Women with big bellies? Any success pics, tips or stories?

localatte
localatte Posts: 78 Member
Hi. I have a very large belly, it's the largest part of my body. I don't just joke that I look pregnant, I really do look it, and am often asked if I am. My belly extends well passed my breasts, if I told you I was carrying twins, you'd believe me, trust me!

I do have PCOS and know that it contributes to carrying weight in belly/waist, and I'm a apple shape for sure. I am losing weight slowly, and lost 45 lbs., over a 2 year period, before I started MFP.

Have you lost a significant amount of weight from your belly, regardless if you have PCOS or not? I would really like to be inspired, because even with my weight loss, and I do have more to go, my belly is like it's own entity and isn't budging.

Looking pregnant when I'm not really makes me insecure, and every time someone asks me if I am, ugh, I cringe. If you have any experiences, tips, and/or photos to share about your success, I would appreciate it so much!
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Replies

  • hll2465
    hll2465 Posts: 31 Member
    I have a huge belly as well...I would love to see some pics of others who have lost that weight. I feel like it is a daunting task and it will never get smaller!!!!
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    low carb helped me shrink my belly
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    I carried most of my weight on my abdomen as well.

    I didn't do anything magical, or specific, I just stuck to MFP's numbers, and now I have a waist I like :)

    If you'd like to see, in my profile pics, the photo of me with purple top and blue sweatshirt shows my "before" stomach the most.
    The photo in the wine/white prom dress shows how far I have come.
  • dorkboi
    dorkboi Posts: 87 Member
    I'm right there with ya!! I am down 20lbs and am noticing that the belly is going away slowly but surely. Clean eating, I try to stay away from dairy and things that bloat and I'm 20 days into an ab challenge. It's working!

    This was at about 235. I looked about 7 months preggo.
    photo.jpg


    This was monday at 213 lbs. I still have a long ways to go but the belly is going!!
    3.jpg
  • lvnspoonful
    lvnspoonful Posts: 391 Member
    I'm right there with ya!! I am down 20lbs and am noticing that the belly is going away slowly but surely. Clean eating, I try to stay away from dairy and things that bloat and I'm 20 days into an ab challenge. It's working!

    This was at about 235. I looked about 7 months preggo.




    You can definitely tell a difference - that is awesome!! I carry all my weight in my belly too and I look like I am about 6 months pregnant - I hate it!
  • SandysNewLife
    SandysNewLife Posts: 87 Member
    Im losing from the bottom up =(
    legs look decent, hips ok.stomach huge yet.I guess just patience and exercise ?
  • Brook70
    Brook70 Posts: 164
    Bump!
  • Amy911Gray
    Amy911Gray Posts: 685 Member
    I have a picture on my profile page. The belly is almost gone, and should be in the next 20 pounds, because that's the only place I'm losing weight anymore. :)

    It's never too early to start working out with weights. I should have started at the halfway mark, but I was too scared to do that.
  • reshapemariah21
    reshapemariah21 Posts: 184 Member
    marchapriljune-1.jpg

    This is my progress so far.
  • jaimrlx
    jaimrlx Posts: 426 Member
    Im losing from the bottom up =(
    legs look decent, hips ok.stomach huge yet.I guess just patience and exercise ?


    ^^^^ I'm having issues with the same thing. I'm betting on patience, because I did recently lose an inch or two. Measure your inches, so you can see what you've actually lost. I used the mirror as a scale for my stomach and ended up depressed in a bag of cookies.

    Aahh, PCOS. :sad:
  • sunnyshine1313
    sunnyshine1313 Posts: 112 Member
    That is the place my weight is as well. When I get to the 40lbs lost mark I will post some pics, I am hoping it goes way down!
    23040644.png
  • tgaul
    tgaul Posts: 123
    bump
  • HerBravado
    HerBravado Posts: 392 Member
    dheodihlhirf I have a PCOS belly, too.
    I have a "pregnant"-looking belly, but it is smaller now...
    But I still have more fat there than anywhere else, & so I feel...disproportionate.
    I found that weight/circuit training helped more than just doing cardio alone.
    & staying away from a lot of carbs & sugars helped it shrink faster.
  • what have you been doing to lose?
  • africaa
    africaa Posts: 228
    BUMP

    My belly is my problem area also! I would love to see pics of people who have lost theres...

    I've began doing planks and more crunches -- hope it works :)
  • africaa
    africaa Posts: 228
    marchapriljune-1.jpg

    This is my progress so far.

    What do you do? Because your belly looks great for 207 ...I'm 199 and my belly looks like your first picture smh!
  • Heather_A
    Heather_A Posts: 34 Member
    Those photos are quite motivating! I'm struggling with belly issues myself. Thanks for the motivation.
  • rsmblue
    rsmblue Posts: 353 Member
    marchapriljune-1.jpg

    This is my progress so far.

    AMAZING!

    What are you doing?!
  • jenniejengin
    jenniejengin Posts: 784 Member
    bump
  • pawprints86
    pawprints86 Posts: 59 Member
    marchapriljune-1.jpg

    This is my progress so far.

