Stubborn Belly Fat advice please.

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  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    I have lost over a stone and now have a BMI of 21.4 which sounds fab but I still have considerable belly fat (which is why I started the BSD in the first place). Has anyone else experienced this and has anyone successfully managed to regain a nice flat tummy?
    Thank you
    SSB

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    My problem is flabby arms, bingo wings and flabby inner thighs, if only you could tell the body where to lose fat. Depending on your age and the fact you were not massively overweight you might have to try exercise to tone the muscles, not much else can be done. Dont even think of a tummy tuck or I will direct you to my previous post about that and soon clear up that it is not a quick and easy fix.

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Thank you Sunshine girl – trust me – I would even dream of any kind of cosmetic surgery – I read your post about the tummy tuck – definitely not worth it!
    Yes, I’m guessing more abs work will be needed; I’m just frustrated that the rest of me is looking so much better but the tummy spoils it.
    SSB X

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    I could do with a face lift for my jowly jawline and baggy eyes – at least you can cover your tummy – I might have to wear a balacalava ***

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Aaaaaah Sunshinegirl, don’t be harsh to yourself!
    SSB xxx

  • posted by Harleysmum
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    Hi Sunshine girl… don’t think any of us were meant to have stomachs like mill ponds! I still have a bit of a puku (Maori word for tummy which I think sounds nicer!!) despite having lost 10.5kg!
    Celebrate your body with all of its curves & wobbles ……& I f all else fails… wear spanks!!

  • posted by SunnyB
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    For toning I would recommend Pilates, as it helps you to retrain your body, so that you benefit from good posture as well as toning muscles – especially the core muscles. I’m trying to get back to doing Pilates myself, as toning would certainly help.

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Thank you SunnyB, that’s a good idea. I did yoga for about 20 years but stopped when my teacher retired. I will look for a Pilates class.
    SSB

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    Harleysmum, its not me with the tummy it’s saltyseabird, i’m the one that needs a facelift ๐Ÿ™‚

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Bless! I’m sure you don’t!
    SSB

  • posted by Harleysmum
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    I’m the one with with the addled brain obviously….. I wouldn’t recommend Spanx for the face….and I’m sure your face is lovely anyway…. life without wrinkles is life never lived and never laughed ๐Ÿ˜‰

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    it’s not so much facial wrinkles but the turkey wattle neck that I cant seem to get rid of. I must do my face exercises every day but sometimes forget, could do them while I watch Lorraine in the morning. If anyone wants to know what they are please ask – they are from my Beverly Callard DVD Rapid Results. Personally at the age of 64 I don’t give a sh-t about my stomach, never was one for a bikini.

  • posted by CynthiaDuncan
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    Hello,
    Crunches, bicycle exercise, and Rolling Plank exercise helped me to reduce my belly fat. You can also try these kind of exercise.

  • posted by ddraig_goch
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    Hi Sunshine-girl, I’d love to know what your face exercises are please. Every time I look in the mirror I’m beginning to look more and more like my mother (not that my mother is horrible looking but you know what I mean).

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    Okay ddraig-goch, there are several and I must acknowledge I have stolen them from Beverly Callard’s exercise videa.

    Chin and neck – No.1 extend the neck forward with chin sticking out, drop lower jaw slowly up and down for 10. No.2, place bottom lip over top lip, put tongue on roof of mouth and push for 10, if you place your fingers under your chin you can feel the muscle tighten.
    Cheek muscle – place thumbs in mouth pushing out cheeks, pull and relax for 10.
    Under eye – place little fingers gently just under the eyes and look up without moving head, now try to close your eyes 10 times.
    Upper eye – place fingers on eyebrows so and push up so eyes are wide open now try to close eyes 10 times.
    Forehead – place all fingers along the hair line and push back, now try to lower eyebrows 10 times.

    Voila, you are done – try doing every day.

  • posted by K8sgettingthin
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    Thank you Sunshinge-girl. I am going to steal these too. Every time I see my sister she greets me with ‘Hello Mother’. My mum was a lovely person, but I don’t want to be her.

    just hope there are no hidden cameras around here…… do not wish to end up on ‘You’ve Ben Framed’!

  • posted by Jande9
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    I also have a stubborn gut. My subcutaneous fat over the rest of my body shrank a lot before my belly started to reduce, but it slowly went from a 36 to a 32 pant size. However, the skin is very loose so it looks bigger than it is.

    I am no expert but I don’t think exercise works to reduce fat in designated areas. I think genetics basically is more important.

