Still a lot to lose on waist but low weight?
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holly55555
Posts: 307 Member
I'm a little stuck as to what to do here. I'm 5'8, 130 lbs right now, which is pretty thin for my height.
But I have a small frame and I still have a lot of fat on my stomach. I'm already lifting and working out 3-5 days a week, so I'm trying to tone up and I can feel my abs in there, but they're under quite a bit of fat still.
I took my waist measurement and it's 28". Before I started gaining weight, I weighed 120 lbs and had a 24" waist. That's where I'd like to be. But I had absolutely no muscle mass and still didn't have abs then, so more like the new and improved version of that.
Do I really need to lose 10 more lbs (of fat) to get my waist size back down? It just seems like a lot for an adult of my height.
Can anyone advise? I'm not really worried about the weight number, I just want to get rid of the stomach fat. Four inches is really sounds like a lot to lose!
But I have a small frame and I still have a lot of fat on my stomach. I'm already lifting and working out 3-5 days a week, so I'm trying to tone up and I can feel my abs in there, but they're under quite a bit of fat still.
I took my waist measurement and it's 28". Before I started gaining weight, I weighed 120 lbs and had a 24" waist. That's where I'd like to be. But I had absolutely no muscle mass and still didn't have abs then, so more like the new and improved version of that.
Do I really need to lose 10 more lbs (of fat) to get my waist size back down? It just seems like a lot for an adult of my height.
Can anyone advise? I'm not really worried about the weight number, I just want to get rid of the stomach fat. Four inches is really sounds like a lot to lose!
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Replies
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Is a 24 inch waist with muscles even possible at 5'8? I think you need to think this over and ask yourself if this is realistic and attainable for the long term. Other than that....a corset??1
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It's hard for me to imagine "a lot of fat" on anyone 5'8" 130 pounds. Maybe a body recomp is in order for you.0
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hollydubs85 wrote: »It's hard for me to imagine "a lot of fat" on anyone 5'8" 130 pounds. Maybe a body recomp is in order for you.
Agree!0 -
hollydubs85 wrote: »Maybe a body recomp is in order for you.
Double agree0 -
Liposuction? A corset? Lose the weight, reevaluate on the other side of ten pounds and regain it if you don't like it? Work out so hard that your ab muscles just get SO BIG?! There are many options! But I feel like if you're lifting and getting muscles, it's probably unlikely to do it healthily and keep up your current regime.0
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Curious as to what age you were when you had that 24 inch waist.
28 at your height sounds like a great waist. Without pictures in just taking a stab in the dark but I wonder if it's all in your head. It's so easy to look at the pictures out there and feel like you have a large waist in comparison to others when there's photoshopped and strategically scheduled photoshoots. but most women will naturally have fat that sits on their stomach. I can't imagine that at 28 and your height it's very large.0 -
I've asked about body recomps before, I just really don't understand how to do it. If I want to lose the fat, I still need to eat at a deficit right? But you're supposed to eat more to do a recomp? Totally confused here. I am definitely a skinny fat person (working on it!) though.
My 28" waist isn't large at all, like I said, I'm on the low-side for weight for my height. I'm definitely thin. It's more that the extra 4" I've put on is fat and it squishes and I just don't like it. Plus, a lot of my clothes are to fit a 24" waisted person. I want a toned stomach and the fat off, so that would most likely put me back at 24". It's not so much about the number as that it is my gauge for how much fat I've put on.
As for just losing 10 more lbs to see - I'm having a REALLY hard time losing more weight. I went from 142 to 130 pretty easily but I've been here for a few months now. I thought maybe it was because I was putting on muscle from weight lifting but then my stomach is still so squishy I'm not sure.0 -
I have no advice for you because I'm in the same boat. I'm 5'8" with a small frame and even when I get down to under 140 I still have a largish waist with plenty of fat to grab. My waist was probably about 29 inches or so last year when I got down to 137. I work out too- quite a bit and have for 5 years. A body recomp might help you. I'm older/ almost 50 so I'm not as concerned anymore. But I get it! It doesn't seem possible but I think it's just the way I'm built. My sister is the same way as I am. She's a registered dietician too and she calls it her "problem area," lol I don't want to maintain lower than 140- at 146 now- so I'll live with it. I look fine when standing straight up anyways!0
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holly55555 wrote: »I've asked about body recomps before, I just really don't understand how to do it. If I want to lose the fat, I still need to eat at a deficit right? But you're supposed to eat more to do a recomp? Totally confused here. I am definitely a skinny fat person (working on it!) though.
You eat at a slight deficit, and you do a progressive lifting program, and you have patience. Lots and lots of patience.
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Yeah, I don't know what I should be doing...
Idk if this helps, but while I do lift heavy, I can't do HIIT (I have a heart problem, I faint very easily and it just sends me over the edge) and I have very low lean mass naturally. In high school, I was really underweight and had a very hard time gaining weight, but I still had no muscle mass to speak of and definitely no abs/toned stomach.0 -
Following. I too am 5'8, 130 pounds at my last weigh-in, and my stomach is so jiggly. I have some serious work to do this fall & winter (focused on running currently, not interested in weights at this moment).0
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holly55555 wrote: »I've asked about body recomps before, I just really don't understand how to do it. If I want to lose the fat, I still need to eat at a deficit right? But you're supposed to eat more to do a recomp? Totally confused here. I am definitely a skinny fat person (working on it!) though.
