Desperate need of advice...

[Fitkrista]

Hey,

I'm new on here.

I have been on my weightloss journey for 3 years now..I've managed to lose 140lbs. But the past 7 months I have stopped. I have not lost anything.

The reason for this post is because, I have seen people lose weight (at my current size) and their stomachs flatten...someone I seen is the same size as me, but with a flatter stomach...for some reason for these many years it just will NOT shrink..and the past 7 months now, still will not shrink no matter how much cardio I do or weight lifting I do..

This is driving my anxiety and depression crazy...I honestly do not know what else I can do to get a kick start on this again and flatten my stomach...

I've been to my doctor, as it sticks out quite a bit, and like I've said, just will NOT flatten...I figured there was something medically wrong, but xrays were done, ultrasounds and she says things are fine...that was over a year ago..and still.. my stomach will not flatten...I cannot lose anymore.

I'm stumped.. I'm crying writing this because I dont know what else to do...any tips or advice would be great.

 

[Cate]

Hi, Fitkrista & welcome to the forum. My first reaction & still my strongest reaction after reading your post is "Wow! 140 lbs lost. That is awesome!"
Everyone is a different shape. Everyone loses weight from different places.
Be very proud of what you have achieved.
Are you still considered to be obese?
Do you bloat up after eating certain foods, like wheat for example or diet soda?
Please try to focus on your good qualities. I think that you deserve to be proud of yourself, losing all that weight. Well done!

 

[M2M]

Ditto what Cate said - 140 lbs lost is an amazing accomplishment!!
I mean, take a look at where you were and where you ARE! Mad-crazy-kudos to you!!

So where from here?
How much more do you want to lose? Has your diet changed since you started maintaining?

 

[Fitkrista]

Hi, Fitkrista & welcome to the forum. My first reaction & still my strongest reaction after reading your post is "Wow! 140 lbs lost. That is awesome!"
Everyone is a different shape. Everyone loses weight from different places.
Be very proud of what you have achieved.
Are you still considered to be obese?
Do you bloat up after eating certain foods, like wheat for example or diet soda?
Please try to focus on your good qualities. I think that you deserve to be proud of yourself, losing all that weight. Well done!

Thank you, that means a lot to me!
I bloat literally with almost anything...I still kind of feel something is wrong with me. I drink water, I bloat, I have eggs I bloat, I est veggies I bloat, everything and anything makes me bloat...I dont drink pop, or eat chips. I've literally been clean eating.

I've done exercises, cardio, everything I can think of and my stomach will just not flatten...I even been on the keto diet. First month I lost 10lbs and now the past 7 months, nothing. I just want to cry.

 

[Fitkrista]

Ditto what Cate said - 140 lbs lost is an amazing accomplishment!!
I mean, take a look at where you were and where you ARE! Mad-crazy-kudos to you!!

So where from here?
How much more do you want to lose? Has your diet changed since you started maintaining?

I want to lose at least 20lbs, but I guess my main focus is flattening my stomach more. Which seems to be impossible to do..it constantly feels I have a basketball there at all times. I know my weight will fluctuate with weight lifting and muscle gain...
I been eating clean for 3 years, past 7 months I have been on a low carb diet, which seems to not be working. (Keto) I lost 10lbs the first month, and now nothing..

 

[BIN31]

I was the same, I was feeling the same Fitkrista. I was just not losing the weight and my stomach did not flatten. I was wonder if you have found anything other than Keto that has worked past the month for you?

 

[FeelLikeUAre20Again]

I was the same, I was feeling the same Fitkrista. I was just not losing the weight and my stomach did not flatten. I was wonder if you have found anything other than Keto that has worked past the month for you?

You might be surprised how much fasting will change you, and PRONTO, it may just clean up your body and mind, and get you in the best shape of your life. Start off with a 48 hour fast, then do a refeed low in calories.

Make sure to drink a water solution of potassium and sodium and you will feel like a million bucks after about a week or two of doing this (most people feel better sooner).

The fear of fasting is what held me back for so long, once you do your first 48 hour fast and realize that we don't need to eat 3x times a day, your whole point of view will switch. I know a lady who was 70 lbs overweight and she literally ate one meal every 72 hours and lost all 70 lbs in two months.

I am thin, so I do 1 meal every 24 hours, and then a 48 hour fast on the weekend each week to get a better autophagy affect. This protocol has changed my life. It saves so much time and money and hassle as well.

I feel like I did when I was 18.

You can do this!

 

[FeelLikeUAre20Again]

Ditto what Cate said - 140 lbs lost is an amazing accomplishment!!
I mean, take a look at where you were and where you ARE! Mad-crazy-kudos to you!!

So where from here?
How much more do you want to lose? Has your diet changed since you started maintaining?

and yes, great job on the 140 lbs lost!!!

 

[Tiki1]

Hi Fitkrista,

Wow, what an amazing result you already achieved. Losing 140 pounds is something that most people will certainly envy you for (so hooray for you, you rock).
Your main focus on diet and movement might not be the solution to your problem. Fat storage around the abdominal area is something often associated with higher levels of cortisol (aka the stress hormone). From what I read on your posts it seems to me you have quite a fair bit of it.

The reason for this post is because, I have seen people lose weight (at my current size) and their stomachs flatten...someone I seen is the same size as me, but with a flatter stomach...for some reason for these many years it just will NOT shrink..and the past 7 months now, still will not shrink no matter how much cardio I do or weight lifting I do

This is driving my anxiety and depression crazy...I honestly do not know what else I can do to get a kick start on this again and flatten my stomach..

