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??

That sounds awful. No, it's certainly not for everyone.

God you definitely aren't a wimp, I couldn't imagine packing in as much as you do once a month nevermind every day! Respect

I really don't think fasting is a good idea for most women as we get older, and especially if you have an active and busy day it's bad for your health. I think eating at regular times like 7am, 12am and 6pm is a good idea. If we eat too late it can make it hard for the body to go into REM sleep 3 or 4 times during the night. Also lack of sleep makes us eat more the next day.

Thanks for the thread ladies. Sadly I can’t exercise much due to poor health - chronic fatigue and am overweight with a belly. But maybe I can add a little ‘weight training’ with tiny weights to my life. Better than nothing and my health improves vastly in summer.

Do you eat before you exercise? My swimming coach (a high level competitive swimmer in his days) used to tell us to eat a good breakfast on the days we swam and eat plenty (of protein) after. The few years we did that, all of us kids (my 2 cousins and I) went from skinny little sticks to pretty muscular teenagers despite doing no other exercises. I wonder if that's what's missing in your routine?

If the winter gets you down, you might consider getting a SAD lamp. Both my daughter and I use one in the winter. It doesn't completely get rid of the winter blue but does help massively.

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried a sad lamp to regulate my sleep patterns. It doesn’t work for me. I know chronic fatigue and depression can be confused. I have drug poisoning issues from various prescription drugs my body is struggling to detox so I’m not down, my body is exhausted unfortunately.

So sorry to hear it. Sending you love and hope you find a solution to your problem.

Thanks 😊

Tummy fat is normal - you'd only get rid of it if your BMI was on the lower end of normal, with a low body fat percentage.

I know that I only have clearly defined abs at a BMI of <20, with no more than 15% body fat.

Also, I don't drink alcohol, which helps.

How many dads are getting up at the crack of dawn to exercise, restricting themselves to 2 meals a day or whatever to get rid of any belly fat? I don’t think I know one!

I'm not sure some women can ever get the flat 'washboard' stomach

When I was 20 I managed to get to 9 stone ( very light for me and my physique, was a size 8 and tiny 25 inch waist). I STILL had a little soft lower tummy, yes it looked toned in the top and mid sections but it was still there at the bottom albeit very small. I've realised that it's part of my shape!!!

You see to me ‘a little soft lower tummy’ sounds nice - and normal! I fully support healthy eating/exercise but isn’t this search for a so-called ‘perfect’ body (with no stomach, not my idea of perfect personally) a bit, well, pointless? What’s it for? It feels self-punishing to me, especially when talk turns to skipping (most!) meals…!

Agree with @shonapop re fasting. The book Fast Like a Girl has changed my life, the way she talks about female hormones for cycling/peri menopause/menopausal women blew my mind. I changed everything I do, the weight dropped off easily and I managed to sort out some hormone imbalances. She also has another book for women going through the menopause, I think it’s called the menopause reset. Author is Dr Mindy Pelz.

I am 48 and have lost a lot of weight/ stomach fat following changed diet due to gallbladder and reflux issues. I don’t eat any high fat things, no meals with a lot of fat in, have cut out all dairy, and don’t have anything with high sugar (including most fruit, drinks with sugar like fruit juice). I snack on radishes, occasionally banana bread, and Melba toast. I eat as much as I want within these restrictions (a lot of bread!) and only exercise by walking. The weight came off over the course of 6 months to a year. It is a pretty dull existence and I often think I looked better as a size 16 in floaty clothes. My face looks kind of scraggy and people ask me if I’m ill!

A friend of mine had a tummy tuck and it was pretty major. The recovery took many weeks.

I have always been very slim but had a c section overhang that looked disproportionate and weird even though I weighed less than before DC. Eventually I got coolsculpting. I was and am delighted with the results. My stomach is now somewhere between flat and gently sloping. I only needed one session. I can't recommend it enough.

Thing is I’ve done all that. I recently lost all the extra weight I wanted to lose - except none of it came off my stomach (or at least very very little of it). It all came off my legs and face which were the two places I didn’t need or want it to come off. So although I reached my target weight I felt completely pissed off because I still couldn’t do up my jeans and they’d become too loose in the leg.

I’ve had two c sections, a colorectomy and a full hysterectomy. My stomach is never going to be remotely flat again :(

Following as curious. Although I had a natural birth in my 20s I just cannot get rid of my stomach rolls despite being a size 10/12, I just find my stomach always has the flappy bit of skin and hangs a little in a tight dress.

I accepted that bikinis and super tight stuff weren’t for my post baby bod haha- but I have friends that have flat stomachs after babies and always wondered if it’s genetics.

I found Pilates was better than yoga - it might have been because the teacher specialised in core strength and knew abit about rebuilding stomach muscles post birth. As some exercises can make it worse (I wasn’t aware of at the time as I went straight into gyming and push ups).

I hope you find something that works for you though OP x

You do know that male bodies and male metabolisms are totally different to women's right? There's evidence that women in their forties do not need to focus on exercising longer and harder and in fact this can lead to higher levels of cortisol that make us hang on to fat stores. Why don't you move along to Men's Health or wherever your type hang out?

You're on Mumsnet mate. Your body is not like ours. Move along now.

@shonapop what fasting hours do you do please.

Op it seems you are doing everything right when it comes to excersise and food so I would have thought speficic pilates type excersise is the key to target the muscles in a different way?

OP,
I wouldn't do it myself but what about liposuction? It's what the celebs would do? You sound like you are doing so much already.

@StaringAtTheWater @Aria999 no no diastasis recti. I have had twins and was super paranoid about core damage after multiple pregnancy and birth so went to a women's health physio when they were about 12w old and she checked for that. It is not in the top three-quarters of my tummy iyswim but right above the knicker line.

I have a naturally stocky, muscular build and think maybe I am always just going to be a bit lardy.... sigh!

Between 16/8 and 22/2

Thanks for answering. How do you do it though? As in, what structure? There seem to be different methods/routines