to be fucked off that I can't get rid of my belly! Is this it now I'm 46???

[soupdragon321]

So,, I'm a fairly fit individual. Have done yoga and pilates four times a week for nearly ten years. Have been running 5k 3-4 times a week for over eight months. And yet, I have not lost a single lb or inch from my waistline. I am getting seriously pissed off and I can only think that this is simply down to the fact that at 46, my body is just not going to do what I want it to because it's in early menopause and the 'thickening' of the waist is a real thing! Don't we women have enough shit to deal with! My weight has gradually increased over the past year to over 7lbs more it previously was. It seems so bloody unfair that despite all the exercise and healthy eating, I'm never going to have the body I'd like. Yes, maybe all the exercise is preventing me from being even BIGGER at my current age then i would be if I did nothing, (yeah, great, work your ass off just to stay the same which is more than you were originally! How depressing!!) but it feels that once you're over 40, unless you are genetically blessed, or choose to literally starve yourself (and life is far too short for that), then you just have to suck it up. ARGH!!! Rant over, just wanting to see if anyone else feels the same.

Portion sizes will help - a bit.

for me it was reducing carbs - e.g. half or one potato, small amount of pasta, rice etc.

You have to do it over a period of at least 2-3 months otherwise it won't show, in my experience.

Last year I dropped at least a dress size or half and round my stomach purely by doing the above.

Oh and also fast walking - for about 20/30 minutes a day.

Following with interest (also late 40's, trying to add more weight training instead of cardio etc).

I am very very nervous of free weights, after a back injury a long time ago. I'm recovered, but always prefer the machines instead.

I'm fine with upper body stuff, but struggling to work out how to use the machines to work on my core? Do lunges, squats etc really work on your tummy?

I have exactly the same problem op - I eat really small portions - other people are surprised how small they are - I fast walk 30 minutes daily [had to stop running due to arthritis] and I do a yoga routine every day but once I had my early menopause my belly just grew.

I'm 56 now and sadly it's the same. No alcohol or fizzy except an occasional soda water and chocolate or sweets or a takeaway only once every 3 or 4 months and sometimes longer. No carbs, breakfast is porridge made with water and a banana and lunch typically salad and tuna with a tiny sprinkle of seeds/nuts.

I'd love to be a skinny minnie like my mum who eats what she wants, never exercises and has a teeny tiny belly but those genes are not mine.

I've come to the conclusion that my tummy INside is 1/10 of the size that it is OUTside and even though I still do care I try really hard to notice the nice things in the mirror and embrace my belly baby.

You could ask an instructor to show you how to do dead lifts Cuddlysnowleopard. Another one is the assisted chin machine. I can really feel my core engaging on the latter

Agree with fasting. Only thing that has worked for me.

@op. if you are really eating so little, relatively, and exercising hard, you ought to be losing weight. I would see your doctor.

As Mashedpotato said, rowing machine is great for building muscle and honing body shape. I got one aged 46, swear by it, but the trick is to add in the exercise and be careful what you eat as well. I sadly need a LOT less calories now than say a decade ago. It’s a bummer but I need to eat less than 1500 a day or I start piling on the lbs.

I'm 49. The only thing that makes me lose weight is a diet plan (I'm currently doing weight watchers, and I'm losing weight from round my middle). I'm also doing lots of exercise, which obviously has lots of benefits, but I don't lose any weight unless I'm on weight watchers.

I came on to say that at our age you need to focus on muscle building activities at least as much as cardio. Heading towards middle age means your metabolic rate slows down and the best way to counter that is to build muscle as keeps your metabolic rate up. I'm insanely lucky to have found an activity that I enjoy more than just about anything in the world that is both an intensive cardio workout and an excellent muscle builder. I work out all the time now while experiencing nothing but fun and despite building muscle, I'm also losing weight.

I'm not sure I'll ever have a great tummy again as I have diastasis recti, an inguinal hernia, a c-section pouch and the baggy, scary tummy skin. But my waist is trim other than the pouchy bits. I also find that if I make sure I have a really good protein heavy breakfast every morning I can eat whatever I want for the rest of the day because I'm set up well enough to only want what I need.

I play sport OP with some very very fit and active women in their 50s. All have a small round stomach. Some do way more activity than you do. So yes I think age plays a big part.

I’m 37 and struggle to get rid of the tummy unless I hardly eat anything (then I feel ill). If I hit the gym everyday it helps a little, I do 45 minutes cardio and 15 minutes weights 5 days a week, my diet is similar to yours, porridge for breakfast, salad or sandwich for lunch, light meal in the evening.

Its brutal but the sugar has to go. That means (most but not all )booze too.

So much pacakaged food (yoghurts, bread, ready meals, low fat alternatives) are chock full of sugar you won’t realise you’re eating it.

The people I know who have lost weight and keep it off stopped eating sugary treats of all kinds and started cooking their own food.

OP, I’m sorry to say it may be all the bread you eat. I got a lot of flack from a friend for trying a no bread diet for a month but it had a huge effect and now I really avoid wheat. Could you try it?

Can I just say tho - if you’re eating porridge that’s a lot of carbs and you might get on better with eggs which are more filling?

I find cereal grains bloating

@cuddlysnowleopard I don't want you to risk another back injury but the reason free weights are more effective than machines is that they force you to engage and work your core all the time...

...because it is your core that stabilises you when performing squats, lunges, deadlifts etc.

so you don't mind 'no pain - no gain' with exercise, but don't want hunger pangs! My trainer says the only way to lose weight is in the kitchen. Get as fit as you like, but you'll have to count EVERY calorie if you want to slim

Planking is brilliant!
I combine it with walking about about 8 hrs fast paced walking a week, and some Pilates.
I’m 47/ l don’t have a big stomach!
I’m not skinny, but more hour glass.

*small hour glass.

a lot of posters are mentioning healthy eating, 3 times a day, but do you want to be healthy.....or thin :)

I have a skinny friend, doesn't eat till mid afternoon, so naturally does the 'fast for 16hrs' thing.

Some people will be skinny, and everyone else has to really battle for it. I've tried the 'fast until the afternoon' type of thing, and the moment I start, I obsess about food, and eat more than I would have normally!

I'm with you on this OP.

I lost a silly amount of weight last year, getting my bust and hips to less than they were when I was in my 20s.

Waist was ridiculous and over 30". Used to be 26-28". I've had a PT giving me core and weight exercises, have targeted the muscle groups and can now do situps and planks and all those... waist is still stubbornly 30"! not shifting an iota.

Everyone says it's because of my age and because of DC. Maybe, but there is a thick bulge of fat (not even loose skin) which is NOT shifting even though the last time I was this weight I was way smaller (which I also can't figure out).

I refuse to give up. But I'd really like to see some kind of improvement short of making the rest of me look like a stick insect.

I'm fine with upper body stuff, but struggling to work out how to use the machines to work on my core? Do lunges, squats etc really work on your tummy?

Squats are a compound lift, not lower body. They engage your core. Deadlifts and planks are great for your middle, but a flat tummy is all about the diet.

I often don't eat till the afternoon anyway, and I am fat.

Thanks, I'll try and add some squats etc into my routine. I sprained my back doing deadlifts in a Body pump class about 20 years ago, and it was a long long (15 years!) recovery. The instructor has tried to show me how to do them safely, but I just freeze.

I'm weird with my diet. Lots of food intolerances, including gluten, and I actually get skinny too quickly so I have to eat regularly. It is a balance between keeping weight on so I don't look gaunt, but keep my thickening waist under control!

@trancepants what is your incredible hobby that ticks all the boxes?!?