I've been losing weight slowly over the last year (maybe 15 pounds now) from a regimen that includes a reasonable diet combined with weight and aerobic training, about four to five times a week. So far so good. However I notice that my weight loss usually comes in spurts (and I can usually tell ahead of time because I start to urinate more) about every month or so. (Although I weigh myself regularly I average out the usual ups and downs that occur due to diet and exercise.) What bothers me is that the fat loss seems to occur in my derriere, not where I'd like it to be -- around my abdomen. My hip size has reduced and I fit into smaller sizes, but my waist seems to resist diminishing.
I'm male, around 70, about 5' 10", and overweight. The weight loss I've been referring to has me going from over 240 to under 230. (Note, I have weighed much more in the not too distant past and the loss during those years seemed to be more in the abdomen area.)
My wife tells me that women lose it first in the boobs. Is what I'm experiencing a common feature for men? I had always assumed that fat loss draws from every part of your body equally. Am I wrong?
James
Just be faithful with your personal diet and exercise, and the fat tissue will come off the places you wish.
You will not have control where your body takes this off.
Take this from someone who has experience from going from over 20ish% body fat to about 7.8% and is nearing 50 years old, and has researched this subject matter.
When or if you extend your research, I promise the bottom line will be: You cannot control where your body decides to remove its body fat.
Additionally, it is "common" for men to have difficulty in removing body fat from the lower back and lower abdomen. I fell in this "traditional" category when trying to remove the last few pounds, and it can get difficult for some people--especially if we are more advanced in age.
While a basic dietary approach worked to drain the shallow end and to a lessor extent the deeper end of the fat pool during most of my fat loss, I had to move to more advanced dietary methods (if-you-will) to remove the last fat deposits that were stubborn (manipulating macro-nutrients, calories, and adding in higher impact exercises).
Debating how and why our bodies remove body fat is saved for your personal research, and the kind spirit of one wanting to furnish you "reputable" information, and is voluntary (as with practically any forum).
When the smoke clears, what will drive you home within your goal is: The basic fundamentals of diet and fitness which is the super-glue for more advanced approaches such as manipulating calories, macro-nutrients, and the alike, and adapting these to your bodily feed back as you move along and write your personal fitness novel. Science has already given us basic and advanced basics of diet fitness to work with, and this is all you need.
There was no book written specifically for you, and you have to write it my friend. You are responsible for your own fitness, and at the mercy of someone's voluntary help (unless you are willing to pay for it, such as getting a personal nutritionist/trainer).
If you cannot afford one nor want one, than you have to be your own nutritionist and personal trainer.
Most persons on this forum are not diet and fitness scientists, and are not aspiring to be one. Most are average joes' so-to-speak with personally specific goals they want to achieve, and give helpful and voluntary advice.
The absolute killer of one's fat loss quest (isn't learning where and how fat is removed from our bodies), but rather the absolute killer is being inconsistent in applying the fundamental basics and advanced methods of diet fitness, and adapting specifically to ones feedback. It's at this most critical point (when things get tough, and one gets their feathers ruffled)----one shouldn't quit, and most do not realize it. Instead their mind and body isn't connected right; its disjointed, and disconnected leading to absolute failure.
The desire and spirit fades out before they reach the finish line when times get a bit rough and tough.
"Quibbling" over where fat is taken off is a waist of time.
Instead, you should be focusing on your diet, your training, and asking questions on how you could change certain things within your current diet and fitness program to improve your results. This is wisdom.
Unless you have some other motive, which it is "possible" you do.
I will not be responding to this thread again, unless you change your focus.
Best wishes
Chillen