Belly Fat....help!!!

I second everyone else who's recommending weights. Losing more weight won't help you. Staying the same weight and doing more yoga, pilates etc won't help you (no reason to stop these, they're good for flexibility, posture, etc and if you enjoy them then that's reason enough to keep doing them, and they'll burn some extra calories)......... what's going to make a difference is doing weights.

You said you didn't want to do them because you're afraid you'll get hurt.... why? You're just as capable as everyone else. Why do you think that you're not? I understand that if you grew up with people telling you that you can't do something, it takes a while to get your head around the idea of doing it. But it's probably one of the most liberating things you can do. Even if you're not physically very strong, that doesn't matter. Everyone who does weights needs to gear the weight they're using to their current level of strength. No-one should be lifting anything that's too heavy for them. The more you do weight training, the heavier weights you can lift, and you end up being really strong and having a fit, firm, toned body.

Here's a pic of Marylin Monroe doing bench presses:



and I think this one is her too:



fact is that all the movie stars are doing weight training, and a lot of models as well.

MR doing bench press in releve, really? Where is the bench? It looks more like an OHP exercise to me. I agree with the weight training part, but having Marilyn as an example is not really a good thing.

Edited because I can't spell well on Sundays.

One reply said you don't have weights and you're uncomfortable about learning to use them. If you have a kitchen and cook anything, you have weights (canned goods, bags of frozen veggies, frying pan). Most free weight exercises tone arms and legs, if you either don't want to, or can't join a gym, then the resistance machines are not available to you.
Several suggestions:
1. Walking, jogging, running, bicycling, hiking, swimming: all will eventually trim the middle, it just takes a really long time.
2. Genetics rule: not every woman will have an hour glass figure with a flat belly. The fashion used to be that people with flat bellys were considered malnourished and sickly. Look at some of the "old masters" nudes and semi-nudes. All the desireable women had noticeable bellys.
3. Become a belly dancer, or take up Tahitian style polynesian dancing. They don't have flat bellys between the waist and hips, they have muscles, very strong muscles.


See if you can find a photo of a relative you resemble from the 1920s - 1940s, those were lean years. If they looked healthy, but were a little thick in the middle, then you may not be able to get the American Dream shape. I'm speaking from experience. During the Vietnam war I was 30# underweight, but still had a protruding belly. In our family it's either that or saddle bags for thighs. I'll live with the belly.

I second everyone else who's recommending weights. Losing more weight won't help you. Staying the same weight and doing more yoga, pilates etc won't help you (no reason to stop these, they're good for flexibility, posture, etc and if you enjoy them then that's reason enough to keep doing them, and they'll burn some extra calories)......... what's going to make a difference is doing weights.

You said you didn't want to do them because you're afraid you'll get hurt.... why? You're just as capable as everyone else. Why do you think that you're not? I understand that if you grew up with people telling you that you can't do something, it takes a while to get your head around the idea of doing it. But it's probably one of the most liberating things you can do. Even if you're not physically very strong, that doesn't matter. Everyone who does weights needs to gear the weight they're using to their current level of strength. No-one should be lifting anything that's too heavy for them. The more you do weight training, the heavier weights you can lift, and you end up being really strong and having a fit, firm, toned body.

Here's a pic of Marylin Monroe doing bench presses:



and I think this one is her too:



fact is that all the movie stars are doing weight training, and a lot of models as well.

MR doing bench press in releve, really? Where is the bench? It looks more like an OHP exercise to me. I agree with the weight training part, but having Marilyn as an example is not really a good thing.

Edited because I can't spell well on Sundays.

There's two pics - maybe the first one didn't show up (sometimes they don't on all browsers, although I can see it) the 2nd one is OHP. the first one is a bench press and you can clearly see the bench.

why is marilyn monroe such a bad example? point is that lots of actresses etc do weights in the gym, and a lot of people don't realise that - they think it's due to these celeb diets that get promoted.

As many have mentioned, this is more a calorie deficit issue than an exercise issue. But I'd still add some weights in.

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I am 36yo at 5'4' with two little girls. I do not expect to look like a 25 year old, nor do I want to. I do not care how others view me. My family has a history of illnesses and I only want to maintain a healthy weight. To look fit and not just skinny is my goal. Thanks to all the responses on here. It really does help and I appreciate everyone's feedback. I am going to start using weights!

I seriously think people need to stop pandering to this sort of post. You "can't stand" 1/10th of an inch of fat on your stomach? That screams of psychological issues, not physical ones. You are female... you are biologically programmed to lay down fat so that when you get pregnant your body has some stored fuel for the baby. Part of the problem is that we have unrealistic ideas of what the female body CAN look like - mostly from women who can spend all their time working out, eat in a ridiculous manner, or are photo-shopped halfway to hell. But popular images of women are not the only issue ... telling people that they can change their diet or change their exercise regime and achieve the "body of their dreams" is problematic as well! How about we focus a bit on being a fully functional human being, not obsessing over minute details that don't matter and drag us down, and accepting our biological predisposition (including - and I hate this one as much as the next woman - having enough body fat that we maintain consistent menstruation)!!!

^^^THIS. Without knowing your height we can't calculate your BMI - but at 115lbs it sounds like you're skinny-fat, i.e. have a high body fat percentage at a low, overall weight. At this stage the only thing you can do is recomping. By lifting heavy.

You're actually at the low end of the healthy weight range with a BMI of 19.7. I'm the same height, and close to you in age, and have a BMI of 22.7 ('healthy' is 18.5 - 25). You have nothing to worry about in terms of 'maintaining a healthy weight'. Have a look at my progress pics on my profile if you like. I'm 132lbs and have a bit of a tubby belly, but you're 17lbs lighter so I wonder how bad it is... Anyway, glad you're going to try weights!

Diet not exercise is what changed this for me. Hormones and diet played the biggest role for me as a female.