Older ladies...and tummies

[Vonny]

Calling all maturer ladies! As you probably know I've lost a great deal of weight in the last year and managed to reduce my hba1c to 36. I've lost 4.5 stone and am back in size 10 which is the right size for a 5' 1" lady with a very petite frame. I don't mind the bagginess (as someone said in another thread they looked like they needed ironing!) although my ribs are showing through and my shoulders are just sort of skin and bone. BUT I still have bit of a tum. I just can't get rid of it. Obviously it's reduced hugely because I was previously in size 20, but I just can't shift it back to my previous flat tum.

Now I know it's a bit personal, but has any other lady in their middle or old age (I am 61) managed to completely reduce their tummy? I think I need to call a halt to the diet now and maintain at 8st 3lb, but I really would like to see my tum disappear. Thank in advance 🙂

 

[Robin]

Calling all maturer ladies! As you probably know I've lost a great deal of weight in the last year and managed to reduce my hba1c to 36. I've lost 4.5 stone and am back in size 10 which is the right size for a 5' 1" lady with a very petite frame. I don't mind the bagginess (as someone said in another thread they looked like they needed ironing!) although my ribs are showing through and my shoulders are just sort of skin and bone. BUT I still have bit of a tum. I just can't get rid of it. Obviously it's reduced hugely because I was previously in size 20, but I just can't shift it back to my previous flat tum.

Now I know it's a bit personal, but has any other lady in their middle or old age (I am 61) managed to completely reduce their tummy? I think I need to call a halt to the diet now and maintain at 8st 3lb, but I really would like to see my tum disappear. Thank in advance 🙂

Sorry, can’t help, but I’m in the same boat, and only a magic wand and an incantation 'Abdominus Flattenus' would help! I blame the Menopause 15 years ago.(I’m 65 now)
Pre Diabetes diagnosis, I wasnt overweight, but I carried a bit of spare padding round my thighs and hips. Then I lost it all when I had undiagnosed Type 1, and got very skinny. And this coincided with the menopause. When I eventually got treated properly, and regained the weight I needed to, it ALL went on my waist and lower abdomen. I still don’t have much of a bum, and my thighs are the slimmest they’ve ever been, but my waist is four inches bigger than it was fifteen years ago, and nothing shifts it. If I lose weight, I lose it off my thighs, bum and face, and if I exercise, I build up a nice layer of stomach muscles under the flab, but the flab stays there! Frustrating, because I've had to change the way I dress. I used to wear things cinched in at the waist, because I had one, whereas now I disguise it with jeans that sit below the waist, with a top pulled down over them.

 

[Maca44]

OK I'm not a lady or am I, no I'm a man, but I know that after loosing lots of weight that tummy flab is just stretched skin I've now got small baggy breasts now the fat has reduced so no way am I walking along Southsea seafront with me top off that's for sure. Surgery is the only option and I'm not going down that road.

 

[WendyB61]

Calling all maturer ladies! As you probably know I've lost a great deal of weight in the last year and managed to reduce my hba1c to 36. I've lost 4.5 stone and am back in size 10 which is the right size for a 5' 1" lady with a very petite frame. I don't mind the bagginess (as someone said in another thread they looked like they needed ironing!) although my ribs are showing through and my shoulders are just sort of skin and bone. BUT I still have bit of a tum. I just can't get rid of it. Obviously it's reduced hugely because I was previously in size 20, but I just can't shift it back to my previous flat tum.

Now I know it's a bit personal, but has any other lady in their middle or old age (I am 61) managed to completely reduce their tummy? I think I need to call a halt to the diet now and maintain at 8st 3lb, but I really would like to see my tum disappear. Thank in advance 🙂

Well done for your weight loss, I’m sorry I can’t help because I have that big tum but I am interested to know how you have lost your weight and what sort of things you have been eating?

 

[Vonny]

Well done for your weight loss, I’m sorry I can’t help because I have that big tum but I am interested to know how you have lost your weight and what sort of things you have been eating?

