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Old 05-08-2009, 09:43 AM   #1  
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Default Lamenting the shape my loss is taking

I apologize but I just need to whine for a second. Granted, I haven't been the most diligent dieter and all, but I have been making changes at a degree of strictness that I think is sustainable and workable for me. This has resulted in a very slow pace of weight loss, but loss nonetheless. Everyone here has mentioned that sometimes even if you can't see the loss on the scale, whip out the tape measure. So I did.
In the months since I first started this journey, I have lost an inch and a half off my bust, an inch off my hips, an inch or so off my thighs, and a whopping, wait for it, 1/4 inch from my waistline. Now, even though I was overweight/obese before, my hips and thighs have NEVER been an issue for me and if they had stayed the same size even to goal, I wouldn't have been too bothered. It's all about the midsection for me. That is the problem area. Now, I realize that yes I have a healthier lifestyle now and I am trimmer in certain areas and that's great and all but the area I really really really wanted to reduce? Hardly any change at all. In fact, I wish my butt would get bigger and more defined. Instead, it seems to be shrinking. I have the sensation of becoming a rectangle. Sigh. So frustrating. Right now I'm cursing my PCOS and the apple body shape it creates.
End rant.
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Old 05-08-2009, 10:04 AM   #2  
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I'm not an apple but I am seeing similar results. I didn't measure my hips or thighs at the beginning but I can tell they're smaller because of the way my pants fit. I can tell that the pads of fat on my upper hips is getting smaller. Waist? Not so much. So instead of going from a large hourglass to a smaller one, I am also becoming a rectangle. I have a pair of work pants that zip on the side and yesterday I was zipping them at work and was standing sideways to the mirror. I caught a glimpse and was amazed (and kind of disappointed) to see that my butt had shrunk significantly. I don't want a flat butt!

I have to think that we just need to ride this phase out and let the fat disappear in the order it wants to. I wish I had measured my hips in the beginning; at least I might become encouraged by the size change there.
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Old 05-08-2009, 10:08 AM   #3  
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I had a bad stomach problem before--it was big. LOL. Last summer I read about the flat belly diet and started incorporating some of the foods into my daily calorie intake. I can't be certain if it was completely due to it, but my stomach is much better now. I think my waist was a 37 or 38. Now I am 27. You might want to check it out. A Spin instructor once told me carbs were the number one contributing factor to stomach.
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Old 05-08-2009, 10:13 AM   #4  
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Re-take your waist and/or abdomen for several days. The waist and especially abdomen was a measurement that I actually found to be almost as variable as the scale, with the bloating and whatnot.

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Old 05-08-2009, 10:20 AM   #5  
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I have the same frustration. Even the last time I lost all the weight, my mid section was my trouble area and I always seemed to lose it everywhere else but my belly. I'm gonna be positive this time around and just concentrate on the positives and perhaps this time around and further down the road I'll see changes to my belly as well. Focusing on what is going well is probably the key for me.
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Old 05-08-2009, 10:38 AM   #6  
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i suspect it's just my body being my same stubborn old body. my midsection is where my body holds its weight. this has been the case since at least puberty. i'm not sure there is terribly much i can do to expedite the process. i'm just trying to keep pushing with the cardio, minding the calories, throwing in some crunches, and being patient. it's hard hard, the patience.
i just wanted to register for the record that i'm frustrated yet mildly amused that after all my hard work, parts of my body i didn't previously consider fat are actually getting even smaller and the fats bits are still fat. so thanks for listening and giving advice!
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Old 05-08-2009, 11:02 AM   #7  
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I used to be an apple but going on Atkins cured that. Last time I was on Atkins I went from an apple to an hourglass. This time I am doing very low carb plus NO processed foods at all, including no diet sodas, and my waist is now extraordinarily tiny compared to the rest of me. In fact one of my friends commented that even though I'm a size 18 my waist is a size 14, we measured and she was right. YMMV but low carb/zero processed foods worked for me.
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Old 05-08-2009, 11:05 AM   #8  
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My midsection was the absolute last thing to go... I lost boobs, butt, hips, everything else, and waist/tummy stayed the same. Even now, my waist measurement goes up and down as much as an inch or two from day to day sometimes. Also, I lost most of my waist when I added in weight training, most of it after I had reached goal weight. I think your waist will start to show a difference soon.

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Old 05-08-2009, 11:13 AM   #9  
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Same here, it seems my muffin top is the most stubborn part of me. Something I've noticed, though, is that my body hasn't changed uniformly throughout the weight loss process. There was a stretch of a few months where it seemed like it came mostly from my arms, shoulders, and chest, and lately it's been my legs and rear that have seen the most change. I'm hoping that these last ten pounds will take care of the middle.

I see keep truckin' and see what happens!
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Old 05-08-2009, 11:43 AM   #10  
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Well, apart from saying "Me, too! Me, too!" I don't have much to add. I would love to be rid of my midsection. I agree with JulieJ08, my abdominal measurement goes varies from day to day. And a book I'm reading by Tosca Reno (Clean Eating Diet, I think it's called) advocates fewer (no?) starchy carbs and ab workouts. That would go along with what TBG and DCHound say.
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Old 05-08-2009, 12:43 PM   #11  
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I have a tiny waist and big thighs. In the past when I have lost 30+lbs all the weight goes from my waist and nothing budges from my thighs, so I end up with an even tinier waist, which I don't really mind, but because my thighs don't change, they look even bigger compared to my tiny waist! Dammit!
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Old 05-08-2009, 01:08 PM   #12  
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It is all so relative! Would you be willing to share the measurements with us? Because the issue is the relative differences between your bust and waist and your waist and hips! And about 50% of the female population is considered "a rectangle", where there is less than 8 inch difference between bust/waist and waist/hips...
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Old 05-08-2009, 01:17 PM   #13  
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I've seen your pictures, and you are absolutely gorgeous.. I know it must be frustrating for you to not see the differences that you want.. but when I saw your picture in that yellow dress I thought you were stunning.. and that your mid section was tinee tiny!
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Old 05-08-2009, 01:49 PM   #14  
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awww, paperskin, thanks! that is the best thing that's happened all day.
i think you're referring to this post? which actually includes a fairly accurate description of my situation: apple masquerading as an hourglass.

but i think in the end, i just mean my waist isn't decreasing relative to me. i am my own point of comparison.

kira, sure. we're all friends here. in mid jan. my measurements were approx 41.5 chest, 33 waist, 40.5 hips. and now, after four months at this and about 150 miles run, i'm approximately 39 chest, 32.75 waist, 38 hips. so yeah i would probably always be the "rectangle" shape according to the official stats, but i sorta more meant that i am actually becoming more rectangular. as in, i look more like an actual rectangle than before.
i will say, however, that i have noticed pleasant weight loss in my fingers, calves, and most excitingly, face. so it's not that i'm all doom and gloom. it's just that i want to see some movement in the middle.
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Old 05-08-2009, 01:57 PM   #15  
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Holy crap, girly girl! A 32 inch WAIST! That is a total dream...
You are so totally on the cusp of an hourglass figure, and you are doing amazingly well, so keep it up!
Now, I read something really interesting in Oxygen magazine. One of the fitness experts wrote an article that addressed this specifically. He said that your waist size will be determined by your rib cage dimensions and your hip dimensions. There isn't much else that can be done about it.
And think of it this way: Jillian from TBL is definitely a rectangle. As are most elite fitness athletes, because that is just the way it is. And I'll take their figures any day!
Hang in there, don't worry about it, see how you are when you reach goal, then get a kick-*** personal trainer to tighten up your midsection (or do this now!)...
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