Is belly fat really the last to go?

tladame

Unfortunately for me, it is....It is the absolute LAST place that I lose weight. And the FIRST place that I put it on! Booo!

Me too! :mad: I have done Jillian Michaels' 6-Week Six-Pack workout off and on, and it does target your midsection (while incorporating cardio / HIIT). They say abs "are made in the kitchen", but I haven't yet figured out which foods to eliminate. I see a few people here have given some suggestions...worth investigating!

popprincess72317

From what I have read, yes. I wish it was the first to go in my case.

myfitnessnmhoy

Whats the best advice anyone can give as to what to do as you lose weight? i mean i have 2 kids and don;t want to be left with a massive apron once i lose weight, any suggestions on the best toning exercises?

Weights. You want to tone and improve some muscle. It's almost impossible to go all "Body By Atlas" without a calorie surplus and massive amounts of hard work. You'll only be working to retain muscle so you burn proportionally more fat.

Core work. Planks, squats, etc.

Beatrix0810

Try laying of the alcohol for 30 days. Alcohol makes it hard for the body to metabolize fat. It processes the alcohol (and sugars and carbs) in your beverage before anything else in your body because the body views alcohol as a toxin and wants to get it to the liver ASAP to filter it out. When it does that, it just goes ahead and stores whatver else is in your body as fat and is SO HARD to get rid of. My trainer told me (as he was KILLING ME with ab excercises yesterday) "whoever told you that doing more ab excercises is the fastest way to get a six pack doesn't know what they're talking about. Putting down the beer bottle is the best way to get a six pack." So, I am acutally not drinking alcohol for 30 days to see if it helps. I took before pics and will take pics again in 25 days. I'll be sure to post!

Anyway, that's my advice. Lay off the booze for a while and I bet you see a difference.

burtonf

Always the last place for me to go too and I am reliably informed the older you get the longer it takes to shift, oh well I suppose we are all in it to win so persevere we must!

Carolyn_79

Definitely the last for me as well. I have another 10 pounds until I reach my goal weight so it'll be interesting to see how that 10 pounds affects my belly. I'm doing cardio and weight training so hopefully 10 will be enough but I'll readjust my goal if need be.

MrsFolk

That where I lose fat first (thank goodness!) The only area on me that doesn't budge is my hips (39") They aren't going anywhere!

cara4fit

In general, weight-training and effective core exercises like Pilates help firm up the area, but it really comes down to diet and cardio to lose the fat. Weight loss, especially in the tummy is at least 80% diet. Sure, we burn calories when we engage in solid exercise and training, but the saying "one can always out-eat one's workout" is very true. Spot-reducing is a myth - the fat does come off from all over, like layers of an onion. This is why the areas that are leaner to begin with show loss first, while the areas that have more fat take a lot longer.
For women there are special considerations - the after-effects of pregnancy and menopause. With the former, people vary in the elasticity of their tissues. Some women snap back within a reasonable amount of time on a getting-back-in-shape program, while others are left with permanent muscle separation that only surgery(the tummy tuck) can fix, even after losing the baby weight. At menopause, due to the hormonal shift, weight that previously was more evenly distributed shifts to the mid-section and even hips in some cases, making one appear larger than one is, even with no increase in body weight, although weight gain is extremely common at this time. It can be VERY difficult to get rid of, due to the fact that the body is now making estrogen in fat cells, so it's increasing the fat cells in the most convenient place(the belly)to do so. One has to be stricter with diet and work harder to counteract this, and weight-training becomes even more important than ever.

_beautiful_disaster_

i really hope not

jerbear1962

Everything I've read about two places are the last places to lose fat...one being the belly the other being the booty. The belly because of how it's made up, the booty because of less blood flow. Personally I've had a real hard time over the years losing the belly.

blair_bear

I always lose it there first. My thighs are the last to go!

This! I'm on the hourglass side of pear shaped, and my stomach is always how small changes happen first. Thighs and upper arms - super tough for me. It depends on your build! That's part of the fun though, finding out!

ditto. For me it's my hips that tend to hold onto the weight longest.

bohonomad

I was googling that a while ago and there were a bunch of sites that said basically wherever you hold the most fat is the last to go. which is sooo dumb but it seems to be kind of true for me, my arms and belly have stayed the same (I've lost like an inch off my lower belly). I HATE my big fat arms and everything has one down inches but my arms have stayed exactly the same, even with light weight lifting.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

It depends on your shape and genetic problem areas. My last to go in on my *kitten* and upper thighs.

mjsamee

It depends on the person, but in general for people who tend to carry the majority of their fat in the belly area, yes it's usually the last place to clear. Some people carry their fat in their lower body (butt/hips/thighs) and those people tend to lose the fat last in those areas. It's just the way it is.

