Tummy fat (new): dairy or age or something else?

[LittleMissEngineer]

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but it is vanity rather than anything else...

I have recently (past few months) developed some tummy fat. This is unusual for me: I normally put it on my bottom or thighs

I am 45, 5’4”, 9st 2lbs. Normally fairly happy with my figure/weight. I have always been happy in a bikini because my toned stomach was one of my good features... Not feeling that at the moment

I work out 4/5 times a week including challenging abs: it isn’t just “loose muscle tone”. My diet is good; Hugh in fruit and veg and lean protein, relatively low carb, very low in processed food, low sugar, no sweet drinks, low alcohol, low bad fats.

The only change recently (past few months) is going back to dairy. I used to be very little (mostly unsweetened oat/almond milk). However I wear fixed braces with clear brackets and worked out that non-dairy in my coffee was more “staining” than dairy: so swapped back to dairy...

Could it be the increase in dairy? Age/hormones? Something else?

Any suggestions/tips? I am going to try going back to non-dairy for a start.

Thanks

[WhiskyTangoFoxtrot]

Sorry to start off with such a doom-laden response, but you bpneed to see your GP and get the blood test CA125 carried out (probably with other blood tests alongside). You may need tea referra for a scan too.

Especially if you are also have lower back or tummy pain, feel full quickly when eating, or have change in urinary or bowel habits

[LittleMissEngineer]

Hi.

Thanks. Nope, incredibly unlikely: I had a gynae scan in April this year (infra-menstrual bleeding - well brown mucus, rather than blood): my ovaries were checked then. I do/ did have a 2.5cm ovarian cyst at the time (which may or may not effect my waistline).

Don’t feel “bloated”. No back/tummy pain. No quick fullness. Vowels absolutely normal and healthy.

Problems with silent UTIs though (am aware it is an issue after a hospitalisation for a severe kidney infection last year): I have just finished a 7 day course of antibiotics for a silent UTI.

[teta]

I think it's far more likely to be the periimenopause . Hormones encourage a more apple shape and fat deposition changes from hips to the stomach. It's very annoying !
The only thing you can do is go to the doctor if you're having another symptoms or just be aware you need to be super careful with your diet .

[shinynewapple]

If you have any health concerns at all then please go to your GP.

However it is very likely to be age related. In my 20's /30's I was very much a pear shape, completely flat stomach. Slightly saggier stomach area after having DS late 30's and into my 40's. Now in my 50's and my stomach is huge, my body shape has completely changed. Now unlike you my diet isn't brilliant and I don't do any kind of toning exercises but even so my body is completely different shape.

I hate it but not enough to tackle the diet and exercise

[LittleMissEngineer]

Thanks. I will try cutting dairy again and see if that helps, but sounds like it could just be age/hormones 😱

No health concerns at the moment, but I will DEFINITELY keep an active watch..

Shineynewapple. Similar. Had DS in my mid-30s, but regained flat, toned stomach fairly quickly afterwards (albeit a little softer and wibblier - mostly as I sat down and flat standing). But now at 45....

The annoying thing is that I DO eat well and work out. Think it is true that you can “get away with the occasional treat” at 20/30/40, but then suddenly even that you can’t get away with .

Will see how reduced dairy goes, but don’t like this getting old/hormone thing

[XingMing]

Sorry to be the bad news bear, but with a couple of posters above, I think it's possibly your body going into peri-meno mode. It absolutely doesn't mean you have to roll over and gain volume, but you may need to increase the weights or the reps/cardio and watch what you eat. But an ounce off your arse or tum now may take a lb from your face, and that is really ageing. Ageing gracefully is a tricky balance, but eventually we all fall short of the airbrushed perfection we aspire to. And I still hate it, but at 62, I have to concede that there is only so much you can do and have a life too.

[LittleMissEngineer]

Thanks XingMing

Definitely never going for “airbrushed perfection” here . But have been going for “looking healthy and reasonably attractive” (for my own self esteem - yes, I know, probably shouldn’t vase self-esteem on looks, BUT....).

