The waist nightmare?!

DapperKay

Honestly, its the only part of my body that seems to refuse to go down significantly. I've lost 90 lbs over the last year and my waist DID shrink, maybe by a good 6 or 7 inches, but in comparison with other parts of the body it just seems so excruciatingly slow.

I've found that it takes 2x as much as it takes the legs or arms. So for example if I lost 10lbs, I can immediately feel the effect on arms, legs, etc, but it would take 20lbs to see any waistline changes.

Is there such a thing as 'stubborn fat', and if so, why does it seem to be localized around the abdomen? Why is it so difficult to bring that fat down while it is much easier to shrink other parts of the body?

I don't know if this sounds confusing, best I can explain it really, anyone else having the same problems?

kellehbeans

It depends on genetics really, so blame your parents! I lost a lot around my waist and bust very quickly, and all on top.. but my stomach fat is very stubborn.

alglenn2013

Everyone gains/loses weight differently. I am definitely an apple shape. My belly is the first place to gain weight, and the last to drop it. My mom on the other hand is a pear shape and loses weight from her midsection quite easily, but her thighs and bum are the last to lose. It is just the way my body was made, and I have learned to accept it, if not love it yet, but I'm getting there.

WouldRuin

People, men in particular, tend to store fat around their midriff and less so on their arms/legs so, even though it seems like you're losing weight faster in one place compared to the other, you're probably not.

As an example, if you had 3Ib of fat on your arms and 10Ib on your stomach/waist and lost 1Ib from each location, you'd have lost 1/3rd of your arm fat but only lost 1/10th of your stomach/waist fat.

At least, that's what I like to tell myself.

DapperKay

People, men in particular, tend to store fat around their midriff and less so on their arms/legs so, even though it seems like you're losing weight faster in one place compared to the other, you're probably not.

As an example, if you had 3Ib of fat on your arms and 10Ib on your stomach/waist and lost 1Ib from each location, you'd have lost 1/3rd of your arm fat but only lost 1/10th of your stomach/waist fat.

At least, that's what I like to tell myself.

Awesome!

I also once heard this weird theory about the limbs being the first to lost weight due to evolution, since the body stores extra fat for "survival", it figures out that the belly is the best place to store it as the limbs move constantly hence if they get bigger then that will increase your calorific expenditure, hence losing weight. So to hang on to weight, the body counteracts that by putting the weight in static parts of the body.

It is a wacky theory, but it makes sense if you think of it?!

gobonas99

Very frequently, the first place you gain weight (hips/thighs for me), is typically the last place that you lose it. It's not uncommon for me to lose 2 inches off my waist, an inch off my bust, and maybe, if I'm REALLY lucky, 1/2 inch off my hips. :ohwell: It is exceedingly frustrating, but I still keep at it, because I know that eventually the majority of the fat left to lose will be in my hips/thighs, so my body will have no choice but to burn it off. :laugh:

Mokey41

Belly fat is usually the last to go plus if you've lost that much you may have some extra skin that's taking up space. Getting your overall BF% down and doing some weight lifting are your best options.