    Jan

  • posted by SunnyB
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    We all carry weight differently and will find certain areas will shrink more rapidly than others. For me, almost at the end of my weight loss, the only area still carrying extra fat is my back – stomach, saddle bags, mid-drift and love handles have all transformed to an amazing degree, but my back is still carry that extra layer.

    We are all individual and I’m sure we will all find that we have different results. There is no right and wrong here, so we just need to accept our results as the positives that they are.

  • posted by Flick
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    We do all carry and lose weight differently – I’m in the middle of Week 5 (first round) and my feet are now almost skeletal, I seem to have knee bones, but my tummy and hips are still hanging in there.

    Sunshine-girl – I think the only answer for under my eyes would be injectable spakfilla ๐Ÿ˜‚. I’m just going to embrace the bags.

  • posted by shashank16997
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    They are many Yoga asanas and exercise that can reduce belly fat faster. Among them few of the asanas can be practiced by any healthy person. In any case, it is imperative to comprehend that so as to dispense with the paunch fat, it is important to concentrate on sustenance as this is as much as 70 percent of the outcome.

    If you want to reduce belly fat faster then you have to practice these Yoga asanas daily at your home.

    List Of The Yoga Asanas

    Bhujangasana
    Kumbhakasana
    Pavanamukthasana
    Dhanurasana
    Padahastasana
    Adho Mukha Svanasana

    for information check out the link given below
    http://www.crazyhealthplan.com/how-to-lose-belly-fat/

  • posted by JGwen
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    I have wondered if there is any research anywhere on how the body decides where to access fat from when you are burning your fat supplies as fuel? I know muscle building websites say that it isn’t possible to use exercise to target specific muscle /fat pockets, but then they will not on a long term low carb diet. Would it be sensible to assume that the body uses fat supplies closest to the muscles doing the work?

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Hi JGwen,
    This doesnโ€™t really answer your question but I have read elsewhere that it seems belly fat is the last to go (donโ€™t know why) so with patience and continuing low-carb will eventually result in a flatter belly but it takes time.
    SSB

  • posted by Squidge
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    My belly seems bigger now than it used to. I know it isn’t โ€“ the tapemeasure and my clothes both show that it’s smaller. I suspect it’s because I’ve lost comparitively more fat elsewhere, so what I do have is more noticebale (to me anyway.)

    I’ve been walking a lot and doing a few arm exercises each day and will keep on with that, but hate sit ups and that sort of thing. I could do them for a while, but know it would only be temporary. I need to find something I can stick to. Losing more weight might help. I’m within the healthy range, but at the top end.

  • posted by JGwen
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    Hi Squidge,
    I know how you feel about the belly fat. I could see that the tape measure was showing a difference, but my legs and arms changed before it seemed like any change started in my spare tyre. As you may have guessed by now, I have searched through a batch of articles to look for advice on tackling the spare tyre.

    It appears that advice is that you can’t use exercise to control which areas of fat the body is drawing on. – Also the bad news is that most peoples experience is the body chooses to loose fat from every where else before starting on the spare tyre. – However, exercise is helpful in strengthening muscle to improve the outline.

    I caught the tail end of an interesting tv program yesterday that I plan to sit down and watch on demand from the beginning. It was on S4C, in Welsh, but apparently you can select to watch with sub titles on demand. S4C’s Dim Ond Rhif, (Only a Number) … 3 June 2018. – The program followed a 63 year old grandmother who decided to train as a body builder and take part in a show. – They followed her training program, and also the training on posture to make the waist look smaller when she took to the stage in her bikini. (Much to the grandsons embarrassment. ) – I was quite taken by the similarities between her views on how life changing the process had been in terms of how she felt and the views of BSD’ers who reach maintenance.

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Hi Sauidge and JGwen,
    Iโ€™m still fighting with mine! I have lost over a stone and now have a BMI of 21.3 but my belly is STILL more than half my height. I am doing some intensive core training and it is gradually adding some definition but the belly is still there. I just hope that eventually it will go ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ
    SSB

  • posted by Squidge
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    That’s interesting JGwen โ€“ a better posture might help me look and feel a bit slimmer round the middle.

  • posted by JGwen
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    Squidgy, – I only caught the tail end of the program, but apparently its a 63 year old woman who was going in for her first Miss Universe style competition. She was eating low carb, and working out in the gym to create muscles but they also covered her having some sessions in front of mirrors learning how to walk onto the stage and how to take up the poses. She definitely looked lighter on her feet and slimmer when she was holding herself up tall and broad shouldered rather than slouching. – Time to get the books out to balance them on our heads.

