Outside of liposuction, what other offer can be offered to us?!

I share your frustration on this issue. I will eagerly wait to see if anyone knows how to lose fat off the belly without emaciating the rest of the body first, especially since many belly muscle strengthening exercises are now off limits. I have been looking but have not yet found the answer to that question.

It is frustrating that they warn us how unhealthy this fatty abdomen is but don't say how to get rid of it.

I am no expert but I think the way our fat is distributed has a lot to do with our body type and is genetic.

I for example am a classic pear shape, and carry my weight on my hips and thighs. If I lose weight I always lose it from here last, and always disproportionately to the rest of my body.

Not sure what we can do if anything to change this except to try to do all the usual and sensible dietary things which I am so bad at doing, and exercise :)

they only make your abdomen larger by building the muscle - if you want to get rid of your belly- you got to decrease your over all body fat- At this point it isn't about rock hard abs or a board flat tummy- right? Your health. That is where it is. And you are right -fat in your tummy is a problem because it is surrounding all your vital organs-
Ms Cutie it seems like you are ready for a fitness evaluation. Your gym probably offers one- where you can get your body fat tested with calipers- get a baseline of where you are and then make a goal of where you want to be. So no more focusing on the tummy - time to think about the whole system that is the ONLY body you will ever have.....

Hi Ms. Cutie:

Alemama gave you great advice and I just wanted to ditto what she is saying. To loose belly fat you need to exercise the entire body. Both cardio and weights. You should be able to sign up at your gym for a few training sessions to put you on the right track. Your diet is also very important. it is important for both weight loss and for digestion which is very key with prolapse. You can still have it all, a great figure and also live well with prolapse.

There is tons of info. on the WholeWomen site which will give you great diet and exercise advice. I believe Alemama is studying to be a pt and I worked out with a pt for 1 1/2 years. Please feel free to ask any questions as I would be happy to help!

- Lilly Anne

P.S. I am enroute to the gym right now as we speak!

Hi Lily Anne and Alemama!

Does that mean that I too could reshape my body so that my hips and thighs are more in proportion with the right exercise?

Previously to have hips and thighs as slim as I liked, (not that it seems to matter as much to me these days), I have had to lose weight elsewhere too which hasn't reallt been necessary. This was not something I was prepared to do, or at least easily maintain. I guess what I am asking is can someone change a predisposition for one body type or another, or is it that one can lessen a tendency for weight in certain areas with exercise? This sounds exciting to me!

Thank you! :)

Michelle.

the only thing that has reduced hip/thigh fat without overall loss for me, was breastfeeding. of course once the nurslings wean, the distribution goes back to what it was. I found it so interesting.

but anyway....I'd be surprised if there were an exercise routine to change your body's fat distribution. I do think that exercise can help change the shape and appearance of say, your hips and thighs, via building muscle and keeping those parts firm. but I thought once a fat cell is there, its always there. they get bigger and smaller but don't go away (short of surgery). dieting, as we all know, doesn't seem to target fat in one area or another. I didn't think exercise could either (it builds muscle and burns calories, but doesn't directly reduce fat).

that said, if anyone does know how I can lose fat in my hips without flattening out my chest and face completely, I'm all ears : )

alright women- Hips and Thighs are a good thing and so is booty. It is sexy. But we were talking about health right? There is a healthy fat percent range for every woman- get too low and you don't even menstruate and too high and you are at risk for all those nasty diseases. I say as long as you are in that safe range of fat percent- forget trying to have some silly supermodel body- we are real women here- we have children- our female bodies have done some amazing things- embrace that.
Ok that said- you can sort of change your shape- by building muscle in other places so that you appear more balanced- so you want to balance out a pear shape- you can build in the chest and shoulders-....but it can even be done with clothing- padded bra- darker colors on the bottom half- flare leg pants- I'm sure you all have heard all that before.
Listen - exercise is for health - if you are very fit already and want to use exercise to tweak your shape it is possible - but it takes a ton of commitment - we are not talking about 1 hour 5 days a week - we are talking about the kind of time it takes to make it a part time job.
Just get healthy- physically and then work it- be happy for yourself, your body. I refuse to pick a healthy part of my body to complain about. I have a daughter and I never want her to see me model poor body image.
Now how was that for a lecture?

Thanks Alemama, you are a woman after my own heart. I am embracing myself as we speak! :)

Again, I echo Alemama. She gave awesome advice.

I wanted to add that there is no such thing as spot reduction. You can't say, I hate my abs and I'd like them to be flatter. Its about working the whole body.

Also, diet is key! The old adage, you are what you eat really holds true.

Lastly, your diet and exercise program should be a lifestyle change. Meaning that it is something healthy to incorporate into your life. It isn't a quick fix.

- Lilly Anne

thanks, alemama for this great reality check. i feel virtually the same way.

like you, have a daughter for whom i would like her to learn that a woman's body is beautiful -- in all the variations it comes. i want her to see me go to they gym not to sculpt myself into an impossible shape, but to stay healthy and strong. there are enough externals in this world screaming at her to be small small small, not to eat, smoke rather than gain weight and on and on it goes. i want her to love herself. but she has to learn that from seeing ME love myself. and at 43, i really do accept the fact that i am a tall, shapely woman who will never ever wear a size 6. and that's fine by my. what i AM is strong and healthy and resiliant. AND i have a little belly pouch from having my daughter. and, frankly, i love it. i do.

i'd love to hear others chime in on their thoughts. i do realize this is a tricky subject and, especially with the whole woman work, i think it can bring up a lot of stuff. it certainly has for me.

lots of love to all of you.

xxsusan

sending love

you are so right.
I needed the lecture : )

I am a woman with chronic body low self-esteem my entire life. I spent my whole life dieting (even when I was a size 10) thinking I was fat.... I've been yo-yoing, and always adding additional weight ontop of where I started. It seemed like nothing would work. And believe me, I've read all the diet books, & l know a lot about nutrition- AND I have discipline. I would do those diets to the 10th of an ounce, and NOTHING worked. Now this may sound like an advertisement, but the ONLY thing that has worked for me is weight watchers - I lost 25 pounds and I wasn't hungry - and tons of symptoms have gotten better - no more heartburn - even swelling, arthritis symptoms are improved. I mean it - go slow, don't get on the scale more than 1x per week. It will happen to you if it happened to me. Yes, I'm still on the diet - it's now a way of life that I understand I will maintain. Oh, the other thing is I'm 55, and had to get my hormones balanced first. Good luck - don't give up - and be happy. That's the most important thing!