Mom with a pudgy stomach and love handle

jstagirl · 10-May-07, 03:32 PM

I'm 25 yrs old and hava a 2 year old daughter. I have lost the baby weight from working out and dieting the right way. So now, 2 years later I am 5'0 and weight 110 which is fine. My only problem which I'm sure alot of moms have is the mid-section. I still have that love handle that goes around the back and my stomach is still pudgy. I know its not loose skin and its still fat. So how would I go about losing that extra fat I still carry there? The rest of my body looks fine its just the midsection that is so hard to lose. Should I just keep doing cardio until it goes away, or is there something that I'm not doing right? Any tips or advice?

**Lady C** · 10-May-07, 03:47 PM

That mid-section (loss of) will only be handled with a lean diet and exercise. Cardio does burn fat but so does adding muscle. I suggest an overall exercise routine including strength training and cardio.

Make sure the diet is lean because it is about 90% of the equation.

jstagirl · 10-May-07, 03:57 PM

Well the only cardio I do is run and I started lifting weights. When I was in the process of losing my baby fat I was on a strict diet, but now that I am back to my regular weight I stopped the strict diet but still work out. So now I guess your saying It would help if I stuck to a strict diet to get that remaining fat off. Would you mind just kinda giving me some examples on what my diet should look like for a day, just so I know what I should be doing? I must mention that I am a vegetarian, so I dont eat any meat, fish or chicken. Thanks!

**Lady C** · 10-May-07, 04:42 PM

Vegetarian or Vegan? Do you eat dairy? Soy products? Are you opposed to protein supplements?

What does a typical day of eating look like now - how much, what and what time of day.

Try this for a sample diet of mine.

jstagirl · 10-May-07, 05:03 PM

I eat eggs, dairy, and soy products. I also drink soy protein shake in the mornings.

arbit · 10-May-07, 05:59 PM

In addtion to diet, keep lifting weights, compund movements like bench press, squats, pullups, deadlifts. Higher muscle helps in keeping metabolic rate higher, easier to lose the fat.

jstagirl · 10-May-07, 06:02 PM

Thanks! I'm slowly learning the rules to maintaining your body, so thanks for everyones help.

tim_mcf · 10-May-07, 08:34 PM

What do you mean by "strict diet"? What do you mean by "not a strict diet"? Specifics will allow us to give you specific advice.

In general terms, avoid anything that comes in a wrapper, and eat lots of whatever doesn't come in a wrapper. Vegetarian is no problem, it's actually a lot easier for you since you eat eggs and dairy and so forth.

**LiftGirl** · 11-May-07, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jstagirl

When I was in the process of losing my baby fat I was on a strict diet, but now that I am back to my regular weight I stopped the strict diet but still work out. So now I guess your saying It would help if I stuck to a strict diet to get that remaining fat off.

I too am curious what you mean by "strict diet." What you need is a healthy, maintainable for life eating plan (I don't like the "d" word). If you go back to eating the way you ate before, you will just gain the weight back again. However, you also need an eating plan you can actually live with in the long term.

jstagirl · 15-May-07, 01:57 PM

Well what I meant by a strict diet was eating everything healthy. No fat, no sugar, no extras. But now that I lost majority of the baby fat I am still eating healthy but have also started to eat the extras from time to time. Like I will enjoy an in and out burger on the weekend or eat a cookie after dinner. But its not like everyday pig out. But compared to before I didnt even let myself eat any of that stuff.

tim_mcf · 15-May-07, 03:34 PM

The in and out burgers and cookies after dinner will slow down your fat loss. It's really hard not to live a little bit, but you may just have to make that choice - which do you want more, a cookie or no love handles. You may just not be able to have both.

jstagirl · 15-May-07, 05:12 PM

Well thats why I mentioned in my first post, if it was a good idea to just stay on a real strict diet and not having any junk from time to time.

bodyshop20 · 17-May-07, 03:50 PM

Keep at it, but it will be hard going as the female body is designed to store fat in that area, so it will be the last area the body will take from.
Hormones from child birth also hinder you

SarahPT · 22-May-07, 05:40 PM

Hi jstagirl,

I don't like the word diet either. I don't often recommend to anyone that they be on a strict diet short term and then go off of it. It's better to have healthy eating habits that are maintainble, so you can make a habit of eating healthy for a lifetime. If you're not eating that healthy now then making some changes, even small ones, should make a difference.

Sarah