How long does it take to lose the belly!?

stefng33

honestly!
Been doing this for 2 months now...losing but not as fast as I'd like, lol.
How long until results start showing at the waistline??
I want to hear from people who had the ponch and lost it ...and how long t took and what they found most successful ...please and thanks!!

usmcmp

There are way too many factors. You only had 12 pounds you wanted to lose, but there's a chance that 12 pounds won't have an impact on your belly fat if that's where genetics says is the last to go.

Having a lean stomach comes from having low body fat and adequate lean mass. A calorie deficit and resistance training are the best methods of reducing body fat to have a lean belly. You're just going to have to be patient.

ncboiler89

stefng33 wrote: »

honestly!
Been doing this for 2 months now...losing but not as fast as I'd like, lol.
How long until results start showing at the waistline??
I want to hear from people who had the ponch and lost it ...and how long t took and what they found most successful ...please and thanks!!

You may as well ask this question to a magic 8 ball because anyone that tries to define a time for this to happen will be about as accurate. It will come off when it comes off.

Arliah

The belly is actually the hardest part to lose ... but keep going (and measuring), you will see results. Unfortunately, spot-reducing is not possible, so unless you tend to naturally lose fat around your mid-section first, it wil require some patience. And depending on how much you want to lose, 2 months is almost nothing (I know, not what you want to hear). Keep it up though, it'll be rewarding in the end!

greenlizard72

How long did it take you to grow it?

flippy1234

I have the same issue. It's finally starting to reduce but I have to really eat at a calorie deficit every day. It has been 3 weeks. Believe me, it's still there and not where I want it to be but it is reduced.

strong_curves

Start here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

Read it, re-read it, learn from it. Its the truth.

flippy1234

Also, do you eat red meat? I have not had any for the 3 weeks that I have been doing this. I think it's helping. My protein sources are from Greek yogurt, chicken and salmon. Food reacts differently in everyone's body. I think red meat is a belly problem for me. Maybe it's an issue for you?

segacs

flippy1234 wrote: »

Also, do you eat red meat? I have not had any for the 3 weeks that I have been doing this. I think it's helping. My protein sources are from Greek yogurt, chicken and salmon. Food reacts differently in everyone's body. I think red meat is a belly problem for me. Maybe it's an issue for you?

There's no basis for this claim.

Read the nice stomach sticky thread.

kisses71213

greenlizard72 wrote: »

How long did it take you to grow it?

hahah! Exactly..!

kisses71213

make sure your fat macros are on point when you log. try to stick to the recommended limit.

emdeesea

I can tell you from my own experience it's going to be the last thing on me to go. I've lost almost 50 pounds, but almost all of my weight has come off of everywhere else except there. I've got about maybe 10-15 left I can lose, and it's probably all sitting right on my abdomen. And it's taken me almost 2 years to get to this point. I figure it will be another six months before my belly finally shrinks, and even then it will never be flat, thanks to my damn DNA.

lkrause74

I have the same problem with fat around my middle. I have a problem loosing weight but then again, I have a tough time eating the right things. I find it challenging to get a lot of protein as I have a digestive disorder that causes me to have issues with anything with dairy in it...including yogurt.

Hornsby

kisses71213 wrote: »

make sure your fat macros are on point when you log. try to stick to the recommended limit.

dietary fat does not equal body fat.

usmcmp

kisses71213 wrote: »

make sure your fat macros are on point when you log. try to stick to the recommended limit.

MFP's macros are not ideal for everyone.

jockquelenewashington

It's been about three months from me. I eat at a calorie deficit and I train mean! I eat about 1300 hundred calories a day. I do about 90 minutes of cardio and three days of strength training. I've lost a total of 13 pounds even though MFP shows eleven because I joined this app after I started this journey. Keep pushing yourself and be patient. I still have stomach to lose but it has decreased in size!

stefng33

greenlizard72 wrote: »

How long did it take you to grow it?

Lol!! Good answer. Good question!

stefng33

jockquelenewashington wrote: »

It's been about three months from me. I eat at a calorie deficit and I train mean! I eat about 1300 hundred calories a day. I do about 90 minutes of cardio and three days of strength training. I've lost a total of 13 pounds even though MFP shows eleven because I joined this app after I started this journey. Keep pushing yourself and be patient. I still have stomach to lose but it has decreased in size!

Wow! Good for you!!

stefng33

Arliah wrote: »

The belly is actually the hardest part to lose ... but keep going (and measuring), you will see results. Unfortunately, spot-reducing is not possible, so unless you tend to naturally lose fat around your mid-section first, it wil require some patience. And depending on how much you want to lose, 2 months is almost nothing (I know, not what you want to hear). Keep it up though, it'll be rewarding in the end!

Patience ...ahh yes, I do need this. Thanks for your response and encouragement! Super kind and motivating!

stefng33

Yep, easy to gain harder to lose.
Basically I appear lean everywhere but my belly and I guess a bit in my thighs and bum
Who knows how long it's been going on; I never ate well all through my life! Thought I could get away with it because I was tall and thin and had a good metabolism, lol.
And 10 years later...

Annnnyway, now I'm focusing on taking care of my body in all areas! Not just about losing pounds. Strengthening the core and mindfulness and good nutritious food...yada yada.