    Hi Saltyseabird, I am down nearly 6 stone which takes me to what was my target weight, but there is clearly another couple of dress sizes around my waist and hips to go. – I am counting it as a plus that our bodies seem to leave the spare tyre to last, because if I had got down to my target dress size first I would have gone over to maintenance even though I wasn’t at my target weight. This way I get to aim for more weight loss as well. So far no loose skin, which is always a worry when it comes to spare tyres.

    Some of us speculated a while ago on the forums that our bodies hold on the longest to the fat we laid down first. We wondered if the theories about the body using fat to store toxins in was part of the reason. – The more toxins the harder it is to empty the fat cells.

    I think that our spare tyre is simply the largest area of fat to work on, so it will be taking a little fat from many more cells and replacing it with water for a while before the cells are empty of fat and can collapse than happens if for example the body was taking fat from an area of the arm.

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Hi JGwen,
    Yes – this. Also remember that body shape influences it too. Many years ago, Trinny and Suzanna (remember them!) said if you have a shorter body, then your intestines literally have less space and therefore you have a rounder tum. I have long legs -yey! but a short body so I donโ€™t think I will ever have a completely flat stomach. My sister has short legs (which she hates) but a long body and an amazingly flat tummy. Just a bit less โ€˜spare tyreโ€™ would do me.
    SSB

  • posted by Squidge
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    I’m short in the body too (actually I’m short everywhere except my hair!) and I’m a sloucher. I can do something about one of those issues.

    Shoulders back, chest out, stomaches in, girls!

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Logically, as our core muscles are the ones we use for upright posture., then standing and sitting straight will strengthen them. I have realised in the last year or so how much my posture has โ€˜sunkโ€™ so I am making a conscious effort to stand, sit and walk upright. Perhaps we should walk around the room with books on our heads a la finishing school ๐Ÿ˜‚
    SSB

  • posted by Squidge
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    I’m going to try sliding my glasses down my nose, so I have to hold my head up to see where I’m going!

    Do you mind if I brag for a moment? I’ve just tried on the dress I was wearing when I met my husband. I can get it on! It’s a little snug, but not in an ‘about to burst open’ way. It’s a classic shift dress with jacket, so I’ll be able to wear it again in a few inches time!

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Fantastic NSV – you should be very proud of yourself. โค๏ธ
    SSB

  • posted by Squidge
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    It does feel like a win โ€“ and has encouraged me to try just a little harder and lose a few more pounds. I’ve never been skinny, and don’t want to be, but slim is starting to feel like a possibility.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Hi, all! Just to add my two cents to this discussion about posture…I wasn’t able to do much walking during the
    first 9 months, but on the 10th month I added in walking 5-10 mi. day. Instead of leaning forward to propel me,
    I concentrated on keeping my head up, shoulders back, and took full strides, instead of short steps. It did a lot to
    help me strengthen my core and abdominal muscles which contribute to good posture, and eventually led to an
    ability to do planks, which I never even thought of as a possibility before. Anything is possible!

    Allie

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Hi Allie, definitely – I am already feeling the difference too. Also, I guess it gradually becomes habit so weโ€™re much more aware of when we do slouch.
    I think my belly might be looking a bit better – but that might be wishful thinking!
    SSB

  • posted by Squidge
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    Thanks, Allie. That’s encouraging. I already walk quite a lot โ€“ a habit I’ve got into since starting the BSD, so perhaps I can get into the habit of doing it with my head up and shoulders back.

    I’m working on sitting up straight and holding in my stomach when at my desk. I do keep forgetting, but even doing it for some of the time should help a bit.

    SaltySeabird โ€“ if you can feel and think you see a difference, that sounds like an improvement to me.

  • posted by JGwen
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    I really noticed the difference in the way this woman looked when she held herself tall and broaden her shoulders. She seemed to flow with confidence when she took up that posture in comparison to standing with rounded shoulders.

  • posted by Squidge
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    I’ve been trying to remember my posture when walking, and also doing a few ‘standing planks’ (basically holding my belly in as tightly as possible for a minute). I’ve also lost a couple more pounds. My tummy is still there and still squidgy, but it’s definitely smaller!

    I reckon I’ve gone from ‘oh when is the baby due?’ to ‘you’re doing well losing the baby weight’!

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Quick and happy update – belly measure now under half my height! Yey! 2โ€ off and looking (almost) good!
    Also lost 2โ€ off my bust (boo!) so my bra is baggy – not so good but a price worth paying.
    Have a great day peeps.
    SSB

  • posted by caronl
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    Congratulations SaltySeaBird! Time for a lingerie treat??

