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Original poster

Has anyone ever properly got rid of tummy fat in their 40s? Please share tips!

149 replies

JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 23/02/2024 18:58

I am not overweight by most people's standards- my BMI is around 23 atm, I eat "clean" and don't drink much, and go to gym around 3-4 times a week plus yoga most days at home. I lift weights and do core work and whilst not an athlete, I am fairly strong, with defined upper body, good posture and muscly legs.

But I have a bit of a wobbly tummy! It's not dreadful but visible when I am naked.

It's like this one bit of me didn't get the memo. Is anyone else like this? I have been wondering about introducing period fasts..... any tips from anyone??

OP posts:
Original poster
JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 23/02/2024 19:00

*periodic not period! Sheesh

OP posts:
Aria999 · 23/02/2024 19:03

I sympathize! BMI of 22.5, I look ok but can't lose the little wobbly c section overhang bit.

Am considering tummy tuck but it feels a bit vain!

pastypirate · 23/02/2024 19:05

Joining! It's my fault I got addicted to iced coffee with shed loads of sugar.

Interested in this thread?

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Exercise & fitness Fitness
Original poster
JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 23/02/2024 19:16

@Aria999 yes that!! 10 years ago I would never even remotely considered it but now I sometimes think hmmmm.

I don't eat much processed food but trying to have zero UPF for Lent to see if that helps. So far not 😒

OP posts:
5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:20

You need to burn more than you eat and in your 40s you need to exercise longer and harder than when you were younger.

Eat nothing after 8pm

Cut out crisps, choc, biscuits, snacks etc. 95% of it is what you eat.

Eat lean meat and stick to three meals a day, not big portions.

Supplement with a protein shake if you're hungry.

Bodies are made in the kitchen, toned in the gym.

You are what you eat.

I'm 39, male, ripped and do 20mins intense exercise a day but I'm very careful with food. You just need consistency and it will come.

sparkle17 · 23/02/2024 19:24

I have a bmi of 19 and still have my tummy fat/ c section overhang.
I'm trying to work on my posture as well to help.

I feel like I will have to be too lean everywhere in order to get rid of the tummy fat.

Itsmychristmasdress · 23/02/2024 19:26

5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:20

You need to burn more than you eat and in your 40s you need to exercise longer and harder than when you were younger.

Eat nothing after 8pm

Cut out crisps, choc, biscuits, snacks etc. 95% of it is what you eat.

Eat lean meat and stick to three meals a day, not big portions.

Supplement with a protein shake if you're hungry.

Bodies are made in the kitchen, toned in the gym.

You are what you eat.

I'm 39, male, ripped and do 20mins intense exercise a day but I'm very careful with food. You just need consistency and it will come.

Have you had a c section though?

Pippitty · 23/02/2024 19:27

Itsmychristmasdress · 23/02/2024 19:26

Have you had a c section though?

Show quote history

😆😆😆

bumbledeedum · 23/02/2024 19:28

5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:20

You need to burn more than you eat and in your 40s you need to exercise longer and harder than when you were younger.

Eat nothing after 8pm

Cut out crisps, choc, biscuits, snacks etc. 95% of it is what you eat.

Eat lean meat and stick to three meals a day, not big portions.

Supplement with a protein shake if you're hungry.

Bodies are made in the kitchen, toned in the gym.

You are what you eat.

I'm 39, male, ripped and do 20mins intense exercise a day but I'm very careful with food. You just need consistency and it will come.

🙄🙄🙄

Itsmychristmasdress · 23/02/2024 19:29

5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:20

You need to burn more than you eat and in your 40s you need to exercise longer and harder than when you were younger.

Eat nothing after 8pm

Cut out crisps, choc, biscuits, snacks etc. 95% of it is what you eat.

Eat lean meat and stick to three meals a day, not big portions.

Supplement with a protein shake if you're hungry.

Bodies are made in the kitchen, toned in the gym.

You are what you eat.

I'm 39, male, ripped and do 20mins intense exercise a day but I'm very careful with food. You just need consistency and it will come.

How big were the babies you birthed? Do you have distastis recti? Has your skin stretched significantly to house those babies?

Your body is not the same as mine.

thenightsky · 23/02/2024 19:31

5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:20

You need to burn more than you eat and in your 40s you need to exercise longer and harder than when you were younger.

Eat nothing after 8pm

Cut out crisps, choc, biscuits, snacks etc. 95% of it is what you eat.

Eat lean meat and stick to three meals a day, not big portions.

Supplement with a protein shake if you're hungry.

Bodies are made in the kitchen, toned in the gym.

You are what you eat.

I'm 39, male, ripped and do 20mins intense exercise a day but I'm very careful with food. You just need consistency and it will come.

