Losing weight in the wrong places, advice :(

It honestly sounds like you're doing all the right things. Keep it up and be patient.

I'd agree with Sirzee... if only because he's bigger than me.

Ok, a bit more info than in my previous flippant post.

You sound like what is called "skinny fat". Eat too much of the wrong stuff and it sits on your tum and around your waist. Continue eating and then it goes elsewhere. There's a group on MFP for skinny fat people like us.

So, you can either bugger about doing 1,000 crunches and 30 hours of planks a day, which will work... kinda... it'll create a calorie deficit but will not mean much in terms of a strong core. You'll just have the ability to easily crank out 1,000 crunches a day and make an interesting coffee table. Put it this way - in the past, I've done very little proper core work and still have a rock hard core that means I can lift my legs up to the bar without swinging.

Anyway, I'm rambling as usual. This is what you need to try doing for the next 3 months:
1) Work out your BMR and eat slightly less than that. I don't know if 1,400 calories is too little for you or fine but it's close to 1,200. (See my profile about why I stopped eating so little.) In other words, eat more.
2) Lift weights that, as Sirzee says, means you struggle to do more than 6 reps in a row - focus on bench press, dead lifts, squats (or variations thereof), dumbbell bent over rows. These will really work your core if you follow the first part of this (2) to the letter (ie if you do 10x20 reps and feel fresh as a daisy then ask why nothing's happening, expect people to shout at you).
3) Cardio, preferably HIIT or at least incorporate it. This creates the calorie deficit.

I haven't done any proper killer ab exercises in about 2 months but ate more of anything. My midriff is starting to lean out like it's never done before.

Ok, a bit more info than in my previous flippant post.

You sound like what is called "skinny fat". Eat too much of the wrong stuff and it sits on your tum and around your waist. Continue eating and then it goes elsewhere. There's a group on MFP for skinny fat people like us.

So, you can either bugger about doing 1,000 crunches and 30 hours of planks a day, which will work... kinda... it'll create a calorie deficit but will not mean much in terms of a strong core. You'll just have the ability to easily crank out 1,000 crunches a day and make an interesting coffee table. Put it this way - in the past, I've done very little proper core work and still have a rock hard core that means I can lift my legs up to the bar without swinging.

Anyway, I'm rambling as usual. This is what you need to try doing for the next 3 months:
1) Work out your BMR and eat slightly less than that. I don't know if 1,400 calories is too little for you or fine but it's close to 1,200. (See my profile about why I stopped eating so little.) In other words, eat more.
2) Lift weights that, as Sirzee says, means you struggle to do more than 6 reps in a row - focus on bench press, dead lifts, squats (or variations thereof), dumbbell bent over rows. These will really work your core if you follow the first part of this (2) to the letter (ie if you do 10x20 reps and feel fresh as a daisy then ask why nothing's happening, expect people to shout at you).
3) Cardio, preferably HIIT or at least incorporate it. This creates the calorie deficit.

I haven't done any proper killer ab exercises in about 2 months but ate more of anything. My midriff is starting to lean out like it's never done before.

there's no such thing as specific foods that "just go to your waist". when your body has excess calories because you've eaten too much(too much fat, too much carbs, too much protein, too much PERIOD), it converts it into a simpler form that can be stored in fat cells, then stores it wherever it wants depending on YOUR OWN PERSONAL genetic makeup. there is no one food that just goes to everyone's belly if they eat it. there are many people who eat and eat and all the fat goes to their arms or legs. it has to do with one's genetics, not the actual food being eaten.

there's no such thing as specific foods that "just go to your waist". when your body has excess calories because you've eaten too much(too much fat, too much carbs, too much protein, too much PERIOD), it converts it into a simpler form that can be stored in fat cells, then stores it wherever it wants depending on YOUR OWN PERSONAL genetic makeup. there is no one food that just goes to everyone's belly if they eat it. there are many people who eat and eat and all the fat goes to their arms or legs. it has to do with one's genetics, not the actual food being eaten.

Which is pretty much what I said but in more words.

Thanks! Yes, I agree, 111 is too thin, I was happy at 115, trying to get back there, don't want to have to buy new work pants Thanks for the link, I think ab exercises are the way to go now.

Alrhough you & I are different body types & have different health goals, I would consider supping your caloriess to avoid losing more weight. If you remain this active, take in more food.

Oh, and if your stomach problem is fat, there is no other way to reduce it but to up your cardio for fat burning. I have pretty good muscle tone due to pilates, but the layer of fat needs to be removed to reveal those darlings Good luck.

Oh, I have started to pick my running back up. Although there are days I do HIIT on the treadmill, you can do several types of HIIT with other workouts. One of my goals this year is to run a 10K as I am definitely not a runner, so once/twice a week I do keep my long runs in my workout schedule. I dont think you should fully give it up since you like it. I think when you do your long runs, just increase and decrease your speeds to keep it interesting. Just my opinion as I tend to get bored when I do the same workouts over and over again.:D.

Thanks for all the detailed feedback!

No probs. Post an update and let us know how you get on and what you decided to do.