50 getting a podgy belly - anyone avoided?

[Fuckfacetime]

So I do loads of good stuff.

Regular cardio & weights - everyday
walk loads
low carb - no bread or cakes
sleep and drink loads of water
no UPFs, one meal a day cooked from scratch
low stress life

BUT I am still developing a squashy tummy. This is an issue as I am 5 foot tall and my trousers are getting too tight! If you knew the pain of trousers shopping when short with a big arse you'd be worried too. Usually I am a size 10. Been stable for about 10 years. I do drink too much, but I like drinking and don't want to cut back. It's my only bad habit.

Is it age? Is it laziness? Can I stop it? Help !!!!!

food for thought ! Am slightly agog to have my food and drinking habits described as highly disordered, I eat loads of apples and veg, doesn’t that make it ok….. ? AND fermented foods like kimchi!
But I see your points. I thought the one meal a day was supposed to be good for you ? Fasting blah blah.

I just really like drinking. But I obv need to cut back. Sigh, it entirely sucks, and even then that might not be enough.

Sobering !

@MorningSunlight @Motherknowsrest
thanks for your viewpoints - that does answer my questions I guess.

Since drinking feeds the wrong hormones you can hardly say is a red herring

it might still be hard but there are not many (any?) people with a good belly and that much booze - how do you tell a drinker ? By the tummy and nose

She's consuming 900+ calories from alcohol daily and reducing her food to one meal a day and her takeaway from this thread is to keep drinking the same and eat less food or take appetite suppressing medication. How is this a red herring?

Look, I'm not trying to be a dick, but you're not fasting are you? You're consuming more calories in sugar and carb filled beer and wine than you are in food. Fasting is good for you in moderation, but you need to actually fast, not swap nutrient dense food for nutrient empty and harmful alcohol! Fasting means your digestive system isn't processing ANY calories for a prolonged period, not that you swap solid calories for liquid. I love drinking too - love a cold beer on a hot day but it's got to be within reason. Your response to being told that you're consuming too many calories in alcohol is to suggest eating less food and going on appetite suppressants. How does that not appear disordered to you?

@FortyElephants I don’t drink every night, say four out of seven.

ok so I weighed myself
I downloaded the prof Nutt book on drinking
I have told DH I am cutting back.

all good !

Obviously the alcohol and I gave up in lockdown so easy for me to say.
I've widened my waist line post menopause despite doing weights daily and walking at least 15 miles a week for work and a physical job.
I've gone from a size 10 to 12 as my waist is bigger despite weighing the same.
I do eat bread and cheeses though.😄
Sometimes home cooked from scratch is more nutritious but not less calories.

Just seen your update OP.
Good for you having a plan.

Mine did

Yes i do think we can’t always fight the body/fat deposit changes as we reach menopause. The way we deposit fat changes. We can absolutely eat well, exercise, sleep well etc.

I’m not interested in cutting out bread and food groups or eating toddler amount of calories but i eat a diet full of nutrition and i do exercise,get outside, etc. I drink small amounts of alcohol like once/twice a month or so. Little more on holiday. It really doesn’t agree with me anymore.

You do some really great things but drinking that much alcohol is obviously going to be a problem. Not just your weight but your health too. The more research done on alcohol the more we know it’s shit for us and our health.

I hope you update in 6-12 months, OP.
my understanding is that hormones change where body deposit the fat, hence pot bellies like guys get. Because hormones are becoming more like guy hormones.

Some MNers say that HRT is a miracle cure that sorts everything and nobody gets fat on it or ever has any problems with it.

I have to agree with you. I absolutely love a drink but these days I feel even a couple of drinks the next day, and it really messes up my already rubbish sleep. So depressing as a drink (or many) is one of lifes great joys.

How’s it going Op?

Gimme a chance. 😁

Have swapped to a smaller dinner plate.

Haven’t drunk Sunday - Tuesday.
Will drink tonight but attempt to drink less by - alternating with water between drinks. I mean even as I type it I can’t see it working But Still! It might. Also told DH I should drink less as I drink the same as him and he is twice my weight. He agrees.

Have bought some tight tops so I can’t get podgier.

Have signed up to a reformer Pilates class - this was a coincidence.

I KNOW the drinking is bad but like it’s my only vice. Honestly I am only cutting back through vanity. I am trying to tell my brain Booze = Calories.

will report back in a couple weeks.

Ha ha ok