Belly fat WILL NOT GO

[whatawickedgame]

I'm honestly at the edge of despair.

I'm 5'7, 9 stone 12lb. I work out 3 x a week and walk quite a bit. I have gone down from 12.5 stone to this weight, but my belly fat won't go away. It's so soft and squishy, I can fold it in half, use it as a stress ball, if I'm lying down it folds on itself, if I'm planking then this big ball of fat is hanging down. Has anyone else had this and what can I do to get rid of it?! Can't afford a tummy tuck. I have 2DC but youngest is 5. It's not loose skin as I can't pull it very far.

What exercises are you doing at the gym? HIIT and cardio are the best to burn belly fat. Whats your diet like? Alcohol and foods high in sugar will contribute to belly fat. Also eating starchy cabs and not burning them off will turn to sugar

How is your posture? Even when at my slimmest (8 stone 7, 5'10) my posture made my tummy noticeable as my lower back curves.

Do you drink alcohol? When I gave up my belly disappeared. I wasn’t a big drinker. A bottle of wine a week.

I’ve lost 4st 9 and I am BMI 24.7 and I still have a jelly belly, it’s very last thing to go and in all honesty, I don’t think it will ever be flat and not squidgy without having a tummy tuck (which I don’t want). I’ve had 2 kids and abdominal surgery I think I have accepted it is just going to look different. How big is it in terms of circumference as that will help work out if it’s skin or not? I think mine is combination of thick loose skin. It’s not thin skin like an arm as it’s normal to have a really thick layer of skin and fat in that region, even though my fat is less, it’s just all a big baggy area and hasn’t shrunk back. I can feel it’s hard under the skin layer from working out it just has the layer!

I imagine a significant factor will be the looser skin from pregnancy plus softer core due to age. You need to work harder to have more muscle as you get older, a strong core is needed to hold everything in and appear flat.
It’s also just body type. I’m quite petite but if I gain weight it appears on my belly first.

It will go away, eventually. For me it was the last thing to go. What I think works best for getting a six pack is not lifting weights but things like pilates, martial arts that involve kicking or ballet. The latter if done correctly is a hardcore strength exercise and challenges you balance constantly, which is maintained by deep core muscles.
What worked for me was LesMills Shapes, it’s a pilates-inspired workout, but I also do LM Barre from time to time and train martial arts twice a week.
This of course needs to be combined with healthy eating. I also drink alcohol only several times a year for special occasions.

If you have children it’s also impossible to go back completely to pre-pregnancy shape. My belly is still more rounded than it used to be before having kids and I accept this. I also ended up with a wider ribcage after pregnancies and apparently that’s normal and common as well. I never had any abdominal surgery and that’s something that also affects shape, the surgery cuts through layers of muscle and they are not ideally matched back fibre to fibre when the wound is stitched together.

You can measure your belly fat easily by leaning forward, so it’s easy to monitor progress. The fewer rolls you have when you’re curled up the more belly fat you have, when it starts disappearing you’ll get more and more of them but smaller in size.

If you've lost almost 3 stone it's possibly loose skin rather than fat.

Exactly this! Plus your genes will play a part

How old are you and what is your waist measurement?
Peri meno can change ones shape in terms of fat distribution to more of an apple. Some friends and I have seen positive changes on HRT.