The FastDay Forum

I've just been reading how, for women, fat around the abdomen spells all the bad disease problems as we age e.g. Cardio-vascular, diabetes etc. Some fat around thighs and bottom, however, generally means a healthy girl, the pear-shape ain't bad.
So. How do we lose that belly, notorious for clinging to us to the bitter end? For the more senior amongst us, doing unrealistic weights/gym/overly flinging ourselves about is probably out of the question.
Has anyone out there got any realistic suggestions please?
Many thanks, kind and wonderful world community x

Agree that the belly roll can often be the last bit to go and I don't know that once you get down to a healthy bmi that it is really so very bad. Surely the really bad fat is the internal stuff, wrapped around our organs, and doesn't most of that go as we lose the weight? Very often the tummy roll is just down to poor muscle tone and not dangerous levels of fat. On the other hand, skinny fat is the result of poor food choices, so getting down to a healthy bmi has to go hand in hand with mostly good food choices and a degree of exercise surely. After that it is to a large extent in the hands of the gods...

I am just figuring For me that I have to keep aiming for my BMI in a healthy range while making sure not to become scrawny. Also go the gym where I do my own program 3 times a week for an hour which includes cardio, weights and stretches. Also walk the dog. Then re food consumed eat as healthy as I can with a splurge day weekly so as not to feel deprived.

Figure if I do above in time I will whittle away my accumulated abdo fat

[wildmissus]

Azureblue, what a great question. I have the same problem, despite losing over 2 stone hardly anyone has noticed as there still plenty belly roll! I need to do less than a stone now and am hoping that most of it will come off my belly, I have had 2 c-sections so that is an added problem as my belly looks like a roman blind! I'm hoping that when I reach target there will still be some changes in my shape/tone. When I was on a 7 week plateau a while back I was aware that I 'looked' slimmer. I doubt that there was any tightening of muscles going on perhaps just dispersing of fat cells? I only do a one hour pilates class a week, walk a lot and have recently taught myself to hulahoop which is supposed to be good for the waist and is a lot of fun.

I'll be watching this thread for more advice.

Ditto, ditto. Getting very frustrated that jumbo tumbo seems not to be budging at all after initial 2" loss. One of the main reasons I'm doing this WOL (in addition to the weight loss) is to improve health indicators. Carrying this fat around the middle can't be doing much for health. And Bulgy Bear is NOT a good look!!

Shame we can't lose weight from exactly where we want. My thighs are enormous, they were huge even when I weighed 14kilos less than now and I looked gaunt (except for my thighs).

I think you have to work out whether you are an apple or a pear. I'm a pear, I have a small waist and large derriere and thighs! If you are an apple, I think the healthy aim is to have a 30" or less waist. We can't change whether we are apples or pears, it is how we are genetically mapped and sadly apples DO seem more prone to heart disease and diabetes, unfortunately. What we CAN change is our waist size, by sensible eating xx

I agree, Domane, being an apple or a pear is down to our genes. Unfortunately, sensible eating doesn't seem to have much of an impact on my apple. I had really hoped fasting would help, but it hasn't much so far.

Magic wand required, all offers considered. Failing that, secret formula for busting bulge!

I echo Azureblue's plea. I have healthy BMI, and apart from wanting to lose the weight that had crept up over the years, I mainly want to get rid of visceral fat (in thevhopenof health benefits). I assume that my belly is an indicator of that (from talk of waist size/height ratio). Trouble is, I have lost weight from everywhere, but the belly remains. I understand that a huge vertical hysterectomy scar won't help and that I should do specific abdominal exercises, but it is seriously annoying to be losing more weight off thin legs when my belly and midriff provide a 'muffin top'! All my jeans fall down and even my new ones are baggy round my hips/thighs to allow enough for my tummy. Grr!

Interesting! I think what Domane and Shachat say is true, people are basically different as to where they store fat. I've never figured out the apple/pear thing, although I know I store fat round the waist/belly and chest/back, not on the bum or legs. So does that make me an apple? But when I do start to lose weight it goes from my middle.

An exercise teacher once told me that it's possible to balance out your shape by working on the muscle tone (but not bulk) of other areas of your body - for example, Golarne - if your thighs are getting skinny then by doing a programme of squats or lunges you can improve their shape and your waist will appear slimmer. Doing abs exercises won't necessarily get rid of the fat in that area, but it will tone the muscle so that when the fat does go you're left with something firm rather than floppy! That's the theory anyway My personal bugbear is a fat back - I hate that stuff that pours out at the back of the arms

I guess we have to work with what we've got!

Great thread. My BMI is really good now and the Libra app tells me I am still very slowly losing. Like everyone else, I wish I could see results round my middle. Perhaps its an age thing as I am in my early sixties. Has anyone here lost those unwanted rolls of fat?

Going by the 'waist needs to be no more than half your height' measurement, I need to lose another 3". It has reduced over the months so hurrah, but oh to lose that last bit! My back can be iffy, hardly able to garden now, so there is a restriction as to what exercise other than walking I can do.
At least I'm not alone in this it seems, so we need a collective plan to combat the bulge :0)

This is an effective waist reducing exercise. If done regularly
and correctly, it shows distinct result within a month. In this
exercise, you need to suck in your navel as much as possible.
Ensure that your upper abs area is not sucked in, for that will
completely nullify the effect. Hold your breath in this position
for half a minute and then exhale gradually. Repeat the cycle
for 20 minutes every day. This exercise basically trains your
stomach muscles to contract and hold tight, which eventually
becomes an automatic behavior. Thus, your stomach muscles look flatter and
Well shaped.

· Hip Swivel:

Hip Swivel is an effective way to slim your waist. For this,
stand with your feet parallel to each other. Place your hands on
your hips. With your back straight, bend your legs slightly to
put your weight on them. Start moving your hips gently in small
circles. Gradually increase the speed and start making the
circles bigger. Change sides after doing at least 15 rotations
in one direction. This exercise increases your blood
circulation, relieves you from back pains, prevents stiffness in
joints and strengthens your ankles and knees.

Well so they say anyway. Shall we try these?

While I await my plateau to end I get a bit slack on doing my measurements so imagine my surprise to discover I am now 5.5 inches off my belly since I started 5:2. I have a way to go for BMI ranged to be where I want it but I am well pleased

So Azureblue time is the other thing I reckon that will move the belly fat eg time on 5:2

Azurblue, so that's why it's said hula hoop is a great exercice for the waist/hips area

Too bad I could never do it right for more than 10 seconds

My problem area is my love handles around the hips. It's terrible, really but on a positive side, it helps my clothes stay on my butt

The weight on my tummy fall off easily, I almost have a flat stomach now (when I am dressed anyway) but the hips are still terrible