Need help with losing belly inches over age 50

jupityjupe

I am 52 and I have always been on the average to thinner side except that i have an incredibly short torso (read less than an inch between the bottom of my rib cage to the top of my hips) so my belly has always been an issue..I mean it is just impossible to have that hourglass figure with my body type. But I always have struggled with a bigger belly, that is my problem area.

Now that i am over 50 I have found that it is impossible to lose the fat from that area and worse, I can't firm up....there or anywhere!

I tend to go off and on diet and exercise programs but at 5'6" I am 122 lbs now and have a 31 inch waiste. Let me clarify that my waist measurments never seem to change no matter how much I weigh....I was down to 118 and it was still 31 inches, and up to 126 and it was the same. I started watching what i eat (no sodas or desserts, way less "white" carbs, lean meats, no fried food, less alcohol, more fruits and veggies, only low fat or no cheese, etc) about 2 months ago, and I started working out 4-5 days a week, which consists or 35 minutes of treadmill (which i set to lose 600 calories, and I do 10% grade and I try to do it in a HIIT way by alternating 5mph to 6.5 or 7 mph for one minute spurts about 8-10 times dudring the workout..I also do a 9 minute ab routine from a dvd before I get on the treadmill. I also take fish oil and fiber supplements, and I am hypothyroid, for which I take levothroid.

My problem, and what I need advise on is that I haven't lost any weight, and what's worse, I haven't lost any inches, nor do I feel that I am getting any firmer at all. Any advice as to what else I could be doing, or what I am doing wrong would be helpful.

nxd10

You look very thin and everything you say suggests the problem isn't your weight.

Honestly stop trying to lose weight - you've said yourself, that isn't the issue and your BMI puts you at the low end of healthy.

Either it just is how you are built - we all have our issues - and you have to accept it.

OR you need to do exercises that fundamentally change the way your muscles structure your midrift. It's not fat - it's muscles and organs that it sounds like you're seeing.

Cardio won't do that.

Lifting will. Find a trainer. Tell him/her what you're trying to do. Go to the gym.

Or accept that this is, indeed, how you look. It's nice that we all look different. I read the other day that fewer than 18% of women have a natural hourglass figure.

jupityjupe

Yes I look thin because my picture only shows my face and the top of my chest...as I said, my belly has always been a problem...I am not just some whiner thin person trying to make everybody tell me how great I look, I really do have a problem here..

I can grab handfulls of fat from the front and sides of my belly. IT IS NOT MUSCLE AND INTERNAL ORGANS!!!!!!

I would not tell somebody on this site to just accept the way they looked and I don't appreciate being told that myslef! I do accept that my body will never have a tiny waist or hourglass figure because that is how it is made, but I don't feel like I just have to accept my flabby belly. How would you like being told to accept your figure of 34" 31" 35? I would like to lose maybe 3" around my belly, and firm it up, along with firming up the rest of my body (butt, arms, etc)

I cannot have a personal trainer...if I could I would probably look like J-Lo lol

I cannot go to a gym due to my work schedule and kids (I know I know they have daycare, but please believe me when I tell you it would not work for me with my kids, very active boys ages 10 and 11) I am a single mom and I get off work and go straight to daycare to get them, then home to do homework, cook dinner, and get them ready for bed...not a lot of time for a gym during the week and the weekends are spent on their sports/activities. That is why I got the treadmill for my house and work out dvds.

Wlith all that said, if someone thinks I could be doing something different that would bring better results then I would love to hear it.

lizziebeth1028

I'm 54! I noticed I got a lot thicker in my mid section when I entered my 50's even though I was at a good weight and have worked out for eons. Damn hormones!! Anyway here's a few things that I did and have gotten good results with -

*Have a sensible calorie goal (I'm at 1500 and eat some of my exercise calories back)
*Make sure you are getting 80 to 100 grams of protein a day
*STRENGTH TRAIN/ LIFT WEIGHTS twice a week - compound moves (google) and use weights that challenge you. If you can do 12 reps easily it's too light!!
*Try HIITS (high intensity interval training) and calisthenic for cardio

I've lost inches, belly fluff and my clothes fit better!

