What do I need to do?

[suki1964]

Im turning 60, post menopause, been in calorie deficit for the past 18 months, now a healthy weight and BMI so trying to maintain

The only exercise Ive been doing so far is walking, lots of walking, vast amounts of walking, indeed I walked a marathon this weekend

Im still carrying too much body fat - Im a classic apple, big belly , zero hips or bum and legs like match sticks. Skinny shoulders and arms

Im also as poor as a church mouse so dont want to be paying for a gym or an instructor. But I also have had a serious neck and shoulder injury which I really dont want to aggravate anymore. So I am apprehensive about following some random online and doing myself a worse injury

What sort of exercises should I be looking out to do to target the belly which wont be putting stress on the shoulder? At the same time I do need some strengthening of the arms as well. I couldn't fight myself out of a wet paper bag theres so little strength there

Any advice?

You need your strengthen everything not just the belly

You can't shift weight from the belly by exercising it

If you convert fat to muscle the fat can come from the belly and go to muscle anywhere - leg muscles are great to build for overall body shape

The neck and shoulder problem - are you under physio ? We can self refer here to nhs but I know resources are not always available

They should give you a suitable exercise program and explain any ok g term restrictions

You need to know how to manage that first

I would normally start with yoga and move to more formal weights but with your injury that may not be appropriate

Sane would be said for any core exercise which can easily strain neck without very careful form

Legs without weights as holding weights correctly may be hard for you / so building from what you can do - hill walk , stair step ups , squats and lunges, calf raises

Loads of videos online but until your injury is sorted I'd steer well clear

I think walking is excellent exercise especially if you incorporate some hills too. I would add swimming once a week if you enjoy that and light weights too.

Thanks for the input

Oh I walk loads of hills - Northern Ireland is full of them :)

I would love to try swimming, but I have a morbid fear of putting my face in water ( near drowning incident as a child, I was fished from the bottom of the pool ) so I do this rather ungainly breast stroke with my neck extended high which I can only sustain for tiny periods - a lap around a pool on holiday and Im done :)

Guess I will have to try to add some weights

Thing is the fat just will not shift from the tummy. You can see my ribs, Ive a collar bone that could cut you, my arse has disappeared of the face of the earth, legs are like to pieces of string , yet I sit here looking like one of those Buddha statues, with the rolls of blubber just sitting there. I dont want a figure of a 16 year old, I just want this stomach to shrink. I dont want to or need to loose weight now because Im looking scrawny as it is. I wear size 8, I just have this middle aged spread which is actually really getting me down

Lots of walking will help lose weight, but you just end up with a smaller version of your past body.
You need some resistance training. That doesn't have to mean weights, could just be bodyweight.
Probably best to start with some regular squatting, and learning to squat quite deep. Vary with lunges or split squats. That will help with legs and bottom.
Training arms without using the shoulder is more difficult without knowing more or having specialist input.

What are you eating? I find the main thing which affects my belly size is sugary food and refined carbs and alcohol. How is your glucose management? Have you had you hba1c measured lately? When mine was 38 I was storing a lot of belly fat, I have now got it down to 31 and my belly fat has almost gone.

Exercise is of very little use for targeting fat.

Can you get physio for your neck / shoulder injury? I think you need to address this first. Once that's underway, I would recommend a few Pilates classes to get the positions right and then do it at home if you can't afford regular sessions. It's a great way to build strength. You may find that having a strong core and better posture from Pilates helps with the look of your tummy.