Lost Weght But Still have belly fat

Hi All,

I have recently lost some weight by counting calories and working out daily (jogging 20min + elliptical 20min + situps). However, none of the belly fat seems to go away, and in fact, I feel like my belly got bigger. Anyone has any idea why and what should I do to maximize the fat burning around the ab area?

Thank you so much, you guys have been really great in this forum!

Hi,
It may be that your belly is the last place your body will be willing to let go of the fat... fat pads are there to protect us -as aggrivating as they are- and depending on your body type will take forever to go away.

It seems like your belly is bigger because the rest of you is smaller... I have the same issue with my hips, I have an hourglass shape so my saddle bags will be the last to go... very frustrating considering that my hips are just what I'm trying to get rid of!

Don't lose hope, the fat will go away in time, but on it's own timeline. You are doing a great job getting your cardio in and muscle toning, it's just going to take time.

You know what? I actually bought a book by Denise Austin called "Shrink your female fat zones" because it seems all women have an area where they tend to gain weight first and lose weight last, and there are LOTS of ideas and routines that will help women lose fat where they need to and looking much more proportioned! There is also an eating plan that is not like the typical "diet" (it's healthy) but lets you still eat the foods you want in moderation, but I just use the exercise part. There is a lot more interesting information that Denise gets into and she's really motivating. If you want to learn more about that book you should look it up on amazon.com!

I've always heard there's no such thing as "spot reduction"  that there's no way to lose fat only at a certain area, your body will decided to get rid of the fat according to your genes.

I agree with Raven. There is nothing called spot reduction. I am in a similar situation. Belly is the last place it seems the fat is gonna come off. I check my Body/Fat % at my Gym every weak I dropped 2% points but still gained a pound on the weight. I know its the muscle I am adding.

Once you add lilttle more muscle, you'd see your fat disappearing. Our body needs four times more calories to support 1 lb of muscle than 1 lb of fat. So keep exercising as it will keep your metabolism high. And your body soon will have to get energy from the fat stores.