Not losing all over?
 

I'm sort of frustrated...

I've lost about 25-30lbs, however most of it seems to be in my arms and legs and not in my tummy. My tummy still jiggles and I've seen no progress. I don't get it. I do crunches and ab work, cardio,etc. What am I doing wrong?

Is my diet worse than I might think? Too much sugar? Has this happened to any of you and what did you do?

Dispite all those annoying 3fc ads for the "belly fat cure", I want something that actually works. :)

Love your gym siggy!!!

Congratulations on your weightloss. The unfortunate truth is that we can't be sure where the fat will go from first. In my case when loss eventually starts to show, it's from my face. In the early days that's good because people see my face first and think I'm slimmer than I am; in the later days that's bad because people start telling me not lose any more but I have a slim face and a belly like Friar Tuck.

It's not possible to say from your post if you're doing anything 'wrong' because it can't be seen what you're eating; but if you're losing weight and working out you Will see success in the areas you want, it's impossible not to. I know it's a bit of a tedious piece of advice but all you can do is keep going.
Good luck!

Our bodies don't always lose all-over. Usually, the last weight you put on is the first you lose...but even that isn't a hard-and-fast rule.

The good news is, if you keep losing, it'll come off eventually. Just keep trucking forward!

I have noticed the same, and it's frustrating. I have dropped 3 to 4 sizes through my torso, but my upper arms have only dropped one size, so I still have to buy a bigger size top so the sleeves will fit.

For all my pants, outer hips and thighs are looser, the seat of my pants is baggy, but the belly is just as big and hangs lower. If my weight pops up again from falling off the wagon, my inner thighs catch it first.

When I gained weight, my breasts never got bigger. But now they're shrinking, and one is pointing due south, while the other one is more south southwest. And they're racing each other for my waistline.

Georgia

I think I'd lost about 50lb before I noticed that much difference to my tummy so keep going. Even now I'm still losing more weight everywhere else than on my tummy which is frustrating as I'm a size bigger around my tummy than everywhere else. I hoping if I keep to plan and exercise eventually the fat will have to go everywhere.

I have the same problem. The fat seems to be stubbornly staying around my stomach area. I still have about 20 pounds to lose, and I think the majority is my tum! I don't have any children, so there's no excuse!! Crunches are not making a difference. Frustrating!!

I hear your frustration! I always lose slowest in my tummy. I usually lose head to toe - and then in the tummy. So I have periodic times (every 15-20lbs) when I feel like my tummy is out of proportion with the rest of me!

The only thing I can tell you is that, for me, it does go away eventually. There is no such thing as spot reduction. Unfortunately.

Hang in there! :hug:

Do you drink beer and /or other alcoholic beverage? They don't call it a "beer belly" for nothing. I have carried a large stomach my entire adult life even when I had previously lost weight...but I always saved calories for beer and other cocktails...This time around I totally gave up drinking and my stomach is smaller than it has ever been...even at a slightly lower weight.

Same goes here. It seems the stomach is the last place I am going to lose the fat. But I know if I stick to my diiet it will eventually go away. :)

A spin instructor told me a couple of years ago that carbs contribute the most if you having trouble with stomach area. I don't know if it's true for everyone but I do think it's true for me! :(

the stomach has always been where i gain weight easiest and lose it the hardest. i'm a true apple, with loads of visceral and not so much subcutaneous fat, probably due to pcos.
i think, as everyone has said, we just need to keep on keeping on. eventually it'll work out. in the meantime, my fingers are more slender (funny how that was the first place i noticed change. as if i really cared about my finger size. ha!), face is less chubby, arms more toned, boobs even gone down 1/2 a size (from a DD/E to a D/DD. not much but it helps), and butt and thighs are smaller. i hadn't been worried about the butt and thighs since they've never been my problem area, but i have to say, my legs are lookin' pretty good these days. so while i'm waiting to get to the good stuff to happen (smaller belly), there have definitely been some side benefits along the way. i guess try to keep in mind all that IS happening rather than only focusing on what isn't happening.

I wanted to add that I, too, carry a lot of weight in my belly, and after reading that coffee consumption increases cortisol and leads to increased belly fat, I gave it up. I switched to tea, which apparently lowers cortisol.

I have lost weight in the past, but always got frustrated because my stomach stayed very puffy and round. This time around, my stomach has gone down significantly more than ever before -- people who see me actually think I am smaller than I was in college, when I weighed 20 lbs less than I do today. In reality, my stomach is just much flatter now and makes me look smaller. Of course, I also focus on eating lean proteins and healthy, whole grain carbs, so that could have contributed to the change as well.

