I'm wondering if anyone else has a problem with STUBBORN belly fat!!

I've noticed as I go along in my journey that my waist measurement seems very resistant to going down.

Of course, the BMI + waist measurement is a very good measure of risk for health problems. And the recommended waist measurement is 35" or less.

My waist measurement is 42" if I hold the tape measure tight. If I were being honest, it's more like 43".

I've lost 58 pounds but only lost about 3 inches from my waist... about 4 from my hips... which is also belly fat I'm fattest in front.... don't know exactly where the rest of the pounds are coming from... butt, thighs, face and arms, I guess.

Along these lines, If I lost 57 more pounds and lost 3 more inches from my waist then I'd still have a 40" waist. Gah!

So, for those who've lost lots of weight, does the belly just shrink last?

It goes in fits and starts for me and my waist is my worst area. I lost 6 inches with the first 10%, then I lost over 30 pounds and my waist only dropped one inch. But then it picked up again and the next 40 pounds I lost 3.5 inches. I think I've got 6 more inches to lose off my waist until it meets the rule of thumb for waist measurement (no more than half your height, which for me is 36").

It sounds like you're due for a drop!

it comes off less on my belly for me than any place else. Especially right under my boobs belly. Drives me nuts! I am like you right now... where else CAN it come off of? The belly must be next!

My gut measurement has not changed and I have lost 46 pounds. It bums me out big time, but I guess it will eventually have no choice. It's not like I can end up 189 pounds with a 55 inch gut... can I?

Yeah, belly fat is proving to be the most tenacious, although, if I look back at my measurements, quite a bit has come off. Just not nearly enough, yet. I am hoping that will be the next area to shrink. I wasn't even particularly apple-shaped when I started, it just happens that the weight is coming off everywhere else much faster.

Even at my heaviest my waist has always been a size smaller than my hips, which is a pain, but my biggest worry is my huge sagging tummy that hangs down so much since having DD. I know it has shrunk and lifted a little with the 33.5lbs I've lost so far, but I really do worry that it's always going to be there and hang down.

It stands to reason that the fat would come off of our worst (biggest) parts last because that's where lots of the excess fat IS. For me, that was my thighs and calves. Still waiting for it to come off my calves in fact. They are still quite large, though of course waaaaay smaller then when I began. My very, very last 5 lbs to come off of me made a HUGE difference in my overall appearance and in any extra fat I had on me. HUGE. Especially in my stomach and thighs. In fact when I go up five pounds I am amazed at just how much larger my tummy and thighs are. Amazed.

And probably the only way for me to get my calves slimmer would be for me to lose another 5 - 10 lbs. But I don't believe I am willing to do that. I can't imagine how emaciated the rest of me would look and quite frankly, I'm not willing to eat any less then I am or exercise anymore then I do to make that happen. So my calves remain - heavier and out of proportion then the rest of me.

I'm not saying that this will be the case with you and your tummy though. Because I think you are going to be AMAZED at how it will shrink as you head towards your "goal" weight and then when you eventually get there. There's LOTS more changes headed your way! Lots.

I appreciate you saying so.

I am really still in denial, even though now everyone comments on my changed looks. I "know" that back in June I was in a 4X 26-28, but now I look at the 18s and I think "oh I've probably always worn this size..." when I measure and it seems like it's always the same then it plays into my mental head game.

Honestly, I can't imagine a belly without fat, or shopping in regular stores. But another ten pounds and I'll be slimmer than I've ever been, at least since my first pregnancy 18 years ago. THAT will be WEIRD.

I imagine myself getting slimmer and slimmer and still looking just as fat only smaller. I know. It makes no sense.

Do you do any exercises to strenghten your core muscles. I have a back problem and was in physical therapy and even though I did not lose weight during that couple of weeks there was a noticable differance in my belly from my muscles getting tighter and pulling the fat in.

I have the belly fat problem too. I do see it shrinking a little now though, even with just 20lbs lost. My belly has gotten proportionately bigger over the years, and the fat deposits on the sides of my upper legs have gotten smaller. I have always attributed that to swimming. It seems to "move" the fat from the sides of my legs (where they get a LOT of exercise) to my belly. I do 50 situps in the water 3X a week so the space between my breasts and waist is very hard and has no fat. but the saggy belly is still there. Don't know what will happen this time because it's been so long since I lost a lot of weight. When I was 34 it all went away by the time I reached 132lbs. And you have to take the age factor into account. Our bodies change as we get older but it's hidden under the fat.

my stomach loses inches slowly too. I noticed the inches dropped fast in my chest area -- this year I did a lot of upper body work, I'm sure that contributed.

I'm at the lowest I've been in a couple of decades. and I know I'm in better shape, more muscular, than I was at this same weight back then.

the body image thing I find can be really tricky. it doesn't always tie in to the reality of what work has been done and the changes made. (sometimes it rarely does) 58 lbs is a phenomenal loss, congrats!

PS I did a good amount of core work too, and that gave my stomach area muscle and tone, but I still didn't shrink much there.

I'm a lap swimmer, and I have actually noticed a big difference in my ability to "suck in my gut"... but the funny thing is that whether I suck or slack, I still get the same measurement. My belly LOOKS smaller now because of better tone, but it's primarily a FAT problem...

And Suzeeque... being a swimmer, I know what you mean... my thighs are nice and slim-- that's not where I tend to gain, but even so, I feel like the swimming has given my legs great tone!

I think there is a big age component to this-- I seem to be built more and more like my mom, a body type my friend likes to describe as two straws stuck into a potato. Skinny legs and arms, no butt to speak of, and a belly.

Sigh.

That's how I'm built too. I've always described it as a potato on toothpicks.

I have this problem too I've seen a but more difference in the last 10lb but the top half of me is so much slimmer than the bottom half of me it's so frustrating. I'm hoping the next 14-28lb will make a lot of difference.

I hold most of my weight in my butt and thighs so my waist does in fact get smaller, but that just seems to accentuate my lower half. Although I do have somewhat of a big belly, my natural waist is quite small in comparison to the rest of me.