Problem area- tummy!

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Adah_m
Adah_m Posts: 216 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey everyone, I need help with tips on what to do about the tummy. First off, my shape is super annoying, my belly was one of my last places to gain it, but now I'm losing it everywhere but there. It's like 3 inches come from everywhere else to every one inch I lose from the middle. I'm starting to look like a bizarre lollipop. Like a potato with toothpicks for legs. I was always an hourglass before, and I'm discouraged to know I've done so much hard work only to see that I'm not getting back the body I had before, I'm getting the distorted picasso version.

I'm getting in my cardio with dance/zumba 4 times per week and elliptical on the other days, and doing pilates, occasional yoga, and occasionally letting my husband give me a martial arts lesson. I'm doing squats every day before I shower. I'm trying to even sit with a better posture at work to engage that core all the time, but after 103 lbs lost, I still have a big jiggly watermelon around my middle. It's even sagging a little thanks to the sheer amount of weight I've lost, and I know it will do this, but... seriously? Seriously??? ARGH

I'm also reducing sodium and starch, and can't have dairy anyway, to avoid bloat.

I have a feeling that even if I have a six pack underneath, nothing will matter for at least 50 more lbs. Is this legitimately just a waiting game? Is there nothing I can do to speed up the midsection so I don't end up with stilts for legs and a tomato for a middle?

Replies

  • VoodooLuLu
    VoodooLuLu Posts: 636 Member
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    id do more ab work like crunches and sit ups ect....
  • Inshape13
    Inshape13 Posts: 680 Member
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    Don't feel bad about the shape because I now have the body of a 12 year old boy since I lost my curves along with the weight. I talked with my trainer about this(I do hard core ab classes 3 times a week) and he said that it is all going to come down to the diet and losing the last bit of fat and that the stomach is the last to go. I lost 16 inches around my waist so far and I can see definition, but it is by no means flat yet. Keep up the ab workouts and you will get there.
  • jay11284
    jay11284 Posts: 42 Member
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    It's important to know that you can spot-reduce body fat. Just continuing to drop weight will eventually show on your mid section. Lifting free weights will help you see results quicker, don't be afraid of "bulking up" as many women say. Also keep in mind that you've lost a lot of weight at 103 lbs. Some of your midsection is probably just extra skin that may take some time to go away. To your benefit you're still young, so that will only help you.

    Hope this helps!
  • cici1028
    cici1028 Posts: 799 Member
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    Oh, I feel your pain. I lost 50 pounds and I won't lie... the belly was LAST to go. I mean, even after the breasts! And I still have loose skin around it. BUT I found that cutting sugar and eating "clean" - no processed foods and no white flour, and no sugar... unless it's agave or evaporated cane juice. It does cut the bloat and it does flatten your stomach. However, I can't live like that forever, so I enjoy the lovely results when I actually do it and then go back to Spanx when I'm done!
  • jay11284
    jay11284 Posts: 42 Member
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    id do more ab work like crunches and sit ups ect....

    This doesn't make body fat go away. You can't spot reduce.
  • brittaney10811
    brittaney10811 Posts: 588 Member
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    Unfortunately, you cannot Target weightloss. You can target areas you want to create muscle definition by working them out via strength training. But you cannot target what part of your body you lose weight.

    The BEST way to get rid of that belly fat, is a clean diet. You cannot outwork a bad diet. you just can't. It sounds like you're doing a lot of cardio, and that's fantastic!! Cardio will also help with fat loss. But the number one way to a flat tummy is clean eating. Zero processed foods, lots of lean proteins and vegetables. Some fruit at appropriate times of the day too, and healthy fats (i.e. alvacados).

    If you're losing everywhere else on your body, you will eventually run out of fat to lose in those locations, and your body will have no choice but to look for it elsewhere to burn, and that's when your tummy will start to go down.

    Congratulations on your weight loss, that's fantastic!! :flowerforyou:
  • blwalton70
    blwalton70 Posts: 71 Member
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    Tell me about it! After having 2 kids back to back by c section, it's like my middle won't budge! I have done insanity for over a month now and have lost my live handles, but not that big giggly center! I might have to have surgery for all the loose skin that may very well be your problem, the loose skin keep at it and don't give up!
  • juliekins64
    juliekins64 Posts: 125 Member
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    I was never super big but I have had 2 kids and my tummy is destroyed (crepe skin!).
    Other than losing weight, which I did it was weight training that tightened me up.
    It doesn't fix the skin issue, I am still hoping time will heal that.
    Straight leg Deadlifts and russian twists (google it) made my tummy get tighter and it is no longer as round and loose as before.
    Clothes looked way better once I started lifting, my midsection didn't "hang out" anymore.
    Good luck!
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    I've got a saggy bit too, but I can see the bit just above is starting to shape so I'm upping the toning as well as the cardio - now I've got more energy I can do more!

    In some ways its worse now I'm thinner as there's no fat stretching it out:angry:
  • pobanion
    pobanion Posts: 18 Member
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    Don't worry.. It will happen if you keep working at it. Although you can not spot reduce, you have been doing great and you look fantastic! You are worrying too much. :)
  • skinnylove00
    skinnylove00 Posts: 662 Member
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    DIET. AND LIFT WEIGHTS. if you are just doing the elliptical and zumba..those are okay but they're kind of like EH exercises. running, high intensity interval training, pilates, and especially weight lifting are so important for good abs

    but the most important of these is DIET.

    eat clean, limit condiments, make sure youre getting enough protein and try to have a sensible limit on carbs. no wheat. no gum. less condiments. and stay with it.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    Running has done more to change my shape then any other cardio I've done. The weight came off my belly and boobs faster since I started running (which is a good thing on both fronts). With how much weight you've lost though, you may never get your belly looking the way you want it too. It may require surgery (I'm in the same boat). No amount of working out or muscle building can get rid of your saggy skin. Just keep at it, lose what you can, and then determine if you're OK with how you look. The weight will come off there eventually, it just may not give you the look you want.

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