Beach ball belly

kennethmckean63

I've lost over 10 kgs last few months, (I was 116 kgs), but further last 2 months I haven't been able to get below 103kgs. Plus so sick of my belly. Looks like I went to the beach and a beach ball landed in there. Anyone got tips on flattening the belly? Thanks. Cheers. Ken 😀!

AnnPT77

Congratulations on losing 10kg: That's a lot! You don't mention your height, so I'm not sure how much more weight you think you might have left to lose. A tall, muscular guy at 103 kg (about 227 pounds) might be getting close to goal, and we'd expect loss to slow. A shorter or less muscular guy might still have quite a few kg left to lose. You also don't mention your age, which could be relevant.

Have you spoken with your doctor to rule out any relevant health/physical conditions? (I'm not trying to be scary! It's just a good thing to check out, and I'm not sure how relevant in your case because of not knowing some of the stuff I mentioned above.)

You probably know that spot reduction isn't a thing. If you still have a decent amount of weight to lose, you'll lose from where you still have fat. For a lot of men, carrying fat in the abdominal area is a common thing. It may deplete last in sequence, unfortunately. If that's happening for you, patience and a sensibly moderate calorie deficit would be a good strategy.

There aren't really "belly flattening" exercises, though of course a strong core is a useful thing. Also, there are some very common posture problems that can make the belly area protrude more, thus look more prominent. If that's going on for you, there are exercises that can help improve that.

Posture-wise, the common things are
* anterior pelvic tilt (top of pelvis held forward of lower part of pelvis, instead of more aligned vertically). This can be more of an issue for someone who's had more abdominal fat in the past, and that's pulled the spine in ways that create a little sway-back effect.
* tendency to stand with locked knees
* head-forward/rounded shoulders that can result from lots of phone/keyboard use or even driving.

Loosely, any of those things (or a combination) tends to press any central fat forward and outward, rather than letting some of it stay within the body cavity and look less prominent.

This is a good set of articles that talks about what happens when most/all of those conspire in the body:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318897#symptoms

If you look at yourself honestly in a full-length mirror, especially side view, you may be able to see whether any of these posture issues may be happening for you. The articles linked above have relevant exercises. Another good source of posture correction exercises is the "Bob & Brad" channel on YouTube. They're credentialed physical therapists with a lot of good and useful content.

Best wishes!

elisa123gal

it is the worst.. the .. i swallowed a beach ball look. We all understand. Keep doing what you're doing. most likely your stomach is where you gained it first.. and the place you'll lose it last. That's how it works with me.

DFW_Tom

AnnPT77 wrote: »

This is a good set of articles that talks about what happens when most/all of those conspire in the body:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318897#symptoms

@AnnPT77, the resource you posted appears to be very good. Thank you!