Weird weight loss patterns

smantha32

This may be answered somewhere but I scanned and didn't find anything..

I've been working on losing again and I'm losing in an uneven manner. I'm still floofy on the bottom but I'm getting gaunt on the top. I know the uneven-ness is normal, but does it ever even out?

I have another 15 to go.. am I going to be a skeleton on top and still puffy on the bottom? Or will it finally move off the bottom and then settle into a normal all over? I know it's different for everyone but I'm worrying a little. lol

seska422

I started looking gaunt on top before I even got down to overweight on the BMI scale and it hasn't improved yet. I've been near my maintenance weight (high-to-mid normal BMI) for about 9 months.

AnnPT77

It's genetics. I get pretty thin looking rib cage and above, while I still have noticeable padding below that. (This has led to some "discussions" with concerned friends. ).

Probably obvious when you think about it: You aren't going to lose fat where you don't have fat, so if you keep losing it's going to come off the areas where you still have some.

Whether it will be aesthetically balanced to your taste at goal weight . . . back to genetics. I wouldn't think the top would gain more back later, but you may find that when you go to maintenance calories, glycogen replenishment fills things out a tiny bit again with water, and long-term (months to a couple of years) loose skin continuing to tighten up might reduce the impression of gauntness.

Keep in mind that adding some mass (very slowly) over time is possible with weight training, and you can be somewhat selective about what areas to work on.

VUA21

You cannot pick where your body will lose fat from first or last. I lost fat on my top half first as well, my bottom half is starting to catch up. It's genetics.

SCoil123

I’m pear shaped and have always carried more weight on my bottom half. I was starting to look really unbalanced until I took up weight training. I added inches in my shoulders and biceps so I think I appear more proportional now.

The fat comes off based on genetics but a good lifting program can help

smantha32

VUA21 wrote: »

You cannot pick where your body will lose fat from first or last. I lost fat on my top half first as well, my bottom half is starting to catch up. It's genetics.

I'm hating my genetics. And wondering where it came from. I look like my mom, but she never had this problem.

smantha32

SCoil123 wrote: »

I’m pear shaped and have always carried more weight on my bottom half. I was starting to look really unbalanced until I took up weight training. I added inches in my shoulders and biceps so I think I appear more proportional now.

The fat comes off based on genetics but a good lifting program can help

I don't think lifting will put weight back on in my face but in general yeah I agree with you.

HeyJudii

Same here. (Come from a long line of short, "fluffy" women and tall athletic men. The guys that become overweight, lose quickly and evenly. The ladies get to look like bowling pins while losing slowly. )

Got the, "Don't lose anymore weight. You're starting to look gaunt." at Easter from the fam. According to the medicos, I still had a bit to go to be in a healthy range. (Almost there! )

jemhh

I think it's human nature to get frustrated sometimes with how the weight comes off. I'm the opposite of you in that my legs lean out first (which is unusual for women) and my upper body last.

lizzy_satellite

I was at goal 2 years ago and although I will always be pear-shaped, things did start to even up and look a lot more proportioned when I was approaching the middle of the healthy range. You could see my ribs when I was 10lbs above a healthy BMI and all the weight went from my top half first. I echo what has been said about weights helping, and decent upholstery also helps create a good illusion

Seffell

Unfortunately this how things might end up. Before I gained the weight that now I'm losing I was very slim for most of my life. My weight was at the very low end of healthy BMI and you could count my ribs (not to mention very small boobs...) along a big bum and fat thighs and calfs...
My hope now is that by recomping I could move some weight in the form of muscle to my upper half while continuing to lose fat in my lower half.

Francl27

Yeah, genetics. I look ridiculous... my legs are so slim but I have a larger waist and everything in my belly/hips (and chest). At my lowest weight, my legs and arms looked way too thin, yet still I had extra pounds on my hips and belly. Finding clothes that look good is really hard (even jeans that fall off give me a muffin top because I have no butt, and are too loose on the legs). The loose skin isn't helping either.

It's really frustrating, but considering that both my mom and my paternal grandmother were that way, nothing I can do about it.

