I have a question and thought I would tap into this incredible wealth of information. I am actually asking for my sister. She is having problems with weight on her abdomin. She has been working out 5 days a week since Aug. including working with a trainer. She has also kept a food diary and seems to have her diet in check she however has increased her waist size by 1 1/2 inches. She has very strong abs and does well with ab work but can't seem to drop the inches there. Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts on what could be going on for her?
Thank you for any input!
~M.
Pilates seems to be the best for slimming the abs and it can be a great full body workout as well. She may be adding muscle to her abs area so that is why it is increasing. Drinking a lot of water will flush the fat, too.
What's her caffeine intake like? I can't lose weight no matter what I do when I have my coffee daily. The caffeine causes increased cortisol in me, the stress hormone, which makes a person retain belly fat. It also causes a strong insulin response (and I'm not diabetic) which leads to an inability to lose fat. When I cut out the caffeine, then I find myself dropping lbs.
Does she do stomach crunches? I know that if they are done incorrectly, they can make your stomach muscles stick out and look kind of bulky instead of flat. If I remember correctly, you are supposed to make sure your tailbone isn't touching the floor when you do them.
About 3 weeks ago I started following the recommendations in a book called The Flat Belly Diet. It's more of a "healthy eating plan" than it is a diet, and I'm already seeing results. It was written by the editor of Prevention magazine, and all the menu items (which you make at home) were developed by a nutritionist. The recipes are delicious, and I'm feeling really good about how I'm looking already. Whatever option your sister chooses, I wish her the best of luck!
You on a diet, by Dr. Oz addresses the waist issues. Also check the Real Age website.
S.
I would love to help you out in this area but I am looking for advice as well! Hope I can piggy back on your request! Thanks!
Sorry cant help but I am also curious about this and cant wait to read the answers
How much sleep is she getting? Without the proper amount of rest, the body will gain rather than lose weight no matter how much she diets or exersizes.
Has she had her thyroid function tested?
M.,
I have just heard of a new product called GlucAffect. In clinical trials it transformed lives. It targets Metabolic Syndrome (This sounds like what your friend has to me) and high blood sugars. Just e:mail me at ____@____.com and I can send you some info.
Blessings H.
If she is doing a lot of ab work it could make her abs bigger instead of slimmer. Belly dancers have extremely strong abs but they stick out because of the way they use them. I work out also and I only do two ab exercises. One in a machine where I have weight across in front of my shoulders and I curl down. And the other I do every other time and that is the angled crunches where your feet are above and you curl up. She should make sure to stretch the ab muscles to help keep them long. Swimming or yoga is good for that if she tends towards bulky abs.
Hope this helps a little!
Hi M.
Great to hear your sister is working out.
Ask her if she has ever had a body scan-- to find out lean mass and resting metabolic cal burned from her personal trainer. I'm a wellness coach and can easily do that for her if she emails me directly-- no charge. If she's local to me I can do it on the machine, but if she's not-- we do them with a calculated formula.
If she's strong ab'ed already, she might want to change up how she is working them-- wanting more oblique to slim and you have to do them tense or you actually build mass. I would think the trainer would watch that..Most martial arts have amazingly strong core muscles-- and can build there. Aerobics can even out the workout. If her diet is set to build muscle by her trainer-- she'll build where her exercises are most concentrating efforts.
You said her diet is great-- check 7 servings colorful fruits and veggies, tan for the meats and only one serving of bad carb starches per day to tackle losing the fat. She also needs to know protein intake-- for sure 75gm a day but maybe more-- the scan can help with that. 8 glasses of water a day or more, and it's still cal in cal out and 500 off her resting metabolic.
Again- I'd be happy to email this to her.
My email is ____@____.com
I have to leave town for my Dad after the 14th-- then I'd only be available via email. So have her write momsource in the subject line so I know to address it (mom only has dial up).
Have a great day -
About me 48yo perfusionist, wellness coach and mom to 7 yo twin girls
B. J
One thing that helped my waist was to avoid eating anything with trans fat. I read that it settles on your waist and that seems to be true for me.
Hi M.! Grain could be the culprit here. Many people have grain sensitivities. I had no other symptom of grain allergy except for weight gain around my abdomen. I cut grain from my diet and also started eating a low glycemic diet (not low carb, just low glycemic carbs) and inches started FALLING off. I lost 5 inches in my waist alone!
Also, does she drink diet soda? Artificial sweeteners actually prevent the body from burning calories and make it extemely hard for the body to convert fat to energy.
Good luck to your sister and tell her to keep up the good work!
5 years ago I went on a low carb diet. I was shocked to see that the first thing to go was my gut, in no time at all! I wish I had known that years ago because I was a pasta junkie and always had a little gut, even when I was skinny.
Now if I need to wear something tight or am going to the beach I avoid carbs for a few days :o)
It's water weight from the carbs. I lost 60 lbs in 6 months eating low carb. The way I made it through was that on Saturday I could eat whatever I wanted for lunch. That's what kept me going.
Good luck to her,
J.
If she has increased her waist despite diet and exercise, I'd have her check with her doctor about any issues there. A friend of mine had a malignant tumor growing and needed that taken care of, she had a little stomach pouch like she was early in a pregnancy, no other symptoms. Good luck!
Ditto on the other suggestions re: thyroid and possible abdominal or pelvic tumor (not to scare anyone), but I also know people who have had this issue!