Hi @WendyB61 I lost weight through a combination of calorie control, v low carb and lots of walking. Max 1500 cals per day, no bread, spuds, pasta or rice and walking between 3 and 6 miles per day. Once I'd given up the carbs I found I didn't miss them and still don't eat them, though I need to increase my calories now to stop losing! Best of luck with your tum...it's such hard work isn't it x

 

[eggyg]

I’m also 61 and have a “tummy”. I was always a skinny lass, until I had three children, but I always had a thick waist and no bum or thighs to speak of. 30 years on, I’m pretty much still the same and like @Robin jeans and a long top covers a multitude of sins. I think, unfortunately, at our age we’ll never have that taut, flat tummy we covet so much, unless we go down the surgery route. Menopause usually puts paid to that. When I lose weight it goes off my already skinny bottom, thighs and chest.
Congratulations on your superb weight loss though, my daughter lost four stone last year, she’s only 33, and has a nice smooth, flatter tummy. That’s youth for you though!

 

[Leadinglights]

2 children and a hysterectomy at 32 put paid to any stomach muscles. I like the analogy to ones 'skin need ironing'. Still got weight to lose so it may take more work than an iron, a trouser press maybe.
I was wondering how you guys who had lost a fantastic amount of weight had managed not to look like a Shar-pei. Cute they might be but?

 

[Toucan]

Hello @Vonny
MANY MANY MANY congrats on your success with the weight loss. You make it sound straightforward, but I am sure that you overcame many ups and downs along the way.
Re the 'cuddly tum' problem. I wish I knew the answer to that one! I've been trying to solve it for a few years now. If I put a few ponds back on I know exactly where they are. It is actually a good indicator to take action when the waist band starts to be a bit uncomfortable.

I've tried all sorts of exercises and they may help a little but not much.
As others have said, careful selection of clothes is an answer, and also looking at old photos and appreciating how very much things have improved, and fitting in to some lovely clothes that would just have been a dream a while ago.

 

[helli]

Congratulations on your fantastic weight loss @Vonny
Unfortunately, the media has led us to believe that a flat tum is the way to go but look back at old pictures and movies. Marilyn Monroe was not completely flat-tummed and she was stunning.

That said ... turn away if you are sensitive ...
I have always been slim (sorry) and active. I am in my ... ahem 50s ... and still have a flat tum. So it is possible for someone of our age who has been through menopause.
It has its downsides - I have little fat for my pump and it is challenging to get clothes to fit a size 6 body.

(Apologies if I sound as if I am boasting - it is not the intention. I just want to correct the assumption that flat tums are impossible as women age.)

 

[Robin]

(Apologies if I sound as if I am boasting - it is not the intention. I just want to correct the assumption that flat tums are impossible as women age.)

I think that’s right if you’ve never fluctuated. The fat stays put where it always was. But because of my weight loss (BMI went from 21 to 19, so I wasn’t large to start with) and regain round about the menopause, it then redistributed itself in places where I didn’t want it!

 

[eggyg]

2 children and a hysterectomy at 32 put paid to any stomach muscles. I like the analogy to ones 'skin need ironing'. Still got weight to lose so it may take more work than an iron, a trouser press maybe.
I was wondering how you guys who had lost a fantastic amount of weight had managed not to look like a Shar-pei. Cute they might be but?

I’ve had two lots major abdominal surgery and they cut through my stomach muscles. Aswell as the beautiful scars I have a rather pronounced “dip” right through my belly button. Hence why I haven’t a flat tummy! That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! 😉

 

[eggyg]

Congratulations on your fantastic weight loss @Vonny
Unfortunately, the media has led us to believe that a flat tum is the way to go but look back at old pictures and movies. Marilyn Monroe was not completely flat-tummed and she was stunning.

That said ... turn away if you are sensitive ...
I have always been slim (sorry) and active. I am in my ... ahem 50s ... and still have a flat tum. So it is possible for someone of our age who has been through menopause.
It has its downsides - I have little fat for my pump and it is challenging to get clothes to fit a size 6 body.

(Apologies if I sound as if I am boasting - it is not the intention. I just want to correct the assumption that flat tums are impossible as women age.)

I was very very slim when younger and hated it. Clothes hung on me, I had nothing in the boob area and I was too embarrassed to go swimming. Oh how I wish I was that slim now! We’re never happy are we?
As I’ve got older I’ve learnt to accept that at 61 I won’t ever look like a model, at 5ft 2ins that was never going to happen anyways, and I’ve learnt to accept my wobbly bits, my scars and all the other things that come with ageing. Except grey hair, that’ll never happen!

