Belly Fat

[Boxer19]

I have been on Atkins for 3 weeks and lost about 12 lbs so far. I started out at 185 lbs and now weigh just above 170 lbs. I am 65 years old and can't seem to get rid of my belly. My arms and legs are "losing weight" and my wedding ring is very easy to remove lately (because of skinny fingers). Does anyone know how I can target my belly fat?

[janetsbreeze]

Atkins is great for those of us who gain and keep our fat around the middle - I'm one of them. I have found that eliminating wheat and gluten helps tremendously as well.

[dlk35]

Got the same problem.Been on Atkins for almost a year now and it just won't go away.I do see that it is slooooowly going away but,other than exercise you will just have to be patient.

[avid]

Glad to see this post .... I'm 63 years old and belly fat has been with me as long as I can remember. I'm at a good weight now, scale wise, but one look in the mirror tells me I have a way to go yet. I have the classic 'pot belly'
I suspect that some of us are just genetically predisposed to store fat this way.
I have a picture of me when I weighed 130 pounds and there was still a little pot belly.
All we can do is loose as much excess fat as we can, but it's up to nature where that fat comes from.

[avid]

Oh, as an added thought...this is a topic that would be well suited to the main lobby.
It would be seen by alot more people and I'm certain there would be many more responses.

[Boxer19]

Thanks avid, and others. I may be trying too hard to lose the belly. Since spring is coming I hope to do more exercising which should help. Otherwise the weight is slowly coming off.

Bill

[SweetMe678]

There are a few tidbits I am aware of about belly fat (this is where I am the largest),
I had read once when doing a research paper on ptsd that cortisol a stress hormone, causes your body to store and hold onto the fat in your abdominal area.

Also in another study (I don't recall how accurate these studies were) they found that the fat in your abdomen is different than the fat in other parts of your body, especially if you have visceral or intra-abdominal fat (fat under your muscles). If I remember correctly, the two ways to help your body with that is to supplement with fish oil (up to 6 pills a day) and to get plenty of cardiovascular exercise, like 30-60 minutes a day.

I also know there was a study done, that showed women who exercised more than 45 minutes a day tended to lose more belly fat in conjunction with diet, than did their 30 minute a day counterparts, even when the 30 minute a day, showed the same calories burned.