women that carry their weight in the stomachs

The only thing that helped me lose weight on my entire body including the stomach was HCG. I did the protocol two times but both times after I stopped taking HCG I did not stick to maintenance and I gained back more than I lost. The real problem is food addiction (or insert your own food related issue). If the emotional food thing is gone then the weight will be gone too. I am still trying to figure out how to do that )

There are some people who just preferentially store fat in the midsection area. If you have that body type, then you will always have a disproportionate accumulation of fat in that area. You can reduce overall body fat to low levels to mitigate the effect, but it will always be there.

Men have the same issue and I have to give them the same information.

Count me in, too. I'm much older than most in this thread (51) and I never had body fat issues until I hit menopause. I'm 5'7" and have always naturally weighed about 125 lbs. I ate/drank whatever I wanted, when I wanted and actually had a hard time keeping weight on. I was in the military for 22 years, but I don't think that has anything to do with it because many of my fellow airmen were overweight even with the military PT grind. I think I'm just a natural skinny.

I weigh about 135 now and I swear that entire 10 lb gain is all right in my stomach. Skinny-fat is what I call it. Thin arms and legs with a muffin top. Which jiggles. I finally decided to do something about it. I can't tell anyone in real life that I'm trying to lose weight because they automatically want to stamp my forehead with "Eating Disorder!". I absolutely agree that 135 lbs at 5'7" is a very healthy weight and that number does not bother me at all. What bothers me is the fat roll/muffin top at my waistline.

I'm not a "gym" person, so I've started walking on my treadmill at home and taking walks with my daughter after work. MFP has me at 1200 calories, which I personally think is too low relatively speaking, but I'm not hungry eating at that level so who knows. I only started logging my food and walking/tread milling about a week ago, so we shall see what happens.

I'm not bothering with crunches and whatnot because first of all, I hate them. Second of all, I'm aware that crunches/ab workouts will do nothing to the muffin. I'm going to research some strength training exercises because I do think it's important to maintain/add muscle mass but I'm not going to overload myself at this point. I only have 10 lbs of fat to lose (or better yet, convert to muscle), so I'm not going to go all crazy-like. I'm going to try careful diet and moderate exercise for 2 months and see what happens.

I wish everyone luck taming the muffin. I'm beginning to realize how difficult it is to get rid of belly fat. My diary is open if anyone is interested (or bored, lol). Suggestions welcome.

Good luck everyone!

I'm with you!~ My figure really isn't all that bad, EXCEPT for my stomache!!! I had 2 people in the same day ask me when i was "expecting"!!! Really?! I've just started to lose a few pounds and i know my stomach will probably be the last to go:( I'm gonna work hard till it's gone. Good luck!~

oh my god! Thank god this has happened to someone else. It happens all the time, especially when I'm shopping in the plus size section of Target which is right next to the maternity section.

Hey All

I am in the club too. I am not overweight, just trying to improve my athletic performance. I only have any fat to pinch in my midsection. I have found a few things help:

Get more sleep. Seriously. If you aren't sleeping 8-9 hours a night of good sleep, your body feels stressed and releases cortisol, which as we all know, holds on to belly fat

Less sugar and less carbs, Really monitor this, and don't lie to yourself either. Something as healthy as a banana has a ton of carbs, and if you aren't doing long intense cardio you don't need so many. Also sugar is sneaky, read the labels of EVERYTHING.

Lift heavy weights. Kettlebells in particular require you to use your core to stabilize movements, even ones that are not targeting the midsection. Squats for example, REALLY require you to keep a strong core. The more heavy weights you lift, the more muscle you will have, which in turn burns more CALORIES at rest. No you will not get bulky. Promise.

Make sure part of it isn't bloat due to food intolerance. These can be sneaky, even including things like how food is processed(conventionally raised meat for example), dairy, gluten, corn, soy, and artificial sweeteners are common culprits.

Drink more water.

Try hot or Bikram yoga, the massive sweating for me anyway REALLY helps annihilate extra body fat.

This is just what has helped ME, remember everyone is different and it takes massive amounts of time and hard work

I will disagree that sugar and carbs are your enemy, but if it worked for you - that's great! I try to pair all carbs with protein but i don't stay away from them at all costs. Your body needs carbs to an extent.

