Is a flat stomach always attainable for a woman?

Noreenmarie1234

There's a difference between having a flat stomach and having no fat on your stomach. I have abs and cant grab any fat on my stomach but I do not have a flat stomach as it always sticks out lol.

noobletmcnugget

I've only ever had a flat stomach when I've been quite underweight. But I don't have much muscle - I reckon if I did I would maybe be able to achieve one towards the lower end of the healthy bmi.

busyPK

Never had a flat stomach and never will. Was overweight as a teen, then had 3 babies within 3 years in my 20's so I've come to terms with the extra skin/fat there.

Ironandwine69

I don't think I will ever have nice abs, not as much because of fat, but because of C-section pouch and skin.
Then again in the morning I'm like "hell yeah", by noon I look pregnant

midlomel1971

Honestly, I don't know if I'll ever have a nice stomach again after 2 kids and 1 c-section and I'm really okay w/ that.

KANGOOJUMPS

sure, but you do not want it too flat or you look sickly looking!

BinaryPulsar

alondrakayy wrote: »

I honestly don't think it's possible now that I've seen pictures of women with flat bellies or with a 6 pack show themselves unflexed. However, I don't use that as an excuse not to try to get to that flat belly area

But, that's just the reality. Having a flat all the time tummy isn't reality. We sit down, breath deeply in a moment, eat food, slouch sometimes, have a fertility cycle. Then other times we are dancing, moving in ways that activate the muscles. So, the goal should be realistic. I say this for myself too.

mom23mangos

Some people can and some people can't. Those who probably can't are the apple shapes specifically. It just varies from person to person where you store your fat. And I've learned that those fat storage patterns can change with age. I used to never store fat on my stomach, but now that I'm over 40 I tend to store some there. However, since it's not my main fat storage I can get rid of it without too much effort. Many people can't.

youngmomtaz

In the winter of 2016 I was dead center of my recommended bmi. Strong abs like crazy, you could see the 6 pack when I flexed even under my fat layer and crazy stretch marks. But, the lower belly was always rounded. I have gained 15-20lbs and am working on losing again but have found there are many reasons some women may never get the perfectly flat belly. I have been having some minor issues(bloating, digestion, etc) and found out via ultrasound that I have a fibroid the size of a 5 month pregnancy in my uterus. According to my doc(and google agrees) 70% of women over the age of 35 may deal with fibroids of various sizes; some without symptoms. I can keep working my muscles to help hold it in, but unless we get all surgical, my pooch is staying. I would guess this is that case for others as well past a certain age. Our uteruses just want allllll the attention.

Lynzdee18

I don't believe so.....

CMNVA

I had a very flat stomach until I had my first child. It's not too bad now (I'm in my 50s now) but it would probably never be very flat. I think I *could* get it there with excessive working out and very little body fat.

I do still have the thigh gap though!! Honestly, it all comes down to how you're built and there's very little you can do about certain features that's against your natural build.

Thehardmakesitworthit

Yeah....no....LOL. Highly doubtful HOWEVER when I lay down and suck it in until I cannot breath....well what I see makes me smile... have lost 79 pounds with about 30 to go but its good.

usmcmp

Flat 24/7? Absolutely not.

Flat for the most part? Depends on if you're willing to put in that kind of long term effort. Having a flat stomach comes down to adequate lean mass and low body fat (and for some improving posture). With the exception of excess skin I believe everyone is physically capable of attaining a flat stomach. I don't think everyone has a supportive lifestyle or the long term drive to build the muscle and get that lean.

This is a handy infographic about what it takes to get to that:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-lean-infographic

nowine4me

Ain't happening for me, and that's okay.

Sp1tfire

You have to eat, and the food has to go somewhere, so no, not attainable.

Christine_72

This thread has made me feel so much better about my unflat stomach

Meghanebk

Is a flat stomach attainable? Sure if you remove a few internal organs. And never eat a full meal at a time.

We're conditioned by extremely thin models to think flat=normal/ideal, when really, it's not.

You can work on strength training and core exercises, but even with that you might have to lower body fat to unhealthy levels to get a "flat" stomach, and even then it might not work.

bioklutz

I have a flat stomach a few days a month - totally related to where I am at in my menstrual cycle. This is assuming I have not had any alcohol or an extremely large meal or a crazy high sodium day during the flat tummy time of the month.

This is a small gallery of ladies showing side by side photos of bloated vs not bloated.
https://www.self.com/gallery/bloat-roundup

EatingAndKnitting

I have always been overweight, or large anyway, but when I was twelve or so and just starting my period cycles I had a fairly flat stomach. I think I carried my weight well is all, because I was larger than all the girls my age (I was 5'6 and 130 with a 32" waist at 12, and thought I was soooooooooo fat. Hah! I wish I was still that fat). Except for a pouch under my belly button. I postulated that that was my uterus and normal for a woman. It's good to read here that I was right.

ladyhusker39

This is a very interesting thread. I love reading everyone's thoughts on this. It's one of those things that I've always wondered how it even became a thing to aspire to. Why do women care so much about having a flat stomach? And how did that become a measure of health or worse of beauty? I'm truly not trying to be mean so I hope I'm not coming across that way. I just sometimes marvel at the things that are "things" lol.