You eat at a slight deficit, and you do a progressive lifting program, and you have patience. Lots and lots of patience.
This is what I've been doing. So it'll eventually go away? It's just such slow progress and now that the scale isn't moving anymore, I feel like nothing is changing since I can't really measure it as obviously.
And when you say slight deficit, what do you recommend specifically?0 -
Following. I too am 5'8, 130 pounds at my last weigh-in, and my stomach is so jiggly. I have some serious work to do this fall & winter (focused on running currently, not interested in weights at this moment).
Right? I wore a crop top this weekend to a friend's party, and while it looked great while I was standing (and sucking in hahaha), in some of the photos of me not paying attention, I look like I have a squishy gut. Really cute.
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holly55555 wrote: »holly55555 wrote: »I've asked about body recomps before, I just really don't understand how to do it. If I want to lose the fat, I still need to eat at a deficit right? But you're supposed to eat more to do a recomp? Totally confused here. I am definitely a skinny fat person (working on it!) though.
You eat at a slight deficit, and you do a progressive lifting program, and you have patience. Lots and lots of patience.
This is what I've been doing. So it'll eventually go away? It's just such slow progress and now that the scale isn't moving anymore, I feel like nothing is changing since I can't really measure it as obviously.
And when you say slight deficit, what do you recommend specifically?
No more than 250 cal/day...probably something more like 100-150/day.
And yes...it is a very slow process.0 -
ceoverturf wrote: »holly55555 wrote: »holly55555 wrote: »I've asked about body recomps before, I just really don't understand how to do it. If I want to lose the fat, I still need to eat at a deficit right? But you're supposed to eat more to do a recomp? Totally confused here. I am definitely a skinny fat person (working on it!) though.
You eat at a slight deficit, and you do a progressive lifting program, and you have patience. Lots and lots of patience.
This is what I've been doing. So it'll eventually go away? It's just such slow progress and now that the scale isn't moving anymore, I feel like nothing is changing since I can't really measure it as obviously.
And when you say slight deficit, what do you recommend specifically?
No more than 250 cal/day...probably something more like 100-150/day.
And yes...it is a very slow process.
Wow, really that slight?! What happens if I have a larger deficit than that? No abs? This is so confusing.0 -
Curious as to what age you were when you had that 24 inch waist.
Sorry, missed this before. I started gaining weight around 21 (I was 120 lbs then), but I'm only 24 now. The height of my gain was December this year (142 lbs), but I also have been weight lifting for like a year and a half, so even though I gained like 22 lbs since then, surely some of it had to be muscle. Now at 130.0 -
I have the same issue, I lost 40lbs diet alone and looked really thin but still have fat around my belly. I been lifting weights now, gained some weight back but still the fat around my belly. everyone I know that trains says abs are about diet and I need to be very restrictive with my diet and lower my body fat.0
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holly55555 wrote: »ceoverturf wrote: »holly55555 wrote: »holly55555 wrote: »I've asked about body recomps before, I just really don't understand how to do it. If I want to lose the fat, I still need to eat at a deficit right? But you're supposed to eat more to do a recomp? Totally confused here. I am definitely a skinny fat person (working on it!) though.
You eat at a slight deficit, and you do a progressive lifting program, and you have patience. Lots and lots of patience.
This is what I've been doing. So it'll eventually go away? It's just such slow progress and now that the scale isn't moving anymore, I feel like nothing is changing since I can't really measure it as obviously.
And when you say slight deficit, what do you recommend specifically?
No more than 250 cal/day...probably something more like 100-150/day.
And yes...it is a very slow process.
Wow, really that slight?! What happens if I have a larger deficit than that? No abs? This is so confusing.
More than that and you'll be cutting additional weight, which I assume isn't part of your goals0 -
ceoverturf wrote: »holly55555 wrote: »ceoverturf wrote: »holly55555 wrote: »holly55555 wrote: »I've asked about body recomps before, I just really don't understand how to do it. If I want to lose the fat, I still need to eat at a deficit right? But you're supposed to eat more to do a recomp? Totally confused here. I am definitely a skinny fat person (working on it!) though.
You eat at a slight deficit, and you do a progressive lifting program, and you have patience. Lots and lots of patience.
This is what I've been doing. So it'll eventually go away? It's just such slow progress and now that the scale isn't moving anymore, I feel like nothing is changing since I can't really measure it as obviously.
And when you say slight deficit, what do you recommend specifically?
No more than 250 cal/day...probably something more like 100-150/day.
And yes...it is a very slow process.
Wow, really that slight?! What happens if I have a larger deficit than that? No abs? This is so confusing.
More than that and you'll be cutting additional weight, which I assume isn't part of your goals
I mean I can still lose some fat all over, but I definitely want to try to preserve my hard-earned muscle. I'm a little scared to up my calories as I don't want to gain it back accidentally.0 -
Oh I just found this post. I never look in maintaining because I didn't think I needed to maintain.... Hmm..
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat#latest0
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