Q and A: Stubborn Fat
21 09 2009I have question about my girlfriend. She has been having problems losing some stubborn fat around her belly, thighs and butt. She weighs around 154Lbs and stands around 5’9”.
We both go the gym around 5 days a week and work hard. When i say we work hard, we do. I know some people say that thinking they do but really they don’t. We sometimes work out with our personal trainer and he has said many times that she works harder than any of his other clients and she is as strong as some of the other female personal trainers.
Since starting the gym i have noticed some pretty big changes with my body but her body just seems to be stubborn and doesn’t want to lose those extra pounds. At the gym we usually do a fairly intense weight workout then she does cardio for 45 mins. She also does body pump most weeks too.
Our diets are usually very good as our personal trainer is also a dietician so he has tried many different approaches but he too is baffled at how her body has barely changed over the last 3 years considering all the hard work she has put in.
Do you have any ideas? Anything she can try? I saw on another blog of yours that some people tried even increasing the daily calorie intake which actually worked in losing weight. At this stage she would not be eating anywhere near 2000 calories per day i wouldn’t think.
If you could get back to me it would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Nathan
I trust your workouts are intense, so given that there can be a number of things going on-
FOOD: You are right in that some people lose weight when they increase their intake. People often think they have to eat around 1600 calories to lose weight, but thats because its an average number most TV shows and magazines tell us- but think how differently we all workout/eat/are shaped and we all have different metabolisms, and for most people this is too low. If you eat too few calories, your body won’t let you burn them because it thinks your are starving it- and your body’s whole purpose is to keep you alive. Eating to little lowers your metabolism, so even if you are kicking ass in the gym, you won’t burn much, if at all. To truly figure out how many calories you need for your body type, and activity level, see this post. You’d be suprised how many people people need 2000 calories and up. (I need 2300 to maintain my weight and I weight 123.)
BODY TYPE: 154 isn’t an unhealthy weight, and shouldn’t be treated as such. If she can get through her workouts and is in good health, her weight isn’t holding her back from anything- she just doesn’t like how it looks. Some women are shaped differently than others, and even for 2 women that are the same height, one may be able to weight significantly less than the other without effort, and for the other it may not be a safe or realistic weight. Some women just need more fat. Fat is where estrogen is stored, so, as opposed to guys who can can have very low body fat and still be relatively healthy, we need a lot more to keep menstrating, etc. I know that doesn’t mean much to the person who is unhappy with their weight, but people are built differently, and have different shapes and happy weights.
ETC: Something medical may be going on (thyroid, metabolism issue, etc.) so if its a huge concern I would get some blood work done. If you are working out 5 days a week, there might be a possibility she is overtraining. When you push your body too hard for too long, it will rebel and shut down. You’ll still be able to get through your exercises, no problem, but your body just won’t respond to them to protect itself from getting burnt out. Sometimes you need to cut back, or cross train, which is something to talk to your trainer about.
Also, be careful how you talk to her about this. Even if she seems ok with you discussing her “extra fat” she may not be, and even if she is, discussing it at length like it is something wrong with her may make it seem like a bigger deal to her than it is.
Anyone else have any ideas?
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I love when you do Q and As on here!! I’d piggy back on what you said. Overtraining is a biggie. Also, how hard have they looked at the actual calorie count of their food?? He said “Our diets are usually very good.” Broccoli is good for you but if you eat 3,000 calories a day of broccoli you will gain weight.
-A
I agree with the increase calories, I actually found that after a long period of restriction i started to see BF drop when i started eating a few more calories… of course since that drop I’ve been pretty steady and would prefer to see a drop!
as long as calories are where they should be i’d suggest changing up gym routines. and do things like interval/speed work.
If she has lost any weight before, what she might be experiencing is excess skin and not fat. After losing 70+ pounds, I’m still carrying what I thought was “stubborn fat” on my stomach, thighs and upper arms. But it is skin that used to be stretched out more when I was heavier.
Since I’m not a fan of surgery and a tight-wad, I just have to learn to live with it…exercise tightens it up a bit but doesn’t make it go away completely.
Best of luck to the girl! Tell her she is beautiful no matter what
I would give my left friggin arm to be 5’9 and 154 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!?!?!?! Stop complaining and embrace that bod! Especially if she is healthy and strong!
I have to add in here: abs, abs abs. When I finally started to increase my ab workout from 50 to 150 abs per day i noticed a huge diff in the decrease in fat and more muscle.
but it can’t be just the same old abs day in and day out, you have to mix it up with diff types of abs.
remember back when usher was famous? they asked him over and over what did he do to get those abs? he said about 200 a day.
Your answer is why I LOVE this blog. You have such a balanced, body-positive perspective to fitness, and it encourages me to work out for fitness’ sake alone.
On the other hand, the writer of this question deeply disturbs me. Why is Nathan writing in, and not his girlfriend? It makes me think her “extra pounds” are more his problem than hers.
Has her routine changed much in 3 years? It might keep her in great shape, but doesn’t the body adapt?
Of course, there are areas where your body just stores fat. I know that Jillian Michaels says she can get down to 11% bodyfat, look like a haggard corpse and feel terrible, and her butt will still be beefier than she likes.
I’m trying to tighten up some areas, but now that I’ve gotten to my lowest weight (I’m trying to gain a few pounds, actually), my thighs STILL have jiggle. Beyond lipo or concentration camps, I don’t see it going anywhere. But it just encourages me to get my legs more muscled!
I love your Q & A too, Kelly! I think all the points you touched on could very likely be the reason(s) for her unchanging body.
In my own experience, I can really back up #1 – eating too few calories. I am the same height as her, keep up a good workout schedule and LOSE weight when I eat anything below 2,000 calories or even a couple hundred above that.
All bodies are different, very much so, but I too wonder if she’s not eating enough. (She is pretty tall and has a high activity level.) I know she increased her calories already, but I think she may have to again, as well as look at those other possible reasons.
I should have added that I lose weight at anything just slightly below 2,000 calories or a couple hundred above it – AND I’m at a my goal weight and just want to maintain at this point!