So I have quite a bit of weight left to lose, I started at 267, and Im 224, now , wanna get down to about 160 or 170.....my question is..almost all of it lies in my lower belly. Is there ANY POSSIBLE WAY to lose lower body fat ( below the belly button) without a panniculectomy?... Im reading all over the internet and all im seeing is that it's hopeless....like..Sorry, once you have fat below your belly button youre pretty much screwed, you have to have it surgically removed.....I would hate for that to be the case....because that's where almost the rest of my weight lies...does that mean I won't be able to lose any more without surgery??? I haen't really done ANY exercising

Doing a progressive weight lifting program (like stronglifts 5x5) while you lose the rest will definitely help with body composition. We all have certain areas where we hold more fat, and as you get closer to your goal, it may be the last thing to go.

Being happy, with living a healthy lifestyle should be your first objective.

Our bodies are all different.

We lose it in different places sooner and or later. Just depends.

You can lose without surgery. Thing is, we have to accept whatever body we have, and quit, beating ourselves over the head about it, and learn to love what we have.

My weight has ranged between, pregnant and not, from 135 to 200. Currently at 140, my boobs, since 15, and I am 56, no matter my weight, I cannot, get them out of a double D. I have a genetically inherited, pot gut, that having twins that were over 6 pounds each did not help.

I totally love my body! I have cleavage! I have strong arms to hug my grandkids, play with them, teach them to swim, ride a bike, I can shoot trap, with my DH and my boys, I can change a tire, a radiator, a starter in my car.

I can do so many things because I am healthy and strong.

Don't worry about how you look.

BE the person, you want others to look up to!

Is there a specific reason you are so against surgery? Sometimes insurance will cover it if your doctor/surgeon can verify it is for medical reasons.

The reason I am asking is that I have the same problem... a massive amount of "leftovers" there... and am looking forward to being able to have surgery to get it whacked off. I have far too much of it to ever get it exercised off lol. I don't agree that we just have to accept what we have if there is something we can do to improve it. Mine is even making it difficult to stand up straight and walk properly, since it tends to pull me over forward and has actually caused me to fall a number of times, I am so overbalanced. I am looking into getting it taken care of!!!!!

Hello

Just wanted to jump in here and say that while you do have some excellent points, a serious need of a panniculectomy can be about far more than our appearance and acceptance of our bodies. Almost ALL of my excess weight that I lost dropped right down there in front, and my case is so severe that it is very much interfering with my daily life. It is hard to even stand up straight and the burning and itching is almost unbearable. I have back pain from being able to maintain good posture... just can't lug it all around.

There really are times when surgical intervention is very much needed. No amount of exercise is going to get rid of it; in fact, it just gets bigger and bigger.

I am not about to just accept it and learn to live with it and "love my body" the way it is. This stuff has to GO!!

I think you just have to make the right decision for you and you alone. Friends, family, even doctors may not get it. But it's your life. I wanted braces because I had a big gap in my front teeth. Everyone tried to talk me out of it. People said Accept yourself...you are beautiful ...and so on. But I didn't feel that way and no amount of acceptance was making it better for me. I simply didn't like it. So I got braces at 38 and I was happy with result. This isn't really any different. We get our hair and nails done, buy nice clothes, get braces or whatever we choose to do for ourselves. Others choose not to and that's awesome too. That's the biggest thing I learned in my journey is to do what I need to do for me. Life is way too short not to do what makes you happy!!!! And if some feel surgery is the route..do it confidently make no apologies and ask for no ones permission(except maybe your insurance company ;-) And if it's a medical necessity then of course you do what you need to do.