To ask how the fuck I get my waist size down?

[Miffee]

I have lost a lot of weight. From quite obese to healthy BMI. I did it slowly following all the proper medical advice.

My waist size is still in the high risk category. It's not excess skin, I lost it really slowly so I have no visible signs of rapid weight loss. Visibly you can see my belly is a bit fat but it doesn't look hugely out of proportion. I wear snug fitting clothes and look pretty good fine.

Has this happened yo anybody else? Do I just stick with it? I am still losing weight at a slow pace. Will it all just come off my belly or is that nieve? I have give up Googling this stuff because of the amount of pseudoscience on the Internet and the reputable sources focus much more on BMI despite emphasising the importance of waist size.

Are you menopausal age? (40s onwards, many women enter peri menopause around 40). I ask because it’s very common to put on weight around your middle when oestrogen levels drop. HRT can really help with reducing it.

It will come off.
If you are tall, are you using height:waist as the measure? From memory waist should be half your height.
How much do you need to reduce it by to be ok?

Belly fat for me is the firs thing to go on for me when I gain weight. Sometimes you are predisposed to gain weight there so maybe that’s true for you.
you need to keep losing weight and tone up in that area.
What core strength / ab excercises do you do?
Having strong stomach muscles and core is like wearing a corset. It helps to hold it all in and does make a difference

I lost two stone, but not an inch off my waist. There must be a secret!

I'm apple shaped and my middle is the first place I gain weight and the last place I lose it. Walking briskly really helps tone my mid section though, tuck in your tummy and power walk.

I thought that! My waist now is less than half my height however when I looked on the NHS today they just use a standard CM measurement and I am over 15cm too wide.

Me too. Menopausal too. Going to try to lose more weight but it is on hold due to COVID.

Look on YouTube. Lucy Wyndham Read does a lot of easy (for beginners) exercise routines, some are only 7 minutes so can always fit them into your day. She does longer ones too 😊

I've been doing these daily since New year and really notice how my tum has toned up.

I think it’s often visceral fat around your middle which is why it’s pushing you into high risk. I think it’s also amongst the last weight to come off, so if you are still losing hopefully you will see your waist size decrease soon. Well done for everything you’ve achieved so far!

It’s probably not that you have to “lose” it, how is your posture and strength through core and back? Might be that you’re “scrunched” up in middle. That can completely change how it looks on you. Things like ballet or barre exercises to lengthen and strengthen abdominal muscles, the “scaffolding” of the torso, can change how your body looks without losing weight. People tend to stand up straight by just throwing their shoulders back which thrusts stomach forward, but if you hunch your shoulders over then try to straighten your abdomen you’ll see a big difference. learnaboutballet.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/ballet-basics-posture-and-alignment/

Congratulations on losing so much weight safely and slowly! Huge discipline and long-term commitment.

My core strength is extremely poor due to previous health reasons (none of which are still an issue).

But I thought (perhaps wrongly) that it would just hide the problem rather than fix it. I have started pilates as its something I want to sort anyway.

Is this just your body shape? I have the opposite problem. Overweight with a low side of healthy waist measurement.
If you are healthy and feel good, I wouldn't worry about it.
If you aren't, maybe some weighted side bends and pilates that concentrate on the obliques?

Try a hula hoop workout. Décathlon do a good weighted one for about £15.

What about one of those weighted hula hoop things....all over tik tok at the moment

You remove the links as it gets looser....people are seemingly losing inches !

I think I do have decent posture which is why I look okay in snug clothes but when I follow the NHS guidance for measuring waist size it just says breathe out normally.

That side I am scrunched up doing it because I am looking down and fiddling about with a tape measure on my waist.

I couldn't do a normal hula hoop if my life was on the line, I doubt I could manage a weighted one.

Definitely start some strength training and core strength exercise. 10 mins a day at home, or whatever.

I lost significant weight, slow and steady, as you are doing, and realised I needed to be strengthening muscle or it would disappear.

Your core muscles are your natural body con!

You will feel better for it too.

Congratulations on your healthier eating and weight loss!

I do gym, Body Pump and swimming as the mood takes me. And a bit of home-based plank and C Crunches in front of the TV.

Okay, I lost over 5 cms by doing it stood up straight in front of a mirror! I still made sure my belly was natural and tape wasn't tight. It's still way too big but makes me feel much less hopeless so a massive thanks for that!

Thanks, I think this is the way to go. I do a lot of exercise now but it's all cardio based.

I've never understood why NHS just has a fixed waist measurement for healthy vs unhealthy. It doesn't make sense that it's unrelated to height.

I don't believe that if my waist is 0.5inch over the healthy measurement (6'1") that I'm less healthy than someone 0.5inch under who is 5'1".

Bear in mind it's NICE guidance which says waist should be 0.4-0.49 x height for health - its not some internet random.

So what I'm saying is that if your waist is less than half your height you're most likely fine, but agree that pilates/core work/lose a bit more will help too.

Why didn't I think of NICE? The NHS advice is terrible. It just says contact your GP immediately because you are high risk. No other info or advice. BHF the same.

I work very closely with GPs and I cannot imagine the complete unimpressedness of my GP having to deal with this when all I actually need is good information to read from reputable source.

@Bichette
I find the eighties hula hoop interesting- do you do this and have you had good results?

I have a family holiday in over two weeks and need some form of a waist back

Fgs meant to say "weighted" hula hoop.

I have lost an inch in a month and do about 2x10 mins everyday.
There are lots of videos on YouTube.