As far as speeding it up, there's no magic mid-section shrinker. You have to continue on the path of healthy eating at a calorie deficit, hopefully doing some exercise, and you will burn the fat off your body.

THIS! I am so boney from the waist up( minus the batwing arms..uggg) but the stomach kangaroo pouch is not budging!! I have lost all over but my bottom half is not keeping up with the top!!

christiangandy

from a genetic point of view....

MEN gather it round the upper body more than lower, and women, lower body more than upper body...

when it come to losing fat, it will go at an even rate all over the body, when losing fat it will first be noticeable around the face, and hands and feet etc, as these are the places with the most surface blood circulation.......

the love handles have the least blood circulation and therefore the most likely place for fat to collect....therefore the last place it will go from,

just keep on keeping on, and it will go eventually, you cannot spot reduce without lipo, and if you concentrate on sit-ups for example, all it will do is grow the muscle in the area, which will burn more calories, and reduce OVERALL body fat, that will eventually lead to fat loss in those areas .....hope this helps

Christian

Kenzietea2

You lose fat at the same rate on your entire body. If it takes longer for your belly fat to go down it just means you carry more fat there.

My1985Freckles

I always lose it there first. My thighs are the last to go!

This!

Parsosa

I have actually heard that you loose weight in the reverse order that you put it on. I gained it in my breasts first then butt then stomach so for me it should be the first to go if that is true. We will wait to see though.

hubkal

Yep! I have been on my weight loss journey for awhile now. My legs, with the exception of the very top and my face have lost the most as far as looks go, but my inches seem to show different. My last sweat camp class instructor took measurements before the class and I lost .5 inches in 6 weeks on every area measured BUT my lower stomach, there I lost 3 inches! But it is still lose and jiggly! My legs are tone and you can see the muscle in my arms and legs so nicely! The other big exception is the back of my arms, they still swing in the wind even though my arms are very musclular. I think that is genetic...sad, but genetic!~

carld256

Fat is burned all over. Honestly, it is just a myth/misconception.

Yes, fat is burned all over, but it's not stored evenly. Men store more fat in their abdomens than anywhere else, so there's just more to get rid of. I've lost a lot of fat in my face, arms, legs, back and stomach, but my belly is still relatively big because there's so much fat stored there.

HeidiMightyRawr

No. It depends on your genetics.

For a lot of women, it can be, but also you do see women with the typical "hourglass" shape: small waist/belly and larger hips and chest. It really is different for everyone.

For me, it seems like 90% of my fat gain goes on my belly. It goes on there first, before anywhere else, and comes off their last! It really is frustrating but with time and patience it will reduce from that area too. For some women I know, their stomach is flat, but all their weight is on their hips/thighs. Same scenario, time and patience. We all have stubborn areas.

dziningme

Try eliminating sugar, high fructose corn syrup and processed foods from your diet and see if it helps. It helps me ALOT. Drink lots of water too. About a gallon per day. Abdominal exercises will strengthen and tone the ab muscles, but "abs are made in the kitchen". Clean eating is the way to go. Good luck.

beaner1st

I am at 21% body fat 5'2" and 110 and am a pear. Below my belly button and my hips and upper thighs refuse to go away. My shoulders and chest have no fat left on them at all and the veins show on my arms. It is frustrating.

AbbsyBabbsy

I think it's your body type, determined by genetics, that determine where the fat will be stubborn. 2/3 of women are pear and store weight bellow the belly button. When women complain of belly fat, it's usually a lower stomach pooch. It's not the same as the fat around the abdomen and heart that apple shapes (some women and all men) tend to store. The good news is that it's not as dangerous for your health. The bad news is that it's stubborn as all get out.

raystark

The last place to lose is always the place where you want it gone the most. It's the Murphy's Law of weight loss.

yup

Tararatus

I'm glad it's not just me that's struggling to get rid of that last bit of belly fat! But after raving reviews about hula hooping I'm buying a weighted hula hoop have heard they get rid of the fat on the belly and tone it up went to buy one today and had sold out I really want one and think it will be fun aswel as effective

MoveTheMountain

Fat is burned all over. Honestly, it is just a myth/misconception.

^This^

It burns off evenly, but if you store more in your tummy area, it seems like you're burning it off slower, but only because there's more of it. As long as you're doing core work, there's nothing more you can do, outside of lipo.

caraiselite

my gut is huge, so it seems like it comes off my stomach quickest. i lose inches there fast.

face is last.

luvmyleo

I always lose it there first. My thighs are the last to go!

me too!

Taryn1627

For me personally, it's the leg and arm fat that's the last thing to go!!! It just won't go away!