How does one lose abdominal fat?

2bfit18
2bfit18 Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I had given birth to my 2nd child 4 years back. I ended with diastasis recti and ventral hernia from that. Had my hernia repaired in February this year.

I have a B shaped tummy. My midsection is flat but there are two pouches one above and one below. The below one has always been there even when I was 120 pounds. I am 5’3” weighing 150 pounds today. I have lost 25 lbs already since 2nd child’s birth.

I am dieting and exercising. I am following a great regime since little over 2 weeks. My tummy is looking more defined. But there’s still more to lose. When standing sideways, I still see 2 pouches telling me I am B shaped tummy.

I have lost 1 lb weight, look slimmer, but waist is still 31 inches. The 2 pouches used to hang downwards but now are like moved up no more hanging . They seem to be able to hold themselves in place now.

I feel my tummy has shrank although I’m still same inches. What am I losing if anything? Do we lose visceral fat first then subcutaneous? And I am still B shaped. 😒

Replies

  • sheena_shewell
    sheena_shewell Posts: 48 Member
    The only way to get a flat stomach is through consistency...it takes time. It literally took over a year for my abs to start to show. Keep doing what you're doing and trust the process.
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 948 Member
    You still have some more pounds to lose so I would focus on losing those first!
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 632 Member
    Congratulation!! You have 2 children, have lost 25 pounds and are using MFP to get to a healthier you!
    You have so much to be proud of.
    Keep doing what you are doing and you’ll feel and look better everyday. Of course, you will always have better and worse days, but consistency is key. Weight is lost with overall consistent caloric deficit. Muscle is gained with weight/resistance exercise.
    You cannot spot lose fat. Your body decides where the fat will be lost. There are many articles out there about belly fat. Read some and take them with a grain of salt. It can be difficult to separate fad/fiction from FACT.
    Take care
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,896 Member
    edited June 2020
    Fat loss will normally include loss of abdominal fat. If you reach a point where it's not healthful to lose more weight, then recomposition (maintaining weight while increasing muscle, and simultaneously lose fat, which is an inherently slow process).

    A pound of fat lost is a great thing: Yay! I don't mean to be harsh, but it isn't a large volume. and we can lose fat from anywhere there's fat on our body, even just lose a thin layer all over. This is kind of a disturbing visual, but think about how large a pound of butter is, then imagine that sliced thin and layered all over your body. It wouldn't make you visually much larger. In the same way, losing a pound of fat won't make you look much smaller.

    But hang in there, keep going: It adds up!

    You wrote:
    I have lost 1 lb weight, look slimmer, but waist is still 31 inches. The 2 pouches used to hang downwards but now are like moved up no more hanging . They seem to be able to hold themselves in place now.

    That sounds promising. There's a certain point in weight loss where we lose enough fat in a certain area that it stops conspiring with gravity to keep the skin stretched downward. That's helpful to eventual skin shrinkage as well as appearance. So, hang in there, keep going!

    The "B" belly thing is something a lot of us have, one of the normal body configurations. (I don't know whether it's genetic, or something else - but it's pretty common.) Continuing to lose weight - as long as it's healthy to do so - will eventually reduce the size of the "B" bumps.

    It might be helpful to compare what some other women's shapes look like, as they go further with weight loss and fitness. Sometimes, I think our ideas of "fit" and "normal" get distorted by photos (of models and celebrities) that are posed, carefully lit, and even photoshopped to a point that distorts reality. This is a good thread to see a range of normal, healthy women's bodies, including some who've had multiple pregnancies and some of the same challenges you've faced:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10689837/does-this-uterus-make-my-stomach-look-fat/p1

    Best wishes!

    ETA: Potentially useful thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

    ETA 2:

    Yes, it's common to lose visceral fat first, which is a good thing, as it's more health-threatening.
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
    edited June 2020
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    A pound of fat lost is a great thing: Yay! I don't mean to be harsh, but it isn't a large volume. and we can lose fat from anywhere there's fat on our body, even just lose a thin layer all over. This is kind of a disturbing visual, but think about how large a pound of butter is, then imagine that sliced thin and layered all over your body. It wouldn't make you visually much larger. In the same way, losing a pound of fat won't make you look much smaller.

    Another visualising trick that I find useful: if you’ve ever baked and know what a certain amount of butter looks like melted, you probably also know how smoothly that disappears into a dough. A dough is probably a lot more smaller than you, so on you that same amount will become an even thinner all-over layer.

    That sounds discouraging, even to me, but butter also happens to be my favorite weight loss visualisation. Sometimes I literally visit the butter aisle at the grocery store and visualise how many packages of butter I have lost. That adds up to an impressive volume pretty quickly when it’s all piled together in solid form.
  • LinkedEmpire
    LinkedEmpire Posts: 40 Member
    I got a B too. Working on getting an I. 🤞 I've seen some progress. Doing a lot more bodyweight exercise where I have to use my core to stabilize. I follow it up with yoga.
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