Abdominal

rebeccap2021
rebeccap2021 Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone so I’m 42 and weigh 123lbs I’m 5’6 and I am very active. I really want hard definition on my abdominal area. I am having such a hard time with it! I work out so much and I am toned all over but this stomach is sooooo hard to conquer!! Please any advise?? Thank you in advance.
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Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    Yeah, what the penguin said. ^^

    This is a helpful thread with images of other women - maybe you will get something out of it.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10689837/does-this-uterus-make-my-stomach-look-fat/p1


    You're already at the lowish end of your healthy weight range, so the obvious question is, "Do you lift heavy weights?" that will help with your core and general shape.

  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    Hard definition of the abs generally requires a low body fat percentage - depending on your physique it may be a percentage that is too low for you. Also, bloating will happen whatever your body fat percentage. But just because you are toned and in shape does not necessarily mean that your fat percentage is low enough to show off the abs you probably have.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    Any pics of what you look like now? And if you want defined abs, you'll likely need to be under 20% bodyfat.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    rebeccap2021 wrote: »
    My body is so toned and in shape it’s just my belly some days it is so pronounced and others it’s just bloated I just don’t get it! Sucks

    Some of this could be due to natural hormonal fluctuations - which is actually a sign of good health for women, as long as you aren't in serious pain or discomfort.
  • vanmep
    vanmep Posts: 410 Member
    There’s an app ( can’t remember what it’s called) where you put in your measurements and you can see pictures of other women with the same body type. Interestingly research shows that women judge their own bodies much more harshly than they do other women who look just like them.
  • tmbg1
    tmbg1 Posts: 1,434 Member
    Yoga with Adriene has some great ab workouts- I've been doing those and starting to notice some definition and more importantly strength in my core.
  • rebeccap2021
    rebeccap2021 Posts: 28 Member
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.

  • rebeccap2021
    rebeccap2021 Posts: 28 Member
    edited May 2021
    rebeccap2021 wrote: »
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.

  • rebeccap2021
    rebeccap2021 Posts: 28 Member
    Ok so I have a probiotic a day 1 tsp of fiber I eat veggies fruit protein I just don’t understand why I am having such a hard time getting this muscle 🤦🏻‍♀️ Only in my abdominal region
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,246 Member
    psychod787 wrote: »
    yes ma'am.... I did say this.... didn't say it 5 times.... then again.... saying my name 5 times did make me magically appear...... :#

    Mr. D you need to count better: you've been summoned TEN times, not 5! :lol: Has Auntie/Granny @AnnPT77 dropped by? :innocent:
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,216 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    psychod787 wrote: »
    yes ma'am.... I did say this.... didn't say it 5 times.... then again.... saying my name 5 times did make me magically appear...... :#

    Mr. D you need to count better: you've been summoned TEN times, not 5! :lol: Has Auntie/Granny @AnnPT77 dropped by? :innocent:
    .
    No. Have that li'l bit of belly fat going myself, have no proposed solution for the OP other than plenty of strength training, patience, and enduring hope (but no despair or self-critique). Me, at this stage, I like my body lots (consider the alternative of not having one!), and I don't worry about the random weird places my body like to stash that necessary bit of stored energy.

    This is the classic thread on the subject:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

    Bloating is another thing. When I was obese, I never noticed having any. Now, sometimes, I do. Bodies do that sometimes. I don't care, not even a little. It comes, it goes, like moods or weather. Meh.

    OP, I'm a little taller than you, at 5'5"; a little heavier, at 125-ish; much older, at 65; would never say of myself that I'm "so toned and in shape", but I'm not totally devoid of muscles, either. Probably somewhere in the lower 20s percent body fat, on a guess, but it likes to hang out on my lower body - genetics, I suppose, maybe menopausal status. The muscles distribute themselves as they wish based on my exercise activity, so does the residual fat based on (mostly) genetics.

    I'm quite certain that Mr. @ninerbuff is quite correct, and that something under 20% BF would be a necessary precondition for many/most women to have abdominal definition (and even that might not be low enough, because there's genetic variation). That's very lean.

    (If you feel like posting photos, I'll bet he'd be more specific with ideas, too. He's nice that way.)

    For visible abs, you need three things: Muscle in that area; a low enough body fat in the area in order for the muscle to show in what you'd consider a pleasing way; and favorable genetics that let that happen without being at punitively low weight/body fat.

