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r_beau
New Member
| Joined: | 12 April 2008 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
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Posted: 23 November 2008 04:41 am |
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I'm probably just getting in one of my impatient ruts again .... but I am busting my tail off by eating right and counting calories; keeping my sodium, fat, and sugar intake as low as possible, eating at least 100+ grams of protein a day, and a variety of veggies. I workout at least 5 days a week, although the last 3 weeks or so I have been working out every single day. Also in the last week, I've started working my abs every single day in the hopes that that would shake some things up.
I started working at my "flat tummy" goal around January of this past year although I really got intense with it in June and July and have been intense with it since September. I'm about 5'6" tall and my scale varies from about 125 (in the morning once I get out of bed) to about 127/128 later in the day (depends on if I just ate or whatever).
And that flab is STILL there. Now don't get me wrong; I'm very proud of where I've gotten and how great my body is looking from all my hard work. And the tummy area is *better* but still just not FLAT!!! That awful, stubborn PUDGE! My actual weight, of course, makes no difference because I know I have "toned up" especially in the last month or so (and we all know that muscle weighs more than fat!)
I have lost a few pounds from when I started (I probably was around 134 starting weight) but my GOAL when I stated this whole thing is to get a FLAT TUMMY.
So to those who have lost weight and got that flat flat tummy -- HOW???
Am I just not meant to have one??????
(I do realize everyone is different, but I'm just hoping to find some way to break this plateau I feel I've been on.)
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Hellrazor
New Member
| Joined: | 6 July 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 441 |
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Posted: 23 November 2008 04:51 am |
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Patience & Time..
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cupcakets
New Member
| Joined: | 4 July 2008 |
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| Posts: | 103 |
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Posted: 23 November 2008 04:15 pm |
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For me fiber really seems to make a difference.It makes sence,if youre bowels are full,then your pooch is going to be there.Makes sense to me anyway  .WHat ab exercises are you doing by the way?I'm looking for some new ideas
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 23 November 2008 04:42 pm |
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I was watching TV one day when this questioned was answered for me on one of those fitness shows (sorry I've watched so many I can't remember which one it was at the moment) and the trainer said the only real way to get a flat tummy or those "6 pack abs" is by losing weight and getting your body fat down real low. Losing the fat gets rid of the pooch and exercising the abs defines the muscles so that they show.
The best way to lose the fat? Cutting calories. Take in less food than you're expending.
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CrimsonAnimus
Moderator
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Posted: 24 November 2008 02:22 am |
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It bears to note that not everybody is able to get a flat tummy - a lot of it is genetic. That being said, you can continue to lower your body fat and see what happens. Be careful, though - women are supposed to have a higher body fat than men to be healthy, so make sure you stay within recommended ranges.
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r_beau
New Member
| Joined: | 12 April 2008 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
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Posted: 24 November 2008 06:07 am |
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hellrazor: Yea I know .... I just feel like 5-6 months of serious dedication **should** be paying off .... but it's not. 
cupcakets: I don't quite see your rationalization. How does it affect your outward appearance if your stomach/intestine are full? I can see how it would make you feel bloated but I don't see how it affects whether you have a flat tummy or not.
As far as the ab workouts I do, I try to do different ones to keep the abs guessing! One of the ones I do is the "8 minute abs" video on YouTube when I need a quick ab workout. Or I'll do the video twice other times. Another one of my favorite sets to do and was designed by a trainer for me this past summer is the reverse crunch (where your legs are straight in the air and you are on your back and you lift your butt off the floor) and a form of the bicycle crunch and a scissors crunch (hands under your butt, lift your legs and head slightly off the floor and criss-cross your feet). I do 3 sets at a time, anywhere between 50 to 100 a set (depending on my motivation for the day!  ).
But those two probably are the ones I do the most. But I also try to mix in other variations of crunches. I also love to do leg lifts on those stands at the gym (not sure what the technical name is?). It's a real killer to do 20 in a row, lifting your legs straight out in front of you. I'll also do sets side-to-side to work the obliques.
I also **used** to do all the abs machines at the gym but since I moved to another state, I still have not found a local gym that HAS them!! The campus fitness center is a piece of junk and I've just started a trial at a local gym nearby, although they have only one ab machine and I'm not a big fan of it. And they don't even have one of those ab stands. I'm hoping to try the Anytime Fitness which is kind of nearby and see what they have. There's supposedly a YMCA here too although no one ever answers when I try to call the number.....
sassykat: I am very well aware that you need to lost the fat off your tummy before you see a 6-pack. (In which a 6-pack is not necessarily my goal ... I just want that smooth flat mid-section ... although I would not be mad if it happened). If you had read my post, you would see that I already am counting my calories to lose weight and limiting my fat intake and doing both cardio and weight lifting -- and have been doing so for quite some time. What I am getting at is that, in fact, I don't seem to be getting anywhere!
I've been so dedicated that I haven't had a sip of alcohol in MONTHS. And I am a college student, if that tells you anything!! (What else do we like to do on weekends?) I haven't because I know how awful alcohol is when you are trying to lose weight.
