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There is no such thing as targeted weight loss. Fat around your stomach is just one of the last things to go. You can obviously do ab exercises to try and make those ab muscles shine through the fat, but you should really be doing a full body routine.
You could easily have abs at 105 pounds, but you need lower body fat percentage. The way to do that if you don't want to lose more weight is to build muscle.
I'm about the same weight as you, but 2 inches taller. I think that if you want to lose that, you would have to drop a few pounds. when you gain/lose weight, what happens to your bra size? By any chance, are you diabetic or prediabetic??
Best advice I can give is do NOT reduce your caloric intake, you don't want to put your body in starvation mode. As others have suggested, weight training is the way to go. I am a 66 y.o. female, certain types of exercises I cannot do because of spinal issues and former injuries. I am a Type 2 diabetic and several years ago had a lot of weight around my middle. I have lost weight and inches through a combination of healthy eating and a short but regular round of strength training and cardio. One of the best exercises is kettlebell swings - doing those will BLAST your fat! Also, be sure your posture is good, you may need to be aware of standing tall, also engage your core when you exercise. Strengthening your core muscles will help hold you taller and your abs flatter.
Like you, my stomach is not flat, but it's a whole lot better than it used to be. I personally like the way I look and feel at my current size/weight so I don't want to lose anymore. I would have to lose 10 more lbs to get it flatter, so I have just decided to accept it the way I am. By the way, I think you look fine!
I'm about the same weight as you, but 2 inches taller. I think that if you want to lose that, you would have to drop a few pounds. when you gain/lose weight, what happens to your bra size? By any chance, are you diabetic or prediabetic??
My bra size went down a couple cups sizes. That's where I lost most fat. I don't believe I am. Why? I had a health assessment a couple weeks ago and they took my blood sugar level and she said it was excellent.
No soda, no sugary drinks (no orange juice, apple juice, etc. - UNLESS you juice it yourself), no chips, basically avoid processed foods.
You want to eat "clean" - Eat fruits, veggies, and lean meats.
When I first started, it was really hard to eat all of the calories I needed to. Just start to slowly increase your consumption each day. The longer you workout, the hungrier you will get and therefore the easier it will be to get your calories in.
I try to practice intuitive eating - which means I eat when I'm hungry and don't eat when I'm not. But again, as you begin to lift HEAVY weights your appetite will increase naturally.
So let's talking lifting heavy. The last few reps that you do when you exercise are what makes the difference. Meaning, you are lifting the weight for 12 reps. The last 2 reps are when you are actually WORKING and making the difference in your muscles. Those last few should be so hard that you can just barely lift them. What I do when I feel like I just can't lift any more weight, I pretend someone is standing next to me holding a gun to my head saying "LIFT OR DIE"! lol We always have these comfort zones that our bodies/minds try to keep us in as a protection mechanism. Gotta do what we can to push past these comfort zones and get those RESULTS!!!!
Don't take this the wrong way but you're leading the OP down the wrong path.
While I'm all for women getting into the weight room and engaging in serious weight training, your suggestion to have the OP increase her caloric intake along with weight training is going to lead to fat gain, not fat loss. The OP is still carrying around a significant amount of abdominal fat and would be better served to continue dieting. After the appropriate amount of fat loss has occurred, focusing on muscle gain would be perfectly acceptable and advised.
Don't take this the wrong way but you're leading the OP down the wrong path.
While I'm all for women getting into the weight room and engaging in serious weight training, your suggestion to have the OP increase her caloric intake along with weight training is going to lead to fat gain, not fat loss. The OP is still carrying around a significant amount of abdominal fat and would be better served to continue dieting. After the appropriate amount of fat loss has occurred, focusing on muscle gain would be perfectly acceptable and advised.
gahh now I'm so confused on what to do. If I hadn't lost so much weight already I wouldn't be so hesitant to just lose fat. But I don't want to look unhealthy or be underweight.
