Losing weight but not belly fat

Chic_geek31
Chic_geek31 Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost about 45lbs in 9 months. I started just above 200lbs and now I’m at 155lbs.( I’m 5’5 btw) while I do see a difference in my stomach area, I still have a lot of fat around my waist. I know I can not spot reduce fat but my stomach was the main area I wanted to lose and it is so discouraging. Could it be that I’m losing muscle and water weight instead of fat? I eat 1200-1500 cals a day

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    Being muscular, I'd have to be at about 165lbs to have defined abs at 5'7".

    Abs tend to hold fat for everyone. It's usually the primary storage for fat in most humans and is last to go when you get your body fat down 20% and lower.

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  • Chic_geek31
    Chic_geek31 Posts: 34 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    The mid section is primary fat stores for many people. Primary fat stores are first on, last off kinda deal. I lost a total of 40 Lbs years ago and it was the last 10 that really made a huge difference in my midsection. I went from 220 - 180. The difference in my mid section at 180 vs 190 is huge. Flat stomach at 180 with some visible abs in the right light and no love handles to love handles and a pretty decent paunch at 190.

    This makes me feel better
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,596 Member
    Congratulations on your weight loss, that's really excellent progress!

    Are you still working on losing? What's your goal weight and general build? Do you have any idea what your current body fat percent is? (Those can be rhetorical questions: You needn't answer 😉 . . . but they're relevant.)

    Your profile says you're female. I'm also female, 5'5", but probably much older than you. When I reached your current weight, I still had . . . surplusage? . . . around the middle, too - some fat still to lose, and around the middle was where a good bit of it liked to hang out. With more weight loss, it shrank significantly. You're still in the overweight BMI zone, and will be for a few more pounds. If you're of narrow build (small breasts, narrow pelvic width, narrow shoulders) and/or average or lower muscularity, you may find that the top end of the normal BMI zone is still a little on the high side.

    Central fat can be among the last to leave, and as you keep losing, you'll find out where you feel/look best. There's no reason to be discouraged already!

    @Lietchi up there gave some good advice about slowing weight loss as you approach goal, and doing some strength training to slowly improve muscle mass. Results from strength training are unlikely to be quick, but likely to be very helpful in the longer term.

    Another thing is to understand what the normal range looks like. I'm not saying this to criticize, but sometimes people arrive here with ideas about body shape that come mostly from fitness influencers or carefully-posed/lit/photoshopped celebrities. May I suggest that you take a look at the thread linked below? Its stated purpose is a little different from the reasons I'm recommending it to you, but it does have very many real women of MFP, some of them your height or near, showing what different body weights and muscularity levels look like on their own individual bodies. Maybe that would be informative?

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

    You're doing just great, and I think you'll be very happy with results ahead. Please don't get discouraged and give up early!

    Best wishes!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    Stay on your path. It will go. It just takes losing it all. Nothing wrong with wondering.. what the heck?!!! We all do that. You're doing a great job.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I'm about 6 months into maintenance, and I still have a goodly amount of belly fat. It's just where my body likes to keep it.

    Although my weight has stabilized, my body is definitely adjusting. My saggy skin is slowly firming, and I've added a few core exercises that have definitely helped firm the underlying muscles so my belly is not as prominent, but I still have no intentions of sporting a cutoff tank top in the foreseeable future.
  • Xavier736
    Xavier736 Posts: 6 Member
    My weight loss doctor says it is the last to go. I've went from 246 to 219 since August.. Lost in my face, back, and 4 inches in my waist. Stomach not gone anywhere and I have the pouch from carrying 10 pound baby and cesarean.
    I am also waiting for it to come off stomach.

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