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 I'm doing 16/8 I'll eat about 2pm lunch type thing then dinner about 8pm and stop eating by 10pm. The next day I might not eat anything until 8pm and close my eating window at 10pm ( giving me a 22/2)
Then maybe a 16/8 again the next day 22/2 the day after if you see what I mean? It's like an up day down day. If I'm only doing 22/2 I have a restaurant style starter, main, pudding. I eat a LOT of food in that time. I know people who have a longer eating window all the time as they need longer to eat enough but I can spread it out or not.

I have got rid of my tummy.

One answer tummy tuck!!

Thanks for mansplaining. Do you comment on golf swings as well?

Running. I’m menopausal and for the first time in my life, shifting the belly fat and back fat to the lower part of my body.

@LadyChilli I hadn't heard of that! It looks interesting but the first thing I found when I googled it was a series of horror stories about safety and lawsuits (from probably unreliable sources)

Do you have info you could share? Why did you go for that rather than body sculpting (which I also hadn't heard of before today but appears to be an alternative).

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

@5thCommandment it seems clear from recent evidence that exercise has actually very little to do with weight loss.

Read this:

Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Stay Healthy, and Lose Weight https://a.co/d/j78OfHC

Much as I hate mansplaining in general, the OP explicitly asked for tips, and neither the OP nor the title mentioned anything about babies or C-sections.

I don't think anything @5thCommandment mentioned was specific to men or inappropriate for women.

I haven't heard of bodysculpting. There wasn't a huge amount of thought behind it. I got an email from the clinic where I go for botox with a special offer and after a consultation decided to go for it. The horror stories are rare and it was described to me that when it goes wrong you end up with extra fat that my clinic would then probably use liposuction to remove. I'm not sure whether that would always be an optioneg if you had a double chin coolsculpted but it was my belly and I already hated the way it looked so didn't have much to lose.

It only took a couple of hours all in, including photos etc. The freezing is fine but I found the massage after excruciating. Worth it though and not even in the same league as surgery pain.

My recommendation would be to stop having any processed foods. When I was in my 50's I gave them up and lost 5 stone in a short period of time. This was combined with going to the gym 3/4 days a week. The results were outstanding!

@LadyChilli yes I am kinda tempted and terrified by the coolsculpting thing! Think I will keep on at gymming instead for now.

@Delatron and @Queenmaker thanks for the fasting and books recs! I ordered the Mindy Pelz book last night.

@shonapop I honestly don't think I am hard enough for 22/2!!!! However this weekend I had breakfast around 10am and a biggish lunch around 2.30 and then nothing except clear liquid after. I think that is doable at weekends but what with commute, gym, work, kids etc I am not sure I could keep it up in the week.

I am thinking of "fasting mimicking" whereby you eat very very light a few days each month. Might try that after Lent.

I think it sounds like you are a machine and could put your mind to anything...I could not do days like yours!!
Why not try Michael Mosley's 5/2.
Just 2 days of 500cal and eat normally the other 5 days. X

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

Me, 47.

No fasting, but no children and lots of weight training.

@Yeagarup lol ok now I hate you 🤣🤣🤣

Genuinely delighted for you and you look great but you have missed the point.
That worked for you, as above others have done the same or indeed more than you and they do not look like you do and that is because more than one thing determines your body shape.
I l ow lots of people "bounce back" after pregnancy but for.many women their entire bodies change shape.

You look fab! What do you do training wise?

Not have kids 🤣

I would just say 500 calories a day is not healthy. Highly recommend Stacy Simms book Level UP. She’s a doctor with a PHD and specialises in peri-menopause and menopause. She’s about fuelling your body for exercise and women in particular do not do well exercising in a fasted state. She is against fasting.

You will not hit necessary protein targets for muscle growth if you restrict food that much. We need muscle as muscle burns fat. If you exercise fasted you will increase cortisol even more (and women have more cortisol) this leads to fat accumulation around the tummy and also can mess up your metabolism.

Most of the research done in fasting is on men. Woman are very different. Fasting is great if you’re a middle aged prediabetic overweight man!

2 teenage kids, both C-section. Early 50s.
Only solution to keeping weight off is eating less than pretty much everyone around me. Limiting carbs. Lots of fruit and veg. Rarely (if any) - rice, pasta, potatoes. Etc
Often have just fruit and yogurt for dinner.
Takes time to get used to eating little - but then you adjust and i am barely ever hungry.
Gym helps keep muscles toned.

You look fantastic! My step mum is similar but in her 60's and has had 3 kids. She just eats half portions. In her view it's the only way to remain slim. She doesn't deny herself anything, just only has half.

Replying as I can totally relate.

I'm very healthy and exercise regularly as well. Been doing for years and years and although I had results everywhere on my body the tummy was still wobbly and hanging. 2 gigantic babies birthed.

After trying many diastasis recti exercise programs on the hopes to improve my tummy appearance and fix the muscle separation to no vail I gave in and went with a tummy tuck.

I'm 10 months post op and the only thing I can say is: best.decision.ever!

Forgot to mention, I'm 45. Kids 12 and 9.

Wow Op, you are doing so great already! I’m another person who would recommend Dr Mindy Pelz’s book Fast Like A Girl.

Basically women need to fast according to their cycle and hormones. Men have the same hormones every day so can fast the same throughout the month. Women need to vary the fasting according to what their hormones are doing. Mindy really explains it well. She is on YouTube if you want to watch before buying the book.

Also op, you mentioned not being sure about fasting because you need the fuel and you might flag. That’s really not how you feel. Your body switches out of sugar burning mode and you feel amazing, full of energy, clear headed.

For me the best thing for belly fat was doing the 5:2 intermittent fasting.

I was also exercising regularly and I really noticed a lot of fat disappearing from round my middle.

@5thCommandment thank you random man for giving us poor weak females the benefit of your manly knowledge.

what’s the last 2 words of the OPs username?