I have always had a very large spare tire. I lost down to 170 lbs once and still had it. At that time the only exercising I was doing was bike riding, most of the weight loss was from dieting. I recently started focusing on losing weight again and following the band rules. I also joined a gym and have been using the ellyptical for 30 min 3-4 times a week. I feel like I get more out of the elliptical then the treadmill but don't really know what else to do. I am about 270lbs now and am too ashamed to ask one of the tiny female trainers or huge muscle male trainers for tips. This is a cheap but very close and conveinent gym to home. It has every machine you could imagine, but when I see the "trainers" with someone they look annoyed that they are wasting their time. I can't afford a personal trainer. If anyone has any tips for exercising that would help trim my midsection or burn fat faster, please help!!

Karebare,

Congratulations on starting over. I had my lap band in June of 2008, I lost 60 lbs. then had to have back fusion surgery and had severe complications which caused a major setback and then I just started eating wrong, not much, just WRONG!!

I decided last night that I was going to start again!! I read a blog from my Dr. and realized I can do this!

I have a friend who is a workout fanatic : ) I will check with her and see her advice for working on the "sparetire". I gain weight in my gut first and seems like last to go. I have physical problems right now but look forward to start walking soon.

Good Luck : ) Will talk to her tonight.

Some ideas....

Can you speak to management at the gym? It seems the employees are not understanding that their jobs are to make the customers happy. Just imagine how business would grow if they were helpful. I bet you would recommend the gym to others then.

Also look on YouTube. I've not looked up the use of workout machines but when I was having back issues it was helpful to look up the stretches the doctor recommended. The stick figures on a piece of paper just didn't work for me but seeing someone do the moments correctly was great.

As for the spare tire- it's my understanding that you can't specially work an area to get rid of fat. You can work to tone the muscles underneath but for the fat to go away you have to burn it off. Keep up the hard work and you'll get there.

Tara is right. When burning fat, there is no way to isolate a target area to lose from first. The only thing you can do is a get in a good cardio workout. 30 mins is sufficient as long as your heart rate is elevated and you maintain your Target Heart Rate (THR). Here is a link to a THR calculator if you don't know what yours should be: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/target-heart-rate/SM00083

Additionally, circuit training (weight lifting) is optimal for maximum fat burn and overall body toning. Many people confuse weight lifting resulting in huge manly muscles, when in reality that's far more difficult to achieve (due to nutritional demands and heavy lifting opposed to # reps). Circuit training should be viewed as muscle strengthening ordinarily.

Most gyms, for safety reasons, require all members to undergo a machine orientation where they teach you how to use the machine appropriately. See if this is offered by your gym. Sure it may be boring for them, but who gives a ****, they signed up for the job. In reality, it's your safety. Some of these machines may look easy, but they actually require specific postures or specific angles of compression etc for optimal results. Otherwise you won't get the results you are looking for. Additionally, pick up any SELF magazine, or go online for some workout regimens. Let those guide you if you are unsure of how many reps to do, what your target weights should be. Unfortunately exercise is not a wing it task, it needs to be done correctly.

The stomach is the last to go fat wise. You lose fat from the top down. Face, bust etc. Eating high protein also helps get rid of the fat stores. Exercise will help with the weight loss and build muscle but it really doesn't get rid of the fat stores. It's all about diet to get rid of your stomach. Then you will have to contend with the saggy skin.

As for the spare tire- it's my understanding that you can't specially work an area to get rid of fat. You can work to tone the muscles underneath but for the fat to go away you have to burn it off.

This is right.

I seem to have ADDITIONAL spare tire since I had the band....Does anyone else have this issue?