Will my belly ever disappear?

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  • posted by Toomuchbelly
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    Hi all

    I just started the BSD 800 on Monday 30 January. I have 3 kids and had gestational diabetes with each. The last was the worst and didn’t completely go away after. My belly didn’t go away either. People often think I am pregnant it’s really depressing.

    I actually started doing the 5:2 about 2 years ago (but eating about 800 on fast days) and initially lost 4kg but my weight has been flactuating up and down since then (not going above where I started though). My blood sugar levels have also improved. My belly on the other hand has stubbornly stuck around.

    Would appreciate to hear any ‘lost my belly stories’ especially from women (hubby lost 15kgs on 5:2 and has kept it off). So far not having any problems with sticking to the diet…

  • posted by BarrelOnLegs
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    Yes it will disappear, way faster than you could ever dream possible.
    I too looked pregnant well after my 3 boys were at school!
    Nothing moved that belly fat!
    Then my mum bought me the bsd book and because of my diabetes it all made sense and just clicked.
    I lost 20kg in 3 months. It fell off my tummy. I had to buy a belt, then smaller jeans, then an even smaller belt, then smaller jeans again!
    I went from a size 18 jeans to size 12.
    Have stopped bsd for awhile but now it is time for me to give it another go and lose the last bit of weight I am carrying.
    Good luck with your bsd journey. Remember to measure your waist at the beginning. I really wish I had as the results were so amazing.

  • posted by Californiagirl
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    Oh my gosh Toomuchbelly!! Yes yes yes!! Your belly is going to be a quaint piece of mental history in just a short time. I lost almost a foot of waist — 12 inches of gosh-knows-where-it-sat — over about four months of BSD’ing. It was my biggest, best, most exciting loss of the whole thing and it was absolutely motivating to watch it disappear. I never weighed because I hate scales and feel abused by them so I used a measuring tape from start to finish.
    Two strong recommendations — first, cut the alcohol and carbs as much as you can (I like wine with dinner but that is a limited thing now) and be sure to do some high energy workouts (HIT) — those two things, plus more or less following the guidelines (I was notoriously poor at this) did the trick!!
    I’m sixty-one so age is no excuse!! You are going to amaze yourself.

  • posted by Toomuchbelly
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    Thanks ladies that sounds so promising. I am not big anywhere else. I am size 12-14 but I look pregnant. People get up for me on public transport thinking I am pregnant all the time. It is really embarrassing always saying it is ok I am not pregnant. I do want to loose at least 10 kg though as I am 7.5 kgs overweight. I weighed myself this morning though and I have lost 1.8kg in 4 days! Absolutely amazing!

    I didn’t measure my waistline probably should have but I will know by pants waistline as size 12 pants do not fit. I usually buy size14 and have to tailor in the hips.

    My fitness pal says I am eating about 60 grams of carbohydrates on average since I started BSD. Is that good? Alcohol is not a problem but I do love milky coffee. Have changed to one strong cappuccino per day and the rest are macchiato (the original version just an expresso shot with a tablespoon of frothy milk).

    Yes need to exercise just hard to find time with kids and work.

    Thanks again ladies for your encouragement.

  • posted by Mixnmatch
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    The usual reckoning is 50g or less, but if you are losing weight on 60g then you can stick to that. If your weightloss stalls then you can reduce it some more if you want to.

  • posted by Californiagirl
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    Yeah, watch your weight and body response — I went to 20 carbs/day for at least 8 weeks and it definitely pulled the belly fat. Sounds like you are on track for good results!! I recommend watching your own body — some folk are more insulin resistant — you can play with it and see how it goes. I lost belly fastest on lowest carb and highest exercise.

  • posted by LindaA
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    Hi Toomuchbelly
    I went from a size 16 pants to a size 8 and I’ve never had as flat a tummy as I have now. I’ve been maintaining since October last year after losing 32kg and have kept it off since by not increasing my carbs, only my fat. I still look twice when I look in the mirror!
    Try cream in your coffee instead of carbs, there’s less carbs in cream and it really is all about the carbs.
    Cheers
    Linda

  • posted by JulesMaigret
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    I’ve lost a good slab of weight but the belly fat really seemed to start to go when I started doing some body weight and resistance exercises, crunches, planks etc, as in the book. Nothing extreme – about ten-fifteen minutes three times a week. I’ve lost a bit over nine inches off my waist, from nearly 50 to forty inches. Aiming to get to 36!