Will look for ways to improve exercise and

[LittleMissEngineer]

... eating.

I know what you mean about “loosing weight from face being ageing”. My face is still pretty youthful (don’t really look 45). I wouldn’t want to loose much, just try my best to maintain a less apple shape...

[XingMing]

We all do it @MissEngineer, no matter how loud our inner feminist yells that men don't suffer the same vanity-driven insecurity, except I think/know that many men do.

But male performance driven insecurities seem to be based mostly on their ongoing sexual appetites; when they start to fall short of what they once deemed normal levels, they suffer huge loss of self-esteem. DH post MCI, several rounds of heart surgery and a pacemaker beats himself up psychologically that he is no longer "man" enough.

[LittleMissEngineer]

Thanks XingMing. I know that you are right. Your poor DH: sounds like he is doing amazingly well (MCI and various heart surgeries) - it is sad that he is so hard on himself.

[JMAngel1]

Does sound like peri-menopause - oestrogen dominance can increase belly fat so definitely cut out dairy as it increases oestrogen dominance as it contains exogenous oestrogens. I take DIM supplement to reduce oestrogen dominance and my tummy is back to my usual shape. It's also helped with hot flushes, acne and anxiety.

[Yay4may]

What is a DIM supplement?

[JMAngel1]

It's a supplement which is essentially concentrated cruciferous vegetables like brocolli. It contains an enzyme which helps to reduce "bad" oestrogen metabolites from the body and helps to balance the ratio between oestrogen and progesterone. If you google oestrogen dominance, you can see if you would benefit from it.

[fotheringhay]

Please come back and tell us if avoiding dairy again sorts it out, I'd love to know!

I'm 43 and been in perimenopause for 3 years, that hasn't affected the size of my tummy, but over time I've found I need to go low carb to keep it flat. I should say flat-ish. On a good day

[LittleMissEngineer]

Thanks very much.

I have ordered the DIM supplement: always in to try something.

Will restock on dairy alternative today and report back in a few weeks. Timeline of the dairy seems to fit (with what I have noticed about my tummy), but I don’t have a lot of milk.

[LittleMissEngineer]

I am not hugely premenopausal otherwise either: a bit moody sometimes (but I blame that in the husband and the 9 year old son ) and the inter-menstrual bleeding, but otherwise...

[LittleMissEngineer]

I do otherwise “low carb” - that is one of the annoying things: would hope that it would help a lot. However, must admit that I do feel healthier low carbing.

[NowYouListenToMeFella]

Might be completely barking up the wrong tree but are you eating sugar free mints by any chance? I see you have braces, I do too and switched to mints instead of chewing gum. They were not good on the stomach front. Stopped eating them about two weeks ago and I can see a big difference.

[LittleMissEngineer]

Sorry, wrong tree . Shame, that sounds like an easy fix - glad that worked for you

I will have a good think. Can’t think of anything like that in my diet....

[NowYouListenToMeFella]

Feck. Thought I'd say it just in case. Hope you manage to figure it out

[LittleMissEngineer]

Thank you. Definitely was appreciated

[shinynewapple]

Just thinking if you are dropping dairy make sure you get enough calcium as osteoporosis becomes more of a risk as you head into peri/menopause.

[LittleMissEngineer]

Hhhmmm, looks like I might be allergic to DIM: have been taking it fir 3 days with increasingly worse hives.... (covered in them from neck to knees).

Will stop taking it and see if the hives retreat (am taking Piriton now too).

[GenerationPolaroid]

I also think it might be age related.
As I approach my 50s, I am having trouble with my stomach which has always been totally flat, despite always having a hefty bum, hips and thighs (typical pear). Not only that, but my belly seems to bloat massively after most meals, I would easily pass for a woman who's about to give birth. I don't even know what to eat anymore.

[PollyPelargonium52]

I am 55 and since my periods stopped in January my already protruding stomach seems worse to me now.

Going to start a Slimfast diet in a week's time to shed some excess flab I hope!