Looking for ladies who used to have a huge stomach and have lost it
I'm very frustrated with my body right now. I am 40 yrs old and I have spent the last 8 of 9 years pregnant or nursing. I was about 60-80 lbs overweight when my "baby" turned 2.5, and that's when I decided to join the gym. Since January, I have been working out 4-6 times a week, adn I have been cutting back on calories while still feeding my family our normal mostly organic, non processed, whole foods diet. I have lost 25 lbs since Jan, and I plan to keep going.
I feel like I have made "the" mental change, I treat my exercise and my food intake as a permenant part of my healthy lifestyle. I feel very strong, and I am impressed with how much cardio I can do, how fast my HR recovers, ect. I feel fit.
My legs look great and muscular. My arms are showing some muscle definition, and even my face looks slimmer. But then I see my stomach in teh mirror and in pictures, and it is sooooo huge. I don't think it has changed much at all over these last 7 months. I do core work 3-4 times a week, including a 30 min core class at teh gym. I have been avoiding ab weight machines, with teh understanding that I shoudl stregnethen my core muscles and lose fat through cardio before building ab muscles.
When I look in teh mirror, I cover my stomach and my body looks great. I feel like if I could just lop off my stomach, that I woudl lose 30 lbs and look normal. Things like plastic surgery normally don't fit in with my natural lifestyle, but sometimes I think that it may be my only way to get rid of my stomach.
Anyway, I woul love to hear from others who had a huge stomach, and didnt see it change for a long time, but were finally able to lose it near the end of their losing journey. I'd love any other advice too.
You still have a way to go to get to your goal and stomach fat is the last to go. Spot reducing doesn't work. The weight will come off from where your body wants it to. Keep exercising because being toned helps. You've done great so far, just give it more time.
Unfortunately the first place to gain is the last place you lose. I'm right there with ya, sister! I've lost 72 lbs. My arms look great. My legs look fantastic (bought my first miniskirt in years). My face is slimming down. My collarbones show and I have a long, slender neck (who knew).
But my tummy remains.
Actually as I measure it, I've lost inches off of my waist and hips, but proportionately to the rest of my body, my tummy is still big. I know from reading the success stories of all the other women on here, though, that it will drop off eventually. That that @^%#^&$ tummy is going to be the last thing to go.
So I'm just hanging in there and knowing that one day I'm going to wake up and look at myself in the mirror and go "wow .. it happened".
It depends on your body type and where it tends to hang on to fat deposits. Unfortunately it tends to be "first on, last off". My problem areas are the hips & thighs. I wish I could move my residual fat deposits from my thighs to my "girls"!
Are you taking actual measurements, or are you just looking visually? As other areas shrink, your trouble spots may also be shrinking, but staying more or less the same proportionate to the other areas so it doesn't appear that you are getting anywhere. If you use a tape measure, you will see that you are probably really making progress.
You are making wonderful progress, just keep working and you will see results over time. I found that my body continued to "reshape" a bit even after I reached goal weight.
Many members find different ways to deal with sagging skin, from spandex undergarments to skin-removal surgery. But you do want to wait until you've reached your goal and been there for awhile before you opt for surgery--just because first of all, it's surgery and not without dangers, and second of all, because skin does have some elasticity, and may shrink over time. It can take longer than a year for skin to shrink, if it's going to.
Hi...I had and still have a HUGE gut. When I started my new plan I did measure the largest area of my stomach. Even though it's still the largest area of my body, I have lost 10.5 inches from my gut. I know it will take a long time. Even as a child I had a "thick" stomach, as do my children.
Since you have been pregnant and nursing for the last 9 years I realize this is not your problem, but I have learned over the years that alcoholic beverages really contribute to the size of my gut. I haven't had a drink in 5 months and that has helped tremendously. (With weight, edema, and overall health)
I plan to have a tummy tuck once I reach goal and maintain my weight for a minimum of 6 months.
Hi...I had and still have a HUGE gut. When I started my new plan I did measure the largest area of my stomach. Even though it's still the largest area of my body, I have lost 10.5 inches from my gut. I know it will take a long time. Even as a child I had a "thick" stomach, as do my children.
Since you have been pregnant and nursing for the last 9 years I realize this is not your problem, but I have learned over the years that alcoholic beverages really contribute to the size of my gut. I haven't had a drink in 5 months and that has helped tremendously. (With weight, edema, and overall health)
I plan to have a tummy tuck once I reach goal and maintain my weight for a minimum of 6 months.
While I don;t drink during pregnancy, I do drink while nursing (not nursing a newborn, but I do drink socially while still lactating for an older baby). I have really cut back since Jan, but I wonder if my past years of overconsuming alcohol could have contributed? And I went on a 2 week vacation 4 weeks ago. I only gained 2 lbs on that vacation, which I have worked off pretty quickly. But I didi have a few glasses of wine in teh evenings with frineds, and we attended 2 all day pool parties where I drank beer all day. And when I got home, I could have sworn that my stomach looked bigger. I wonder if that alcohol could have done that??? I'll be the beer especially .. I'm back on track though, and have only had alcohol once in the last 3 weeks
It does seem to be a bit different with each body regarding what goes on/off in what order. My face is always the last to put it on and the first to take it off. I've always had batwing arms, even when I was thin. When I am close to my right weight, my midsection changes alternatively front/back, then side/side, then front/back again, etc.
Yeah tigerchick - the beer probably did it. You've never heard the term "beer belly?" The way beer is metabolized sends it right to the gut without distributing it.
Tiger, your post could be mine except that my time frame was 6 years for preggo and nursing. When my last "baby" was almost two I finally became mentally READY to make changes in my eating and likestyle. And so I did.
As my new avatar states I have lost 30 (actually 32) pounds since March of this year.
Prior to and during my loss it was the thought of a hernia repair and tummy tuck that would keep me from getting discouraged about my very protruding belly. I noticed that eating wheat, even whole grain, would distend my abdomen. Not eating refined or even whole grains resulted in a kindof somewhat less obtrusive belly. At this point, almost goal, I am still aware of my abdomen being my least trim feature. But I can also say, it is greatly improved with my weight loss and my new way of eating.
I totally get it. See you around 3fctown.
Last edited by kittycat40; 07-29-2008 at 09:30 PM.
Looking for ladies who used to have a huge stomach and have lost it
You might want to read threads in the 3FC forum Body Image and Issues After Weight Loss:
.. I'm back on track though, and have only had alcohol once in the last 3 weeks 
