Belly Fat WILL NOT GO AWAY!

I am 37 years old and I  have managed to lose 10 pounds in TEN VERY LONG WEEKS!!! I was 174 and I am now 164. I want to get to 150 my September.

My stomache is quite large. It sticks out sooo much it almost looks as though I sould be 5 months pregnant. I have stopped drinkng alchohol and I do not eat sweets and HARDLY EVER eat Carbs. My BELLY WILL NOT SHRINK.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Do you think I can get to 150 by September?

I think I should also add that I eat around 1500-1600 calories per day. Poached eggs for breakfast with one slice of whole wheat. Chicken or fish for lunch.  Steak, Turkey burger or Salmon for dinner. Snacks are low fat yogurt or fruit. Lots of greens as well.

150 by September sounds reasonable. You just have to lose more body fat in general, there's no way to make it come off from a certain area of the body.

Unfortunately, fat doesn't often come off from the first place we'd like it too. I lose from my upper body first, and it took months before my lower body started getting smaller. Then once it started to affect my lower body, I couldn't buy smaller pants fast enough - they'd be too big for me within a month, even though the scale wasn't moving any faster.

There are about 10 weeks before September, right? I don't know that you'll be 150 by then, but just keep working at it. At some point I realized that setting goal dates made me feel worse, so I just set goal weights, at 5lb increments, and celebrated each increment, regardless of when it came.

I once read that we lose weight from areas in the reverse order that we put it on, so if your belly fat has been there a long time, then it will be the last to come off -- just stick with your plan and it will go. I also found that personally, getting rid of bread from my diet has helped me flatten my stomach. You also might want to google something like how to shrink your omentum -- that's the layer of fat that covers your stomach and internal organs, and it's where all that belly fat is stored. There's tons of stuff on the web about it.

same here - i have hypothyroid which adds to the problem. 

I can decrease my belly if I increase my thyroid medicine but my Dx does not want to help.

i need to find a source of natural T3

I don't know how effective this would be.. but I always hear how hula hoops are great for midsection. Perhaps you can give that a try?

i have the same problem iv lost 40 pounds but basically nothing from the stomach area which is maddening!!iv asked people the same question...how can i hav lost so much without loosing fat,because like u i eat well,the main responce was to do more exersize,i dont know how much u do but i really dont do that much thats why my summer goal is to walk a mile and go to the gym on alternate days,im sick to death of my stomach fat!!!!

Just to chime in with my $.02, I've lost 92 lbs since February of '08, finally hit my healthy BMI range two weeks ago, and I'm still battling belly fat.  I've been eating well, exercising regularly, and doing periodic body composition workups, so I know I'm not losing a disproportionate amount of lean poundage, but I still have a bit of a flabby gut.  I'm at 170 now (headed for 155), and it's really only been in the last 10 pounds or so in which I've started to see the last vestiges of "apron gut" start to dissipate.  I guess what I'm saying is that the others are right - that abdominal fat is pesky and will be the last to go.  Stick with it!  Eventually, it will melt off.

This is interesting, and might help -

http://realage.typepad.com/youdocsdaily/2008/ 05/6-things-you-di.html

Are you exercising? Perhaps try doing some sit-ups and push ups! They are an easy way to start slimming your tummy as they work your abs.

^^^ You can't spot reduce, and building up your abs will only make your stomach stick out more since it'll push out the fat, heh. Ab exercises are really only going to make a difference once you've gotten rid of the layer of fat over top.

Anyway, OP - some people are just genetically predisposed to carrying their weight around their middle. At my highest weight, people thought I was pregnant, and even now that I've lost 70lbs and am in a healthy range for my height (still a bit chubby), if I don't watch my posture, I could still pass for a couple months pregnant I'm sure. So basically, you have to just keep at it because the weight will come off from all over and not from any one spot, but eventually you will notice your stomach getting smaller.

Studies have shown that people who consume diets rich in monosaturated fats tend to have smaller abdominal regions.  Foods rich in monosaturated fat are: avocados, nuts, seeds, olives, soybeans, chocolate, olive and canola oils.  Also, Whole Grains, for some reason, are better for the waistline than white rice/bread/pastas.

For further reading: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.as p?articlekey=56211

Original Post by tomtom614:

low fat yogurt

Let's start with this. Don't know if you read the label, but low fat yogurts are loaded with extra sugar to make up for the lost taste. 33 grams per serving if I remember correctly. That's a lot of carbs, and they're undesirable carbs as well.

Add in some healthy fats as was suggested (Fish oil, olive oil, nuts/natural peanut butter/etc), and you should be on the right track.

Also, you didn't mention exercise, which makes me think you're not doing it. Add in 3-5 days of cardio and/or a couple days of weights.

Hey,if you have a big belly and want to lose the fat then it will take time to do via loseing weight.

BUT,you can do crunchs and sit ups do around 50 per day and it will begin to hurt but it will tone your stomach making it look less big,trust me,i used to have a big stomach but it can be helped by doing them exersizes.

Also try weight lifting,more muscle you gain faster your metabolism will be.

As you've heard many times you can't spot reduce. I went through the same thing where I wasn't slimming down as much as I wanted to.  But then about 6 months ago I analyzed my average daily fat intake. I adjusted my food choices for less fat so I averaged around 15g of saturated fat a day. After several months there was a noticable difference in my appearance in my face, arms, and stomach. All slimmed down a bit more and the stomach is finally flat. Unscientific but now I'm careful with the total fat intake. Plus its even better for overall health.

You should drink plenty of water, no alcohol and also exercise. Ingesting less calories than you burn is the perfect scenario.

2 websites that helped me the most:

http://www.medicinenet.com/weight_loss/articl e.htm

http://losebellyfat101.org/how-to-lose-belly- fat-naturally