I'm back and I'm starting over

It's not all about losing your body fat...it's about being healthy there are times when I have ate healthy and not lost weight but I have lost inches.

I know your mother keeps calling you pregnant but if you just let her know you have made the decision to become healthy and are losing inches off your hips, waist and abdomen then you will lose the fat around your belly in time

Weight loss takes time obviously depending on how much weight you have to lose.

Also let her know you have chosen to eat healthier options, I don't know your mum but I would think a mother would be pretty happy if she knew her child was making the effort?

If you need tips or help with anything let me know I go to a dietitian and she has been the best person in my life to date...she has helped me to a point where I am happy about myself and I have a motivation to succeed in my weight loss.

Well said, Katrina! I am back ss well, my 5th day of my journey. I've had some obstacles this week. My dear aunt Shirley passed away yesterday and work gas been stressful. I made it through the week without comfort food to sooth my sorrow. I need to learn, food is not a crutch in difficult times.

If your body likes to store fat in say your belly area, then that is the last place it will be when you still have some. As you lose weight, it proportionally drops from all over your body not just one spot. a.k.a. You can't spot reduce. :bigsmile: Oh yes, you can add me if you like.

I know where you are shouting from.

My father, as good as he was to me in so many ways during my childhood and adulthood, had one really draining nasty habit - focusing on my weight, especially any increases in my weight.

What I needed him to say and what I heard him actually say were poles apart.

I knew my problem. I DID NOT need him to AMPLIFY or MAGNIFY it. My dad retired in 1981 with a sizable pot belly and some extra bulges spread around his body. Retirement gave him time away from his office (of course) and time to make better lifestyle choices and grabbed both those parcels of time.

Dad put on an old cassette walkman and played Scottish marching/military music through his headphones while he walked/marched a little farther on the soft beach sand near the family home every day. 200m quickly became 400m and, within a fortnight he was up to 2km (2000m).

After six months, he was doing a minimum of 5km per day 5 days per week. Within a year, he was managing two days of 5km, two days of 10km and one of 15km-18km.

He became lean and healthy and was still able to enjoy home-brewing ... the making and the drinking ... without fear of belly creep, thanks to his regimen of exercise and (generally healthy) eating.

How he treated me and my younger sister was another side of him altogether. Rude comments about our weight. Suggestions of (near to) impossible targets for working people with kids. Some of these comments were loaded with disdain and disrespect.

He wasn't doing or saying anything to help. More than likely he was feeding our sense of depression and hopelessness.

- - -

After he died (2001), I did not have the negativity of him or my ex-wife in my life and I had children living at home who were almost independent. So I had time to exercise and to take control in a full-time way.

Each attempt at dieting failed for some reason but I was hearing positives at home and at work.

When I remarried, I had with me an encouraging, supportive partner.

After a few balking attempts, I finally got all the weight loss jigsaw pieces in place. 2006 saw me shed weight to fall from 192kg to 145kg.

A new job in 2007 increased my sitting hours and I lost control ... not all my control but enough to get back up to 176kg-plus .. by October 2012. (My scales only go to 176)

The 2012-2013 me decided not to aim for big weight losses but very steady weight losses.

I began a weights only gym program July 2012 and started on calorie controlled eating in October. I tried 2450, then 2150 then 2250 calories per day ... finally settling on a net target of 2480 calories per day.

I am down 21kg since February this year. (that's when my scales stopped saying "error" and began to register my weight/mass again.

So, currently 155kg and losing that steady 200g-600g most weeks. I average nine gym visits of 90 minutes weights exercise per fortnight plus about 8000-11000 steps per day walking.

No dad. No negative people. I listen to myself as I go about getting fit and into a retirement lifestyle. (I am due to retire in mid 2016 and I want to be around 80-81kg by then.)

It's low stress stuff when you listen to the beat of your own drum and have no negative people among your close family and associates.

Gosh I'm irritated at your Mom. Sheesh. Welcome back! Get your self into a routine that works on your core. I have a friend who had great success hula hooping with a weighted hoop to slim her waist.

To my knowledge there is no way to spot reduce fat, you just have to lose the weight and your body will take it off naturally in various places. It sounds like your belly is where your body loses fat last. So you'll probably have to work pretty hard to lose it, but its not impossible or something. I would just shoot for 1-2 lbs of weight loss per week, eat healthy, do cardio as much as possible as your schedule permits, drink lots of water, and give yourself a reasonable timeframe to work with (i.e. 3-6 months, not 3 weeks or something). I'm sure you can get there with hard work and persistence. The main thing is that you believe that you can do it, that you see yourself how you want to look, and then work towards that.

I've just come back from a similar length break and I am also wanting to loose the weight I have gained back. I lost 14lbs last year, but gained 6 back Add me for support

I am aiming at 1lb a week too. 1,420 cals per day based on 25 min work out 4 times per week. Last time I managed to loose on less exercise, but my job has changed and now I sit for 8 hours a day

Hey fair play to you for starting back! ...I joined this site over a year ago, i didn't have an awful lot of weight to loose (approx a stone) maybe more but a lot of that weight was on tummy, actually loosing the stone caused my tummy to go down a good bit but im now at the stage of body recomp - trying to tone up, make it look better. All I can say is common sense really, eat at a moderate deficit that suits you, for me that was tdee-20% going to minus 10% when i has the last 7-8 lbs to loose.
Try to do some form of activity/exercise at least 3 times a week - it will stand to you. You mentioned being quite sedentary so even walking is a start, not many want to hear this but strength training will be very beneficial as you loose, the only strength training i had really was in Julian Michaels 30 day shred which is not a lot but I will say I did loose inches doing her workouts,..only now have I started going to strength classes and i'm starting to notice some change in my stomach area.

However, in saying that and I notice a lot have said it on here it is primarily down to diet, 80/20 works really well...have your whole nutritious foods, try to meat your goals while also leaving room for treats in moderation . This is for life so there will be times you will fall off the wagon as such but don't beat yourself up about it, there has been plenty of times i've ate more treats than i have nutritious foods for various reasons but the important thing is that you can get back into it and maintain a positive relationship with food, find your happy medium.

For the belly area - I found cutting down on potato worked for me, its not for everyone (maybe you don't eat potato) but little changes in diet like that can make you feel more comfortable (less bloated) for me that was cutting on potatoes, adding more vegetables and watching my bread intake which used to be quite high. Now I try to hit protein goals more and get a better range of foods in my diet. I follow this clean eating blog and she posted not so long a list of 10 flat belly foods (foods that won't cause bloating as such)
Raspberries, Kale, Oatmeal, Low-fat yoghurt, almonds, salmon, watermelon, garlic, avocado, quinoa,

Best of luck with your weight loss

I am mid-weight loss journey. My belly was (and is) my "area" too. It was also, sadly, the last thing to start changing, and still the most stubborn. I would say just keep doing cardio along with everything else! Welcome back, we are all in this together.

Same here! I had to start over again but so far I'm doing good. But just like the person mention above, you can't spot reduce. For example, I don't like my belly either, but when you lose weight, you lose weight everywhere, not just in 1 area. But that doesn't mean you can't lose the belly, just keep dieting and working out, stay focused and you'll see results!