Forums: January 2011 Kickstart Forum: Belly fat?
Created on: 01/06/11 03:49 PM Views: 1289 Replies: 4
mrswright Joined: 01/06/11 Posts: 4	Belly fat? Posted Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 3:49 PM I have about 10-15lbs to lose, but it's been very stubborn in coming off... especially around my belly. Any time I try to lose the weight I lose about 1-3 pounds within the first week, but then I stay the same for the most part.... I'm assuming it's all water weight since it usually comes right back on the first day I overindulge. It's very frustrating. Anyway... what could I be doing wrong? I've been vegetarian for 3 years now and I'm hoping that going vegan will finally solve the problem, but we'll see..
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2087	RE: Belly fat? Posted Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 4:31 PM mrswright wrote: I have about 10-15lbs to lose, but it's been very stubborn in coming off... especially around my belly. Any time I try to lose the weight I lose about 1-3 pounds within the first week, but then I stay the same for the most part.... I'm assuming it's all water weight since it usually comes right back on the first day I overindulge. It's very frustrating. Anyway... what could I be doing wrong? I've been vegetarian for 3 years now and I'm hoping that going vegan will finally solve the problem, but we'll see.. Water weight - drink more water (seriously) to make sure you minimize how much is retained above what you need. Bottom line is always more calories need to go out than come in to lose weight. On the kickstart, there's no calorie counting or anything (which is lovely) but still, it's possible to be a fat veg*n if what you're eating is more than you need to eat. The good thing is that if you're eating lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains/beans/legumes, it's really hard to over eat because they are so filling, you can't fit as much (unless you're used to stuffing yourself like a Thanksgiving bird). That's another part of it - learning to listen to your body and eat when you need to eat, and stop when your body has had enough. For most of us, that means slowing way down on the speed of our eating - we're used to "grabbing a bite" instead of enjoying a meal, the whole 'fast food culture'. Conventional wisdom (how true it is, not sure, but seems reasonable) is that your body needs at least 20 minutes from the time you start eating to start getting the signals that it has had enough. So, if you wolf down a veggie wrap in 6 minutes, you'll probably want more because your body hasn't had time to tell you "okay, we're good, stop eating". Force yourself to take at least 20-30 minutes per meal - whether that means putting down your fork or sandwich between every bite or sipping water or whatever. For me, against most the conventional wisdom, if I'm reading or talking, I eat more slowly (most 'diet gurus' say that you should focus on what you're eating and not be distracted). Again, that varies from person to person. --Deb R
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Susan Levin Joined: 12/26/09 Posts: 1212	RE: Belly fat? Posted Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 5:19 PM I think you will be very surprised at the difference between vegetarian and vegan diet results. Giving up dairy products results in much more immediate and obvious benefits, in my experience. Susan Levin, MS, RD PCRM Director of Nutrition Education
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tinabean Joined: 09/08/10 Location: Pasadena, TX Posts: 113	RE: Belly fat? Posted Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 5:33 PM Stress hormone levels can also signal to your body to store belly fat. A lot of people maintain a certain stress or anxiety level and are so used to it that they don't know how to really relax. Also, I recently read that as a woman's estrogen level declines her body sometimes tries to compensate by increasing fat stores. However, in all other regards, vegan diets & cardio are both supposed to be effective. I like to read articles about belly fat whenever I come across them because that is a problem for me even though I'm not yet overweight. At my current rate of weight-gain that threshold would be crossed sometime this year.
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peasandrice Joined: 12/29/10 Posts: 77	RE: Belly fat? Posted Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 7:36 PM I feel your pain on this. Most of my extra weight is in my stomach area, it was on my hips and thighs, but it moved post pregnancy I've have a very hard time as well. I've actually gained 1 pound since Monday, which is odd since it's been steady for 9 months (against my will lol) and I'm eating so much healthier now. I'm hoping it was just a water thing. I may need to get even stricter. I did cardio + strength training for an hour a day 4 days a week for 9 weeks straight and just gained 3 pounds. I don't get it at all. My stress level is really high, all the time, but I always imagined the weight thing with that would be very little or a myth. If it's actually true I may try and figure out how to relax more. I hope this new way of eating makes the difference for you.
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