Good luck!

nanainkent

I have fallen way way off the wagon but I used to tone my stomach really good by laying on my bed with my legs off of it and my bum on the edge. lift my legs and balance there (I was lying down) as long as I could. The pulling on my stomach muscles were intense. If you can tighten up your stomach muscles and still have loose skin around your middle you may have to get a tummy tuck for the skin. As we age our skin loses it's elasticity, it's ability to stretch and bounce back. Sucks huh.

larnsperger

I'm 53 and I know how hard it is after 50 to firm up. It is hard to not gain weight or inches especially in the midsection. My gyno told me it isn't unusual to gain 20 lbs or 20 inches or both at menopause. Hormones and lack of them cause your body to store fat much differently. As you said it has always been a problem area for you. Frankly the only thing that is going to help with that is weight training, planks, mountain climbers, and any type of core workout that requires you to work your mid section. I'm sure it is really difficult to find time for a gym with 2 active boys. Perhaps you can google "core work-outs", or borrow DVD's from a local library. I see a trainer and we do no sit-ups or crunches. According to him they are useless for toning the mid section. I can tell you mountain climbers and planks are working really well. Not sure what your diet consists of but you seem to be well within a healthy weight for your height. Wishing you success!

jupityjupe

Thanks for all the helpful replys....i just remeasured and it's worse than I thought...34" ugh! i know it will never go away, and I will never be firm but I thought I would try. Feeling less and less hopeful every day. What's the point? If I exercise and do HIIT and diet and nothing changes, then really, are any of the other ideas going to work?

I REALIZE NOW THAT I AM DESTINED TO BE A UGLY, SOFT, SQUISHY, BEER GUTTED, OLD HAG FOREVER AND ALONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

Really don't even want to be on this earth anymore.

Mokey41

Your weight is already very low for your height and I know where you're coming from because I have the same body shape. As much as you don't want to hear it you probably have to accept it some extent. I look at pictures of myself when I was 8 in my ballet outfit and I look pregnant beside the other kids with my belly even though I was a scrawny kid. I'm shorter than you but my measurements are about the same. There's very little difference between my waist and hips, I describe it as having the figure of a popsicle stick!

Instead of dieting and starving to try to get rid of it (all you do is make yourself look worse because the rest of you gets too thin and drawn looking) try weight lifting and ab work to build some muscle. If I keep my core muscles really strong it helps to minimize my baby belly.

scrappy25

you have dangeously low self esteem and are blowing this issue way out of proportion. Your picture show looks most of us are envious of. Please see a doctor to be sure that you are not accumulating belly fluid. Fat would be a lot better than fluid and the implications of that. If it is fat, there is a lot that can be done with clothing to disguise problem areas. Weight lifting will help as some suggested, but there is a certain degree of acceptance of self that is needed here also. This is said with the best of intentions.

kimberliiw

Wow, first of all NXD10 was trying to be helpful, she gave some good suggestions. I agree that you don't need to lose anymore weight and that lifting might help. But seriously sometimes you can't fight genetics and need to love yourself as you are. I'm 55 and can grab fat around my waist also. But I look around and am in good shape compared to many women my age, my health is good and I am not defined about some excess fat that's being stubborn. If it bothers you that much get surgery.

vmekash

Please ck w/ your dr. I have a friend who looked pregnant for a long time (was even asked when she was due!). Worked out like a feind (boot camp style) every day, and was in the best shape of her life. But that belly would not go away for love nor money. I don't want to scare you, of course, but she finally went to a dr. specifically about her belly, and it turned out to be a very large tumor (non-cancer, thank goodness). She was told that she could live with it or have it removed. It was not at all life threatening. She struggled w/ the decision, but after much research and many months, had it removed. I will tell you that something did go wrong while recovering from the surgery, and she was in some real trouble, but she pulled through. If she knew what she'd go thru, she would never have had the surgery. (Surgeon's error, btw.) My point is, at least a dr. might be able to figure out what is going on. I wish you much luck.

