I'm a skinny fat

[Stargazer]

Hi!

Any tips for losing belly fat without losing weight? My BMI is 17.5 but I still have quite much stomach fat. I know I should try to build muscle and then try to lose some fat, but I've never been good at building muscle. Maybe I should try to eat more to build some muscle but I'm having some bloating and gas issues already and I really can't eat much more than I do now.

I run weekly about 30 and more kilometers and it feels that it makes it even harder to build muscle. But I like running and I'm getting better and better in it, so I wouldn't want to reduce my running training. I do some core excercises at least twice a week and I can feel that my abs have been getting a little bit bigger but they are covered by fat And I lift weighs once or twice a week.

[Stargazer]

I've also been suffering from blood sugar issues for many years. I used to get hypoglycemia symptoms daily, including anxiety, panic attacks, sweating and thirst. When I went to see a doctor to search for a cure to my problems, she redirected me to a psychologist. But I felt that it must be some physical thing that was causing me all my symptoms. I tried the low carb approach to stabilize my blood sugar, and it did help at first. But I didn't feel good eating that way. It felt unnatural to me, and in the end it just seemed to start making me even more sensitive to carbohydrates. So I figured out that the low carb eating just hid the symptoms when I didn't eat too many carbs, but it didn't really heal anything.

I used to eat a lot of sugary stuff and fatty junk foods most of my life. I ate candies almost every day, and not small amounts. Now I'm 27. About a year ago I read the book "Diet for a new America" by John Robbins and switched to a whole foods plant based diet. And I have never felt so good in my life than I do now, both physically and mentally. I've also followed the dietary advice of John McDougall and Joel Fuhrman. Now I eat a starch based diet with addition to many nutrient dense vegetables, berries, mushrooms and fruits. I feel that my health is getting better all the time.

But I still do get slight hypoglycemia symptoms now and then. Not daily as I used to, and sometimes I am free of those symptoms for a week. I usually get some hypoglycemia symptoms when I eat after I've been lifting weights. It still feels that my body hasn't completely recovered from the years of abuse.

I think that my stomach fat is a part of the problem, and I guess I have quite a lot of dangerous visceral fat which just hangs in there and is not going away... or then it's burning very slowly. I have easily lost weight from every other part of my body but the stomach fat just stays. And now I'm underweight.

Any advice? Do I just need more patience and time to heal? Or am I doing something wrong?

[vgpedlr]

You sort of answered your own question.

Strength Training.

There are lots of different approaches, pick one and stick with it long enough to benefit. I highly recommend the advice of Dan John. You can see my other threads for more info.

[Stargazer]

You sort of answered your own question.

Strength Training.

There are lots of different approaches, pick one and stick with it long enough to benefit. I highly recommend the advice of Dan John. You can see my other threads for more info.

Ok, thanks. I'll check that.

[vgpedlr]

I suggest "Easy Strength," "Even Easier Strength," and the book Intervention.