im underweight now and am apple shaped and still have alot of belly fat please advice

silvanapetrozzi

hi I will explain i lost about one and a half stone without exercising a few months ago as i was diagnosed prediabetic which took me by surprise as ive never been overweight but carried all my fat in my belly im a classic apple shape which i know puts me at risk for metabolic syndrome which includes diabetes and high blood pressure. I was so pleased that i had lost this weight thinking it would help me but its only managed to get my prediabetes down into the higher end of normal so abit of progress which is good but i have ended up underweight and it looks like i may have lost muscle as i didnt exercise and ive never really done much physical activity i am unfit. I really struggle to try to build muscle. The other thing that has shocked me is that i weighed myself on one of those big scales that also measure body fat and my weight was just normal and my body fat was 45%!!!!! Which put me into the obese category!!!!! How is this possible? ive always had issues with belly fat and am apple shape does this mean i cant rectify this???????? ive started exercising doing aquaaerobics once a week and a few other classes a couple of times a week and pilates and after 2 weeks still no decrease in belly size!!! im really upset as my doctor is just focused on my weight and BMI but im concerned here my waist is 29.5 inches and my hips are 34inches which puts me in the obese category im close to giving up

JBanx256

First, congrats on your progress so far! You've obviously done a lot of hard work to get your weight/prediabetes down like that!

Secondly, do not put one single ounce of faith into what the silly doohickies that supposedly measure your bodyfat % tell you. At best, they can be somewhat useful for tracking progress as long as you use it under the same circumstances each time (referencing hydration, how recently you ate, how recently you visited the loo, etc etc). At worst, they are expensive paperweights. Have you taken measurements along the way? I know you mentioned your waist & hip measurements now, but did you do that when you started so you'd have something to compare? IMO, taking progress photos & measurements is very helpful/informative.

If you're trying to build muscle, aquaerobics & pilates aren't really the best routes. Don't get me wrong; any exercise/movement is better than none! Good on you for getting active! But those simply aren't going to be the most efficient/effective at increasing your lean tissue.

As far as where your fat is stored - nobody gets to choose where it comes from & in what order - loads of people will store excess fat on their abdomens (for me personally, my "trouble spot" is my lower back/love handles. I'll have excess fat there even when the rest of me is extremely lean; it takes digging hard to get rid of those particular fat stores). For a lot of women, it's hips & thighs. You just have to continue to reduce overall bodyfat. If you are in a sustained caloric deficit, you will continue to lose bodyfat, so don't give up!