teresa_c

I'm sorry you're so discouraged I would second what the other posters suggest especially the one about seeing a doctor to confirm that it's actually body fat that's the problem. Also have your blood sugar (specifically your A1C) checked - because if you are pre-diabetic or diabetic believe me your belly stores that fat like crazy...
2 months in my humble opinion is not long enough to see a big difference if you are just now cutting back on refined sugar and carbs. Give it some more time on that one but kudos to you for making so many healthy changes and sticking with them!

Best of luck to you

Danni3ll3

Please ck w/ your dr. I have a friend who looked pregnant for a long time (was even asked when she was due!). Worked out like a feind (boot camp style) every day, and was in the best shape of her life. But that belly would not go away for love nor money. I don't want to scare you, of course, but she finally went to a dr. specifically about her belly, and it turned out to be a very large tumor (non-cancer, thank goodness). She was told that she could live with it or have it removed. It was not at all life threatening. She struggled w/ the decision, but after much research and many months, had it removed. I will tell you that something did go wrong while recovering from the surgery, and she was in some real trouble, but she pulled through. If she knew what she'd go thru, she would never have had the surgery. (Surgeon's error, btw.) My point is, at least a dr. might be able to figure out what is going on. I wish you much luck.

As I am reading your post, the above is exactly what I was thinking of. See your gyno and have a pelvic exam. You might have fibroids which are extremely common in women. I ran into the very same issue. I had lost about 30 lbs and my stomach was not going down. One day, while lying down, I was looking at my stomach expecting it to be flat (it always went flat when I laid down) and discovered that it wasn't. I had a hard bulge that no sucking in would change. Long story short, I had my uterus with a very large fibroid removed that together measured 20 x 18 cm or roughly the size of a soccer ball. I went home from the hospital with a waist much smaller than when I walked in. My tummy isn't totally flat but it is getting better all the time and I got my waist back. See your doctor.

dovek11

It has NOTHING to do with your age! Consider the possibility (likelihood IMHO) that you have a food sensitivity!!!! Looks like you have tried 'every other logical' thing, and yet your tummy persists. I would bet the farm you have one, or more.
Food intolerances can cause our stomachs to fill with fluid from inflammation... when we look at it, we think we are seeing fat. You cut out the offending foods and the belly magically melts away.

Do a google search on 'belly fat and food intolerance' and see if you don't find yourself described in the information. What have you got to lose, EXCEPT your belly?!?!?!
You DO NOT have to have medical tests to find out. Simply cut out one of the top allergen foods for two weeks, then eat some. You will know within a day if you are intolerant by how you feel. You may have a headache, belly ache, be grouchy.... just pay attention to if you feel different. If you feel no different, that food is fine for you. Then cut out another food for two weeks.
If you find one (or more) that make you feel ill after your 'test', STAY AWAY FROM THAT FOOD~!!! .... forever!..... and watch your belly disappear!!!!!

I understand the hopeless feeling that it will never go away no matter what you do. I have had moments like that. Likely most of us on MFP have had those bottom of the barrel moments from time to time.
As hard as you have worked, and all you have done and you still don't see any results you were seeking. That would make a person frustrated and blue. I believe you are smart and devoted! You just haven't found THE KEY to your problem.
Try the elimination diet. I bet you find an intolerance, and when you cut it out of your life, you will find a flat tummy!
Hugs to you!

jupityjupe

thanks for everybodies replies. i want to reiterate that i know i look thin in my picture but i actually do have a sloppy, fat, ugly gut. i would just never post a pic of that...i can hardly stand to look at it myself.

i would love the person who suggested surgery to pay for it for me lol

but mostly i would just love some results from diet and exercise. and i really don't care how much i weigh, as long as i lose inches around my waist and firm up everywhere.