I'm jealous of pear shapes honestly because they look awesome in dresses at least - most dresses out there just show off my rounded hips (but again, everything does). The only good thing is that my big chest smooths out the belly a little...

sardelsa

Unfortunately as mentioned you can't pick how fat comes off. I typically carry most of my weight on my lower body so it really never used to lean down much and I used to be really tiny on top. But since I've started to build muscle all over that has helped and now when I lose it my fat loss and definition is way more even because of the muscle I have under.

smantha32

lizzy_satellite wrote: »

I was at goal 2 years ago and although I will always be pear-shaped, things did start to even up and look a lot more proportioned when I was approaching the middle of the healthy range. You could see my ribs when I was 10lbs above a healthy BMI and all the weight went from my top half first. I echo what has been said about weights helping, and decent upholstery also helps create a good illusion

Thank you, that's helpful.

smantha32

sardelsa wrote: »

Unfortunately as mentioned you can't pick how fat comes off. I typically carry most of my weight on my lower body so it really never used to lean down much and I used to be really tiny on top. But since I've started to build muscle all over that has helped and now when I lose it my fat loss and definition is way more even because of the muscle I have under.

I'm working on that too, but I've never been able to put on much muscle on top. My legs are way stronger. I'll keep plugging away at it I guess.

sardelsa

smantha32 wrote: »

sardelsa wrote: »

Unfortunately as mentioned you can't pick how fat comes off. I typically carry most of my weight on my lower body so it really never used to lean down much and I used to be really tiny on top. But since I've started to build muscle all over that has helped and now when I lose it my fat loss and definition is way more even because of the muscle I have under.

I'm working on that too, but I've never been able to put on much muscle on top. My legs are way stronger. I'll keep plugging away at it I guess.

Well I did it through bulk cycles. So I actually had to gain weight to do it. But there are other ways to put on muscle like eating at maintenance to recomp when you get closer to goal.

ladyhusker39

I'm the opposite. I have chicken legs and a spare tire around the middle. I actually think I look worse now than when I started because at least before I was more even. I'm in the middle of my weight loss, and hoping at some point I will start to even out a bit. It's gotta start coming off my belly at some point, right?

annaskiski

So Lyle McDonald discusses why women tend to store fat in their lower body, and why its harder to get rid of, in his Women's book.

Its kind of lengthy (read chapter 10 if you have the book), so to summarize:

Both men and women store fat after eating in their upper body. Upper body fat is easier to access than lower body fat (different type). When you need energy, upper body fat is metabolized. Women actually metabolize (release) much more fat than men when they need it (about 40% more), and this circulated in the blood until used or energy is no longer required (I mean, they are not being consumed ).

Here's the kicker though:

Of relevance to the topic of fat patterning, readers may remember the direct fatty acid storage pathway I mentioned in a previous chapter, a pathway by which fatty acids released from one fat cell can be stored/ re-esterified in a different fat cell. Which is exactly what is going on here. Fatty acids which have been released from the upper body fat cells, but which are not burned for energy, can eventually be stored in lower body fat cells. This occurs more in lean women than in lean men and to the greatest degree in obese women, probably due to the increased amounts of total fat and fat cell number in the lower body.

Lyle McDonald. The Women's Book (Kindle Locations 3620-3622). Lyle McDonald.

RAinWA

smantha32 wrote: »

SCoil123 wrote: »

I’m pear shaped and have always carried more weight on my bottom half. I was starting to look really unbalanced until I took up weight training. I added inches in my shoulders and biceps so I think I appear more proportional now.

The fat comes off based on genetics but a good lifting program can help

I don't think lifting will put weight back on in my face but in general yeah I agree with you.

Give it some time. When I got down to the last few pounds to lose, my face looked really gaunt even to me but over the course a few months it kind of filled out some again (not back to when I was really heavy, but enough so I didn't look like someone had deflated my face). It's fine now.

So there is hope that things will "readjust" some as you keep going.

bfanny

My legs and arms were slim compared to my middle I was afraid of losing more weight and making them even smaller but like someone mentioned there’s only so much fat you can lose from there and lifting is giving me a nice shape, my middle is still a work in progress but, I’ll keep going until I’m there Good Luck!

Fitnessgirl0913

Yeah I carry a good chunk of my weight on my bottom half. It definitely evened out more as I reached my goal but it is still like that. Once someone called me a "wooty" and I had to look up what that meant and apparently it stands for "white girl with a booty" *facepalm*