To think I'll never get rid of belly fat put on after 30? Does ANYTHING work?!!

[Valeriana87]

I'm really down about my belly. I look pregnant and dreading summer clothes. I think there are a few issues going on. I have some diastasis recti, but I've had that for 16 years since eldest born, so it's not all caused by that. I now have a layer of fat on top of that. It appeared when I hit 30 (metabolism? change to where fat goes on?). I have mild PCOS. Also, bloating which gets worse throughout the day. Also I'm 5ft 1 so it looks worse on me.

If you managed to reduce your belly without exercise (can't cause of DR) - HOW DID YOU DO IT?!

I'm wanting to start getting ready for the summer by at least attempting to reduce it by a little.

My BMI is 24 and I don't want to lose more than half a stone, it's just the belly.

Is it true you can't 'spot reduce' fat? Am i resigned to tent dresses?

Don't eat bread.

Similar position here with the stubborn belly fat. two kids and a crappy diet during lockdown has meant that i'm in a bit of a bad shape (my own opinion no one else).

I've been doing pilates now for around a year and it's amazing. i go to a class which i would absolutely recommend as the instructors are there to help you. online is all good too but sometimes an in person class helps.

i've also made the decision before christmas to stop drinking. and its again helped so much. i've lost a little bit of weight (diet still not brilliant) but feel more awake and eager to get on with things. and with two kids (4 and 2) i cannot deal with the hangovers.

dh suggested intermittent fasting. so inadvertently today that's what i've done. i was up a lot last night with dd, and am working from home, so because was busy this morning just didnt eat anything until lunchtime. so went from around 7pm through until 1 without food. will eat dinner and then try it again (more consciously) tomorrow.

good luck!

Oh no this is me. I have pcos and had a stomach operation. So mines down to that. No kids either yet . It’s crap but I won’t be putting a mesh in my body so I can’t do anything

I’m qualified in pre and post natal exercise and you absolutely can do exercise with DR. You only have to avoid certain exercises until you strengthen your core / reduce the gap.

Fat loss comes down to nutrition and whilst you can’t choose where fat loss occurs first, with careful nutrition management you will start to see an overall reduction of fat loss, including your belly. It does require patience, not going on a restrictive ‘diet’ and including some movement through the day.

It has personally worked for me - having had 2 c sections and the last one leaving me with no core strength. Rehabilitation was an important part and because of my experience I wanted to assist others so qualified in pre and post natal exercise and nutrition.

@EFGH5678

Could there possibly be a hernia poking through the DR, as your BMI is only 24? This was what happened with a relative of mine, and it went on for years until it was investigated. She then had the hernia repaired and the muscles sewn together. Has a lovely flat tummy now.

This is a good point.

Always good to check it’s not something more.

Eating less. Teach your stomach to require less food. No sweets, no kind of sweets, get your sugar from fruit. See what happens in a month.

Have you thought about Intermittent Fasting? As women hit perimenopause (which can start up to 10 years before actual menopause) we tend to retain fat around the belly so it becomes harder to shift.

Look up Cynthia Thurlow, she’s an American nurse practitioner specialising in women’s health and is a huge advocate of IF. She’s got a book coming out in March on IF purely for women.

She has a podcast and several of her TED talks are on YouTube so worth looking at.

Could be hormonal. A diet with less carbs and healthy fats supposedly helps. I say supposedly because I haven’t tried it. Stuff like avocados, oily fish, nuts are good.

I'm 5'1" and genuinely a bmi of 24 and I'd look huge for the size of my frame. I know its different for everyone, but I do find that you end up showing it more being so short simply because it means you inevitability have a shorter abdomen.

I do think you really have to watch the portion control, as every time you eat it shows. Smaller meals more frequently help. And lots of water.

BTW if you are drinking as much as you are, and the list of what you've eaten today is right, I don't think you can be keeping close to your ideal intake of food. We have a habit of underestimating the calories we are eating. Even if you are doing 3miles walking a day, I think you are getting through rather more calories than you think. That should make it easier to shift that last bit, but you need to be disciplined on the snacks and alcohol. Those two are my downfall. You don't need it. The curse of being 5'1".

Cutting back on the wine is an easy win and you shouldn't make you feel too hungry. If you are doing 3 bottles of wine a week thats 30 units of alcohol. The recommendation for women is 14 to 35 units - and if you are 5'1" you should definitely be at the lower end of that scale and you should be cutting that regardless of your body image.

I'm afraid its the wine. 3 bottles a week is way too much and its straight on your gut too.

Cut out the wine. You'll see a difference in 2 weeks, guaranteed.

