What actually works to get rid of mummy/meno tummy?

[Om83]

My kids are now 15/13 but never got rid of the mummy tummy. Came across some ‘diastasis recti’ (sp?) video exercises last year that I have been doing for months now, not working so wonder if it is now just a peri-menopause belly?!

I started running in March and prob do around 3-4k 3 x a week so not massive distances, but am enjoying it and feel fitter than I have been in years. In that time I have started doing a muscle builder app program to help with general strength, but targeting my belly and hip/knee muscles to help my running.

I eat healthy, balanced normal foods, trying to be mindful of protein intake, no sugar unless special occasion and usually only 1 glass of wine at the weekends.

I can feel muscle underneath the belly flab so it’s working to some extent, but the flab on top of it is not shifting!!! I have always been a size 10-12 historically but am definitely a 14 now, the rest of my body seems in proportion and acceptable, it’s just this belly! It’s a little more acceptable first thing in the morning, still flabby but looks worse by the end of the day but I don’t feel bloated.

for context I am def peri-meno but on the combined pill which helps my mood/symptoms have moved jobs in the last year to improve stress levels/work life balance etc, magnesium to help sleep etc and get a good 8 hrs a night.

do I need to be more patient than three months of my exercise regime?

Any recommendations for any thing that has worked for you??

You can't remove fat from specific areas by exercising. If you want less belly fat you need to create a calorie deficit and lose fat. You also can't choose where it goes from enough, bellies are often the last to go.

It'll be slack skin too. You can see some muscle definition in my stomach, but nothing like in my 20s, even though I'm as slim. The skin sags and pouches. Because it's 46 years old and it's tired now.

I think lots of swimming breast stroke does wonders for toning up ones middle, but to shift fat sadly the only was is to loose weight

In the last 7 months I’ve gone from a tight 14 to a size 10 and carried a lot of my weight around my stomach. My stomach was the last thing to go and I didn’t really notice a difference until I reached around 150lb started at 187lb I’m 44 and 5ft 7.
I have been doing a strength training class and a cardio 3/4 times a week but the main thing has definitely been the fat loss, not to be annoying because I know not everybody wants to do this and it’s the response everyone is giving but I lost it all using Mounjaro.

Calorie deficit and the weighted pilates exvercises you are talking about. I've had 4 children so i have a good deal of loose skin, but i do the above and so if you touch the loose skin, the area is hard underneath even if its very difficult to see muscle, thats about a years work.

Thanks that’s interesting, I haven’t really tracked calories so will try to get in a deficit, but it’s difficult as I often feel knackered with the running if I haven’t eaten enough! According to my very scientific app apparently I need about 2200 calories a day, if I aimed for 1600 is that enough of a deficit?

I’ll give it a bit longer but failing that maybe I need to investigate mounjaro @SeasideDaisy- that’s v impressive- I’m similar ish but 176lb and 5’7 but yes a lot of the weight is on my stomach. Are you still on it? I gather you wean yourself off and then maintain the healthy diet/exercise to maintain the weight loss?

Yes I’m still taking it but I’m almost at goal.. 135lb. I don’t intend to stay on it, I’ve completely changed my lifestyle since starting out at the beginning of December and am planning on just maintaining what I’ve learned over the last 6/7 months.
I think with the excercise you are doing 1600 seems reasonable, try it and if you don’t notice a change you can adjust.

Watching.
I am a pilates teacher (!) Aged 44 and still have a mum tum and meno belly. I'll let you know when mine shifts 😅

On the plus side it is solid as iron underneath and I can do a full teaser exercise!

If you need 2200 and are doing lots of exercise I would not go below 1700 and would probably start of 1800 to see how that goes. I 500 calorie deficit will give you 1-2lb weight loss a week which is a sensible amount.

Mediterranean diet is working for me or it could be the lack of carbs (but I have very few carbs because I am too unwell to exercise). So lots and lots of veg, olive oil, nuts, seeds, pulses and lean protein. I have never before managed to lose so much belly fat.

500 calorie deficit will give 1lb loss not 1-2lbs.

If you think you do have diastasis? Have you tested yourself for a gap? Unfortunately for many of us it can only be truly fixed by surgery 😪

most stubborn belly fat (not muscle damage) is caused by out of balance hormones, got to manage insulin (blood sugar) and cortisol (stress).
manage blood sugar by eating low carb, intermittent fasting will also bring down blood sugar and belly fat.

I don’t think I do have diastasis- tbh I don’t know much about it- it was just something that caught my eye on all the videos I was suddenly bombarded with- you know the type- ‘can’t get rid of your mum tum? It could actually be this so do these exercises…’ so it got me exercising at least 🤣

thanks I will try monitoring calories a little closer as well. I tend to eat Mediterranean-ish as @dizzydizzydizzydescribes and am mindful of carbs intake, but do feel rubbish when I go to low in carbs. I have managed to curb my sweet tooth and genuinely don’t fancy snacks/puddings anymore which is somewhat shocking to me, I definitely have a healthier mindset since exercising.

i have looked at intermittent fasting and cortisol effects of blood sugar/belly fat - I tend not to eat after 7pm at night but read conflicting things about cortisol saying you should eat as soon as you wake up (for me 7am) and other things saying to fast for as long as possible to extend the fasting window - I could easily eat breakfast after 9am so that would give me at least 14 hrs of fasting, not sure if that’s enough to make a difference, or do something like Michael Moseley 5-2?

I wouldn't over complicate things, just aim for a calorie deficit to start with and see how you get on.

I think 3-months is quite early days and you probably will see a difference in another 3 months and then another 3 months etc,

Weight training has been more effective for me than cardio for slimming down my belly and waist (although my belly is partly a c-section overhang which I don’t think I’ll ever shift completely).

I mostly do exercises that target multiple parts of the body rather than targeted (so goblet squats, deadlifts, weighted lunges etc) and that + regular yoga has slowly had an impact without drastically changing what I don’t eat (I can’t be arsed with calorie counting and need plenty of protein on the days I weight train!).

Try not to get sidetracked by cortisol, insulin spiking and the like. Ultimately if you’re 1-2 dress sizes larger, you’ve put on weight and that weight is mostly body fat. To lose that, you need to be in calorie deficit.

I’d second the recommendation to add strength training. As you build muscle, your metabolism increases, making fat loss a bit easier.

The running is great, but don’t overestimate how many calories it’s burning. 3-4k is likely only burning 300-400 calories at most each time, and it’s really easy to eat that back and more if you’re having extra food to fuel
it! Instead, I’d time runs around scheduled meals. You don’t really need to eat more for 3-4k.