clothes haha) every other day works great.

If you don't want to use a DVD or go to the gym, you can find all sorts of instructions and free vids for ab workouts on YouTube. There are also lots of apps for phones, free and paid.

[Merrow Fair Isle]

I am a plus sized mermaid ... and for me, I have lost 96lbs this past year from swimming in my fin, watching what I eat, and taking a metabolism supporting supplement. I eat a balanced diet, normal portions...the biggest help for me was cutting out processed and preservative heavy foods. If your body can't recognize what you put in it AS food, it doesn't process it properly, and can cause an increase in stored fat. Also the best thing to flush fat and water weight? DRINK WATER! My nutritionist said that something like 80% of folks are chronically dehydrated because they don't drink enough pure water...and when you are dehydrated it actually causes bloat because your body's salt levels can be higher as well as it holds on to fluid as a precautionary measure. I am still working towards my end goal ...I have 60 more lbs to go. And I don't have all of the answers. And I started this journey not because I was unhappy with myself, but just because it starting coming off the more I swam. And then I felt better physically. But I was almost 300lbs...a far cry from having a wee tummy.

But I will say this....take it from someone 37 years old who wasted faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar to much time hating their own body when they were younger : there are worse things in this world than a little pudge in a picture or video. And in most cases we are hardest on ourselves because of societal and media-pushed standards of beauty. But keep in mind that even models and actress don't LOOK that good in REAL life. They have stylists, airbrush retouching and even digital editing in movies to make them perfect. YOU are perfect in your body RIGHT NOW....and if it changes, and you lose belly fat or flabby arms, or thighs , you will be PERFECT then too. :-)

[Bernardo]

That's good you have decided to lose body fat basically for that you need to do a bit of hard work but surely that will help you a lot in achieving your goal.
Eat the correct food and do activities that keeps you busy,That is what you need.

[Rat-Soup]

Literally everyone, EVERYONE, has that little skin paunch when they sit up. The only way you will get that to not happen is to get your body fat down to 15%, which is extremely difficult and unsustainable for more than a few weeks. Spot reduction (i.e only losing fa in one are of your body) is impossible. You can use all the tips above to drop overall body fat and make your abs stand out a bit more, but don't try to make that 'paunch' disappear because it's not going to happen.

[fawkes]

I just dropped 10lbs in a week by trying to go vegan (more vegetarian who happens to be lactose intolerant, I like eggs too much). Its working well.

I watched a kick-ass documentary called "Forks over Knives", and I highly recommend it to anyone with health ailments such as diabetes or (in my case) arthritis.
They show that by cutting out 95% of your animal product (steak, fish, milk, eggs, cheese, ect.) intake, and stick to whole foods and raw foods (raw veggies, whole grains), your body not only stops the progression of these diseases but ALSO reverses them entirely after a while.

It's certainly a lifestyle change, but I've lost so much weight and have SO much more energy.

Again, I HIGHLY recommend this documentary and diet! :)

[Ayla of Duluth]

I've started drinking bottled water instead of tap water. this has not only cleared up my acne, but I've actually lost a ton of weight because I always have a bottle or two of water near me and even when I'm not thirsty, I make sure I drink a few gulps every half hour, which means I eat a lot less when it comes to meal time. Now i'm not saying you should drink bottled instead of tap, but I think the purified water and the fact that I'm always drinking it has really made a huge change with my body. i'm more energetic, confident, and I'm losing weight without even trying. Really, if you can fill up a bunch of bottles of water and drink a few gulps every so often, you'll lose weight easily.

[fawkes]

I've started drinking bottled water instead of tap water. this has not only cleared up my acne, but I've actually lost a ton of weight because I always have a bottle or two of water near me and even when I'm not thirsty, I make sure I drink a few gulps every half hour, which means I eat a lot less when it comes to meal time. Now i'm not saying you should drink bottled instead of tap, but I think the purified water and the fact that I'm always drinking it has really made a huge change with my body. i'm more energetic, confident, and I'm losing weight without even trying. Really, if you can fill up a bunch of bottles of water and drink a few gulps every so often, you'll lose weight easily.


No kidding! I cant stress how important water is!!!

I hate the lack of flavor in water, so I drink it with lemon or cucumber. Been doing it for a while now and it REALLY does help SO much.

If you drink nothing but water (maybe add some crystal light flavoring) you will lose SO much poundage almost instantly.

TAP WATER IS TERRIBLE FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO IS A LOT OF BOTTLED WATER!!!!!!!!!!

Please try to get a refillable water jug (the ones that go in the water coolers at the office, although some are sold with their own pour spout, so a cooler unit is not needed, just the jug) and fill them with the Reverse osmosis water dispenser from your local supermarket. It's literally $1.50 for 5 gallons.

These containers have no BPA in the plastic and are reusable which cuts down on plastic bottle usage and helps the your body as well as your planet.

I cant stress enough the damaging effects of "Flouride" or any of the other 1200 slow acting poisons that are pumped into our tap water everyday. They are SO dangerous and calcify your Pineal Gland in your brain. It makes you slow, sluggish, depressed, apathetic, and complacent. It IS Zoloft! That's right, your government is pumping anti-depressants into your tap water, drugging you, and you didn't even know!

...You can thank Nazi Germany for cluing our wonderful government in on this trick.

A lot of companies that bottle water also put fluoride and other poisons into their bottled water and package them in plastic bottles containing BPA's (a chemical that they use to line plastic bottles that in studies provides evidence that low-dose maternal BPA exposure induces long-lasting disruption to epigenetic pathways in the brain of your offspring and more findings indicate that these BPA-induced changes occur in a sex-specific, brain region-specific and dose-dependent manner) and NO they are NOT required by law to tell you about any of this...scary, huh?

This is what happens when people (corporations) make money from keeping other people (the general population) sick.

...Not to mention the fact that I just have a problem with someone SELLING me a natural resource that is a human right! You have the right to fresh clean water. So why are these massive corporations, stealing it, poisoning it, bottling it, and then selling it back to us???

UM, SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT OKAY!!!

*steps down off soap box*