Need advice on flab!

(Jack Brien) #1

How effective is carnivore or keto on flabby bellys in older women 50-60? I’ve post surgery etc. Asking for a friend (obviously cause I’m a guy!)

(Robin) #2

It does reduce the flab, but it takes time. And the belly is the often last to go.

(Bob) #3

I think either one is a great option. If there is a lot of weight to lose and she is worried about loose skin, usually adding in intermittent and extended fasts will help the body reabsorb and repurpose that skin tissue.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

Alas, this is true. But there’s is cause for hope:
I’ve been on carnivore for two months, and my belt is now two holes tighter. I’ll probably drill a couple of new holes, once I can navigate the stairs to the cellar (where my drill is).

Mind you, unless you’d seen me before keto, you’d never believe I’m a lot thinner now. I’m hoping carnivore will finish the job keto started. :pray::pray:

#5

Same as any other diet, if you’re daily diet has you burning fat, you’ll eventually get it. But you can’t spot reduce regardless. Until bodyfat is low enough to get there, it’ll be there. For most, your bodyfat needs to be on the lower end of the healthy range for the stubborn areas to start going away.

My bodyfat has gone from the 30’s into the mid 10’s, and I’m still fighting some really picky areas. Can barely pinch anything in most places… except those. But they are slowly going! Then of course there’s a difference from what wind up being flab (as fat) and flab as actual loser skin. That’s harder, but needs to be addressed right from the start with optimal protein intake (easy on Carnivore) keeping those areas hyper moisturized, collagen can help, dermarolling those areas etc.

Also in the case of anybody, but espeically woman, makeing sure all their hormones are optimal, not just good enough. Much of a womans prime fat locations are hormonally enduced. A women in that age range is almost guarateed to be running low on Estrogen by then, that can be corrected, same goes for Testosterone, which is ignored in the mainstream. Women going on TRT is become much more common, energy aside, fat loss benefits are amazing for them when on it. Made in insane difference in my wife.

#6

I think to reduce some of the connective tissue that formed the net bag in which the adipose was held that some fasting regimens added in to the healthier eating get better visual results.

Back when autophagy was on trend, the goals for a lot of people who lost belly fat with low carb eating was to then lose the loose ‘skin’.

I’m not sure where the current thinking is with autophagy, loose skin reduction and fasting, and whether that old advice that I am recounting has stood the test of time.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

I’m pretty sure Dr. Fung is still advocating fasting for autophagy. He used to talk a lot about a particular patient who tightened up a great deal of loose skin by fasting. The before and after pictures were impressive. Myself, I’ve never had the problem, since my weight loss was slow enough for the skin to stay reasonably tight throughout the process.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #8

Keto and Carnivore do reduce flab, flobble and wobble… But, I think it’s true to say you can’t target where the fat goes away.
In the absence of carbs your body (errrr, your friends body lol) knows what to do and it’ll first attack the fat around your internal organs. Then it moves on to the next priority.
It’s does eventually deal with tummy but that tends to be last on the list … still works brilliantly though.
Pjam = 93 down to 73 in 3 months and was never hungry!

(Robin) #9

My thoughts on that are…. Unless I am going to be naked in front of the general public, who cares. I’ll look cute fully clothed.

(Brian) #10

Not the most fun option but other than surgical removal, fasting is about the most effective way to get rid of the excess skin that I know of.

I have a little leftover from when I was about 100 pounds heavier, most of which is a little “roll” of loose stuff around the middle. I know I could get rid of a lot of that if I’d do more fasting. But I ain’t gonna lie, I don’t wanna. I can, yes, but I don’t wanna. (How’s that for honest?!)

(Bob M) #11

Sounds good. I’m also not sure that some “roll” for some people is a bad thing. Seen discussions by people I trust saying that some people are metabolically healthy even with a roll of fat. Not everyone, and sadly, I don’t what the indicators are to tell whether your roll is healthy or not.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #13

Go by inflammatory markers, liver numbers, kidney numbers (especially GFR), and HbA1C. Remember that 20% of the obese are metabolically healthy, so insulin-resistance/hyperinsulinaemia is not the sole cause of obesity.

Conversely, 40% of thin people meet the criteria for metabolic dysfunction (hyperinsulinamia/insulin-resistance), so while there is an association between metabolic dysfunction and obesity, the correlation is nowhere near 100%.

(Sue G.) #14

The amazing thing about keto is that it DOES target belly fat – I have lost 40 pounds in 5 months, but what surprised me the most is how quickly my belly started to shrink – much faster than the rest of me! Keto particularly targets visceral fat – which shows up as a big belly.

Plus, you get to eat BACON for breakfast! And STEAK for supper! When I get discouraged about missing a piece of toast or a baked potato, I remind myself of the foods that I can eat without guilt, that I couldn’t before. And I’ve learned a lot of great recipes for low-carb veggies that I didn’t used to eat.

And I feel so much better than I used to, which encourages me to keep going.

#15

If the belly is flabby after having lost [lots of] weight, then apparently autophagy is the answer that can be reached through regular fasting (but I think 24 hours and longer).
If the belly is fat and flabby, then you need to patiently continue on with your keto/vore / carnivore lifestyle. It’s a slow process, and, based on what I’ve read, the belly is the body’s preferred stockage area (more often for men) and the hips and buttocks (for women) - so these areas are the slowest and last to go.
But the more slowly you lose weight, the more efficienlty your skin will tighten.