  • posted by Toomuchbelly
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    Those are really fantastic results ladies amazing. My problem is that I love carbs. I could go without them for a while but not forever honestly. I will try to focus for now on loosing the weight by sticking to the diet for 8 weeks. If it doesn’t work then I will seriously think about a tummy tuck 😁.

    I also hate strength exercise. Don’t mind cardio and I did HIT on an exercise bike for a few weeks and my tummy was smaller but then I got busy at work and forgot about it and tummy grew back. Yes will have to get back into it. I have tried coffee with cream Linda and I do like it but I can’t give up my one cappuccino per day. I really enjoy it now that I have cut down to one. I love fruit as well and tomatoes. That’s basically where all my carbs in the 800 calories come from. Hopefully weight loss will continue if it doesn’t I will regroup. Look forward to catching up with you all along the journey…

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    Toomuchbelly, a word about a tummy tuck, sounds so simple and neat, tummy tuck. Think again. About 6 years ago my daughter decided she wanted rid of the flabby belly 2 large babies had given her and she weighed in at about 12 stone (5’5″), she had a private doctor (actually a worlds best, I can give you details if you want to google her) and was told she had to lose 3 stone before they would do the op 6 months later, so you still have the lose weight. She went on such awful diets to get rid of the weight and in the end they gave her super strength fat busters (you can buy them in chemists but not as strong) and she spent the next 5 months on the toilet, afraid to go out because, even if she didn’t poop herself she constantly had orange oil seeping out of her. When she finally got to 9 stone they agreed to do the surgery but she also had to have lipo, no point just cutting out fat if the remained fat cells are expanded, they would quickly fill up with fat again.

    I went to England to be with her when she had it done and it was the most horrific thing I have seen, and I used to be a nurse. They cut her just below her caesarean line from hip to hip, removed her belly button and cut about 6 inches above the first cut from side to side. In total they took away about 22″ long x 6″ wide. They then stretched to 2 wound edges so they met and stitched it just about the pubes line, where her original caesarean scar had been but this scar went further round, right past the hip bone. She spent the next 4 weeks having the wound cleaned and dressed (by me) and daily coagulating injections (again by me but the nurse taught her to do it herself, but she couldn’t do it). She couldn’t have the children near her in case they touched her scar, she couldn’t do anything like fill a kettle in case she pulled the stitches, she couldn’t drive for 6 weeks. She cried every day saying she wished she hadn’t had it done and had a total of 3 weeks off work but it should have been longer and had to be driven (by me) to work and home every day. The pain and convalescence lasted 6 weeks. Can I just say here, this was normal, not a botched job, this is how it is done.

    Two major things, they tidied up her original caesarean scar and they also stitched up muscles inside that had been damaged by pregnancy, oh and she got a new belly button. So they were the benefits and yes she now has a lovely flat stomach. Would she have it done again, she says yes but at least she would know what she was letting herself in for. It cost £7,500, including the lipo. So not exactly an easy fix after all.

    Sorry for going on but just though you should know.

  • posted by Toomuchbelly
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    I know what you mean sunshine Girl tummy tuck is not the easy way out hence why I am here and am aiming to try my best.

    California girl what do you mean by ‘follow the guidelines’? I read the book and the guidelines are not strict or all that prescriptive?

    I am using My Fitness pal and it’s now clear to me that I was not eating only 500 calories on the 5:2. Hence why I was probably not loosing weight. I was probably eating 800-1000 (mostly vegetables and protein but still). I definitely intend to stick to no more than 850 per day and have been this week. I actually tried to Every other day diet and lost 5 kg on that too (belly still there though) but again could not move the last 2.5kg. I will try to be strict on the calories and reduce carbs as much as I can. Thanks again for the tips all.

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