    Great progress! If I can ask, what have you been doing that has made it go down in such a short time frame? Mine looks worse than your first picture :/ You've done great!! :)
  • TaintedVampyre
    TaintedVampyre Posts: 1,428 Member
    I lost a lot of weight around my mid-section within a few months. Jogging, jumping rope, crunches and twisted crunches with weights with healthy, mostly natural food. Cutting out processed foods (no frozen and prepackaged foods) and A LOT of green tea. I would change between finishing one cup of tea to a bottle of water. Body cleansing.

    Good luck :)

    PS Feel free to add me :)
  • momof4ts
    momof4ts Posts: 118
    I have grown a belly in recent years and HATE that it sticks out farther than my breast! I complainedbut never did anything ......until 3 weeks ago!!!

    A former student asked me when i was due!!!! I hated itand decided that was enough!

    I am loosing my stomach these days and it is going pretty fast! I am doing the 17 DAY DIET and it targets belly fat!!! I am impressed with how fast i am loosing......mostly in my stomach. Now my teenage son as has me doing some sit ups but we have not been consistant. I am consistanly walking 2.5 miles everyday.

    But i have lost almost a pond a day on this diet, fad or not! My stomach is shrinking!
  • toysbigkid
    toysbigkid Posts: 545 Member
    bump
  • I have the same problem and it's resolving very, very, very slowly. I am trying out low carb, do yoga often, and due to a back injury am in physical therapy. Since the injury was in low and mid back, I have to do core strengthening. After targeting the transverse abdominis with bridges, side planks, and various down-dog variations, I look like I've lost 5 lbs in my gut, without actually having lost much.
  • stardreamer76
    stardreamer76 Posts: 1 Member
    Thank you so much for sharing your pictures! My belly and my hips are where my weight is. I have noticed that I lose the "pregnant looking" bloat staying away from high carbs. If I eat low carb, I don't get that pregnant look, but my lower abdomen is still big. I never had a flat stomach, even when I was young and a size 2, so I'm not going to beat myself up if it's never flat. I just don't want to be carrying around this belly anymore!
  • Perfectdiamonds1
    Perfectdiamonds1 Posts: 347 Member
    bump
  • Perfectdiamonds1
    Perfectdiamonds1 Posts: 347 Member
    marchapriljune-1.jpg

    This is my progress so far.

    What do you do? Because your belly looks great for 207 ...I'm 199 and my belly looks like your first picture smh!

    bump I want to know also. How tall are you?
  • pawprints86
    pawprints86 Posts: 59 Member
    I have grown a belly in recent years and HATE that it sticks out farther than my breast! I complainedbut never did anything ......until 3 weeks ago!!!

    A former student asked me when i was due!!!! I hated itand decided that was enough!

    I am loosing my stomach these days and it is going pretty fast! I am doing the 17 DAY DIET and it targets belly fat!!! I am impressed with how fast i am loosing......mostly in my stomach. Now my teenage son as has me doing some sit ups but we have not been consistant. I am consistanly walking 2.5 miles everyday.

    But i have lost almost a pond a day on this diet, fad or not! My stomach is shrinking!

    So what are you doing, exactly? Just curious! Are you walking the 2.5 miles each day and just eating right? Any other secrets?

    And I know what it's like being asked when you're due. I look about 6 months pregnant, and it's horrible!! I've been asked several times myself.
  • reshapemariah21
    reshapemariah21 Posts: 184 Member
    When I started back up in march I did p90 for about 3 weeks which was boring to me, I started chalean extreme and inches started coming off even more, I only did Chalean Extreme for 3 weeks and felt I needed something "cardioish" (lol if that's even a word ) So I got Turbofire from a friend, did the first month to get the moves down, & I brought back Chalean Extreme in the 2nd month and I do it 3 times a week and follow the TurboFire schedule without the toning and sculpting workouts. I'm now on week 8, almost week 9. I've also had a c-section almost 2 years ago on June 21st (almost 10 pound baby), I really like TurboFire because Chalene works on all parts of the abs that women with split ab muscles can't do with just sit ups and crunches alone, and her ab workout is only once a week but in all the workouts she works different parts of the abs. I eat 1300 calories a day, not necessarily the "cleanest" diet, and I only eat back exercise calories if I'm really hungry. And I'm 5'6.5"!
  • Queen_Christine
    Queen_Christine Posts: 342 Member
    I am also one of those women who carries the weight like a man. I had a 45" waist when I started MFP at 210 lbs. I am down 58 lbs, and my waist is about 34 or 35 inches now. I went from a size 18 to a size 8 or 10, depending on the brand (but still, it is vanity sizing, which I hate!)

    The first 48 pounds came off steadily over about 9 months then it started to slow down. Now I am at a stand still and have been for months - and I'm still 23 pounds away from my goal. But I can tell, in the last 6 months, even though the scale is not moving my belly is going down - slowly but surely.

    I do not have the courage to post pictures of my naked belly and I never will, but when I get up in the morning my belly is almost flat. Unfortunately as the day wears on gravity takes over and it sticks out more. It's weird! And I still don't have a waist yet - there's only about 5 inches difference between my waist and my hips. But I look a lot better than I did. You can see pictures on my profile page. I have been on MFP almost 18 months.

    Oh, I almost forgot, white flour seems to be my worst enemy. High fiber is my best friend! Good luck! :drinker:
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