In any case, I lost and kept off 110 pounds through mostly running. Somec ardio and minor weight lifting. Since I started doing more weight lifting I have seen much greater results. I still run 6 days a week but the mileage isn't quite as high anymore. I lift 3 days a week and have been able to get 3.5 inches off my stomach in about 6 weeks. I'm ru nning less than I ever have since I started and my weight on the scale isn't shifting, but it's coming off my stomach for sure

I suppose I should clarify, I did not have a large amount of weight to lose to begin with, so my advice may not apply to someone looking to loose 50 lbs or more. When you get down to really refining your system so to speak, to get those last 5 lbs off, every tiny thing helps(or hurts). I agree carbs are not the enemy, HOWEVER most people consume far too many for their level of activity. If you sit at a desk all day(like most of us unfortunately) and your workout is a long walk, or a 2-3 mile run you do not need very many carbs. I think a lot of people use a moderate workout as an excuse to eat more, which can really hinder progress.

But at the end of the day, everyone and every BODY is so different, as long as we are striving to be healthy, the rest falls into place

I carry my weight in 3 areas of my body, My butt,my stomach and my thign's (im not sure if thign's is spelled right, Sorry if its not, I hope everyone knows what I mean though)

Me too. I had two c-sections in less than 2 years, so I'm sure that hasn't help things, but it's frustrating. I'm starting to lose weight (slowly - down only 5 lbs) but I have no tone in my stomach and the muscles are all garbage. That's where I've always carried it, so combine genetics with two c-sections and I've got quite a hill to climb.

After my second son was born, I jumped on the treadmill and spin bike and did cardio 5 days a week for at least 45-60 minutes a day. It didn't help. I've been stuck at the same weight for almost 2 years, despite all the workouts. I've recently switched to focusing on what I'm eating and have been a little successful (again, only 5 lbs) so I'm hoping this is going to continue to work.

Everyone is different and what works for one may not work for all. Keep at it and find what works for you.

Count me in, too. I'm much older than most in this thread (51) and I never had body fat issues until I hit menopause. I'm 5'7" and have always naturally weighed about 125 lbs. I ate/drank whatever I wanted, when I wanted and actually had a hard time keeping weight on. I was in the military for 22 years, but I don't think that has anything to do with it because many of my fellow airmen were overweight even with the military PT grind. I think I'm just a natural skinny.

I weigh about 135 now and I swear that entire 10 lb gain is all right in my stomach. Skinny-fat is what I call it. Thin arms and legs with a muffin top. Which jiggles. I finally decided to do something about it. I can't tell anyone in real life that I'm trying to lose weight because they automatically want to stamp my forehead with "Eating Disorder!". I absolutely agree that 135 lbs at 5'7" is a very healthy weight and that number does not bother me at all. What bothers me is the fat roll/muffin top at my waistline.

I'm not a "gym" person, so I've started walking on my treadmill at home and taking walks with my daughter after work. MFP has me at 1200 calories, which I personally think is too low relatively speaking, but I'm not hungry eating at that level so who knows. I only started logging my food and walking/tread milling about a week ago, so we shall see what happens.

I'm not bothering with crunches and whatnot because first of all, I hate them. Second of all, I'm aware that crunches/ab workouts will do nothing to the muffin. I'm going to research some strength training exercises because I do think it's important to maintain/add muscle mass but I'm not going to overload myself at this point. I only have 10 lbs of fat to lose (or better yet, convert to muscle), so I'm not going to go all crazy-like. I'm going to try careful diet and moderate exercise for 2 months and see what happens.

I wish everyone luck taming the muffin. I'm beginning to realize how difficult it is to get rid of belly fat. My diary is open if anyone is interested (or bored, lol). Suggestions welcome.

Good luck everyone!

You sound like my twin! I'm also 51, and right now weigh 142. I'm hoping when I get to 135 I'll be happy with my belly but maybe not. I have thin arms and legs and not much of a butt (though squats are helping). But I still have a generous handful of belly flab.

OP, I think the answer is to just get down to low enough overall body fat that eventually the belly fat goes away too. I'm an accountant, and I really think of fat as LIFO (last-in first-out, like an inventory tracking method), except on the way down in weight, it's FILO.

Best of luck fellow belly flabbers!