It could well be a hernia poking through. I had no idea I had one - Ds2was delivered by EMCS and the obstetrician came to see me on the ward the next day to tell me that I had DR and a hernia. He’s now 10yo and I have no idea whether I still have it. My BMI is 27 (though I am losing weight) so it’s hard to tell with the belly fat too.

I gave up drinking 9 months ago and I'm disappointed to say it did absolutely nothing in terms of losing weight.

I cut out some bread, as I felt it bloated me out, I hardly have any at home, if I go out for lunch, I'll have a toasted sandwich. At home , I'm retired, I have most days for lunch a bowl of porridge oats, breakfast is brandflakes and then a normal tea. If I feel hungry I might have a yoget or some fruit.

I’m 5 foot 1 too, incidentally, and I look much much bigger than someone with a similar BMI who is taller. Being short is a curse.

Just sharing my results
P.S I’m 44 (43 in the pics) - I also didn’t restrict carbs including bread (they provided me with the energy to exercise) - I’ve had 2 c sections and 3 ivf cycles due to peri menopause in my mid 30’s

What I’m saying is it can be done.

Average bottle of wine 600 - 625 calories.
X 3 = 1800 - 1875 calories
That 257 to 267 calories per day.

There are 228 calories in a standard mars bar.

And yeah carbs definitely don't do well with me and red meat isn't great either.

I don't eat super healthy but i can shift the weight when ive had a lapse (eg over Christmas) with discipline over extras rather than my basic diet.

Trying to upload pic referred to in my post

Er wow sunshine! Amazing!!!

Thank you so much everyone. Sorry I can't reply to every post.

• I am going to cut out the wine either completely or to 1 bottle a week.
• I'm going to try different exercises such as DR exercises, HITT, DR safe pilates. I'll see if I can find a class I can afford.
• I'm not going to cut carbs completely but I will try like 1 meal a day with carbs, and 2 tiny squares chocolate a day as a treat. I'll join on the threads, and look into IF.

@sunshineonasunnyday I need to look into this more, as I always thought I could only do very gentle 'pulling in' type exercises, lest I make the DR worse. If I can actually do more toning (I was thinking obliques) that may help. My core strength is awful. Your pictures are amazing, well done for putting all that work in. Can I ask could this work if I've been like this (DR not belly fat, belly fat more recent) for 16 years? I'm definitely far from post partum - my youngest is 12!

@RedToothBrush Maybe I'm in denial lol, but I don't look that big. I do have a sturdy frame though. I'm 8st 10lbs and 5ft 1in, says BMI 24. I'm a size 12. I don't mind my size/weight at all, it's just the belly I hate! and I'd like a bit slimmer arms. I might try posting a pic tonight after dinner to show what I mean. I need to cut out the wine and any snacking ie crisps. Even if I 'only' eat a big bag of crisps and 1 slice of cake a week, that's still too much for my height, over the top of meals, you are right! I'm too short to get away with it. Is it because we are short, our calorie needs are relatively low (unless doing heavy physical work or something), so we need to fill those calorie needs with healthy stuff in order to get enough nutrients, we have no room left for snacks etc? Think I'm getting it now. Damn being short!

Damn being short!

Yep. There's no where to put it. And when you start to write it down and add it up, you can see where the issues are creeping in.

I don't think you need to diet as such, just make more sensible choices and realise what you can do occasionally and what you can't do regularly.

If I were you I’d get checked by GP to ensure nothing other than DR but yes it is possible to heal / repair DR with correct exercises (usually small gaps do heal themselves post partum - but as you say your youngest is 12 - so if it didn’t heal it may be severe or something else)

Find some core breathing techniques or YouTube
You don’t need to go all out ‘workout crazy’ you can start with gentle breathing, core exercises, Pilates or even a post natal programme on you tube.

Saying all the above - nutrition is key. Whilst I would never advise to restrict any food group (unless you have an allergy) I would say to eat as little of processed foods as possible.

Hope that helps.

I’m qualified but it’s not my job if that makes sense. I have a day job but exercise / well-being is my passion as it really did save me from PND after my first child and get me through my fertility and IVF cycles.

KETO KETO KETO!!! This is the only thing that works for me. The more stubborn the weight is to loose the higher % fat you need to be eating. Once you've hit your ideal weight reverse diet out (increase your carb intake & calories GRADUALLY

I find this thread really inspiring and am now going to throw away my remaining chocolate eclair toffee left over from Christmas. I am finding Dr Mosley fast 800 book very readable but wont start the strict diet until March. Meanwhile doing intermittent fasting on a 12 12 basis and being aware of my carb intake. I was surprised how much my appetite has reduced just from cutting bread intake down from 8 daily slices to now just 3 or 4.

Going to incorporate stomach exercises into my weekly yoga too.