How to get rid of last bit of belly fat

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myisha00
myisha00 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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Back in November I decided to start a lifestyle change to get in shape and lose weight. My goal was to lose body while building muscle. I was 160lbs then and now I am 132lbs. My goal back in November was to get down to 135 but since reaching 132 I am shocked that I still have a lot of fat on my belly and arms. I am female, 5’8 and I weight lift 3 times a week and do cardio 4 times (HIIT twice a week). I was hoping that at 135 I would be able to focus mainly on toning but it seems that I have more weight to lose. Currently I eat about 1300 calories a day. Does anyone have any tips on what I should focus on? I know that if I want to gain more muscle then I need to eat more but I am afraid of putting on more fat.
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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,392 MFP Moderator
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    Whats your current lifting program? How log have you been lifting? How much protein are you eating?

    Ultimately, you will probably need to cut some more fat and build some muscle. Depending on when you started lifting, your protein levels and how fast you were losing weight, it's possible you lost some muscle, which makes it harder to get leaner.
  • slbbw
    slbbw Posts: 329 Member
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    Wonderful advice here. I am in a similar journey and at a similar place. The short answer is time. You need to maintain your current weight for a bit before the skin has time to shrink back. This is one reason why slow loss, particular for those in a healthy weight is recommended. Continuing your lifting while increasing your calories to maintenance and giving yourself another 6 month of just staying there will do you well. In 6 months of successful maintenance then reassess whether you still think you might need to cut some more.
  • jorichards2
    jorichards2 Posts: 100 Member
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    I think you've done an amazing job. Its taken 6 months for my belly skin to catch up with the weight lose but it does shrink back slowly. Keep up with the muscle building exercises and the skin will slowly improve.
  • myisha00
    myisha00 Posts: 12 Member
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    OMG thank you all so much! Everyone has been so helpful. I will admit that I was feeling a bit depress because I was not seeing the results that I expected but I will keep going. I think my belly is a combination of loose skin but I still feel a bit of fat in there when I squeeze.

    For my arms, this is the area were I typically gain weight first but last time I was this size (7 years ago) they were much smaller and at that time I was not lifting so I was surprised that they were still big but I guess it is from the added muscle.

    I’m currently looking into recompomposition as recommended. I’m scared to increase my calories since it seems I need to lose a bit more body fat but at the same time I know I need to fuel my muscles. I think I’m going to do higher calorie days on my workout days and see if I get good results. Also I’m going to get back on track with counting my macros and make sure I up my protein intake.
  • Barnette74
    Barnette74 Posts: 3 Member
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    I read recomp, what does it mean?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,392 MFP Moderator
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    Barnette74 wrote: »
    I read recomp, what does it mean?

    Eating around maintenance, and following a structured lifting routine in the effort to gain some muscle while cutting fat.
  • myisha00
    myisha00 Posts: 12 Member
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    I’m back and still not much seeing progress in my lower belly and arms. Ive been increasing my weights at the gym and I can see the muscle definition developing in my legs and back. I see it a bit in my arms but still have a lot of fat in them. I’ve stopped relying on my scale measurments as much because I’ve increased my lifting but I am still at 132. I have lost 1/2 in my waist but my lower stomach actually increased stomach this week. I’m 25.5” in the waist but around my belly button I went from 29 to 32 inches. I’m not sure what else to do at this point. Still doing cardio 3 times a week (HIIT and steady state) and eating under matainence on my recover days and above on my lifting days.
  • myisha00
    myisha00 Posts: 12 Member
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    Some pictures. I keep wondering if it is loose skin but I can feel the fat between it. It’s so disappointing because I feel so much strong but don’t look it.
  • Kita1818
    Kita1818 Posts: 22 Member
    edited July 2019
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    Holy Smokes! @myisha00 You look AMAZING!!!!! You’ve got the 6-pack, washboard abs!!!!
    I think we will always be able to pull loose skin off them with our hands or see it depending on posture.
    But guess what? You are now in my vision board: as in, this is achieveable, this can be done!
    Give yourself a round of applause! Really take a look at your progress and take a moment to feel pride in yourself.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    You look absolutely great and NORMAL. Almost all of us will be able to pinch some fat and skin unless they are comp ready.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    You are already in a good place. Once you're there and are looking to lose vanity pounds / change your body comp, you can't expect visible changes in 7 weeks. People work on reshaping that last little bit for months and years.

    Your skin is always going to be "pinchable" it needs to be able to expand when you flex and move. No matter what you do, it's never going to be completely tight no matter what position you're in. You would be most people's "after" picture, it's really just patience and realistic expectations you need to add to your program!
  • myisha00
    myisha00 Posts: 12 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    You are already in a good place. Once you're there and are looking to lose vanity pounds / change your body comp, you can't expect visible changes in 7 weeks. People work on reshaping that last little bit for months and years.

    Your skin is always going to be "pinchable" it needs to be able to expand when you flex and move. No matter what you do, it's never going to be completely tight no matter what position you're in. You would be most people's "after" picture, it's really just patience and realistic expectations you need to add to your program!

    Thanks so much! I’ll keep working at it. I realize that my skin will always be pinchable but it doesn’t feel like just skin to me. It feels like a layer of fat hiding my lower abs. It’s hard to explain but I can feel my abs under all of it and I hope that if I keep losing body fat they will eventually be revealed. The problem is my face is starting to look so small and I am afraid that if I continue to try and lose body fat it will look worse.

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