My belly has gotten bigger with exercise

[Anonymous]

It's the exercise - specifically the ab work and pilates. Pilates will wreck your ab muscles - the creator gave himself diastasis recti. No more pilates, no more 100s, situps, crunches. Only TVA work with splinting. Planks are okay when you focus on keeping your core in, instead of pushing out, as a PP described.

Retrain your core to not push out, keep your pelvis neutral, stomach in, ribcage in especially the bottom of your ribcage, no flaring.

[Anonymous]

Follow the glucose goddess on instagram. Life changing.

[Anonymous]

My approach right now is high protein plus heavy weights. I use MyFitnessPal pal to count calories and aim for my ideal body weight in protein grams. I’m aiming for 135 as goal weight so I want 135 grams of protein

There is a lot of research right now that says that metabolism doesn’t change until you’re 60 even with menopause. Look up Dr William Li

[Anonymous]

stop eating seed oils: canola, soy, rapeseed oil, safflower, sunflower, etc

eat only whole foods. no added sugars. real grains.

if its in a box or a bag, probably shouldnt eat it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I (43F) have an hourglass figure although my belly has always stuck out a bit. When the pandemic started, I began doing a 30-minute walking video (Leslie Sansone) in the mornings, followed by 10ish minutes of Pilates (Trifecta Pilates). I eventually found Bailey Brown's videos (focused on abs, butts, and inner thighs) and have mostly been doing those instead (I have a list of probably 30 YouTube videos I rotate through). So about 40-45 minutes total of working out every morning.

At first, the soft pooch that I had (in addition to my stomach) went away. Great!

Now, three years later, my stomach has actually gotten bigger and I'm having trouble fitting into some of my clothes (shorts, skirts). I HATE clothes shopping and have been the same size (8 or 10) since college, and I don't want to go out and buy a new wardrobe now.

I generally eat healthy; I intermittent fast and have yogurt w/raisins and another protein, along with another piece of fruit, for lunch. Dinner always includes at least one vegetable, a protein, and a starch (which I try to eat less of). We mostly eat vegetarian during the week, so a lot of beans.

Any suggestions to get my stomach to go back to its somewhat smaller size? I'm probably only looking to lose an inch at the most, but it would make my clothes so much more comfortable!

TIA!

Get a Time Machine? Welcome to your 40s. My advice is stop stressing about it.

[Anonymous]

My belly blows up huge whenever I eat rice or pasta. it's really hard not to since I am vegetarian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My approach right now is high protein plus heavy weights. I use MyFitnessPal pal to count calories and aim for my ideal body weight in protein grams. I’m aiming for 135 as goal weight so I want 135 grams of protein

There is a lot of research right now that says that metabolism doesn’t change until you’re 60 even with menopause. Look up Dr William Li

What are you eating to get to 135g of protein per day?

[Anonymous]

Over the last few years, my belly kept expanding. Turned out, it is fibroids. Like, I have huge ones I am having removed, but even several smaller ones, and they do grow quicker as we age, can cause your uterus to extend.

Before trying some of these wacky ass diets, go to your Gyn first and rule out something you can't change by diet.

https://www.usafibroidcenters.com/blog/noticing-stomach-bulge/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see why exercise would cause this.

This. Op, have you had a gyn exam and pelvic ultrasound recently? Given your age, it could be fibroid related bloating. I had similar belly expansion, despite being trim and exercising, over the past year and a half. I recently found out I have a large fibroid. I was shocked because I had none of the classic symptoms and chalked up the ones I did have to peri menopause.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I (43F) have an hourglass figure although my belly has always stuck out a bit. When the pandemic started, I began doing a 30-minute walking video (Leslie Sansone) in the mornings, followed by 10ish minutes of Pilates (Trifecta Pilates). I eventually found Bailey Brown's videos (focused on abs, butts, and inner thighs) and have mostly been doing those instead (I have a list of probably 30 YouTube videos I rotate through). So about 40-45 minutes total of working out every morning.

At first, the soft pooch that I had (in addition to my stomach) went away. Great!

Now, three years later, my stomach has actually gotten bigger and I'm having trouble fitting into some of my clothes (shorts, skirts). I HATE clothes shopping and have been the same size (8 or 10) since college, and I don't want to go out and buy a new wardrobe now.

I generally eat healthy; I intermittent fast and have yogurt w/raisins and another protein, along with another piece of fruit, for lunch. Dinner always includes at least one vegetable, a protein, and a starch (which I try to eat less of). We mostly eat vegetarian during the week, so a lot of beans.

Any suggestions to get my stomach to go back to its somewhat smaller size? I'm probably only looking to lose an inch at the most, but it would make my clothes so much more comfortable!

TIA!

Have you been to obgyn? This was me - turns out I had a couple of large Fibroids - doctor said my uterus felt like I was 4-5 months pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see why exercise would cause this.

This. Op, have you had a gyn exam and pelvic ultrasound recently? Given your age, it could be fibroid related bloating. I had similar belly expansion, despite being trim and exercising, over the past year and a half. I recently found out I have a large fibroid. I was shocked because I had none of the classic symptoms and chalked up the ones I did have to peri menopause.

+1

Since it’s just this summer that you’ve noticed it, I would suggest a trip to the gynecologist just to double check.

But it’s most likely to be hormones and peri menopause changes.

Or it could be that you’ve developed a new dietary weirdness; you wouldn’t be the first person to suddenly have difficulty digesting something you could previously eat.

Or you might need to see a physical therapist if you’ve developed some poor postures and habits, either while exercising or the rest of the time.

[Anonymous]

This may be a double whammy of perimenopause and alcohol.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for to see a gyn. Unexplained bloating is also a sign of ovarian cancer. Of course, it's probably not that, but if it were me I would go to my doc.

[Anonymous]

Has your weight increased, decreased or stayed the same?

[Anonymous]

What are your waist measurements before, and now?