Frustrated about body shape!
 

Ugh! I am really frustrated. I'm 5'7", 160lbs-- I've lost almost 50 lbs, but I don't feel like it's a huge difference in the way I look! My body is just very strange---my upper body, arms and legs appear to be "normal" or proportionate, but I have pretty much all of this extra weight right on my stomach and backside! Not a tiny amount either, a decent sized "gut". I look like a 40 year old *man*, not a 24 year old *woman*. I'll tell you exactly who I look like--my dad. And that's not flattering.

According to BMI standards, losing a few more lbs would put me in "normal weight range" and losing 15 lbs would put me at my "ideal weight", with a BMI of around 22--but this, *this* looks terrible for me to be so close to my goal. I'm working out daily, eating well, even doing 50 of those damn crunches twice a day even though I've heard they don't work. I need this stomach to go away!!!

Even at 140 pounds I carry all my weight in my stomach and thighs! Its very frustrating! :mad:
I dont know if its because I've had two kids or what! I would like to find something that works that takes that away too!!
I hope someone has some good answers for this question.. :)

This may be a strange question but did you take any before and after pics in a swimsuit or in tight fitting clothes? Maybe if you put the two side by side you would see a bigger change than if you just get up and look in the mirror?

I still have 50 pounds to loose and would love to just get out of the obese ranks. I think the amount of weight you have lost is great. That has to be so much healthier for your body.

Once you find what works for you at shrinking your tummy let me know because that is my largest area that needs work. :D

Congrats on the weight loss! I think the last pounds will show more results than the first so just keep hanging on :)

Congrats on the weight loss :)

Have you been doing any exercise? Weight training? I would highly recommend reading the book "Body for Life". Your complaint is familiar for those who have lost weight. The book touches on the topic and helps you use weights to help reshape your body. Although another book released more recently, the New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great book as well.

Running helps with the stomach! Ive had 3 kiddos all in under 6 years and my stomach has gone down quite a bit and everyone says my butt has shrunk and i never thought it would!

It is possible that you will not be able to drastically change your body's basic shape. It is what it is! You can help some areas to shape up with exercise--I'd suggest Pilates or core exercises.

On the brighter side, the close you get to your ideal weight, the more change you are likely to see in those problem areas! :yes: So don't give up on that account!

Jay

Count your blessings--the parts of you that stick out of clothes look good. I have a defined waist, but no one can tell unless I wear trampy tops, and the visible part is my stumpy legs under universally unflattering skirts (all my fat accumulates in the thighs, and I have huge calves from too many soccer practices as a kid). Some well-placed shapewear can take care of the invisible bits like bellies :p

First, let me say you're doing great with your loss!:carrot: Then, remember you've only got 10 more pounds to go to your goal, so:woohoo:But, remember, 10 pounds is 10 pounds and if it's all in your tummy and rear, it's like wearing a bag of flour there:lol: I'm not trying to make light of it or anything, because I know it's very frustrating and I'm in the same boat, but I still have 60 pounds to go and,yes, most of it is in my belly too:p. After being here awhile and reading so many others' posts and stories, I'm sure that it will go, but it sure is frustratingly slow. Like someone else said, get out some photos to compare or maybe try on some of your old clothes to remind yourself how far you've come. And, just keep up the great work!

Give your body some time to catch up to your loss, as well. And add weight training - get that metabolism stoked up. Crunches are kinda pointless if you don't lose the layer over the muscle you are building.

I also second the vote that a lot of stuff happens in the last few pounds. Don't be so hard on yourself - you are doing an amazing job of being a healthier you. :D

my weight is like that, but all on my *** and hips and thighs.. at 115.. i looked like and inverted lollypop. skinny on top, with a big ***.. i'm hoping at 110 and some serious toning, that it will look a little more balanced out.

Was your body always shaped like this? Or has this happened as you have lost?

I ask because I have learned over several weight loss episodes that I don't lose evenly over my body, I lose from the top down. I've always been lucky that even though I am slightly bottom heavy, my normal body is relatively proportional. When I am in the process of losing I lose from the top down...so my body gets very triangular, much the way you describe yours. It is frustrating, my pant sizes change much more slowly, and I don't like the way my body looks at all!

Over time, the fat shifts slowly. As the weight loss slows or stabilizes my body proportions return to "normal". (Which oddly means that I can pretty much stop losing weight and find that my pant sizes go down, although my bra and tops feel a little tighter.)

When I was heavy, I was shaped like a bowling pin, with most of my excess weight on my bottom half. I was an 18 on top and 22 in pants. I lost from the top down too and as I lost weight, it got worse, not better! :eek:

By the time I got to about 165 pounds, I was in a "small" on top, so it sounds like the same situation that you're in. But my bottom half was still disproportionately large.

If I had stopped losing weight at that point, I would still be a very odd shape today! But I kept going and thankfully, the last pounds came 100% off the bottom. Amazingly, I ended up in a smaller size in pants than tops. Right now I'm a pretty solid 6 in most jackets because of my wide shoulders and back but in pants, I'm generally a 4.

My advice is to just wait and see what happens. If you've lost all the excess weight from your top, it HAS to come off the bottom. Our bodies all have stubborn areas where they like to hold fat but eventually it will have to leave too.

BTW, crunches are great for strengthening ab muscles but won't do anything for the fat layer on top of the muscles. To get rid of it, increase the time and/or intensity of your cardio, really watch your calories, and eat high-quality food. And be patient! :hug:

Congratulations on the loss so far you are doing great:carrot: Try to remember that everyone looses and gains weight differently they say the first place you gain it is the last place you loose it so please keep that in mind. Our stats are pretty much the same all though I do have quite a few years on you and this is what I have learned. i am not sure if you have been heavy most of your life or not but for me I think I will always see myself larger than others see me. While looking in the mirror I do not see the drastic changes others see in me so I have learned to judge another way, Take a simple pair of jeans, hopefully you have one pair from the begining and lay it on your bed or the floor now place a new pair of jeans next to it. WOW, see it never stops amazing me at how I can look in the mirror and say yeah I lost a few but take my new jeans our of the dryer and every time I say my butt really cant be that small can it:dizzy:

jhinako, read the info at this link (just one page...not too long):

http://www.speakingofwomenshealth.co...s/femalfat.asp

This is interesting info on the different ways women store fat and how it is affected by enzymes...and why some fat takes longer to get rid of.

After reading this, check your abdominal fat. Does it feel tight and hard (like a drum), or loose and flabby?

Mine was tight and hard when I started a few months ago, so I had a lot of internal fat under the muscle layer extruding my abdomen. Now the whole abdomen is softer and the lower tummy area (which still protrudes a lot) is softer and flabbier. That is external fat and it will take longer to come off than the internal. The info I linked to may give you some hope and encouragment to stick with it.