Horrible weird belly shape anyone?

"I need hope 😢"

Hopefully, you'll come to love your bod even more and all it does for you. It's gotten you down almost 70 lbs already!! 😱

tbh, I had to stare at the pic and then read your post twice to understand your qualm. Not to invalidate your feelings, of course. But I just didn't see "the problem" you see.

There are threads, apparently long-running, on this topic. I'm sure others will provide links.

All the best of health to you, both physical and mental!

Yes, I have a B belly, always have, always will. My whole family have one. Nothing at all wrong with having one.

In fact that to me is how a belly looks. I was amazed when I found there were other shapes. (An innocent I know.)

Weight loss, being within the normal BMI range will help, as will doing some type of strengthening, weight lifting exercise.

It won’t go away, this is just your shape, but the above, and using and engaging the core really helps, once the fat is lost.

What ever you do will not be a quick fix. It takes time (think years) and consistency. If you have excess skin that alone can take a couple of years to retract and, depending on age, genetics, and how long you have been overweight, it may never fully retract.

Learn to accept your body shape and dress to accommodate and suit you. I avoid leather belts, but use soft cloth that doesn’t dig in, and tend not to tuck clothing in trousers or skirts.

As you will see in the spoiler I am quite slim, but can still hide my belly button when sitting, and swallow a belt around my waist.

Cheers, h.

Sorry the pics in the spoiler didn’t work out.
Here is a link to the thread I’m half way down pg2, but there are tones of good examples in the thread.

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


Oops forgot to say, posture, learn and practice good posture. It can make a world of difference. h

SW 222, CW131, 5’7”.

I have dropped down to a size 2 pants. I have a small waist, but can pinch n’pull my belly out six inches or more- in opposite directions. It’s not fat. It’s extra skin, and the only cure that is surgery (yuck, no thanks), or time (hoping the body will generously rearrange some molecules into a more flattering profile, lol).

There’s a few things you can do.

Posture. Goes without saying but often overlooked. I have terrible posture I can go from making myself look pregnant to flatbelly in seconds, by simply standing up straight.

High waisted pants. Holds it in and eliminates muffin tops.

“Firm” leggings. I live in workout gear. I’ve found a couple of legging manufacturers that make leggings with a lot of give for flexibility and room for those big calves and thighs some of us sport, but that also have an almost Spanx-like ability to hold the belly in comfortably and attractively. I loves me some Yoga Democracy and K-Deer.

Ditto for tight tops that can be pulled down over lower waisted pants. Lululemon’s “cool” series tanks and 90 Degrees by Reflex (half the price) are both terrific for this.

I wore a loose linen shift dress today. Big mistake. Nothing holding anything in. Beautiful dress but not a good look post weight loss. Be aware of stuff like that.

I’m still relearning to dress myself. It takes a new eye to go from hiding behind bulky, covering clothes to learn what flatters you now but it can make a huge difference in how you see yourself.

Just remember not to spend too much if you’re still losing. I gave away many sets of clothes because I kept thinking “I can’t possibly lose any more than this”, and this linen dress is regrettably going in the newest pile, along with some leopard print jeans I mourn I never got to know as well as I liked. One minute too tight, the next, falling down.

I have a B belly, too, but mine tends to have a larger lower bump, smaller upper, and the upper depleted quite a bit in the later stages of loss to goal. (That pattern won't be true for everyone, though it's fairly common for belly fat in general to hang around until later in the loss process.)

I think you look fine and normal, as others have said, and with 35 pounds to go and that tendency in many people for belly fat to be a late departure, I think it would be reasonable to expect further changes in that area. Sometimes part way to goal, areas of fat deposit get kind of squishy (where previously more firm) and the appearance is a little worrisome temporarily, but the fat cells deplete further, the skin shrinks (taking its own sweet time to do so, even after fat loss, often, sadly ), and the long-run result is quite positive.

I do think that in the photo, some postural issues are adding to the effect that you mention. It's hard for me to say exactly what the postural issues are, as your arms, clothing, and the photo angles are making it difficult to see the lines of your body clearly.

A couple of common ones that emphasize the belly are a head-forward/rounded shoulders thing (the "electronic devices slouch"), and anterior pelvic tilt (a shift in hip angle that pushes the belly forward and the booty out to the back). There are exercises for those.

But I'm not sure that's it, in your case. It looks (?) like your upper torso is canted backwards a bit with respect to the angle of your hips, maybe the lower front edge of the ribs dropped downward a bit? Can't tell. If I do what I'm trying to describe there, I do get some extra pooching of the upper part of my B, though.

Can you stand sideways to a mirror and experiment with your hip and ribcage angles a bit, raising to your full height from the crown of your head and keeping shoulders back as you do? If you can find a natural straight position that de-emphasize the appearance that concerns you, you may be able to identify muscle groups to strengthen that would help.

I hope this doesn't come across as harsh or mean: I don't intend it that way. I'm hearing you as having an appearance concern that affects your self-confidence or contentment a tad bit, so I just wanted to try to be a little bit more specific about the postural possibility, and ways to assess.

Congrats on your impressive weight loss so far, and best wishes for continued good progress!