What now?

United States
February 27, 2012 12:54pm CST
I have been over weight most of my life but evenly proportioned. I was very active as a kid and teenager but have had a disorder caused by a genetic issue since I was young which has made it hard to lose weight. I have been dieting and exercising as best as I can while working on our home for the last 5 months. Rebuilding a home is very physical and time consuming so I will admit the gym has not been number one on my list. I have though since October lost 37 lbs. The thing is I have lost inches in my bust, arms, face, thighs etc. but not my stomach. It has actually gone up a half inch through all this. How can I lose so much and gain inches in my waist. I am so aggravated and stunned. I look very funny as my arms, legs and face do not proportionally go with my torso nor does my chest. I look really weird. People have begun to ask if I am pregnant becasue my tummy is so big and the rest of me isn't. I look like I have sticks coming out of a ball! What do I do? We have no insurance right now I cannot afford a doctor but could they help me anyway?
1 person likes this
6 responses
• Ireland
27 Feb 12
Some folks are just predisposed to carry their weight in certain areas of their body, your specific area must be your stomach. I would imagine that it is possible that while rebuilding your home, you were actively using your arms and legs quite a lot, which could have caused the seemingly localised weight loss but obviously weren't doing sit ups and stomach crunches so the weight didn't drop off there. I could be wrong, but that's what I reckon.
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• Ireland
27 Feb 12
Oh, and of course, fair play for losing 37lbs, that's an achievement! Bravo :)
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• United States
28 Feb 12
That is true but I thought all the lifting and the up and down would have done something..lol and thanks, I am trying to lose about 40 more at this point.
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• Ireland
29 Feb 12
Well you're doing fantastically so far OpinionatedLady, so keep it up. For every pound you lose you'll feel better :) Apparently Zumba is the latest craze...
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
27 Feb 12
do you have bloating issues? i do and i often look pregnant as well but mine is due to having irratble bowel syndrome. i drink a lot of water which helps me and i wear loose shirts too. sorry i cant give you better advice.
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• United States
28 Feb 12
I get swelling in my joints and you can see it when it is bad in my legs and feet. I drink a lot of water to help that. I guess some of it could be bloating but it doesn't go away like at night like the swelling. Does yours?
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@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
27 Feb 12
hi opinionatedLady gifts has already said what I was going to use a treadmill. I am a diabetic and my doctor could not understand why I was not losing weight as I had cut way back on food so he ran a blood test for thyroid and sure enough I was low thyroid so am on medication now and have lost from 210 to 194 and am going to keep going till I reach 150. weight loss will help me to better control my blood glucose.
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• United States
28 Feb 12
I am tested for thyroid all the time. It is the first thing the doctors always think. It never is though. I have an insulin resistance from extreme hypoglycemia. I have had low sugar for years. I am lucky to have a sugar reading over 70 on any given day. My insulin levels in my blood are 8x what they should be last time they checked. They beleive this is the cause of the weight gain to begin with but they say it is not why I cannot lose weight. But I did lose weight just not in the tummy so confusing and I am doubting they know what is going on at all.
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• Philippines
28 Feb 12
try doing abdominal and toning exercises to tone your tummy. Go back to the gym and ask for a new fitness program that would meet your goals.
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@SassyBrat (463)
• Canada
29 Feb 12
I understand what you are going through *hugs*.... I do sit ups and push ups either daily or every other day. You can do what is typically called reverse sit ups as well as your usual type of sit ups. Sometimes we have to isolate the area you are wanting to focus on. How is your food intake? Do you have any medical issues that you take medication for? Sometimes medication plays a huge factor in side effects. I too was incredibly active, and loved everything I did sports wise. I'm slowly getting there, but mine isn't with weight movement, mine has been with just getting my body moving and doing exercises I like and working it from there. Hang in there! You can do it!!
• Croatia (Hrvatska)
28 Feb 12
uhm... there are really alot of different types of diets and exercises out there, and you could try some of them out, but if it has something to do with your genes then I am not sure if you can do something there.. :S anyway I hope you manage to deal with it ;) good luck!
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