Why lost 5 pounds but belly fat stays the same

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justynato
justynato Posts: 18 Member
in Introduce Yourself
i still have not yet changed my size with 5 pounds less. How much weight should one lost to get one size down?

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  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    It depends on how much weight you have to lose and where the weight wants to come from first.
  • justynato
    justynato Posts: 18 Member
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    I weight 142 pounds 3 weeks ago with size 12.
    I am 5 feet 2 and now I weigh 137lb but still stick with size 12. Any idea?
  • Scyantific
    Scyantific Posts: 2
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    Just keep exercising. There is no "spot treatment" for fat reduction. As long as you keep exercising and eating right, you'll continue to lose weight until eventually your body decides to remove fat from your stomach.
  • justynato
    justynato Posts: 18 Member
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    Thanks
  • aglassmn36
    aglassmn36 Posts: 24 Member
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    Belly fat. Is the worst fat to have and the hardest to lose. Lots of cardio and building stomach muscles
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    aglassmn36 wrote: »
    Belly fat. Is the worst fat to have and the hardest to lose. Lots of cardio and building stomach muscles

    Lots of eating less. You can't build stomach muscle while you're eating at a deficit, but you'll see the ones you have once you lose the fat. It is also not effected by cardio, though cardio is good for you heart and can help you stick to your deficit.
  • justynato
    justynato Posts: 18 Member
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    I have a weak back and weak ankles. I can't do the jumping and I can't do the sit ups. Currently I mainly do the walking, body shaping light exercise and Tai Chi.
    Any suggestions?
  • ELiCiT23
    ELiCiT23 Posts: 106 Member
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    usually, belly fat is last to go.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    aglassmn36 wrote: »
    Belly fat. Is the worst fat to have and the hardest to lose. Lots of cardio and building stomach muscles

    It doesn't take lots of cardio, it takes a long term calorie deficit and overall strength training. Building abdominal muscles is just going to make sure there's something showing when your body fat gets low enough.

    OP: Most people lose a pant size somewhere around 10-15 pounds. There's also a limiting factor of bone structure and lean mass. Often the stomach is the last place people lose fat from.
  • atypicalme
    atypicalme Posts: 25
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    justynato wrote: »
    I have a weak back and weak ankles. I can't do the jumping and I can't do the sit ups. Currently I mainly do the walking, body shaping light exercise and Tai Chi.
    Any suggestions?

    Swimming forces you to engage your core muscles without being stressful on your ankles or back. I'd recommend planks, but I don't know what kind of weak ankles you're working with, so modify your planks to your knees until you can build up some ankle stability and then go to a full plank.

    Building your core muscles will also help with the back issues.
  • jpaulie
    jpaulie Posts: 917 Member
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    alas, belly is the last to go (along with love handles)
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    Fat loss happens where it wants to happen; you won't be losing pant sizes left and right with each pound lost, and it won't be happening with the first five lost. Looking at your profile, it looks like this is your first loss; factor in that a good portion is probably retained water, and a small part of it was fat from the deficit you've created the past few weeks.

    I didn't have much to lose (started at 149, at 121 now), but my pant sizes didn't stop dropping to the point where I actually needed to buy new clothes (instead of reusing old pants until they were falling off while I walked) until about 15lbs gone.

    It's probably going to take a lot more than 5lbs of loss for it to happen. Just keep at it.
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
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    It is mostly genetic as to what really happens. There are no shortcuts or tricks. If there was we would all be doing it. I tried to gain fat in my face and gained 22 lbs and no change. Gaining like losing is just not always as controllable as we may like. However there is hope .. in the first month of my journey I lost 4 inches off my abs and 9.5 in total over about 9 months. It does take a reduction of body fat .. and as long as you are in a deficit you may get there. But at 5 lbs .. I think it is way too soon to likely see much change there.
  • justynato
    justynato Posts: 18 Member
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    Thank you for your encouragement
  • justynato
    justynato Posts: 18 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    aglassmn36 wrote: »
    Belly fat. Is the worst fat to have and the hardest to lose. Lots of cardio and building stomach muscles

    It doesn't take lots of cardio, it takes a long term calorie deficit and overall strength training. Building abdominal muscles is just going to make sure there's something showing when your body fat gets low enough.

    OP: Most people lose a pant size somewhere around 10-15 pounds. There's also a limiting factor of bone structure and lean mass. Often the stomach is the last place people lose fat from.
    usmcmp wrote: »
    aglassmn36 wrote: »
    Belly fat. Is the worst fat to have and the hardest to lose. Lots of cardio and building stomach muscles

    It doesn't take lots of cardio, it takes a long term calorie deficit and overall strength training. Building abdominal muscles is just going to make sure there's something showing when your body fat gets low enough.

    OP: Most people lose a pant size somewhere around 10-15 pounds. There's also a limiting factor of bone structure and lean mass. Often the stomach is the last place people lose fat from.

  • justynato
    justynato Posts: 18 Member
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    Thank you everybody for giving me the ideas and encouragement. My whole story is I started to get on diet March 2014 from 160 pounds. I managed to go to 135 pounds but then I took 2 trips and I gained 3 pounds for each one week trip so I am now just lost what I had gained from my trips. Somehow I love to travel. My next tri maybe to New York in April n again it will be at least one week. Then I may go to Korea in June for 2 weeks. It is very hard to control diet when eating out n try new food. Another challenge. Anybody has any ideas yo cope with this? I am even thinking of taking a bargain cruise if I can find one.

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