Now a bit slimmer than a whale...hate my belly

disjobsearcher

Hi
Feeling sick about myself. I feel like a whale, my belly fat is disgusting and I feel so hideous. Because of WFH in lockdown my belly has ballooned from 31inches to 36 inches ( I am not pregnant and Docs found nothing wrong).
I walk for 1 hr a day, and run three times a week but gut's still there.
I've eaten nothing but yogurt for 3 days and not an inch lost.
Surprised my hubby not complaining that his wife is now only slightly thinner than a whale and can only wear baggy jumpers as belly wobbles so much.

How can I lose it ? Please help

littlegreenparrot

First things first, try not to beat yourself up. Many of us have found lockdown very hard and are not in the shape we were 6 months ago. That's ok, we can work our way back. 

Your husband loves you in your entirety, it wouldn't be very loving to start complaining that your struggling. Life happens and we change, a good partner rides that out with us. 

So, to the question. You didn't gain it in three days, it won't go in three days. It isn't sustainable to only eat yoghurt or salad or whatever. Eventually you'll crack and eat everything. 

Best plan is some structure that makes you track intake. Myfitnesspal is free, when you work through the sign up it'll give you a calorie target to use. You can track using the site. Other people like weightwatchers, slimming world, fasting....It all works the same. The goal is to create a calorie deficit and maintain a balanced diet. 

I never found punishing myself to be effective, it was only when I started making positive changes because it made me feel better that I started making progress. 

Grumpy_chap

Your hubby is not complaining because he knows he has a lovely wife.

Eating just yoghurt is not a good approach.

You are doing adequate cardio according to your OP.

So, a good balanced diet with the correct mix of carbs, fat, protein is the next step.  Like @littlegreenparrot I also use MyFitnessPal.  In conjunction with Garmin watch (Connect app) and Renpho scales, I was able to manage weight very well from September to beginning March to get to target weight and since then to stay within +-1kg.

I have found, though, that there is some more belly remaining than I'd like, even though actual BMI is spot-on.  So, I am now working on resistance exercises to tone everything up a notch.

Try not to solve things in three days or any other "crash" period,  This latest lockdown has been four months during which you say you went up in size, so it would be reasonable to go back down over four months or so also.  Quite often "crash" diets can be bad for health and result in "yo-yoing".

Good luck.

Emmia

You probably need to think about toning exercises (planks for example) as well as the cardio to build and strengthen your muscles. 

Have you thought about something like Pilates (reformer or mat) or barre?

Mat pilates and barre can be done in your home with minimal equipment - and there are lots of online classes available for free or low cost.

Barrecore a (mostly) London studio does classes online for £6 each, first class free... (I'm not affiliated, but I've done classes with them in a studio)

https://www.barrecore.com/

Or there are lots via Instagram - barreboy and meet_you_at_the_barre spring to mind.

I (personally) love reformer pilates, but as that is done on a machine it requires going to a studio - and is more like £20 a class... so a bit less MSE

justworriedabit

Dear OP

Read up on what you eat, trust me it works. You may find you are eating just as much but less surgar, carbs etc. Then there are foods that may not agree with you and bloat you.

Nurse2047

Have you considered using Myfitness pal to monitor everything you eat? https://thefast800.com/michael-mosley-story/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwppSEBhCGARIsANIs4p47qn33Faz9-giMbh0RXQUH5mrOZPYdWRNuBw30dksio5o187difnAaArSYEALw_wcB my husband is doing the 5:2 diet and using these recipes and has healthily dropped two stone in 2 months. Try not to beat yourself up about it though, you are doing fab and doing great 

nosuperwoman

I would also like to add to the 'don't beat yourself up' advice. One possibility to consider is the influence of age  and/or disturbed sleep. As we get older (particularly women but also men) fat distribution changes and I read recently that disturbed sleep due to menopause may be a significant factor in 'the spread'. I
Even if you are too young for the latter, stress and poor sleep can also cause such changes.
Finding a healthy lifestyle that suits you and makes you feel good about yourself will work better than any short term fix. 

pjcox2005

Grumpy_chap said:

Your hubby is not complaining because he knows he has a lovely wife.

Eating just yoghurt is not a good approach.

You are doing adequate cardio according to your OP.

So, a good balanced diet with the correct mix of carbs, fat, protein is the next step.  Like @littlegreenparrot I also use MyFitnessPal.  In conjunction with Garmin watch (Connect app) and Renpho scales, I was able to manage weight very well from September to beginning March to get to target weight and since then to stay within +-1kg.

I have found, though, that there is some more belly remaining than I'd like, even though actual BMI is spot-on.  So, I am now working on resistance exercises to tone everything up a notch.

Try not to solve things in three days or any other "crash" period,  This latest lockdown has been four months during which you say you went up in size, so it would be reasonable to go back down over four months or so also.  Quite often "crash" diets can be bad for health and result in "yo-yoing".

Good luck.

Without wanting to create an issue we have no idea whether adequate "cardio" as we don't know pace of walking, length of runs and what OP is doing during rest of the day. On exercise, I would suggest mixing it up a little in terms of what you are doing both type of exercises (e.g. HIIT or weights if appropriate for level of fitness) but also changes to runs etc so not just a steady pace/same distance each time. So run further occasionally, run shorter distances but push the pace of the run. You though will be best placed to consider how energetic your fitness is?

On food, I'd really encourage you not to starve yourself with just yoghurt but think about what you're eating (perhaps with calorie counting) but also quality of the calories; are you getting nourishment/nutrition from the food or just getting empty calories and a sugar hit. Are you eating foods that therefore may also be more filling? Body coach books do actually have a bit about this plus recipes as a common source for many people but internet guides to healthy eating are going to work well rather than googling diets. Try to do something sustainable.