Putting such a tremendous amount of pressure on yourself to look a certain way is not a great thing for your mind or your body. You seem to be very focused on the things you haven't achieved instead of feeling the pride from what you already managed to achieve.
This mental pressure will certainly trigger high amounts of stress hormones. Why is this so bad? Well, stress is our bodies natural emergency system. It will aid you in a short-term crisis but will be your worst enemy if it is activated for too long. Chronically elevated stress hormone levels will trigger the elevation of blood sugar, which will trigger an insulin response. This will lead to more being fat stored, in particular around the belly area. It will also lead to a loss of muscle tissue, something you want to avoid. In addition these stress hormones will also mess with your gut health and digestion (you mentioned being bloated all the time).
While at first glance this all might sound bad, it is actually something you can manage

So what could be your first steps?

Assess your stress: A good indicator for your stress levels is your sleep. How much sleep do you get? Do you have difficulties falling asleep? Do you wake up during the night? How much energy do you have in the morning? Are you energetically jumping out of bed or are you feeling tired and wired?

Exercise: What are your workouts like? Keep your workouts brief and focus on weights with enough time to rest between sets. Long cardio sessions and extremely intense HIIT training might not be beneficial when your body is already stressed. Dial them down for now and don’t train to late in the evening

Diet: You said you are currently following a keto diet, which can be a good thing. However from what you said about your weight loss (10 pounds in the beginning) it seems to me that this approach is not working for you at the moment (doesn’t mean it is wrong or won’t work at all for you). I guess your initial weight loss was due to the reduction of carbohydrates (they bind water in the body which leads to a sudden initial drop in weight). If you have difficulties with calming down in the evening I would suggest a small amount of carbohydrates in the evening. This will combat the stress levels a bit. Think slow carbs instead of something that crashes your blood sugar.

Digestion: You certainly need to get your gut health in order. This is a topic you should raise with a professional in your area, since it will require an individual solution.

With all that being said, please keep in mind that all the advice given is just an initial guess, since I only know very little about your situation.

I want to say that you should be proud of yourself. You are an inspiring example for many people who struggle with their weight.

 

[Mark S]

I love your screen name...Fit Krista. Is that how you see yourself? Or do you still identify as someone who is fat...who struggles to lose weight? We will never achieve anything in the physical realm of our body that is contrary to our core beliefs about ourself.

 

[bodyweightwithbrian]

not trying to get personal but wondering if you have ever been pregnant/c-section? If that is too personal you can ignore but I know from experience, my wife has had 5 c-sections, that there is just nothing she will be able to do in order to get rid of her flap (her words) outside of restructuring the abs. I think the most important thing is to not use this as an excuse to throw in the towel...you have come so far and are in the right place to keep going. Also take into consideration how much healthier your body must be on the inside from your weight loss....your body thanks you and I thank you for the inspiration!!! If we stick together, we can do this!!!

 

[sam128]

Hey,

I'm new on here.

I have been on my weightloss journey for 3 years now..I've managed to lose 140lbs. But the past 7 months I have stopped. I have not lost anything.

The reason for this post is because, I have seen people lose weight (at my current size) and their stomachs flatten...someone I seen is the same size as me, but with a flatter stomach...for some reason for these many years it just will NOT shrink..and the past 7 months now, still will not shrink no matter how much cardio I do or weight lifting I do..

This is driving my anxiety and depression crazy...I honestly do not know what else I can do to get a kick start on this again and flatten my stomach...

I've been to my doctor, as it sticks out quite a bit, and like I've said, just will NOT flatten...I figured there was something medically wrong, but xrays were done, ultrasounds and she says things are fine...that was over a year ago..and still.. my stomach will not flatten...I cannot lose anymore.

I'm stumped.. I'm crying writing this because I dont know what else to do...any tips or advice would be great.

wow super job - 140 pounds is unbelievable numer

 

[rickoshey]

wow super job - 140 pounds is unbelievable numer

Hi this is rickoshey,

I found that if I wanted to lose fat, or belly fat, I would just change what I usually eat.

Eat any veggies. The easiest ones so far for me (I don't like things that take a while to cook and don't have the time really) is spinach, brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli.
Lettuce is always nice (make sure it isn't iceberg which has the lowest nutrients of the lettuces, try romaine) for salads, as is spinach.
Tomatoes are nice as well and carrots are great for snacking. Peppers (red, green, yellow bell peppers) are great snacks too. Red bell peppers are naturally sweet if you have a sweet tooth.
Also try to make sure your grains (oatmeal, rice, bread) are all whole grains such as wheat. And make sure the wheat bread is 100% wheat bread and does not have enriched anything in it!
Another grain to try is couscous, there is a brown rice version and it doesn't take long to make. Also you should probably add some low fat dairy in your diet.
Drink plenty of water, there should be a chart on how much you should drink a day. You want to go by your body weight. Usually if you weigh more you want to drink more.
One more thing. Add snacks to your diet.
So add a snack between breakfast and lunch and a snack between lunch and dinner so your meals through out the day look like this: Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack dinner. This helps speed up your metabolism.

It helps to make a menu of each meal and to keep a food diary as well.
Hope this helped.

 

[Trusylver]

One more thing. Add snacks to your diet.
So add a snack between breakfast and lunch and a snack between lunch and dinner so your meals through out the day look like this: Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack dinner. This helps speed up your metabolism.

This is a diet myth, snacking does not boost your metabolism.

 

[FoodC]

Hello FitKrista!
I am wondering what exactly is your diet history.
Have you experimented a lot with different kinds of diets?
What do you eat now? Is it still low carb diet?
Have you ever tried to understand your thinking about yourself and about your weight? 7 months is a long time. The longest time to boost metabolism I have ever seen was 5 months but after that time everything was perfect (losing weight, getting fit, getting more flexible etc).
And maybe you can tell us something more about your physical activity?

 

[Trusylver]

Closing thread, OP has not been seen since Feb, and the thread is attracting a lot of spam