I found these forums last night. I am excited and amazed to find such a knowledgable group of people~! I hope someone here can help me (and I hope I picked the right forum to ask this)
Background:
I'd been overweight nearly all my life (43 yo). I did diets through the years, including starvation, only to gain it all back, plus some (of course), because I had it all wrong. (I was a skinny fat person when I was thin. I am sure I had little muscle left after those stupid diets.) So I had resigned myself to being fat. I truly believed "I" was meant to be that way. (I had it ALL wrong, I now know)
A year ago, I thought I was having a heart attack, only to find out it was GERD. It scared me enough to change my eating habits. I went from eating one large meal a day, in the evening, to eating 6 tiny meals a day.
I had NO CLUE at that time, this is THE KEY to weight loss, blood sugar stabilization, and energy: as I have since learned.
I woke up 6 months later to find 25 lbs melted off me, painlessly and with no effort, no hunger. Talk about shock!
I have been reading everything I can on WHY this happened, because I don't EVER want to go back to that weight, and hope to get even leaner. I have held the same weight for 6 months. I am not lean, but my body fat percentage is just within the ideal range on the charts.
In January, I began exercising to build muscle, so that I WILL never gain again, and to help fill out sagging skin. I am working HARD!
I also started keeping track of calories, and realized I am probably NOT getting enough. That for too long I have made my body live in 'starvation' mode. I am trying to eat more. I find it difficult some days, but try. Remember, I changed the way I eat to stop stomach distress. Eating more than I need to feel satisfied brings stomach discomfort, and I don't like that.
I do eat wholesomely now. Nothing goes into my body that doesn't have a high nutritional value. I eat a diet of about 40% carbs (mainly complex), 40% protein, 20% GOOD fats, and see I have protein every meal.
For my weight I should be getting 1700 calories a day. I realized since about November, I was only eating about 1100. Since finding this out, I have managed to up that to about 1300- 1400 without too much discomfort. I'm trying to go higher.
My question:
during my weight loss, and then for another 4 months after my weight stabilized, I had a flat stomach.
But since the first of the year, my waist has GROWN by two inches.
I haven't done a lot of ab work, so I don't think I have muscle under the bit of flab pushing it out. Since I have really been working my legs, arms and back, and though I have built muscle, they haven't grown by 2", I can't think the little work I have done on abs has given me bulk under my flab to give me 2".
But I have no clue WHY my stomach would be growing again. I have not gained an ounce. My weight is steady. In theory, my body fat SHOULD BE a little less, because I have built some muscle in the arms, legs and back. (I only last week got a caliper and was able to measure my LBM. But I SHOULD have a little less fat than I did when my stomach was flat, because of my steady weight, and my newly growing muscle)
I have searched high and low, and cannot find the reason behind this. You have to know, my largest delight in this weight loss, was having a flat stomach. Yes, its not ripped, but looked nice for me!
Is my existing fat rearranging itself? Was this once on my toes
or something? Where did it come from? Why is it resting there?
Could it be from the time frame I wasn't eating ENOUGH calories to maintain my body, and it shoved my body into starvation mode, so it began keeping fat in my tummy area again?
I know only losing more fat will slim it down. That there is no magic thing to lose fat in one spot. I am working on reducing my fat percentage, and increasing my LBM.
But unless I KNOW why this happened, I can't keep it from happening to me again.
Any ideas? Please?
Thank you so much for your time! I am off to read more old posts and LEARN LEARN LEARN from all of you!
Background:
I'd been overweight nearly all my life (43 yo). I did diets through the years, including starvation, only to gain it all back, plus some (of course), because I had it all wrong. (I was a skinny fat person when I was thin. I am sure I had little muscle left after those stupid diets.) So I had resigned myself to being fat. I truly believed "I" was meant to be that way. (I had it ALL wrong, I now know)
A year ago, I thought I was having a heart attack, only to find out it was GERD. It scared me enough to change my eating habits. I went from eating one large meal a day, in the evening, to eating 6 tiny meals a day.
I had NO CLUE at that time, this is THE KEY to weight loss, blood sugar stabilization, and energy: as I have since learned.
I woke up 6 months later to find 25 lbs melted off me, painlessly and with no effort, no hunger. Talk about shock!
I have been reading everything I can on WHY this happened, because I don't EVER want to go back to that weight, and hope to get even leaner. I have held the same weight for 6 months. I am not lean, but my body fat percentage is just within the ideal range on the charts.
In January, I began exercising to build muscle, so that I WILL never gain again, and to help fill out sagging skin. I am working HARD!
I also started keeping track of calories, and realized I am probably NOT getting enough. That for too long I have made my body live in 'starvation' mode. I am trying to eat more. I find it difficult some days, but try. Remember, I changed the way I eat to stop stomach distress. Eating more than I need to feel satisfied brings stomach discomfort, and I don't like that.
I do eat wholesomely now. Nothing goes into my body that doesn't have a high nutritional value. I eat a diet of about 40% carbs (mainly complex), 40% protein, 20% GOOD fats, and see I have protein every meal.
For my weight I should be getting 1700 calories a day. I realized since about November, I was only eating about 1100. Since finding this out, I have managed to up that to about 1300- 1400 without too much discomfort. I'm trying to go higher.
My question:
during my weight loss, and then for another 4 months after my weight stabilized, I had a flat stomach.
But since the first of the year, my waist has GROWN by two inches.
I haven't done a lot of ab work, so I don't think I have muscle under the bit of flab pushing it out. Since I have really been working my legs, arms and back, and though I have built muscle, they haven't grown by 2", I can't think the little work I have done on abs has given me bulk under my flab to give me 2".
But I have no clue WHY my stomach would be growing again. I have not gained an ounce. My weight is steady. In theory, my body fat SHOULD BE a little less, because I have built some muscle in the arms, legs and back. (I only last week got a caliper and was able to measure my LBM. But I SHOULD have a little less fat than I did when my stomach was flat, because of my steady weight, and my newly growing muscle)
I have searched high and low, and cannot find the reason behind this. You have to know, my largest delight in this weight loss, was having a flat stomach. Yes, its not ripped, but looked nice for me!
Is my existing fat rearranging itself? Was this once on my toes
or something? Where did it come from? Why is it resting there?Could it be from the time frame I wasn't eating ENOUGH calories to maintain my body, and it shoved my body into starvation mode, so it began keeping fat in my tummy area again?
I know only losing more fat will slim it down. That there is no magic thing to lose fat in one spot. I am working on reducing my fat percentage, and increasing my LBM.
But unless I KNOW why this happened, I can't keep it from happening to me again.
Any ideas? Please?
Thank you so much for your time! I am off to read more old posts and LEARN LEARN LEARN from all of you!