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Thank you Caronl – definitely. I have also bought myself a fabulous bikini ๐Ÿ‘™!
    SSB

  • posted by alliecat
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    I love the sound of that, SSB! I think my bikini days are behind me, though. I think that this WOE is so efficient
    at burning fat, that I’m now “frontally challenged” too! I’ve gone from a C cup bra to a AA. I look like I’m about
    12 years old! Really nice not to have hips or a bum, though ๐Ÿ™‚ I agree with Caron…Have fun with beautiful
    lingerie!!

    Allie

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Thank you Allie – I will!
    Yes, itโ€™s really nice not to want to avert my eyes when I look in the mirror! I have only dropped from 32 DD to 31 D so not too much but still needing smaller bras. I thought at 55 my bikini days were over too – I bought tankinis in the spring but now Iโ€™m very happy in my bikini.
    SSB

  • posted by alliecat
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    I’m sure you look gorgeous (voluptuous, too!) So very happy for you, and glad that you shared your news!
    Getting the waist measurement under half our height is fantastic. I know how great you must feel, because
    I’ve accomplished it too. Carry On! Life awaits ๐Ÿ™‚ !!!

    Allie

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Definitely Allie, I had got my weight and BMI right but the waist size was still too big so Iโ€™m really pleased to have got here – itโ€™s a great feeling isnโ€™t it. I live in southern Spain so the bikini is getting plenty of wear!
    SSB

  • posted by Squidge
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    Well done, SSB!

    My boobs are a bit smaller now, but only in proportion to the rest of me. I bought a bikini too โ€“ not had much opportunity to wear it yet though.

  • posted by alliecat
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    CREATE the opportunity, Squidge!!! I haven’t seen you out and about in recent days, so I’m very happy to see
    that you’re still with us ๐Ÿ™‚ I envy all of you youngsters!

    Allie

  • posted by WoodDuckie
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    Hello Allie! and BDS’ers! I seem to have stabilised my sugars at 6-7 every morning and have steered clear of any other readings for around a week now. Beginning to think the posting here re cortisol and stress could well be a factor in my journey ๐Ÿ™‚ IM NOT COMPLAINING . . . Life is AMAZING for me right now. (Same as MANY!!) – equally . . .(same as many) – I (still) live alone . . . (been over 40 years now ๐Ÿ™‚ nothing new there!) so whatever goes on is MY job to do ๐Ÿ™‚ I LOVE BEING BUSY, involved and challenged. And I really dont mind being in charge of what needs to be done BUT!!!!! seems as Im getting older . . . sometimes there doesnt seem to be enough hours in the day for one to do it all! Cooking, prep, washing up and planning . . . thats DAILY as with laundry, tidying, cleaning house and me! Then . . . bills – three BIG ones this month which have stretched my budget even though they were well allowed for!, organise to have the car mechanically checked for annual registration . . . chase up the supermarket for compensation from when a trolley damaged my car a month ago – (not much, but NUISANCE VALUE ISSUES!!) – (and man’o’man I just noticed how much it needs a vacuum and wash!!!), check out route, accommodation and plan the 2-3 week trip to visit a long-time travelling companion and very close friend in care 8-9 hours drive away – (choosing to do this in 4 weeks time during school holidays so I dont miss helping with grand-daughters ๐Ÿ™‚ !) – . . . concern for close friends and closer family members going through tough times right now, lawnmowing man quitting and needing to find another I can afford . . . culling the wardrobe so in amongst whats left I can FIND something that fits me! My promised knitting project which I havent yet finished – (two week job which should have been one week!) – Oh and add in the rigmarole to get my passport renewed which has seen THREE trips to an office and STILL need to go back to finalise the application!!! The next (repeat and refining) 8 weeks on BSD will include MORE BSL tests, as they will need to be presented to the Endocrinologist mid October so I cannot slacken off – not even for a day until I have seen him and shown what can be done to remedy my BSL’s . . . but if cortisol is playing a ROLE IN THIS!!! I certainly need to find TIME to de-stress. And WOW!!!! . . . .as I have been writing . . I think Ive just discovered WHY when I go to my commitment at younger sons place . . . my BSL DROPS!!!!! The tried and tested timetable/routine is . . . I just STAY OUT OF THE WAY, and fold the small laundry, do any mending needed . . . knit, watch TV, have someone make me a coffee – and they take care of whatever needs doing! THANK YOU for this clue to what might be adding to my readings . . . even though Im way way down on carb intake! and small meals ๐Ÿ™‚

  • posted by SaltySeaBird
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    Thank you Squidge, I now live in Spain so plenty of opportunities to wear my bikini! I swim every day – up to 150 lengths of a 10m pool and I am sure that has contributed to the loss of belly fat.
    Alliecat is right, create opportunities to wear what Mamรฉs you feel great!
    SSB

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