fitness gurus: help me take the last step!!!!!

First of all, I wanted to thank the Lounge for the advice and support when I first started my efforts last August....To recap, I'm 28 (male), 6'2, and now 214 lbs (down from 251!)....I acheived this mainly from low-fat, low-cal diets, and running/waling on a treadmill or elliptical machine almost daily (now up to 3.25 mi)...At first my target was 220 lbs, and I thought it would be a miracle to ever reach it, but I think I have a real chance to get down to an even 200 (fwiw, i was about 185 in high school)...

My problem is I seem to have hit a wall...Even though I've increased distance on the treadmill, and added the occasional weightlifting session, my weight has been fluctuating daily between 214-219 for about 5 weeks now...Another problem is that even though I've lost a lot of weight, my gut still sticks out (A LOT)...I can feel it hardening, but there is still a kind of thick layer of fat around it, even though the rest of my body is pretty toned by now...

So what should I do?? What's needed to drop the last 15 lbs and get some photo-worthy abs in time for summer?? are there any tips, exercises, supplements or books that anyone cares to recommend?? thanks in advance

try the brand new Excerise and Fitness group. I'm a lazy slob, so I have nothing else to add.

is to forget about the weight thing altogether. Ironically, to lose more weight may actually mean that you'll increase your body fat percentage, which is something you don't want to do. Weight loss won't expose your abs - only fat loss will. And fat loss is accelerated best by muscle growth, not cardio (although cardio is a fairly essential component).

It seems to me that you need to be careful about what you put in your mouth, and make sure your weights sessions are progressive (i.e. try to increase the weights you lift gradually and continually).

I have lost a lot of body fat over the last 2 years through extensive excercise, diet and weights. I would strongly recommend you check out a book by Tom Venuto on his website www.fitren.com . It's worked wonders for me and explains absolutely everything about diet, exercise and fat loss.

or will weight training for the whole body achieve the desired effect?

You might be very well-muscled indeed beneath your "gut" and sometimes if you are the proper target weight elsewhere then the best option for spot-reducing is liposuction. If you are at your proper weight elsewhere and only the fat at your gut is the issue, I would seriously consider talking to a cosmetic surgeon to see what she advises.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

I've gotten a lot of good advice from the dragondoor discussion site
http://forum.dragondoor.com/training/

There is no such thing as spot reduction. So doing ab work will not necessarily burn more fat off the abs. it will help tighten the muscles and once you get below 10% body fat those abs will show. Look up Janda situps, dragonflags and Saxon side bends as good core exercises.
The reason you may be stuck is that you are altering your body composition. Have you tracked body fat?
If you are weightlifting the way a body builder does(high reps, low weight), try doing heavy weight low reps instead, no more than 5 reps. That builds tight strong muscles(sarcoplasmic hypertrophy)as opposed to big muscles with less strength(myofibrillar hypertrophy.

Muscle weighs more than fat. You have built a lot of muscle, and are continuring to do so... you may still be losing fat, but the msucle you are building is offsetting it on the scale, and therefor you are not seeing a difference. Sometimes a doctor or nutritional center can measure your BMI and you can use that to guage your progress every few months or so.

Keep doing what you are doing, cardio is the ONLY way to lose fat, when combined with a good diet.

It is unlikely that you will have photo-worthy abs, since you have a layer of empty fat cells and skin surrounding your waist that will never, ever go away (unless you opt for surgery). A lot of people who have drastic weight loss actually go for a tuck, just to get rid of all the extra SKIN that they have drooping off of them.

I weighted 165 out of highschool, and by the time I was done with college, I managed to only gain about 15 pounds of fat. I run marathons now, and am down to 165 again, but because of that 15 pounds i gained and lost, my abs are not nearly as visible. And that was from a pathetic 15 pounds.

Hang in there, concentrate on how much better you look in a shirt and jeans, and remember how much more damn healthy you are now. You probably added 10 years to your life, friend.

On edit: I am not saying that losing the last 15 is not possible, it most certainly is, and I am confident you will. That is a truly amazing weight loss.