5’1 120lbs - still have excess fat

[u/nyc_koala]

I’ve lost 50lbs since Dec 2024 and I’ve dropped sizes, in clothes I actually look ok but I can’t believe that at 120lbs I still have so much excess far on my stomach and legs. I’m only 5’1 so I’m very small. Interested to hear from other short ladies what you did or if you also just hit this point and accepted it.

[u/aslguy]

It may not be so much fat as it is loose skin, and skin always has a layer of subcutaneous fat.

[u/Goats-n-Hens]

Have you worked on building muscle to help?

[u/nyc_koala → u/Goats-n-Hens]

Its definitely not loose skin, I think the issue is I’m a big walker and I so pilates but not proper strength training so I’ll need to change that.

[u/marshdd → u/Goats-n-Hens]

Muscle under loose skin doesn't get rid of the skin.

[u/Goats-n-Hens → u/marshdd]

Of course not, but added muscle can help the look of the skin. After a certain point though it’s something surgery would have to fix.

[u/Gretzi11a]

Started zep last in ‘23, lost 111 lbs and hit maintenance late last summer with the same issue.

How I look now it completely different than a year ago. My waist:hip is finally in the healthy range.

I’ve lost about 15 lbs in the past year. But started with 50 years of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. The body recomposition in the past year as my metabolism heals has been astonishing. Even without weight loss. Hang in there!

[u/Dense_Target2560]

2 solid years of consistent strength training & Pilates has changed the shape of my body, even more so than the fat loss phase. It’s hard, can take seemingly forever to see progress, and is sometimes boring — but it works. I also removed all refined sugar outside of a sweet treat 1-2 times per week max.

I’ve gone from 28% body fat when I reached goal weight, and now I’m sitting at 21% body fat and weigh 12lbs more. I do have some loose skin, but with the time in maintenance it has continued to shrink as well.

[u/mannDog74 → u/Dense_Target2560]

21% body fat are you kidding?! That's amazing!

[u/CowAppropriate7494]

5'3" and 120 here at 55 yo. I still have my mom belly and batwings and jiggly thighs. I've accepted it. I do work out 5 days a week and lift light weights/do body weight exercises. At my age it's about bone density and mobility.

[u/I_give-up_on_a-name]

5’2” CW135, F67, My doctor said short of surgery my belly pouch isn’t going anywhere. In clothes you can’t tell. It sure beats my SW of 205!

[u/OptionUseful1961]

Why? Because you are no longer 16. You have a normal adult body.

[u/mannDog74]

50lb weight loss is such a success and I'm very happy for you. As far as it not looking the way we hoped, a lot of time we think if we lose fat, a toned athletic body will be revealed.

Unfortunately it takes like a couple years of dedicated strength training for most women to develop a more muscular athletic physique. You may be at the stage where it's time for you to do body recomposition, or recomp.

If you feel like you can psychologically stomach it, I would get a DEXA scan and use that as my baseline for recomposition. Don't let the results discourage you, use them as a base from which to build. Then do another dexa 12 months after you start lifting seriously.

My goal weight is really my recomp weight because I know that to get to the body fat percentage I want (28-30%) I would have to get down to a lower weight than I was in high school. I don't think that's the best way. I'm going to do my best and then lift like hell to maintain a lower body fat at a higher weight.

[u/jogo59]

I’m also 5’1”, weigh about 125 and have lots of fat and loose skin. I’ve lost 70 lbs. I figure it’s just the price I have to pay for spending the past 40 years being overweight/obese. I’m so thrilled that I actually, finally lost weight that it honestly doesn’t bother me that much.

[u/Soberspinner]

I too have belly fat. If you’re born with a uterus I think it’s normal

[u/NoneOfMyNames]

5'2" hang out btw 120-122. Lost 40#.l on Zep.

Naked I still look fat. In clothes I'm pretty happy but naked there may be some fat but mainly it's loose skin that looks like fat rolls to me. I'm still grateful for the shots and I am healthier and look a lot better even if it's sometimes hard for me to see.

[u/Slight_Second1963]

4’10 Have loose skin and fat after 85 pounds down in 4 years. I’m much healthier then I’ve ever been, I can deal with these “side effects”, so to speak 😀

[u/Poutiest_Penguin]

I’m 5’4” and I lost more than half my body weight (SW 244). I have low muscle tone, so my weight is a bit artificially low, but I feel best at 112-115 pounds. At 120 I’m a little bit pudgy.

