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Thread: Anyone have good BMI but belly fat?

  1. #1
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    Anyone have good BMI but belly fat?

    Ahhh. The latest research on belly fat and normal BMI was written for me. Last year my husband and I started the Dr. Esselstyn diet (my dh has a ton of heart disease history in the family) and we lost about 10 pounds each and kept it off from Sept. to Dec. and then the holidays finally got us. I am so frustrated by my big belly. I exercise a lot, but my blood pressure went up after an August of being a slacker...I also read that increasing muscle mass will help with my metabolism so I have a plan! My waist size is bigger than the recommended size and I am built just like my mother...(it just happens no matter how much you swear it won't). Soooo.....I am going on a plant based healthy eating binge and hoping to lose my belly! Just needed to tell someone! Anyone want to join me!

  2. #2
    bunnys
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    I went on an exclusively plant based diet 7 years ago and lost about 65 pounds. I have stayed on the exclusive plant based diet and have kept the weight off. But, I do still have some belly fat.

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    My BMI is 20.74, and I have some belly fat; I'm really thinking that my expectations for a flat(ter) stomach are just plain unrealistic. The concave belly is just not my body type; I'm very short-waisted with high hip and lower hip measurements almost the same. There's only just room for 2 fingers between the bottom of my rib cage and the top of my hip bone. Even when I was very thin (around 105lb), my waist size was never as small as the "perfect proportions" tables suggested, despite fanatical exercising, and I was always somewhat rounded in cross-section. Now I'm 53, it's unlikely that my bone structure will miraculously change. I maintain my body weight on a high-fat, low carb, somewhat omnivorous diet (I don't eat fish, seafood, legumes, and nuts).
    Last edited by Suzanne; 9-24-12 at 8:33am.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Gardenarian's Avatar
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    My BMI is around 19 but I have some belly fat. I have trouble doing exercise for my abs as they generally hurt my lower back, but I've found that doing the "plank" is helpful.

    Here is a link to the Mayo Clinic on Belly Fat.

  5. #5
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    I have a love/hate relationship with the plank.

    I have found that supermans are good for building the opposing muscle groups, which are often neglected when trying to isolate the abs.

    Thanks for the article - wonder if the info is similar for men? My hubby has a "beer-belly", except he doesn't drink.

  6. #6
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    Belly fat isn't necessarily bad. If your belly is fairly hard and holds its shape when you lie down, then there's deep visceral fat. We need some visceral fat to protect our organs and keep them warm. If the fat lies between the skin and the muscles, and your belly sinks when you lie down, that's subcutaneous fat. It's jiggly fat, and it's benign even if we hate it. A better measure of health risks than BMI is the waist-to-hip ratio. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/waist-...io-calculator/

  7. #7
    Senior Member ctg492's Avatar
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    Good luck

    My BMI is 19. I came to the realization a few years ago that I am doomed to have abs of jelly. I gave myself 2 hernias on the no pain no gain, I want flat stomach program. Now I just try to do the best I can. But like most I am too hard on myself. Yesterday a very sweet neighbor brought over a desert Tunnel Of Chocolate. She said ever so nicely, it is yummy we wanted you to have some and we think you are too thin and need it.

  8. #8
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    I'm ~50.

    When I put in the figures for my college fighting weight, when I was lean enough that I'd sink when swimming in fresh water, I get a BMI of 37.7... I'm up to a BMI of 41 now, and perhaps even stronger than I was then, but am carrying about 20 pounds too much, mostly in the abdomen. I have a flat stomach - somewhere :-) - my abdominal muscles feel like bocce balls, under a layer of excess winter food storage. That fat only goes away when I am not eating enough while working hard in harsh environmental conditions, for weeks. I can go without food in the wilderness for extended periods of time, if I'm going out hunting for < a week, I usually just throw a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese in my pack. In normal conditions, I will sometimes eat 0 meals a day, but then on another day I'll gotta have a wildebeest :-)

    My blood pressure is 100/70, resting pulse is about 50. My LDL cholesterol is low, HDL is high, all other bloodwork looks good.

    My bones are in the 99th-percentile of size, and I am shaped roughly like a refrigerator. I suspect Mom may have taken up with a Neanderthal while Dad was out at sea...

  9. #9
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    Funny, bae...My BMI is only 23.4, but my waist size is 37.4 and hips are 38. I am only 5'3" so you can see where my weight goes. But being the geek that I am, I lay on the floor and my belly went relatively fat, if not gelatinous. I guess that's a good sign, right, Suzanne. I couldn't find the answer on the hip to waist ratio. Maybe I don't want to.... Good to know there are others pondering this stuff.

  10. #10
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    There is a new Obesity Scale some doctors are just starting to use.
    It is called the "Edmonton Obesity Scale" and it is used with the BMI to determine if your BMI is actually bad for you.
    It adds in the numbers that Bae has mentioned. It allows for better health with a higher BMI and that a lower BMI can sometimes mean you are not healthy.
    Sounds like a better way for a doctor to look at a patients weigh and health together........

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