You're like me, except my trouble zone is my hips and legs, that's where my weight goes and my legs still look chubby even when I'm medically underweight. I would guess you, like myself, have a small frame and light bones. The weight charts are a guide, based on the average frame. I know that with my frame, I need to be 'underweight' in order to look the way I prefer. At a medically normal weight, I look chubby. I'm almost 5'5 and the best I have looked was when i was about 108 lbs. I've stayed at 110 for years and was satisfied and have now gained five lbs that stayed after having my second baby and am trying to get it off. Like you I also have very little appetite and have basically maintained that weight by eating very little, around 1100-1300 calories a day, not starving myself, just eating everything I wanted intuitively, only when hungry. However I was also 'skinny fat' with little muscle and looked flabby in places. I am now trying to lift heavy, as from everything I've read that's the way to go. To not go into too much detail, I suggest you go to My Fitness Pal forums and look up a thread 'lifting heavy made me bulky' or something to that extent (sarcastic title ). There are before and after pics of users there that have just opened my eyes to what lifting can do and i was so inspired reading the posts. Tons of useful info on the programs, diet etc on the forums too. I have to admit diet is the one thing I have trouble with, it's easy for me not to eat, not so easy to force myself to eat the right stuff, mainly protein and veggies as I'm a carboholic. I'll
gahh now I'm so confused on what to do. If I hadn't lost so much weight already I wouldn't be so hesitant to just lose fat. But I don't want to look unhealthy or be underweight.
I'd guesstimate that you're ~26-28% bodyfat currently. That's not overweight but you certainly have plenty of room to drop more weight without going too far.
McBain II - if you had read my original post to the OP, I was suggesting an overall plan for her to lose weight. This plan consists of heavy weight lifting to "sculpt" her body. When you have more muscle around the glutes and shoulds - your waist naturally appears more slender. ALSO, when you are lifting heavy your appetite will increase - I suggested to the OP what her diet should be (which is the post you responded to and the one where I answered a direct question from the OP). Not to mention, when a women carries more muscle - her metabolism will increase throughout the day (hence increasing her appetite). This will help shed the fat from the midsection at the same time as build muscle and sculpt to the physique most women are trying to get to.
casscass09 - please know that there is a TON of misinformation out there. Everyone will tell you to do this or do that, or this is the best way to lose weight, etc. At the end of the day, you have to choose what resonates with you. You can listen to men who don't have the same problems as women, or you can listen to women who are built just like you. The decision is yours. Good luck!
gahh now I'm so confused on what to do. If I hadn't lost so much weight already I wouldn't be so hesitant to just lose fat. But I don't want to look unhealthy or be underweight.
Scale weight is just a number. It's pretty meaningless. If you're really worried about it, either use hydrostatic or DEXA to determine body fat percentage. That's really unnecessary though. I don't mean to be rude, but you could lose more fat without looking unhealthy or being underweight. If your body type is skinny (as in slender build), it's skinny. Nothing is going to change that. Skinny fat is a really grossly abused term. It started off as medical slang to describe someone who was skinny but had the health characteristics of someone who was fat. Then it became a pop culture term describe someone who had a slender build and was carrying extra fat. That's not skinny fat. It's just fat. I wouldn't say you are fat as in unhealthy. Generally anything from 18-30% body fat is the healthy range for women, and you certainly seem in that range. Aesthetically, most women prefer being more towards the lower end of that range or even below it.
R.Gilmore and McBain are basically saying the same thing. McBain's initial comment of lose more weight wasn't quite accurate. If he'd said lose more fat, it would be more accurate in which case they'd be saying exactly the same thing. If you gain 5 pounds of muscle and lost 5 pounds of fat, you didn't lose any weight. Scale doesn't care whether it's fat, water, or muscle. Weight is weight. Combining it with some strength training would be a good idea but they're both completely correct in that the only way you'll lose the belly fat is by losing more fat. You can't spot reduce. It doesn't work. Genetics determines where the body gains and loses fat and it mostly follows the first on, last off principle.
Last edited by Malloric; 04-17-2016 at 08:21 PM..
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). There are before and after pics of users there that have just opened my eyes to what lifting can do and i was so inspired reading the posts. Tons of useful info on the programs, diet etc on the forums too. I have to admit diet is the one thing I have trouble with, it's easy for me not to eat, not so easy to force myself to eat the right stuff, mainly protein and veggies as I'm a carboholic. I'll