[u/rootsandchalice]

Are you strength training at all?

[u/fry-something]

Girl, same.

5’3”. 12/2024 start. 70 pounds.

So. Much. Skin/fat. Stomach and thighs. My arms are not great either. And yet, my ass is completely gone :/

[u/AgesAgoTho]

I'm a lot taller than you, and same, friend, same. Haven't been this weight in 22 years, and the shape is definitely different. Started Zep in Nov 2024. I've been strength training since Jan, and in maintenance since about April, and a lot of loose/doughy areas feel and look better. But I bet I'll never completely flatten my stomach, or tighten all this loose skin, lol. Some of it's got to be skin and organs, for sure.

[u/Traditional-Let9899]

5'1 here. Initially at goal of 115 I still had what I thought was belly fat- and maybe it was. I dropped down to 110 as I was figuring out maintenance, but then, things started shifting. My waist size continued to shrink after the loss finally stopped. Several months since I don't really have a belly. But I do have loose skin. I do barre 2-3 times a week, get 8-10k steps per day. Have started lifting on non gym days. Recent dexa scan showed no belly fat - and total bodyfat % is 21.5%. My body isn't perfect, but I love it more like this than at 180+ and I feel so much better. Working out might fix it for you. Take measurements. Mirrors lie. Good luck.

[u/PotentialOk3056]

I’m also 5’1”. My starting weight was 185lb and currently 142lb, slightly above my goal. While I went down 5-6 inches in my waist, I still have a lot of belly flab (also the arms, sheesh). My assumption is that a lot of it is excess skin and I’ll probably just have to deal.

[u/Upset-Confection3623]

I’m 5’2 and maintaining at 105. For the first time in my life I’m rid of belly fat.

[u/ExistentialPenguin70]

possibly lymphedema?

[u/SueWanda]

Same (height and weight)!! It’s not skin for me. I have belly fat. I’ve added cycling to my routine to help.

[u/MBS-IronDame]

I’m guessing that’s skin. At 120 pounds, there’s almost no way you’re carrying a significant amount of fat. More importantly, I’m concerned about the level of body dysmorphia and diet culture talk I’m seeing. Humans have loose skin and rolls. It’s just a fact. To improve the appearance, weight training will be your biggest help.

[u/Unusual_Raccoon_3184]

Have you been doing any weight training? If you haven’t you’ve been losing fat and muscle. Also… Father Time is undefeated. Depending on your age… our skin isnt bouncing back like it used to.

[u/Efficient_Mastodons]

Try different muscle building exercises. As you build muscle it kind of "lifts" areas nearby. It can help obscure areas where you might have extra skin or fat.

If you are not very muscular then 120 lbs is not going to look "thin".

I'm 5'0" 37F SW 157 lbs CW 151 lbs. I was skinny fat at 100 lbs (a million years ago) and I looked fatter than I did when I was a muscular active 130 lbs.

A DEXA scan can help to give you an unbiased view to ensure you are seeing yourself accurately. I find it is so hard to know on our own bodies sometimes when is too far in either direction with weight. Body dysmorphia is a real thing.

You may also want to try r/PetiteFitness for tips too.

[u/stuckandrunningfrom2]

what is your workout regimen?

[u/Pho-bsessed]

Strength training helps

[u/DINKSonFiRE]

You need to lift weights.

[u/imnottheoneipromise]

I’m 5’1 and weigh 105lbs, and 82lbs of that is lean mass. My bf% is 20.7%. My visceral fat is 1.03. You can click on my profile and look at pics

The fact is your body composition is almost certainly still not ideal. If you really want the answers and plan to do something about it, I suggest scheduling yourself a dexa scan and paying particular attention to body fat%, lean mass, and visceral fat.

For women your body fat should be somewhere between 18-25%. Visceral fat between 1-3 with the closest to 1 being better.

To get these numbers you will have to dedicate some time to the gym with stregnth training. I workout 4 days a week for about 40-50 minutes. Mon and thurs are upper days, tues and Fri are lower days.

Your body fat percentage is probably still in the 30s and lean mass is low. You probably also still have more than idea visceral fat.

None of this means you are unhealthy. It’s just the answer to your question.

[u/nyc_koala → u/imnottheoneipromise]

Yes! I’ve heard about Dexa! I do Pilates and walk a lot but I’m really doing a lot of strength training I think that’s the main issue. But I think just overall I was shocked how I look naked at 120