    Me, my upper body is already looking pretty thin and even stringy, but I have only some verticals from a bit of obliques visibility on either side, and the faintest hint of one horizontal, just below my ribcage, under *perfect* conditions (like not bloat-y) and in *perfect* lighting. Six pack isn't gonna happen for me, at any body fat level that doesn't make my upper body look scary, scary thin, and that's healthy for me to be at. Fortunately, like I said, I. Don't. Care. 🤷‍♀️

    So, I have nothing useful to suggest, sadly.

    Hoping you can find a path to happiness with your midsection, OP. (Don't let fakey IG influencers tell you what's "normal", either: That "uterus" thread up above is a good one.)
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    I feel like a little bit of a broken record here, but what I've been trying to say is that you probably DO have the muscle, if you have it on the rest of your body too. The issue, if you can call it that, is that due to typical female anatomy, the way our bodies are shaped and how we carry body fat means that many if not most women, even if very very fit, would not have *visibly defined* abs. It's not due to any failure or weakness on your part. There's probably nothing wrong with you. It's just how the female body is, for most females. And its appearance is likely to change with your cycle to some degree.
  • bostonpaul22
    bostonpaul22 Posts: 31 Member
    Try upping your water intake, or if in some cases you feel like bloating you could limit your sodium intake and water intake for a few days, also carb cycling is a very efficient way to burn body fat ive found
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    psychod787 wrote: »
    What is your diet like? High in protein and fiber? If so, that can bloat some people. If its fat? No way to spot reduce. I would also ask, "why is it important?" There is nothing wrong with vanity, but when it comes at the cost of heath, it is. If you are already pretty lean for a gal, losing more might not be worth it. Just look at what bikini fitness models go through.

    This was my thought, as someone who is 2 years older than you and about your same height/weight proportions (5'8 and 133). I have some definition, but there is also quite a bit of loose skin from babies, c-sections and losing weight. I will never have rock-hard abs with some cosmetic intervention, but I am in pretty decent shape with muscle definition.

    Also, if you are frequently bloated due to digestive issues, until those get resolved in one way or another, you will often look like you don't have rock-hard abs, even if you actually did. I had a lot of bloating issues, and they've gotten better since I'm on a plan to figure out what causes more issues, but I still don't care so much about rock-hard abs.
  • rebeccap2021
    rebeccap2021 Posts: 28 Member
    Ok I figured it out so this is me my body but I want more pronounced abdominals there were some people saying I wouldn’t be healthy but I have always been lean and now that I’m getting older I feel like it’s harder to get the abs. I eat perfectly fine and I am very very healthy and would never ever starve myself! @ninerbuff what do you recommend what workouts what to eat. I know some people will say I am pronounced but it’s what I really want and what makes me happy I want a 6 pak 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
  • bostonpaul22
    bostonpaul22 Posts: 31 Member
    Your extremely lean and should be proud of your accomplishments for sure, keep up the hard work consistency is key
  • rebeccap2021
    rebeccap2021 Posts: 28 Member
    @bostonpaul22 hey greetings from Boston also 🙌🏼🙌🏼 I run everyday and drink soooo much water. I put very little salt on my food. I just don’t get it why I can’t achieve the abs I want if you look up Lauren Simpson I follow her regimens and still don’t have her stomach. I’m doing something wrong I think I need a trainer just for abdominal as I was saying perhaps I should join cross for?!
  • rebeccap2021
    rebeccap2021 Posts: 28 Member
    @bostonpaul22 thank you so much!!!
  • bostonpaul22
    bostonpaul22 Posts: 31 Member
    @rebeccap2021 Bostons finest💪🏻Haha Are you training abs? And if you are are you progressively adding volume to your ab work outs, i understand everyone has different volume requirements before they are overtraining but it might do you a little good to just add a bit more volume
  • rebeccap2021
    rebeccap2021 Posts: 28 Member
    @bostonpaul22 no I haven’t been adding weights because she does her own body weight.. see I didn’t know that what do I use what machines lol I’m lost with the whole ab workout now you give me squats and booty work out I’m all over the weights with that!
  • bostonpaul22
    bostonpaul22 Posts: 31 Member
    @rebeccap2021 it might not necessarily mean adding weight but more sets, or more time under tension depending on your exercises of choice “if you continue to do the same things you will continue to get the same results”

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