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

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

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??

If you get chance can you share what you do? Interested. Thank you.

I eat whatever I fancy in my eating window. I never count. The types of food I crave have naturally become healthier, though but I still have plenty of puddings!

When I had anorexia and was at my lowest weight, I still had a bit of a podgy tum. I think maybe I just have quite thick skin. Is that a thing? I doubt it but it makes me feel better!

@hollyandivyknickers I don't want to only do walking and yoga though! I don't see exercise as being for weight loss so much as for strength. I am really proud of being able to hold a handstand for a minute and deadlift and all the other things. I don't want to lose muscle.

I agree with this- even at my slimmest, before I had children, when I was working out and eating very little I always had a bit of a tummy, I think I'd have to be underweight for it to be gone completely.
I think weight lifting is meant to be the best thing though.

Good holy god, 6am in the gym? If with all that, you can't get a flat stomach there is genuinely NO HOPE for me 😂

I came on the thread thinking, maybe there's something I can do, but you've left me quite content with my lot. Pass the ice cream...

Did you manage to get ripped while in perimenopause? Just curious

That's not a lot of protein if you're doing that much exercise, and not a lot of calories either... I'd recommend the book Next Level by Stacy Sims, about fuelling for proper exercise in peri/menopause.

If you're stressing your body too much you'll push your cortisol levels up and tend to gain stomach fat

Sorry I know you’re all rolling eyes at 5thCommandment but what he says is for the most part and to my untrained mind (I’m not a personal trainer) true. I have 4 kids and had the wobbly middle, I started in a hugely physical job, stopped eating after eight, had fruit when I felt like bread, cereal and fizzy drinks (my addictions) and started drinking a lot of water and did Joe wicks every day and I had my perfect body-lost a stone and a half, love handles gone, tummy looked neither pregnant nor wobbly for first time in years! Kept it up for over a year/ year and a half then fell off the wagon as had long Covid and chest pains so exercised less and comfort ate more (which I needed to be fair, I’ve no regrets!)

Sorry I just read op updates, you’re way ahead of me on nutrition and exercise information, that’s what worked for me, was probably because I was moving from eating tons of crap, which you don’t!

I weighed 5 and a half stone, worked out with weights for 90minutes a day, ran at least 4 miles a day, swam a mile a day and went to 4 hour long cardio classes and a circuit training class a week. I could hang from the wall bars by my feet and fold up till I was lying flat against my thighs and do it the other way, too. So hanging by my arms and raising my legs to vertical. My abs were like steel. I was deeply anorexic into the bargain.

I still had a squashy layer over my stomach. I hated it so much, I almost actually died!
I think it's just part of female body make up and we mostly need to accept that we can't get a stomach like a man's, especially if we've had kids.

All of this.

I think perimenopausal women who've had c-sections will never fully get rid of their tums. Better to just come to terms with it imo.

I have a BMI of 20.6, I exercise and don't eat ridiculous amounts. Still have tummy fat. I've also just been ill with a virus for 3wks, hardly ate anything and still have the tummy!

So you see. Genetics has to play a part because. Op seems to do everything textbook "right" and yet still has a wobbly belly. Yet you don't. It can't be a one size fits all approach.
We carry weight differently. Bodies are shaped differently, genetics plays a part. There are too many factors for it to be a one size fits all approach.

I swam regularly (2-3 miles twice a week) as a child / young teenager and maintained a typical swimmer's body (broad shoulder, small waist and strong legs) for over 20 years despite not doing any exercise and having a 2 kids. When my tummy started thickening when middle age hit, I tried different forms of exercise (gym, Ashtanga yoga, tennis) to rein it in to no avail. It is only when I went back to the pool (half a mile 2-3 times a week) that the waist started shrinking. I wonder if it will work for someone who didn't do it as a youngster but it certainly did the trick for me. That said, my shoulders are broader than ever so that's the trade off!

I think perimenopausal women who've had c-sections will never fully get rid of their tums.

Interesting but I think you are mixing several issues.

My section scar is below my bikini line and is flat. My belly fat is a round disc under my belly button -nowhere near my c-section scar. My belly is not wobbly, I have no stretch marks or muscle damage from my pregnancies. It's just a layer of fat. I have pretty toned abs - under the fat.

I agree that changes in hormones can influence weight gain, fat distribution and muscle tone though.

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff i did say try for two weeks ! You won’t lose all your muscle in that time.

eat less, sleep more, drink more water. Don’t eat UFPs at all. See how it goes.

Itsmychristmasdress
Very likely true. I’m too quick to jump on and share what worked to help someone who might not have thought of what I did, I should rtft properly first!

OP, is it actually fat though, or do you have diastasis recti and loose stretched skin? If it's the latter, all the excercise in the world isn't going to flatten it. You would need a tummy tuck.

Why is fasting magical? Genuine question. How do you fast?

PS Besides loving swimming as a kid, I was also a proper carnivore, ate lots of red meat and very little carb, specially starchy carb. I eat more carb now but still I'd say most of my calories intake comes from meat. 26" waist, no belly fat.

Yes check for diastasis recti if you haven't already.

My tummy was really appalling before I cleared that up (now it's just mildly annoying).

I think there are 2 separate issues here.

1. losing weight generally can indeed help, and people have given tips for general weight loss (to some extent if the tummy is where you gain weight it's also where you lose it)

2. there is definitely a specific tummy issue in some women who are otherwise fit, toned, and a healthy weight.

I think (2) is mostly what you are asking about?

You definitely don't want to lose muscle as you have said
If you are otherwise happy with your physique and look good in clothes, I'd try to make peace with it tbh
It's just where you carry weight

I'm about 22 % body fat, BMI 20 and visible upper abs but still have fat around lower abs. I know it goes if I get to about 18.5-19 BMI but I feel good and think I look good in gym kit and I like the training and muscle growth.

I eat clean, to a point that would probably be seen as an ED by some on MN, and high proten

I would check out Melissa Neill on YouTube who talks about this EXACT issue and was able to lose her tummy fat. We have to recognize our hormones and our age are starting to make what we're simple fixes when younger much harder when it comes to exercise and what we eat.
Accurate weight training that changes your body composition is what works plus focusing on what you are eating.
You can weight train without accurate focus and not work the right muscles.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=J7No6IpAPJU

Good for you, but you are male, haven't had a c-section, don't have to deal with unhelpful hormones or the menopause. Some of what you say is right of course.