Crimson: Oh do not worry. I am no where NEAR a dangerously low body fat level. I may be on the low to mid end of the "healthy range" (depending on what source range you go by), but that's it. And I am not eliminating fat from my diet because you do need it to survive; just keeping it to a minimum. I'm just maybe coming to the realization that I may not be meant to have a flat tummy ... but that just KILLS me.  I've never been "fat" by any means but I've always had those pudgy rolls on my mid-section all my life ... I just want them GONE.
I'm just frustrated as to WHY I am stuck! It just don't seem to be going anywhere....
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mizzpersia
New Member
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Posted: 24 November 2008 06:50 am |
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| Maybe you are over working your muscles and not giving them enough time to heal properly to build proper muscle definition. You need a day rest between body parts, that is why you should dedicate one day per week to a body part, do you rabs every other day or every 3 days. Once you have lost the additional fat on your body then you can do them everyday to define the muscle, remember the reason why those muscles show is because your body fat% is so low that your muscles stick out.
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cupcakets
New Member
| Joined: | 4 July 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 103 |
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Posted: 24 November 2008 04:31 pm |
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| sorry ,never explain myself real well.It was just something that i read on a site somewhere that when you dont"go"regularly then the stomach will bloat up with gas and bulk from your stool.So basicly it's like putting a ballon full of air under your shirt,youre stomach is going to look bigger,right?THen when you but an empty ballon under your shirt it's going to be flat.Hmmm,i still dont think i explained myself that well lol.It made sense when i read it,honest
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r_beau
New Member
| Joined: | 12 April 2008 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
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Posted: 25 November 2008 07:21 pm |
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mizz: the only reason I decided to start doing abs everyday is because a trainer I know (who actually is a body builder too) does her abs everyday -- but not any other body part. Just abs. She says they recover faster and are able to handle it.
Plus I figure my ab sets to not last that long (at the very most, my longest ab session is 20 minutes) so it's not extremely hard on them everyday.
cupcakets: I do "go" regularly so I don't think that is my problem!
I wonder how my body would react if I stopped working out for a week and the hit it back up hard after that. ?????
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chrism
New Member
| Joined: | 21 November 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: 25 November 2008 09:51 pm |
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I don't have a 6-pack, far from it, but all I did was cut way, way back on fat.
Honestly, the only fat in my diet comes from the rare 1/4 pound of lean ground beef, chicken breast tenders and a little from things like pretzels and such. I have around 6% body fat.
My abs are pretty tight, but I don't do sit-ups or crunches. I do do push-ups and a little weight training. With both exercises you tighten your stomach, so my abs have tightened up as a sort of side effect.
If you want a washboard stomach you need to have very, very low body fat because (at least I've always been told this) body fat first collects over your abs. It's the last bit of fat to go and the first to come back. It takes a lot of work and a strict diet.
A flat stomach though can be achieved in time. For me, I'm not quite there because my skin hasn't tightened from my weight loss, but I can feel the difference.
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 25 November 2008 10:36 pm |
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| I did not say to "count calories" but rather, to cut back on them, if you had "read my post", like you condescendingly told me. It is in losing weight, that a flat belly is achieved. I have to agree with Nick though, not everyone can achieve a flat belly. Especially if they have some extra skin in that area from losing a lot of weight, it may not be something they can achieve without surgery.
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cportwine
Senior Member
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Posted: 26 November 2008 12:20 am |
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Sassykat wrote: I did not say to "count calories" but rather, to cut back on them, if you had "read my post", like you condescendingly told me. It is in losing weight, that a flat belly is achieved. I have to agree with Nick though, not everyone can achieve a flat belly. Especially if they have some extra skin in that area from losing a lot of weight, it may not be something they can achieve without surgery.
I totally agree with all of that...I have extra skin and to get rid of it, has almost began an obsession. So, I don't think it all can be just a matter of exercise and diet. I wish it was....but I have been light for three years now, and still struggling with it...
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r_beau
New Member
| Joined: | 12 April 2008 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
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Posted: 27 November 2008 07:28 pm |
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Sassykat wrote: I did not say to "count calories" but rather, to cut back on them, if you had "read my post", like you condescendingly told me. It is in losing weight, that a flat belly is achieved. I have to agree with Nick though, not everyone can achieve a flat belly. Especially if they have some extra skin in that area from losing a lot of weight, it may not be something they can achieve without surgery.
I don't know about you, but I don't know how to cut back on my calories unless I know how many I am eating in the first place. That is why I count calories: To keep myself on a calorie deficit to lose weight.
And like I said: I know you need to lose the fat off your tummy before you can see the ab muscles underneath it. And obviously cutting calories is how you lose weight. And I am already doing that.
cport: I don't think excess skin is my problem as I've never been overweight by a large amount. As far as I can remember, the most I have ever weighed was about 138. I want to say that was two years ago right after Christmas (darn Christmas food!!). Currently, as I said, I'm around 125-128 depending on the time of day. Would 10 pounds over that time period be enough for excess skin?