BUT the tummy for me will be like the proverbial icing on the cake when it's gone!!

I understand it's a process and an individual one at that.

Thanks for the sticky, I will def read it.

brianam204

One factor is when you eat... I try to do the I.F. thing (Intermittent Fasting), though I'm far from hardcore on it. At it's most basic and easy level, it's simply a matter of not eating outside of a period of time of the day. So for the people who only want to do the most basic involvement, it's just keeping your eating to a 12 hour period of the day (such as 8am - 8pm). No snacking, no drinking, etc. The consumption window should be less than 12 hours and the shorter it is, the more results you'll notice; doing it for 12 hours will prevent late night snacking, but not give you much burn time.

Some caveats though... As people have said, some of that fat is the last to go, so if you're storing fat elsewhere, it might take quite a while before your body gets to that. You generally need a lean diet to start with and also a calorie deficit. Stick to the diet and the macros; I.F. isn't a silver bullet. At the very least though, it can help keep you from snacking your way over your numbers if you cut yourself off at a certain point.

usmcmp

brianam204 wrote: »

One factor is when you eat... I try to do the I.F. thing (Intermittent Fasting), though I'm far from hardcore on it. At it's most basic and easy level, it's simply a matter of not eating outside of a period of time of the day. So for the people who only want to do the most basic involvement, it's just keeping your eating to a 12 hour period of the day (such as 8am - 8pm). No snacking, no drinking, etc. The consumption window should be less than 12 hours and the shorter it is, the more results you'll notice; doing it for 12 hours will prevent late night snacking, but not give you much burn time.

Some caveats though... As people have said, some of that fat is the last to go, so if you're storing fat elsewhere, it might take quite a while before your body gets to that. You generally need a lean diet to start with and also a calorie deficit. Stick to the diet and the macros; I.F. isn't a silver bullet. At the very least though, it can help keep you from snacking your way over your numbers if you cut yourself off at a certain point.

Since you use IF you should understand that the basic premise is that meal timing is irrelevant to fat loss. When we eat does not impact if we have belly fat. You could eat at 11pm and immediately go to bed without it magically turning to fat if you are in a calorie deficit.

cwolfman13

Belly is primary fat stores for most people and they are deep fat stores...belly is generally first on, last off.

I'm really lean everywhere...like you can barely pinch anything...but I still have some pesky love handles and a little pooch that just don't seem to go away.

jemhh

I am down 55 pounds and lean everywhere but my belly. It's just the last (fat) frontier for a lot of people. I'm hoping to shrink it enough by 138-140 (10 more pounds) that I feel comfortable switching to recomp. I have a very strong fear of having to go lower though because I continue to lose inches on stupid places like my wrists faster than my waist.

segacs

Yep, I was just ranting about this. The stomach is the last to go for so, so many of us.

jemhh wrote: »

I have a very strong fear of having to go lower though because I continue to lose inches on stupid places like my wrists faster than my waist.

Me tooooooooo.

Christine_72

Not to depress you or anything But my collarbones started protruding, I had to put cushions on my chairs because of my bony tailbone, and my arms turned to toothpick size before I saw a "noticeable" difference on my belly.
I would still like to lose 3-4 kgs, but I'm in no rush. I'd say that small amount of loss will get rid of the belly I have left.

stefng33

Yes and I couldn't imagine taking on a larger deficit ! I'm at 1470 right now and I eat back my calories burned from exercise. I couldn't do 1300 that's for sure. I also have myself set to lightly active even though I'm definitely not!

I do not eat past 730pm, unless it's the weekend and then well, no holds barred
That's when I eat anything I want, like chips or burgers lol...but I try not to go too far over my calories for the day. And I limit it to only one of the days.

I'm sure that doesn't help but I'd be absolutely miserable and likely end up with an eating disorder or quitting altogether if I didn't have some flexibility.

marissafit06

I lose there first and put on weight there last. My hips and thighs take forever to move, so I feel your general pain.

usmcmp

stefng33 wrote: »

Yes and I couldn't imagine taking on a larger deficit ! I'm at 1470 right now and I eat back my calories burned from exercise. I couldn't do 1300 that's for sure. I also have myself set to lightly active even though I'm definitely not!

I do not eat past 730pm, unless it's the weekend and then well, no holds barred
That's when I eat anything I want, like chips or burgers lol...but I try not to go too far over my calories for the day. And I limit it to only one of the days.

I'm sure that doesn't help but I'd be absolutely miserable and likely end up with an eating disorder or quitting altogether if I didn't have some flexibility.

If you set your goal too aggressive (anything more than half a pound per week) then of course you are feeling miserable. Your one day of eating anything is what is causing you to have very little progress. Set your goal to lose half a pound per week. Eat burgers and chips within your calorie goal when you want them and you won't go crazy.

psych101

usmcmp wrote: »

If you set your goal too aggressive (anything more than half a pound per week) then of course you are feeling miserable. Your one day of eating anything is what is causing you to have very little progress. Set your goal to lose half a pound per week. Eat burgers and chips within your calorie goal when you want them and you won't go crazy.

You took the words right out of my mouth...hehe singing this in my head lol x

stefng33

I'll try it!