Since I've been dieting, doing tae-bo and pilates for the last month or so I have noticed a nice difference in the size of my thighs and arms but my belly almost looks bigger

O.k I could just be imagining that it looks bigger but it's definatly not any smaller, why?

Is there anything extra I can do to get rid of this nasty ugly gut? I do situps and stuff, why won't it shrink?

Please help, tell me there's a way.

Congrats on your 5 lb loss. It's great to see thighs and arms go down in size.

Doing sit-ups is great for toning your abs but it's not going to take fat away from that area. Your body decides where it's going to lose the fat.

Keep at it and at some point the loss will be from your abs.

Good luck,

Unfortunately, "spot-reducing" (ie: doing situps to shrink belly fat) doesn't work. Sometimes, our bodies just lose fat in certain places first. I didn't start losing belly/hip fat until I'd lost about 20 pounds. It all came off my upper torso (upper arms, breasts, back, face) first. It took me about 25 pounds lost to even drop a pants size.

So, keep at your diet/exercise plan and you should see a change once your body's ready to get rid of fat there.

awww, ya maybe I'm getting impatient, I was ticked the other day when I went to buy a new outfit and and still looked the same in my old size.
I shouldn't be expecting so much from only a 5 pound loss I guess.
My face is skinnier, for now I'll just be happy about that.

I carry most of my weight in my belly too. What I've noticed, (and those who have read my other posts are probably sick of hearing this), but stay away from the refined flours. Honestly, the last three weeks I've not eaten any white rice, pasta or bread. I have been eating only the Whole Grain varies of those items, and my belly has actually gone down some!

I look like an apple w/toothpicks for legs, so I totally know what you are going through. Good job on losing your first five.

i think cardio would really help. It helps reduce everything overall, for most people...

I spent years (my high school years) doing situps and got the same results...nothing. In fact I ended up gaining weight. What I found really works, at least for me, when it comes to exercising is cardio (like Turbo Jam) dance (like Denise Austin fat burning dance mix and Dance of Inches, can't remember who that's by) or kickboxing. Anything that uses the whole body, not just the stomach.

Just keep losing weight. It's the only way. My body likes to lose fat from my tummy first, but I have a really hard time shifting it from my thighs. I can argue with my body all I want, but at the end of the day, IT gets to decide where the weight comes from, and I just have to keep losing until I'm happy with what I see.

Just be patient. You'll get there eventually.

Be patient! Also, did you take measurements when you started?

Because we tend to lose weight in different areas, if your thighs went down, it may make your belly seem bigger in comparison, but it's not. Like, when I lost all my weight after baby #2, I lost about 4" in my hips, but 7" in my waist. My butt looked more "bubble" in comparison after the weight loss, but only because my waist was so much smaller.

Also if you have kids, you probably have extra skin there.

I know I have tons of stretched out belly skin, and even my skinny friends who have given birth have it.

This is exactly what I was going to say. I've lost 5-6 inches all over, from my chest, waist, and hips. As a result, when I look in the mirror I think I look exactly the same because the proportions are the same. The biggest part of me (waist) is still the biggest part of me. It's quite frustrating until I compare now with pictures from my highest weight.

Start running and biking. Run (jog/walk combo is fine) or bike for at least an hour, four times a week or more. "Spot reduction" does not work, and though abs toning exercises WILL help, you have to initially burn the fat off first. Another great thing is the elliptical machine, but I'm assuming you don't have a gym membership, and if that's the case, running and biking (well, if you have a bike ) is free!

I also carry the most weight in my stomach. I always feel like I'm screwed because any time I gain weight, it's most obvious in my stomach and my face - the two places people judge fat by the most! And yeah - I am with the rest of the members, your stomach probably just LOOKS fatter to you because you lost more weight in other places.

Yeah...I have to agree with all said above. Also...make sure you take pics. I take them now in my bathing suit. I took one at 165 and then one at 155 and wish i had pulled my hair up in the first pic so i could check out my shoulder areas. So...at 146, I took another set of pics. I now can look at my shoulders and see how i have shrunk in the shoulder areas. I also, took side views at 155 and 146 and at 146 i decided it was time to take a back view. If you haven't done this, i highly recommend it. You might not like what you see, but at least you can see the changes in your body that clothes hide...like your shoulders or the back fat. At least i now have something to compare. And of course, i use the self timer on my camera and put it on the same jewlery box and stand in the same spot each time, so the camera and me distance is the same every time. that helps too. Good luck and keep up the good work. We can do this. We just have to have faith and give it time.

Lots of cardio suggestions...I'd also suggest that you lift heavy weights, if you have access to weight equipment. I'm discovering the beauty of lifting heavy weight to LOSE weight. Cardio's nice and all, and it has its place, but I think that lifting weights is equally important.

I had been constantly saying the same thing to my younger brother as I always knew spot reduction is not possible by any means, but he was so anxious to get rid of that extra flab he almost went for overtraining. Now this place and the info. that I get to see may be enough for him to open his eyes and make some practical sense running in his brains!