having trouble wearing jeans and eating huge meals.

Anybody else having this problem? When I wear jeans it is about 100x more uncomfortable to eat big meals or drink a big smoothie. My stomach gets sooo big :/ I'm having a really hard time dealing with the "pregnant belly" after eating. It looks so bad. I've been wearing a light jacket a lot this summer even though its over 80F just to hide my big food belly. I've lost a lot of weight eating like this but I'm still hanging on to a layer of belly chub and now when I eat, and I'm wearing jeans, it just cuts into my belly fat and gives me rolls, even though I'm pretty skinny everywhere else. It looks ridiculous.

At least in basketball shorts or yoga pants (which I've been wearing a lot of this summer) I can just roll the top down and it doesn't cut into my belly. Maybe this is why freelee is always in yoga pants. This is really starting to irritate me. And yoga pants are not really an option for me in winter. Any ideas on how to cut down on the belly bloat after eating so I can wear jeans like a normal person again? (I've tried wearing jeans a size up but they fall off, I need a belt hold them up and the same thing happens - belt buckle digging in my belly fat)

Also, add a side note, how long do you think it'll take before the last of the belly fat goes away? It's been like a year already... I've been trying to wait it out & not worry about it but it's not going away and I feel like my stomach is slowly getting bigger. In October when I was visiting family I distinctly remember waking up with a super flat belly and that was amazing, I was weighing in at 112-113 in the mornings. but now I look perma-bloated and weigh 119-120 :( it's really doing a number on my self esteem. Like what's the point of losing weight if I look just as fat and feel gross all the time anyway. Ugh. I can only assume that I'm doing something wrong causing me to gain weight again. I am disgusted with myself.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by PK on July 15, 2014 at 4:51am

May be your jeans are a size too tight?

I refuse to wear anything that restricts my skin and blood flow no matter how fashionable it is.

I know a lot of jeans are stiff and or tight. May be stick to slacks and trousers, or loose shorts.

Peace, PK

edit here, you look female in your pics, so taking a chance here, skirts and dresses are good options too, especially in summer when we are in the sweat/evaporate/cook off cycle.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Limax Maximus on July 15, 2014 at 5:03am

Yeah, I am female :) I have been living in stretchy yoga pants, skirts and men's basketball shorts this summer haha.

I can't wear bigger jeans with a belt because of the belt buckle thing, and also belts put weird pressure on my lower back and make it ache (i crashed my bike a while ago and have had back/hip problems ever since) so I do wear tighter jeans so they will stay up without a belt. But maybe it's time to say goodbye to jeans... you make a good point about restricted blood flow.

It's just frustrating. I feel like I am having to re-do my entire life to fit around this diet haha. But I guess if it's worth it in the long run then right now I just need to suck it up and do whatever works.

I guess I could look into some sort of legging/skirt combo for the winter, instead of jeans.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by PK on July 15, 2014 at 5:24am

@Qaty,

I forgot to beside refusal to wear tight things, I have a kidney issue that sometimes causes swelling and or yes, my back and kidney do not like the pressure.

Sometimes, we have to do what is best for us whether family and friends like it or not.

But that is what we are here for. Many of us are changing our lives day by day, and many of the people in our lives do not like it.

Some of them might be jealous ie you lost weight and they did not. Or our activism, whether promoting a healthy diet or promoting animal rights issues, makes them uncomfortable. Our activism disturbs their sleep. LOL.

Peace, PK

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by PK on July 15, 2014 at 4:57am

What diet are you eating? High raw or RT4?

In some sensitive individuals, starchy foods and the insulin release cycle can cause people to hang on to belly fat because insulin opens fat cells too. May be focus more on raw fruits n lettuce greens and simple carbohydrates.

Starchy Foods vs Fruit n Lettuce

Also try toning exercise like belly dance, yoga (which it seems you might be doing) or martial arts. These exercises will tone and tighten.

But while exercising muscle prefers to burn glucose.

When resting, muscle prefers to use fat. So continue to get your 8-12 hours of resting, even if just lying flat and not sleeping.

Peace, PK

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Limax Maximus on July 15, 2014 at 5:20am

Thanks. I do yoga at home currently but was thinking of going to a class a few times a week.

I eat mostly raw. My cooked food is usually sweet potatoes or beans or steamed root veggies, or homemade soup. I am trying to work my way towards an all raw diet. I feel okay on raw till 4 but not GREAT. And I seem to be having more & more problems crop up recently so maybe it is just time to stop making excuses and go raw.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by PK on July 15, 2014 at 5:26am

@Qaty,

If you prefer to do exercise at home for whatever reason, there are also a lot of belly dance dvds too.

If you do decide to go fully/highly raw, the following might help:

99-100% Raw Long Term Success

Eat a raw frugivorous diet where most carbohydrates and calories come from whole, raw, ripe, sweet, and juicy fruits like oranges, papaya, or mangoes, supplemented with about ½-2 heads of lettuce greens a day ,(not high oxalate veggies like kale, chard, and spinach), and about a handful of raw nuts or seeds a day. Eat simple meals (like mono meals, or only use a few ingredients) but a rainbow of foods over a period of time.

Eat enough on a daily basis with at least 2500 calories for females and at least 3000 calories for males. Drink 8 or more cups of water a day and pee clear. Get 8-12 hours of sleep as needed. Exercise about 30 minutes a day 5-6 days a week with at least one day off for rest and repairs. Get about 30 minutes of sunshine a day on your skin for vitamin D, mental health, eye health, and healthy bones and teeth.

For more science behind how a raw foods diet optimally for long term success:

Aloha to 30BaD's Welcome Wagon! - 30 Bananas a Day!

Best Raw Foods

Peace, PK

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Limax Maximus on July 15, 2014 at 7:05am

Yeah, it seems like the longer I eat this way (mostly raw, mostly fruit) the more sensitive I get to food that I used to have no problems with, like rice, and now beans :/

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BananaStatesofMurica! RAW OR DIE on July 15, 2014 at 5:14am

Message me some pics!!!

1/2 joking I don't come to this website, or go online for that sort of thing...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BananaStatesofMurica! RAW OR DIE on July 15, 2014 at 5:15am

Wait....what does any of this have to do with feeling disgusted with yourself???

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Limax Maximus on July 15, 2014 at 5:24am

I'm just disappointed in my lack of willpower I guess (I know I don't exercise enough) and I've been trying to eat all raw since our last conversation but it's just a hard change, I feel like I've got a lot of things working against me. So between my lack of success, not being where I want to be in terms of physical fitness, and my body image issues it's just... really difficult to be in my own skin recently.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BananaStatesofMurica! RAW OR DIE on July 15, 2014 at 8:50am

The problem is relying on willpower in the first place.

Reorganize everything so that your desired outcome does not depend on your mood, willpower, or whether you can "be mentally stronger"...make whatever you are trying to do the easiest path to take...

What type of work do you do?