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

Carrying twins and the ensuing c-section to extricate them put paid to my once flat belly!

 

[Vonny]

Thanks so much ladies (and gent!) for your honest replies. @helli I'm so pleased for you that you still have a flat tum. I think I'll just have to accept the bit of a belly along with my baggy body. The main thing I suppose is that I'm healthier than I've been for years, I can trot quickly now I'm no longer carrying excess weight, and my goal now is to maintain that.

@eggyg, I would love grey hair but it steadfastly remains its usual mousy brown. It is getting thinner instead of greying so I may well be bald by the time it does turn!

 

[Perfect10]

About 5 years ago I wore bikini’s on holiday. I then put 2 stone of weight on, stress related bad eating habits etc. Since the diabetes scare last year I have lost the 2 stone but would not feel comfortable in a bikini now as my tummy didn’t disappear with the weight loss but I now weigh the same as 5 years ago! I could probably reduce it with specific exercise to tone up tummy muscles but I know I would never keep up with it!

 

[AndBreathe]

@Vonny - I lost weight post-diagnosis, but not as much as you. The weight I had carried had been around my mid-section. I'm now a very slight 5'3", 48-49kg, wearing a size 6 bottoms and a 6/8 top.

One thing I will say is don't be impatient with your body. When I lost weight I found it frustrating that I lost it from all my "good" bits and it hung around on the bits I didn't care for. However, over time, my body whilst remaining pretty stable in weight has changed shape. My body seems to have redistributed everything and my skin has improved. That said I moisturise my full body every day. Shea butter and Aloe Vera are my friends. 🙂

Please don't just keep dieting in the hope of improving any given spot. A flat tum is about more than weight or the fat we might, or might not be carrying. It's about core muscle strength, posture, the impacts of any pregnancies, and how we dress.

I'm sure having lost weight you have gone through a wardrobe or two of everything, sizing down. I know, depending on what I wear, I can look quite different from outfit to outfit. I also think we can be very hard on ourselves, in terms of body image.

I'd suggest you consider just trying to stay a stable weight for a year and see what happens to your body. Moisturise like mad and try to ensure your posture is good and you work on it. You might be surprised what a year brings to you.

 

[Vonny]

@Vonny - I lost weight post-diagnosis, but not as much as you. The weight I had carried had been around my mid-section. I'm now a very slight 5'3", 48-49kg, wearing a size 6 bottoms and a 6/8 top.

One thing I will say is don't be impatient with your body. When I lost weight I found it frustrating that I lost it from all my "good" bits and it hung around on the bits I didn't care for. However, over time, my body whilst remaining pretty stable in weight has changed shape. My body seems to have redistributed everything and my skin has improved. That said I moisturise my full body every day. Shea butter and Aloe Vera are my friends. 🙂

Please don't just keep dieting in the hope of improving any given spot. A flat tum is about more than weight or the fat we might, or might not be carrying. It's about core muscle strength, posture, the impacts of any pregnancies, and how we dress.

I'm sure having lost weight you have gone through a wardrobe or two of everything, sizing down. I know, depending on what I wear, I can look quite different from outfit to outfit. I also think we can be very hard on ourselves, in terms of body image.

I'd suggest you consider just trying to stay a stable weight for a year and see what happens to your body. Moisturise like mad and try to ensure your posture is good and you work on it. You might be surprised what a year brings to you.

Thank you @AndBreathe, you give me hope! I've just started moisturing, especially my upper arms which are the specially wrinkly bits. Like you I carried most of my weight round the middle. Skinny legs and a huge torso...a bit like a toffee apple on 2 sticks! I'm amazed that my knees held out! I know I need to stop dieting now and maintain, and your words make absolute sense 🙂

 

[Spozkins]

I'm not middle aged and always have a tum whether slim or not, fit or not. If there's one thing I've learnt about it is there's not a huge difference I can make so if I'm healthy it doesn't matter too much - just a bit more to love ha!

I bet you look great though and it's just one of those things you're noticing because it's your own body. Well done on losing 4.5 stone though, that's incredible.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Huge well done on the weight loss @Vonny - a real achievement!