i can relate to the person who said she looked prego in her ballet outfit as a child..i always had a protruding belly too. i am built like a daddy long legs spider....short, thick torso and rediculously long, thin, legs and arms. but even still, i am so damn squishy, and getting bigger in the middle as the years go by, but losing everywhere else...boobs, legs, butt, etc but can grab huge handfuls of belly fat.

i think i will look into the food sensitivity thing, as well as try some different strengh training. i have heard that cardio is the best to lose fat so i will stick with that but maybe try to step it up a bit.

again, thanks all for your suggestions.

yes, i do have a self esteem and depression issue. have all my life and i don't see that changing, but i would hope that i could still get some decent results out of my attempt to be healthy and fit.

lizziebeth1028

thanks for everybodies replies. i want to reiterate that i know i look thin in my picture but i actually do have a sloppy, fat, ugly gut. i would just never post a pic of that...i can hardly stand to look at it myself.

i would love the person who suggested surgery to pay for it for me lol

but mostly i would just love some results from diet and exercise. and i really don't care how much i weigh, as long as i lose inches around my waist and firm up everywhere.

i can relate to the person who said she looked prego in her ballet outfit as a child..i always had a protruding belly too. i am built like a daddy long legs spider....short, thick torso and rediculously long, thin, legs and arms. but even still, i am so damn squishy, and getting bigger in the middle as the years go by, but losing everywhere else...boobs, legs, butt, etc but can grab huge handfuls of belly fat.

i think i will look into the food sensitivity thing, as well as try some different strengh training. i have heard that cardio is the best to lose fat so i will stick with that but maybe try to step it up a bit.

again, thanks all for your suggestions.

yes, i do have a self esteem and depression issue. have all my life and i don't see that changing, but i would hope that i could still get some decent results out of my attempt to be healthy and fit.

"yes, i do have a self esteem and depression issue. have all my life and i don't see that changing, but i would hope that i could still get some decent results out of my attempt to be healthy and fit." ~ In all honesty, I am sorry for your depression and self-esteem issues but with an attitude like that...NO it will never change. And I would be more concerned with my emotional and mental state than some belly fat (there are people on here who have 100+++ pounds to lose with more upbeat attitudes). Seek help if you are not already doing so. Focus on your mental health, sensible healthy eating and exercise and being a positive person. Be thankful for what you have....there are others out there with more challenging obstacles then a layer of belly fat.

jupityjupe

Seek help if you are not already doing so. Focus on your mental health, sensible healthy eating and exercise and being a positive person. Be thankful for what you have....there are others out there with more challenging obstacles then a layer of belly fat.
[/quote]

you really have no idea what challenges i have in life....in fact my only challenge is not a layer of belly fat. with much respect to others who are facing their own challenges, whether that be 100++ pounds, just want to tone up, or whatever their life has dealt them, i have my own very difficult challenges in life, and it is not, as you seem to imply, just a layer of belly fat that has caused me lifelong depression and self esteem issues. in fact, trying to tone up and get in better shape is something i am doing to better my self esteem.

i have had a tramatic childhood and adulthood, (i don't need to get into the gorey details, you're either going to believe me or not) yes, i have done much over many years to aid my self esteem and depression issues, including self help books, anti-depressant medication, private therapy, and group therapy. just because you don't think my "problem" is all that big, and maybe it wouldn't be for you, does not mean it is something i can easily overcome myself.

jupityjupe

i was trying to quote part of the earlier post, but i can't figure out how to use the quote feature, so the top part of that last post is not my words, but from the earlier poster...

pkw58

I hear you ... I am 54, and I am very encouraged by the results I am getting with Barre 3... www.barre3.com... it has great on line videos they add to all the time. Everyone of the videos focuses on core in some way and have gone from a stubborn 29 inch waiste to 27.

in the past 10 months I went from a size14 to some size 8and some size 6 jeans. I am 5'8" and weigh 131...