How big were your babies and did you carry them all out front, giving you horrendous stretch marks and stretched belly?

soupycustard · 23/02/2024 19:31

Placemarking to find out tips! I'm slim, eat well and exercise, aswell as generally knowing a lot about health, but post caesarian I've been wobbly + Menopause means I'm now getting a 'fat back too' 🤣.

DewinDwl · 23/02/2024 19:31

I used to be bmi of 22. I went through a rough patch of mental health and was given antidepressants which gave me brutal nausea for a week and then removed any sensation of hunger for about a month. I would have to remind myself to eat and would go through the motions for a few mouthfuls but couldn't eat much - the medication made food feel alien, weird and unnatural. I lost a couple of stone in a few weeks. My bmi was between 19 and 20 - you could count my ribs and see my hip bones through my clothes but I still had a bit of a tummy. I was early 40s then, three pregnancies behind me. My tummy used to be completely flat or concave before the kids.

XpelairHamPortal · 23/02/2024 19:32

Also following for tips. I'm in the same position - BMI is 21.5 so I don't particularly want (or need) to lose any weight, eat healthily (minimal UPFs, fresh fruit and veg etc etc) but over the last couple of years my stomach is a disaster zone (two c sections have contributed...)

With respect to @5thCommandment and his tips, hormones have a lot to answer for and what works for a 39 year old male is not necessarily going to work for a likely peri-menopasual woman who's stomach has been stretched and deflated through pregnancy and in some cases endured major abdominal surgery with associated muscle trauma.

I'm very interested to hear what's worked for women in a similar position.

RoadToPlants · 23/02/2024 19:32

Love it when the mens come on here to mansplain to us lowly women about how we’re all doing it wrong 🙄

5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:35

A few harsh responses - the op said nothing about C sections or having babies it just says tummy fat, geez. All I'm saying is it's about what you eat, takes discipline and consistency, it's hard. But it can be done and you can do it!

Slanketblanket · 23/02/2024 19:35

Honestly I ate into it. I look far better with a slightly higher but healthy BMI as my tummy then looks proportional. When my BMI was low the saggy skin left over from a very stretched pregnancy belly looked much worse.

SausageAndEggSandwich · 23/02/2024 19:36

@5thCommandment women are not small men. HTH

🙄🙄🙄

shonapop · 23/02/2024 19:36

I have been fasting for just over 2 years. It's been the best method I've ever found for great health, mental & physical and slow, steady weight loss whilst maintaining muscle. I now have a normal bmi, BUT my belly still remains, albeit smaller. I have faith that it will go, but it will be the very last thing, no doubt!
Honestly, though, even if I never lost another pound or the belly, I would still fast every day as it's magical ✨️

Dominoeffecter · 23/02/2024 19:38

5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:20

You need to burn more than you eat and in your 40s you need to exercise longer and harder than when you were younger.

Eat nothing after 8pm

Cut out crisps, choc, biscuits, snacks etc. 95% of it is what you eat.

Eat lean meat and stick to three meals a day, not big portions.

Supplement with a protein shake if you're hungry.

Bodies are made in the kitchen, toned in the gym.

You are what you eat.

I'm 39, male, ripped and do 20mins intense exercise a day but I'm very careful with food. You just need consistency and it will come.

Men and womens bodies are different

xSideshowAuntSallyx · 23/02/2024 19:39

Following with interest.

was fine up until last year, then I literally woke up one morning and my waist had gone. I've always had a waist no matter how fat I was. Peri-menopause and hormones have played havoc.

I've got my waist back through lots of gym sessions, Russian twists and circuits but my god the tummy fat is ridiculously stubborn.

I look okay in my gym kit, bizarrely.

Renamed · 23/02/2024 19:41

5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:35

A few harsh responses - the op said nothing about C sections or having babies it just says tummy fat, geez. All I'm saying is it's about what you eat, takes discipline and consistency, it's hard. But it can be done and you can do it!

I’m very interested. Come back when you’re 45 and tell us all about it.

BristolBorn · 23/02/2024 19:43

Getting down to pretty much the bottom of my BMI, yoga, giving up alcohol and sugar did it for me.

Puddlelane123 · 23/02/2024 19:44

@shonapop would you mind sharing a bit about your fasting regime and what makes you such a convert? I’m tempted to give it a try!

GrumpyPanda · 23/02/2024 19:44

5thCommandment · 23/02/2024 19:35

A few harsh responses - the op said nothing about C sections or having babies it just says tummy fat, geez. All I'm saying is it's about what you eat, takes discipline and consistency, it's hard. But it can be done and you can do it!

"it just says tummy fat" 😂😂😂

Yes, and the role of fat in body composition is one of the main differences between the sexes, genius.