I don't do carbs, and I've totally give up caffeine, processed foods, splenda, diet soda, decaf and am restricting my sodium and my waist is smaller than it's ever been before in my life. I've always been an hourglass but had a poochy waist. Now, I have a tiny waist in comparison with my bust/hips. I really think it's the giving up processed foods and sodas.

Glitterducky, you are not alone. When I finally get to goal and post before and afters, you will see that I look like the dude from the part in "BeetleJuice" where his body is HUGE but his head doesn't fit. I am the complete opposite of a bobblehead. And my lower legs, from about my calves to my ankles, also look strangely disproportionate. It is ALL in the middle and it is very frustrating. My husband told me the other day my neck is smaller. MY NECK, for crying out loud! :dizzy: My neck wasn't big to begin with, lol.

It will eventually go away. It may be the very last thing to go, but it will.

It really IRKS me that a person can't spot-reduce because it doesn't work, but nature will remove fat unevenly!!!
SO not fair!

Right now, I have a small bum but a big tummy. It looks to me like I am backwards -- my bum has rotated from my back to my front and is hanging where my stomach should be, while my bum is getting the shape that I want my stomach to have!!!

Ah, well. Nature!!!!

Kira

Thanks for all of your thoughtful answers. I guess I'm just frustrated becuase my once pear shape has turned into an apple shape for the time being, but I will keep going. And also, I have to be patient because I started this journey at 341 lbs, so it's logical to presume noticable results in my torso will come later. We're in this together.

I think this is interesting, that maybe a bigger mid section is due to being bloated from sodium. cut out the sodium, get a slimmer torso. But then I also question is this really a life style... give up processed foods for all eternal.... I hope there's a healthy compromise. Deal with the pooch, accept and eat processed foods, or restrict sodium all together.

I've never been a big soda drinker, so giving it up months ago was not a problem. I think also, I am undoing months and years of binge fast food eating. I've only been on this journey for about 6 months or so, so I'm staying patient in undoing the damaged I caused.

[QUOTE=Ailidh;2771863]Love your gym siggy!!!

:carrot: Thanks. I don't want to get bitten so I can't go to the gym today..lol

I'm a non-drinker. I've never drank and probably never will.

Sympathies - I know I'm not losing evenly. My stomach seems bigger than ever because everything else is getting smaller! But I have been keeping the tape measure handy. I have lost some there. Jeans are looser. So encouragement! We will get there. I sure don't want to cut out my coffee, my few glasses of wine or even sodium since I don't have high blood pressure (mine is low actually)...these are my luxuries! Not to excess but part of life is enjoying food (IMHO). And if this is going to be a lifestyle change, when I'm down to a healthy weight, if I feel like I'm fit from working out, I probably won't kill myself for six-pack abs ;-) Who knows, though what I might want to do when I get there? It's a journey isn't it?!

My problem is also mu tummy. I guess I have to really be devoted in making my tummy smaller. Whew..

I lost from my extremities inward - the tummy took a long time to show improvement.

Mid-way along my journey, I did start incorporating some of the Sonoma/Flat-belly diet concepts into my plan. I don't know if it was coincidental, but it did seem to help. I still incorporate MUFAs in my plan and I have finally regained my hourglass (instead of apple or log) shape (see goal pics linked below).

:)

Keep at it. It isn't fair - but eventually, you will get your original pear shape back!

Doesn't it always seems where we want it to go from the most it is the last to follow? For me my arms are still very large as well as my stomach.

Based on your stats, you still have a while to go before you reach your goal. Someone who only has 20 pounds to lose would likely notice more drastic changes all over the body (at least that's how it's been for me)... I have about 20 pounds to lose and I'm noticing the weight loss primarily in my stomach. Right now your body just hasn't been quite ready to let go of the belly weight... But it definitely will. Just give it time and keep working at it.

I am a true hourglass shape....butt/hips/thighs take the absolute longest for me...not losing much weight at this point but my body is reshaping itself...since my tummy is the first to lose, getting some compliments, but I want to see more weight gone....

I always joke that when I buy a new bra and the girls are where they should be, everyone thinks I have lost a lot of weight cause you can actually see I have a waist.....

WOW!! I looked at your links, what an inspiration you are....

Glitter- I too used to be a pear and have seemingly become an apple... something I NEVER thought would happen. Oh well... hopefully our tummies will both shrink very soon.

:o Thanks Jules!

I will be clicking on YOUR goal pics one of these days :D