'Bikini-Ready Body'

onedayatatime12

So my goal weight is my normal weight, which I've been at consistently before I made bad choices and ate unhealthy and didn't exercise. >_<

I've read that abs are made in the kitchen. My question is if I eat clean and keep losing weight, will my stomach just keep getting flatter? It seems to be working for me so far, actually, but I just wanna know if I'll have to work for abs like these? I'm planning on continuing a little cardio and more lifting once I reach my goal weight to maintain a lean physique. I don't want to reach my goal weight only to have a tummy, like I did before. Thanks!

Pic of Desired Physique: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm8cw2YnRo1qgcm1uo1_500.jpg

pestopoli

Hi! I would say abs are made in the gym, but they are revealed in kitchen. That is, to have a flat stomach with a bit of muscular definition (like the girl in the picture) you need to first build a nice core in the gym, especially focusing on those lower abs, which help with posture. But you're also going to need to keep losing weight on nutrient-rich foods to get your body fat percentage low enough to see the abs that you build. This is my understanding, anyways.

Also a note: genetics determines almost all by itself where your body will store fat. For many people, this is on the lower stomach first. Nature is cruel. If you're like me, you'll need to get to a low-ish body fat percentage in order to see that flat tummy and ab work. If you haven't had your body fat percentage taken yet by someone in your gym, or by using calipers at home, I'd recommend doing that so you can measure progress on that front.

Keeping eating good, energizing foods, and keep it up in the gym!

onedayatatime12

Hi! I would say abs are made in the gym, but they are revealed in kitchen. That is, to have a flat stomach with a bit of muscular definition (like the girl in the picture) you need to first build a nice core in the gym, especially focusing on those lower abs, which help with posture. But you're also going to need to keep losing weight on nutrient-rich foods to get your body fat percentage low enough to see the abs that you build. This is my understanding, anyways.

Also a note: genetics determines almost all by itself where your body will store fat. For many people, this is on the lower stomach first. Nature is cruel. If you're like me, you'll need to get to a low-ish body fat percentage in order to see that flat tummy and ab work. If you haven't had your body fat percentage taken yet by someone in your gym, or by using calipers at home, I'd recommend doing that so you can measure progress on that front.

Keeping eating good, energizing foods, and keep it up in the gym!

Thanks for your advice! It does seem genetic that I carry most of my unsightly weight in my lower tummy, sadly. I think I'll get a BF% test done sometime. It will help put things in perspective for me, allow me to set reasonable goals, and realize the "ideal me" physically.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Start lifting sooner rather than later. If you start lifting when you reach your goal weight you'll have already lost a lot of muscle along the way. Once you've lost muscle it's hard to regain. If you start lifting now while you eat at a deficit then you'll maintain your muscle and lose fat instead.

Look into Stronglifts, Starting Strength, or New Rules of Lifting for Women. All are good programs.

ETA: in my opinion, eating clean is not necessary. I do eat mostly whole nutrient dense foods and I make a lot of my meals from scratch, but there's no need to eat "clean" 100% of the time. I do more like 80/20.

msliu7911

Depending on your genes, you could probably get a fairly flat and somewhat toned stomach with hardly "real" ab work (i.e. In the kitchen).

Rarely do I do ab exercises, I mainly do running and full body cardio type exercises that include abs, and those have been enough to help me start to see those lines down the side and down the middle of my torso... of course along with losing around 13 lbs so far.

As you begin to lose fat though and get closer to your goal, you need to start doing much more ab targeting. As AngelAmber mentioned, sooner is better. Start incorporating more and more if you're really looking for a ripped set of abs, but in the kitchen is definitely one of the most important aspects of it.

onedayatatime12

I will definitely start lifting weights as soon as I can. Thank you for your useful advice!

momzeeee

As I wrapped up my weight loss I had a pretty flat stomach, but no real definition. As I transitioned into maintenance I started walking 10-12 miles a week and also doing Mark Lauren's strength training program (from his book, Body By You). Now my stomach has a bit of definition and is even flatter I didn't want too much definition since my husband really doesn't care for that look, but I love how my stomach looks now and I feel a lot stronger from doing the strength training!

onedayatatime12

As I wrapped up my weight loss I had a pretty flat stomach, but no real definition. As I transitioned into maintenance I started walking 10-12 miles a week and also doing Mark Lauren's strength training program (from his book, Body By You). Now my stomach has a bit of definition and is even flatter I didn't want too much definition since my husband really doesn't care for that look, but I love how my stomach looks now and I feel a lot stronger from doing the strength training!

I will definitely incorporate strength training into my workouts then! Thank you

Whipppets

A couple years ago I told my daughter I could have a flat stomach but not abs at 53... I am now 56 and have abs
Body pump 4x a week, planks and 3000 push ups a week and you have abs.. Use your stomach enough during a workout
and you get abs in spite of yourself.

HardcoreP0rk

If you want abs, you have to work them and especially add weight to your workouts. Body weight really isnt enough, except for certain types of exercises. That being said...the girl in your goal photo doesn't really *have* abs...so maybe just do a lot of cardio and watch your macros.

micheleb15

Start lifting sooner rather than later. If you start lifting when you reach your goal weight you'll have already lost a lot of muscle along the way. Once you've lost muscle it's hard to regain. If you start lifting now while you eat at a deficit then you'll maintain your muscle and lose fat instead.

Look into Stronglifts, Starting Strength, or New Rules of Lifting for Women. All are good programs.

ETA: in my opinion, eating clean is not necessary. I do eat mostly whole nutrient dense foods and I make a lot of my meals from scratch, but there's no need to eat "clean" 100% of the time. I do more like 80/20.

This. I also don't buy into the "eat clean" way of life. It's not sustainable for me, especially when we go out. I'm not going to pass on chips and salsa because they chips aren't organic whole wheat.

onedayatatime12

Weights, weights, weights! That seems to be key. I'll definitely do that
Also, I have gotten used to the 'clean' eating method, albeit modified a bit for my lifestyle. I, of course, do eat out, once in a while. My goal is to stay within my macros, even if I eat out.