Losing weight but stomach and arms are still squishy

KatsMeow12
KatsMeow12 Posts: 64 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My stats:
39 years old
Female
5'4"
SW: 146
CW: 136

It's only ten pounds, but since I'm petite and wasn't that heavy to begin with, I can't understand why my stomach and arms are still fat. If I've lost ten pounds, where did I lose it from? This is so frustrating. I despise how my stomach and arms look (especially in photographs). I don't need to be buff but I would like to be trim and I'm wondering how much more I need to lose to achieve this. I need a little light shed, please. And some encouragement. Or commiseration. :)

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    You have lost fat from all over your body--stomach, arms, hips, butt, thighs, calves, neck, etc. You've also lost water weight and, if you haven't been doing resistance exercise and eating sufficient amounts of protein, you've lost muscle.

    Be sure to do resistance exercise, whether it is bodyweight work or lifting weights, and get sufficient protein (I aim for .8 grams per pound of bodyweight.)
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
    do some planks.
  • divcara
    divcara Posts: 357 Member
    edited October 2016
    Congrats on losing 10 pounds! Do some strength training and look at your nutrition to seen how you can best build muscle and lower body fat %. Have you had your body fat % analyzed? Losing weight you have become a smaller version of yourself. If you want to "tighten up" and have that sculpted, toned look, you may want to tweak your body composition a bit, not just lose more weight. You want to preserve the muscle and lower the fat. And also, patience with the stomach. I feel like no one likes their stomach. It seems to always be the last to go.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    How many grams of protein do you get a day? Do you exercise and if yes what type? If you eat too little protein it's possible you lost muscle instead of fat- this has happened to me a couple of times in the past. You should try to get between 0.8 and 1 gram per pound of your goal body weight (double check online or with your doctor but I think that's correct). Also I highly recommend getting a scale that measures body fat percentage (some are expensive but I got one on Amazon for only $30). I also suggest adding in resistance training.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    My stats are the same as yours except I'm 62 not 39 (damn). At 136# my doctor just recently told me I could lose a little more to help with the stomach issue. I'm shooting for 125-130 and am adding (again) some strength training. I'm certainly not thinking I'll have a smokin' hot body at my age and I'm happy with where I'm at right now, but the "pooch" needs to go.
  • janjunie
    janjunie Posts: 1,200 Member
    I am 5'4 and 3 years ago I weighed 110lbs. My only form of exercise was walking ocassionally and my diet severely lacked protein. Despite being considered thin, I was squishy and soft.
    I have since paid more attention to my diet and have added in weightlifting. I weigh about the same, but look and feel a lot better. Moral of the story of you are not strength training and eating adequate protein you could become like I was...."skinny fat"
  • KatsMeow12
    KatsMeow12 Posts: 64 Member
    This is very helpful, everyone. Thank you.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    You have lost fat from all over your body--stomach, arms, hips, butt, thighs, calves, neck, etc. You've also lost water weight and, if you haven't been doing resistance exercise and eating sufficient amounts of protein, you've lost muscle.

    Be sure to do resistance exercise, whether it is bodyweight work or lifting weights, and get sufficient protein (I aim for .8 grams per pound of bodyweight.)

    Bingo

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