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.

Shameless follow!

I think a lot of people swear that low carbing gets rid of tummy fat. Loads of threads on the weight loss topic.

I bearly eat carbs.

All the good stuff I read advises avoiding any diet that claims to focus on one part of the body.

I think NHS guidance is pretty seldom updated to be honest, hence the food plate still being cards based etc.

But it is NICE advice the half height thing www.nice.org.uk/news/article/keep-the-size-of-your-waist-to-less-than-half-of-your-height-updated-nice-draft-guideline-recommends

Plus, why is it OK for men to have larger waists according to that NHS guidance? I'm taller than my DH, but would be very high risk at 88cm whereas he's low risk at 94cm?? So he can be both shorter than me and fatter than me, AND be carrying more around his waist, but be considerably lower risk?!

I mean, I guess if you wanted to ask a GP there's probably no harm, but agree it doesn't feel nearly as urgent as the NHS/BHF would make out!

I suspect it’s your body type and age. Even if you don’t have loose skin you might have separated muscles underneath from pregnancy (I do) I do find less carbs helps. Even at a low bmi (I looked too thin everywhere else) my waist and tummy are too big. I do a BLT class. On hrt.

@Miffee just so you’re aware, low carbing isn’t a diet that ‘claims to get rid of one type of fat’. It’s a very healthy way of eating, first of all, and works well for markedly reducing fat stores around the abdomen and also avoids bloating and other issues that can make one’s stomach bigger. Especially once one hits middle age. Just to clear that up as it’s absolutely not a fad diet or one that promises to ‘melt away stomach fat’.

Oh it definitely is. My health conditions I mentioned earlier were C-sections and another thing that affects the way I walk.

Cancer and heart disease don't give a shit about the reasons though do they? It isn't a vanity exercise. I won't lie and say it isn't nice that I look better in clothes now but it has never been my motivation. I want to be healthy.

I know it is. As I said I have a very low carb diet.

Great that you’ve started Pilates - stick with that and the healthy eating, it will shift.

well done!!

Anyway I got so distracted by that I forgot to say Congratulations on doing the hard work of losing weight! That’s a great accomplishment. As pp have said, exercises targeted at strengthening your core will help a lot as everything will slowly be pulled inwards.

This is exactly my situation. I’ve lost a significant amount over the last couple of years (3 stones), I don’t have any loose skin. I do have stubborn belly fat that won’t budge!

I spoke to the nurse at the GPs surgery who basically said it was ‘middle age spread’. I’m nearly 60. Coincidentally my cholesterol numbers are off and I am being retested next week 🤷‍♀️

I eat healthily and move when I can. If I didn’t do what I do I would be far far heavier. Much heavier.

Good luck!

Yes you did say that 🙂 It just sounded as if you were wary and I wanted to clear that up in case it’s something that might help you one day.

It’s frustrating to have to work against one’s biological make up - our bodies are trying to lay on fat to keep us well in middle age and beyond. Sigh.

Forgot to add I eat lower carb rather than low carb as I need fibre! But I get my carbs from veg and legumes rather than white stodgy breads cakes and biscuits.

Sorry if I was snappy. It's been very a frustrating few years having to navigate bad advice and having people I haven't seen in ages congratulate me then beg me for diet advice only to lose all interest when I tell them it's not a quick fix.

Weight loss culture in this country is beyond depressing. One of the reasons I gained so much weight in the first place was because weight loss seemed so disconnected from health and all about quick fixes and bikinis and weddings I forgot it was actually important.

Same. Only thing that gets my stomach down is juicing

If the separation of muscles is affecting your waist size though that’s not going to mean your risks are higher it’s just a crude ready reckoner.
I’m not a Dr but if I had surgery to remove my loose skin and apron overhang and muscles repaired my tummy and waist would be several inches smaller but I’m still the same underneath as now. So cosmetic surgery wouldn’t improve my health/lower my risk but I suspect on paper it would as my measurements would be smaller. Does that make sense.
Personally I’d eat healthily, keep your weight healthy range and not get too hung up on measurements.

I have this problem!!

I have a 31 inch waist, 5 ft 8, 10 stone exactly, body fat % of 25-27%, broad rib frame and I'm 41.

I've lost over two stone and only lost 3 inches on my waist - i now have bones on shoulders, back and ribs visible when not stretching so don't want to lose much more.

I actually spoke to Diabetes UK as I was concerned (both my mum and Gran had diabetes later in 50s even though not obese and just over the heavier end of normal BMI, 1 or 2 lbs into overweight BMI).

Obviously get your own professional medical advice but they said it's a guide and if no other symptoms, feel well etc, the waist thing can't be taken in isolation as an absolute indicator of ill-health.

@Miffee No worries - I totally understand the frustration in that regard.

I also approach it from a health perspective and it’s amazing how very little of diet ‘advice’ is actually about that.

My mum had similar, she dropped a few dress sizes after a health scare but still felt round. It's only when she had her cholesterol levels tested via the GP they found they were off the chart.
She changed her diet (so more focused on health than weight) and the visceral fat just melted off her middle.
I know you said you've dieted slowly but I just wonder if it's something similar? So not a calorie issue but a nutrient/fat one? Maybe something else to investigate?

Core exercises.
Pilates will help massively.

Thanks, that's good to hear. I went purely from weight so I don't know how much I lost from my waist but I can see that it's much much smaller.

Reading this thread it seems like a common issue which is all the more frustrating that the NHS just drop this info on you then you are left to figure out what it means and how to fix it.

Somebody up thread said the nurse basically told them it's middle age spread and (I inferred) not to worry about it. I work with health professionals and simply put do not have a lot of faith in my individual GP or nurses advice.

@Chazx that’s my situation - I am type 2 diabetic, but not overweight. Low carbing (done properly, with an emphasis on health, not ’dieting’) is brilliant for controlling blood glucose levels and preventing ill health and secondary conditions, which is why I follow it.

You’re right, the waist measurement is a rough guide and there will always be anomalies. If you’re fit and healthy, exercising and eating well, your body will be in much better condition than many skinny people even though you might technically not be within the ideal parameters.

I'd got my cholesterol, blood sugars etc tested as part of my 40 + NHS health check so i think a broad middle is something i'm going to have to accept @Miffee
well done on your slow weight-loss, it took me 21 weeks to lose 32 pounds!

Interesting thread. I am in the same situation OP. I always find the so called waist measurements really confusing. Basically because:

• they call them waist measurements but I think what they actually want you to measure is your belly. I always thought the waist is the narrowest point of your trunk - for a lot of people the belly will be the widest point so in a way they are opposites. There's about 4 inches difference between my waist and my belly

• After three pregnancies and two babies there is a big difference in my belly between me breathing out and me standing with core muscles engaged.

Will keep reading for all the useful tips

I'm 53, post menopause. I weigh 8 Stone 10 at 5 foot 4.
Over the last 2 years I've lost 2 stone, and my waist has gone from 30 to 24" (37" bust and hip).
The only excercise I take is daily brisk walking for about 30 minutes so for me I think its been all about diet.
I barely drink and eat a vegan whole foods diet. I eat loads of carbs, but avoid processed where possible.
Its not for everyone I realise, and genetics can't be discounted, as I was always a pear with a relatively small waist, so I'm not working against my body shape; but no other eating plan has given me a waist this small, even when I've weighed a similar amount and was decades younger.