Belly fat not disappearing

(Bob) #1

I’ve lost 50lbs in keto in 6 months. 20 more to go. My arms, legs and upper torso are looking trim but I still have a lot of belly blubber. I thought Keto was supposed to take fat off evenly. I’m wondering if this is normal and if not if anyone has any suggestions.

(KCKO, KCFO) #2

I found IF and extended fasting did the trick for the belly fat. In just over a month, 3 ins. were gone in that area and since I still do the fasting, it is slowly melting down more, but at a slower rate. I am under my original goal weight and I think that has something to do with it.

My legs, arms and face had thinned down, but my belly not so much. So I think this is pretty normal for most of us. I am female.

(Karen Parrott) #3

I had better results with bringing my fat lower, closer to my protein grams for abdominal fat resolution. Not low fat, just lower so my body’s hormone system would cue a better (lower) visceral fat. For me, that worked. Experimentation and your body’s reaction will give you a lot of valuable data. Onward

(KCKO, KCFO) #4

Karen, that is some good advice, I might need to keep playing with my macros, I am losing belly fat still but very slowly. This could be the reason.

(Karen Parrott) #5

Yeah, since often weight is hormonal/endocrine response, I give myself 2 months to see how things play out. I’ve had good luck with subcutaneous fat and visceral fat and stable weight. I do flex into higher fat, lower protein several days a week, with some 1:1 (close anyway) fat:protein.

It takes time to see the end results of a hormone balance system, and nobody is jumping around offering me lab testing to see what’s going on, so n=1 it is. Good luck and both of you, let us know what is working.

(Jack Brien) #7

NO diet will take off the fat in specific areas such as abdominal. It will take visceral fat first, which is the killer stuff. After that you just have to keep with it.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #8

My fat seems to be leaving in reverse order of how it arrived. So I expect the spare tire to be the last to go.

(Khara) #9

Do you have a regular schedule you keep to for extended fasting or how do you decide when and how long to do extendeds?

(Allie) #10

Don’t know where you heard this but it’s not true. Belly fat is usually last to go, same as it’s usually first to arrive.

(Allan L) #11

I read somewhere at some point in time that belly fat is the first to come and the first to go, but I also read somewhere at some point in time that low fat, high carb was the best diet for optimal health and weight loss. LMAO.

My personal experience, belly fat adjusted and dropped month 1 of the diet but since then its not moved. I’ve lost weight from arms, legs and face but the belly has not changed in 3 months. Tried IF and alternate day fasting, now going to try an extended fast of 5 days to see if it will help give it a nudge in the right direction.

Buying clothes is proving difficult because my belly is still large but everywhere else is shrinking. Guess its a good problem to have! :slight_smile:

(KCKO, KCFO) #12

I mix it up, as per Megan Ramos’ advice, I do IFing 3-4 days a week, I do a 24 hr fast at some point in the week. I then do the Zornfast, a group fast on here, once a month, that runs Thru. to Sun.

While most of the fat now comes from my belly area, as that is where most of the remaining stuff is located, I still lose from other parts of my body, I thought I was done with my feet, but I wore a pair of shoes that should be fitting me, and they are too big, kept slipping off my heel. I also just had to take in my Fitbit a notch, around my wrist.

I have always noticably lost first in my legs and arms, etc.belly is always the last to go away. My size 6 pants are loose around my legs, but the waist is still very much fitting. My legs could use about a size 2 right now, but that ain’t happening till the belly fat gets further reduced. I am over the moon about size 6 still, so I can be patient.

Our bodies are constantly evolving, I’m trying to enjoy the ride.

(Khara) #13

Thanks for your fasting info. Sounds like you’re seeing great progress. You must feel so great.

I do IF daily naturally. Weekends I tend to eat a bit more and also enjoy cream in my coffee first thing in the morning while I relax and read (so no IF then). I’m thinking that early in the week will be good for a fast day or even an extended having had a bit more fat the days before. So today I am fasting. Partly because I want to start trying this schedule and also just due to not being hungry so it seems like a good time to try. It’ll be my first. I figure 24 hours+.

I completely agree with Megan Ramos’ advice to change things up. I’ve noticed this on my own through various diets in my lifetime. Even with changing things up, I think my brain will do better with some sort of schedule with the fasting so that I can keep track and get them in regularly. At the same time I really like the idea of continuing to listen to my body, eat when hungry, etc, so I’m hoping to combine that and see a personal pattern of it for when fasting would/should be ideal for me. There’s gotta be hormonal rhythms involved as I know I regularly hit times when I’m just not hungry but I have not tracked to see what the regularity might be.

Thanks again, we’ll see how this first intentional long for me fast goes.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #14

I actually look worse on keto. I lost weight everywhere but my abdomen so it looks even bigger by comparison and seems to jut out even further. It’s mortifying–I look and feel like a keto failure.

(jay) #15

Stange Bumps and Lumps… my belly and saddle bags have finally begun to shrink only after well over a year on keto, and 75 pounds of fat lost, which only seems like a long time given it took over 50 years to get that fat in the first place, im leaner than i have ever been in my life. Now im starting to see these strange lumps and bumps all up and down my lower abdomen, i’m not sure but extensive google image searches suggest that it could be an early “abs” sighting …Keto on my man…Keto on!

(Linda Culbreth) #16

Ain’t that the truth!

(VLC.MD) #18

First on, last off

(Rabika Anderson) #19

If you think your other body part apart from your stomach reduces its size. Then, now you just do exercises which will reduce your belly fats such as Crunches, Twist Crunches, Side Crunch, Reverse Crunches, Vertical Leg Crunch, Bicycle Exercise, Lunge Twist, Rolling Plank Exercise, The Stomach Vacuum, Captain’s Chair, Bending Side To Side. If then also you do not see any improvement take a help of experts.

(Chris) #20

You can’t spot-reduce fat without liposuction. All of these exercises will help burn fat but they won’t necessarily target belly fat at all. You need to focus on systemic fat loss if you expect to see any progress.

(Pete A) #21

I’d share photos of my lower belly fat but they’d be deemed obscene! Like @Aqua_chonk it’s not a pretty picture.

That being said I do look very fine clothed, so that’s good. And I’m committed to regular strength training, exercise, IF, and the right macros to Keto on…

I’d like to prove the theories around keto-ing burning fat, there’s some left for sure, and I’m in no hurry. I pore over remedies mostly around collagen building etc but do know it’s a longer term thing.

(Jay Patten) #22

You don’t realize how much fat you have “hidden in plain sight” on your body until you drop lots of weight but STILL have a belly!