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Terabyte
New Member
| Joined: | 18 November 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 293 |
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Posted: 28 November 2008 12:55 am |
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I have a pretty flat stomach, although I am working on getting it to washboard (not there yet, getting there!) I have been eating MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acid) with every meal and this appears to help me lose weight quickly, although I've got to be honest, I haven't stuck with it long enough to see any belly-specific results. I don't know what the exact science behind it is, something in the acid helps your body release fat (of course you also have to be eating sensibly and exercising too, having a calorie deficit, etc.)
But anyway, MUFAs include:
-any nut butter
-any nut
-any type of olive
-several types of oil, including flaxseed, sunflower, and olive
-avocado
-any dark chocolate as long as it's above 60% cacao
So most of the time I just have a few nuts or a few olives with every meal and it seems to work. When I have done it, I have seen weight drop fast. I think I lost like 6 pounds in 4 days or something like that when I was religious about it.
I started up again today after being lax on and off. I am hoping to see some good results and have a bikini-ready tummy by Xmas. lol! We do wear bikinis in December down here... (so cal)
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Terabyte
New Member
| Joined: | 18 November 2008 |
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| Posts: | 293 |
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Posted: 28 November 2008 12:56 am |
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well actually i consider my tummy bikini-ready right now, but you know what I mean... even better like super washboard style
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r_beau
New Member
| Joined: | 12 April 2008 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
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Posted: 3 December 2008 04:20 am |
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we'll ..... I ordered the Flat Belly Diet book from Prevention off of Ebay tonight
I figure it wouldn't hurt to read it and maybe even try it.
And I haven't been on the scale since last Wednesday; I don't want to discourage myself from Thanksgiving. But it was really nice to have a "diet break" for a few days where I wasn't counting every single calorie like I normally do!!!
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 3 December 2008 04:04 pm |
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| There may be something to that 'flat belly diet'. Let us know how you like it r_beau.
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StuckSara
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 4 December 2008 12:57 am |
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| Yeah, will you please keep us posted on the flat belly diet if you decide to do it? It has always seemed appealing to me.
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DaniMae1
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 4 December 2008 12:10 pm |
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| I don't know if it is true, but I read that some people, especially women, will never have a "flat" stomach. Mine is really firm under my stubborn last bit of fat! But I don't have any hopes for it being flat.
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r_beau
New Member
| Joined: | 12 April 2008 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
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Posted: 4 December 2008 02:16 pm |
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Well I just have this layer of pudgy fat over the middle area of my stomach and a teeny bit of "love handles." THAT's what I'm trying so hard to get rid of but no luck yet.
It's SO FRUSTRATING!!!! I have been bustin' my @$$ off for months .... it makes me just wanna quit when I don't seem to be getting anywhere. I guess if you don't include last weekend for Thanksgiving, I haven't had a sip of alcohol in months, haven't had any type of dessert in month, worked out at the gym nearly every day, counted my calories every day,and augh! Stupid pudge is still there.
I just don't know what else to do.
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wadoryu1
New Member
| Joined: | 16 April 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 101 |
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Posted: 4 December 2008 03:51 pm |
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| I'm a guy and I dealt with this same problem for well over a year. The stubborn flab that won't disappear no matter what you do. After extensive research, I've learned to up my daily fiber intake. Within the past month, I've more than doubled my fiber intake getting an average of 40 grams a day compared to the 15-20 I was getting before and I have indeed noticed the belly fat slowly melting away. I know it's not just my imagination or wishful thinking because my scale has reflected a decrease in my bodyfat % and a few lbs of my bodyweight. I am also and have been on a high protein diet and I don't know if that helps with the melting process. I say give it a try. I replaced my regular oatmeal with high fiber oatmeal and replaced my daily nutrigrain bar with a fiber one bar. Increase fiber slowly though because the gaseous experience is not a pleasant one.
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r_beau
New Member
| Joined: | 12 April 2008 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
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Posted: 4 December 2008 06:30 pm |
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wadoryu1 wrote: I am also and have been on a high protein diet and I don't know if that helps with the melting process. I say give it a try. I replaced my regular oatmeal with high fiber oatmeal and replaced my daily nutrigrain bar with a fiber one bar. Increase fiber slowly though because the gaseous experience is not a pleasant one.
I already am on a high protein diet and have been since about June. I get at least 100 grams minimum protein a day. Normally, I hit around 120 to 130 grams.
I also try to keep my carbs low and only from either veggies, fruits, or whole grains.
However, I could try increasing my fiber. It's worth a shot. How long were you on a high-fiber diet before you started noticing changes?
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wadoryu1
New Member
| Joined: | 16 April 2008 |
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| Posts: | 101 |
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Posted: 4 December 2008 07:00 pm |
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| I began to notice a difference almost immediately. I would say after 1 week I noticed a significant change.
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DaniMae1
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 4 December 2008 08:08 pm |
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| A week you say? Hmmm... I might have to try jumping on higher fiber wagon also! I seem to be adjusting to it as long as I stay away from beans and some of the Low Carb High Fiber stuff.
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