men and belly fat

[ez]

These are just a couple observations I want to make, and I would appreciate any comments. My DH has always been skinny but in his late 40s his belly started getting big now headed towards his mid 50s it is quite large while the rest of him is skinny. In our crowd of friends with men around that age, they all look the same skinny guys with huge bellies. Do you see alot of this in middle aged men and have you ever seen a man loose his bellyfat, is it just by dieting cause I always heard you couldnt spot reduce. The other comment is, I feel like as a woman we are supposed to keep ourselves in shape and looking good, but it seems to me that the men dont feel like they have to adhere to that standard. I am not talking about my husband cause he still is very attractive to me, but just generally speaking. Thanks for your comments.

 

[Robmom]

I have noticed this. I've always noticed that it's ok for a man to have a belly, but a woman cannot. Women have to squeeze themselves into Spanx just to hide it. My DH has a little tummy, but not too much. But maybe as he gets older, it might get a little bigger.

 

[kellyg403]

And this is why I think male menopause actually exists. Since I have hit my forties I have this belly/hip/thigh issue. Doc says well menopause you know. My dh is similar to yours. He has awesome legs for a guy..I mean I want his legs if the truth be known. As he has aged, definitely a belly.

I also agree about women keeping themselves slimmer, cuter whatever you want to call it. We worry about it but I can tell you that I don't see many men in my age group who are as worried about it. But it probably boils down to that men are attracted to women by looks first. Women have a tendency to be drawn to a personality or beautiful smile/eyes etc. We are not as visual as men are. My dh will look at a pretty 20 year old in a heart beat and say she is pretty or wow or whatever word fits for hot at the moment. I will say so and so friend is really looking good and he says yes she is attractive. I don't know what the draw is other than he misses his youth. I don't miss the bars, looking for a date, losing 5 pounds on a coffee diet to go on a date. Blech..glad its over and don't want to start over. So, I will continue to diet and try to be "attractive"

Just my take on the whole thing.

Kelly

 

[kirbsam]

male age 43 here. thin, starting getting a gut at around 40, began to work out on elliptical and lost 4 inches off my waist in 6 months. kept it off and have a 33 waist. would like to get to 32, but ok with it. i looked like heck with a 38 inch waist.

 

[Par8hed]

I'm going to have to disagree and say that "in general", I see far more instances where the man is in reasonably good shape and the woman has let herself go.

 

[clarabelle]

Overall I see more overweight women than men (maybe that is my area of the country?) I do think women tend to feel worse about it than men.

 

[Deb in IA]

male age 43 here. thin, starting getting a gut at around 40, began to work out on elliptical and lost 4 inches off my waist in 6 months. kept it off and have a 33 waist. would like to get to 32, but ok with it. i looked like heck with a 38 inch waist.

My husband is a lot like you. Except he's 51.


He weighs less than he did in high school, works out everyday, and ran a 1/2 marathon last Sunday, with no training, and came in 4th in his age group.

He is 6' 1", and was up to 195 at his heaviest this past summer. He can lose 30 pounds in a month by not eating all day, exercising, and just eating a salad (although a very large salad!) for dinner. And dessert - he has a sweet tooth and would rather starve all day so that he can get his dessert(s) at night. When he was heavy, he really didn't look bad at all, but his knees hurt all the time and he hated the way his jeans felt. So, being the ex-wrestler that he is, he "made weight" pretty drastically.

Oh, and his BP is normal, cholesterol is 140, and lipids and TG are all good.

Sometimes, he makes me so envious.

 

[Hercules10]

 

[HOGFAN]

DH looks about 9 months pregnant. All he would have to do to get rid of it is to give up beer(like thats gonna happen). But he doesnt bring up my wide rear so I dont mention his gut.

 

[Tuffcookie]

And another thing...

Women have some sort of excuse for getting out of shape as they approach middle-age. They have carried children!

What excuse do the men have????


TC

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

HOGFAN, you said it best!!! I totally agree with you!

 

[Christine]

These are just a couple observations I want to make, and I would appreciate any comments. My DH has always been skinny but in his late 40s his belly started getting big now headed towards his mid 50s it is quite large while the rest of him is skinny. In our crowd of friends with men around that age, they all look the same skinny guys with huge bellies. Do you see alot of this in middle aged men and have you ever seen a man loose his bellyfat, is it just by dieting cause I always heard you couldnt spot reduce. The other comment is, I feel like as a woman we are supposed to keep ourselves in shape and looking good, but it seems to me that the men dont feel like they have to adhere to that standard. I am not talking about my husband cause he still is very attractive to me, but just generally speaking. Thanks for your comments.

Men gain fat in their belly area because they do not produce estrogen as women do. Women predominantly store fat in their hips and thighs and estrogen encourages this. When a women hits menopause, estrogen plummets and she starts accumulating belly fat. I think this area (the gut) must be the natural place for fat to go on everyone when there's a lack of estrogen.

I also know a good number of men in their 40s and 50s who have thin (very nice) legs but they've got the gut. Some men worse than others. Even when they diet, the stomach can go way down but it never quite disappears. I think it's really rare to see a man who is a butt, hip, thigh gainer. I have seen it and it's odd.

 

[Hercules10]

And another thing...

Women have some sort of excuse for getting out of shape as they approach middle-age. They have carried children!

What excuse do the men have????

The stress caused by those same daggum kids?

 

[Christine]

The stress caused by those same daggum kids?

I think she means that carrying children kind of screws up your abs!

 

[Yen Sid]

I think it is more noticable with men because all our fat goes to the midsection while with woman it kind of spreads out more.

 

[sweetandsassyfl]

Jody is stick-thin (I'm heavier when I'm not pregnant than he is.) However, in the last 3 years, I have definitely watched his gut grow.

 

[Philadisney]

Overall I see more overweight women than men (maybe that is my area of the country?) I do think women tend to feel worse about it than men.

I'm going to have to disagree and say that "in general", I see far more instances where the man is in reasonably good shape and the woman has let herself go.

Everyone around me is fat. That's what happens when you live in the cream cheese/pretzel/cheesesteak/tastycake capital of the USA.

 

[Aardvarks]

Beer belly

Central obesity is a major risk for coronary artery disease.

My guess it is due to a high carb loading, especially beer, and probably bread.

I switched to a low carb diet and lost 4 inches from my waist in less than a month. I am no spring chicken.... 49

There is no excuse looking like this. Buy a bike, do some sit ups. do yard work.

edit, i think the fat capital of the USA is Alabama with over 50% of adults self reporting clinical obesity , a BMI of over 30, in a survey last year

 

[tennvalgirl]

Beer belly

Central obesity is a major risk for coronary artery disease.

My guess it is due to a high carb loading, especially beer, and probably bread.

I switched to a low carb diet and lost 4 inches from my waist in less than a month. I am no spring chicken.... 49

There is no excuse looking like this. Buy a bike, do some sit ups. do yard work.

edit, i think the fat capital of the USA is Alabama with over 50% of adults self reporting clinical obesity , a BMI of over 30, in a survey last year

I live in AL, and its got to be more than 50%

 

[soupy11]

What excuse do the men have????


TC

BEER!