50yr old stomach fat

[cjbo32]

I would apreciate some suggestions about one of my clients. She is a 50yr old housewife who's main concern is to loose body fat. We started at just under 200lbs and over the past 4months she has lost 30inches around the body and 40lbs down from her total weight (bf% is a little inaccurate in this instance). She has been doing empty stomach cardio at 65-75% of her mhr x5 timed per week and we have started to integrate some light squats, lunges and a little ab work (the latter is more for psychological benefits). The cardio is varied with intervals and inclines etc to add variety and avoid stagnancy. Weight training is not possible as her upper body is disabled and her lower body is very delicate in terms of joint pain etc, which is all conected to her disability. Her diet is clean, with a ratio of 50%p 30%c 20%f, her supplement intake consists of glucosamine, caffine (natural form), efa's, multivit, whey and cayenne. The main problem is her stomach. Although it has decreased in size it is still very hard and solid. The fat stores in this area seem to be refusing to shift possibly due to the length of time they have been there. Any suggestions on things that could be altered to help tap into these stores. Please dont state obvious things like theres no such thing as spot reduction as thats not what im looking for. Is there scientific evidence to suggest that post menapausal women maintain ab fat stores due to estrogen levels? Also drugs are out, natural all the way! Thanks

 

[cjbo32]

anyone? any comments would be very welcome

 

[FitFossil]

Since you say the fat is "hard", it could be visceral fat which is deeper in the body and surrounds the organs as opposed to subcutaneous fat which is just below the skin and can easily be pinched. Compared to female butt and thigh fat, visceral fat is usually more responsive to diet and exercise. But there's also the possibility that it's not fat at all. It could be an internal growth like a uterine firbroid or ovarian cyst - some women have had grapefruit-sized growths removed and never dreamed they were carrying around something like that in their body. Given her age, this is a possibility and should be ruled out first.

 

[AngMc]

It is true, I think we all know, that post-meno women hold fat. More so around the middle than earlier in life. I have read, and am sure you can find, that due to their diet consisting of tofu and other, asian women are less affected by post-meno weight gain because soy products have phyto-estrogens that looks like hormonal estrogen to the body.

Estrogen is stored in fat. So lucky chicas like myself on BC pills with huge estrogen amounts have extra fat stores. Post-meno bodies try to conserve estrogen and do so by forming new cells to hold it. Or something like that. Check it out. I could be totally wrong. But I do remember reading quite a bit about soy and its effect on post-meno Asian women. ...............Ang

 

[cjbo32]

thanks for your input. With regards to the possibility of there maybe being some defect or growth in her stomach or around that area I dont think its possible. She recently had surgery like a hysterectomy but more indepth and I reckon they would have maybe found something during that. I dunno, its a thought and thanks for your suggestion. If you have anymore comments etc Id love to hear them. Anyone. Im willing to consider anything at this stage!

 

[FitFossil]

To answer your question "Is there scientific evidence to suggest that post menopausal women maintain ab fat stores due to estrogen levels?" It is believed that the lowered estrogen levels of post-menopausal women does contribute to their body shape changing from "pear" (with fat primarily stored in the hips and thighs) to "apple" stored primarily in the belly.

Something else associated with belly fat is increased insulin resistance, which is sort of a chicken & egg problem, meaning belly fat can be both the cause and effect of insulin resistance. She may want to investigate Glucorell R, which is R-ALA (alpha lipoic acid). It's a great antioxidant, and it helps increase insulin sensitivity. I always take one before a carby meal because it helps the muscle cells take up more glucose and therefore prevent it from going to the fat cells. Read more here:

https://www.anabolicfitness.net/sho...2a23269c2cfb79d4187bea2caa60b998&subcat=26671