Achieving/Maintaining A Flat Stomach

caylapal888

Does anyone have any tips on how they keep their stomach flat/slim? I have been doing the following but I would love some more tips that aren't generic tips you can just find online. Tips that actually work and not just the obvious "eat right and exercise." More specific tips.

1. Daily Magnesium Citrate Supplement
2. Ab Pilates
3. Taking A Walk After Dinner
4. Warm Peppermint Tea At Night Before Bed

I know some say eating smaller meals throughout the day instead of big meals helps as well. Any new tips?

ddsb1111

I’m living proof of what can happen. I’m in perimonopause, which basically means I’m carrying weight in places I never did before, but not necessarily more weight. It took a complete shift in my routine to resolve it.

Tbh, I don’t think most people want the advice it takes to change their shape because it takes discipline, consistency, and focused nutrition. But, I’ll give you the benefits of the doubt.

1. You cannot spot reduce. You must eat in a calorie deficit, and monitor it as precisely as possible.
2. You need to focus on working those muscles routinely. Calisthenics, palates, and weight lifting is honestly a game changer.
3. You should follow your weight trend and take measurements. A change in exercise can cause water retention which can be confusing and frustrating. The weight trend takes the guess work out. Play the long game.

Forget about the overcompensating money grabs and just do the job and you will see results. It’s not overnight. But wow does your energy and clothes show you otherwise. GL!

IzzieDizzie93

Like the comment above,
You can't pin point where the weight comes off, and even then achieving a flat stomach (or what society deems as flat) may not be something that can happen, due to the fact that we have organs.

I've basically got very little upper body fat now and I still don't have what society deems as a "flat stomach " but it's taken me time (many years) to understand and love that I have a uterus and organs around my stomach, and i birthed a child haha, but then again when i was much younger it was possible (before my whole body shape changed).

If you want to get a slimmer stomach (as much as your body will let you) then keep going and keep up a good diet which is suitable for you, work out as much as you can and it will start working away, you will see results, it'll take time, consistency, as well as dedication

lisakatz2

The only way to flatten your stomach is to reduce your body fat. This takes time and proper dieting.

I'm post-menopausal and carrying fat in my stomach, which I never did before, but still working towards reducing it. Coming along, but slowly!

claireychn074

Just going to add another vote for body shape influencing whether you can achieve an ongoing flat stomach. I can’t. Even at my lowest body fat (c15% as a middle aged woman) I had a rounded lower belly.

Losing fat will help, but some women store fat there / on their bottom half (me), and I also have a tilted pelvis. I can flatten my stomach by bracing, tucking my pelvis and breathing in. But I can’t hold that / walk around like that!

ninerbuff

Posture and keeping your calorie intake in check once you reach goal. It's been mentioned many times here that you CAN'T spot reduce an area unless you're willing to go under the knife.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 40 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

caylapal888

Thank you all for your comments but most of you did not answer the question and over thought it. I have lost a lot of weight and I am very slim so I am completely aware you cannot spot reduce fat. Hence why I shared what I personally do and it helps me to keep my stomach down. When it comes to extended bellies some people are not solely holding fat in their stomach sometimes it is bloat, gas, waste and water. I am successfully maintaining and achieving it and I was just looking for new tips if anyone had them. It would have been okay not to comment if you did not. I made it public because I am sure others have this issue as well even though everyone's body is different.

OBVIOUSLY eating right and exercising and being mindful of how many calories you take in is crucial but when it comes to the belly area other factors can come into play.

The cool but sometimes frustrating thing about this site anyone can comment. Even if they did not properly comprehend the question or if their comment was unnecessary but I thank you guys anyways for interacting with my post but unfortunately most of you just missed the mark and made my original post and question something it definitely was not.

I did like the the tip from @ninerbuff about posture. That was more on the lines of the things I was looking hear not regurgitated information but again thank you all for the interaction.

@ddsb1111
@IzzieDizzie93
@lisakatz2
@claireychn074
@ninerbuff

AnnPT77

If posture is part of the issue, then some relevant posture issues that are common, and can make the belly area more prominent, are
* anterior pelvic tilt,
* a habit of standing with locked knees, and/or
* kyphotic posture (not actual kyphosis, which is a skeletal condition - the posture version is the rounded-shoulders/head-forward posture that many people have these days from hunching over phones or keyboards, sometimes rudely called "nerd neck").

Diagnostics and remedial exercises for these are pretty easy to find with a web search. If you don't have a trusted source, one option is the Bob & Brad physical therapy channel on YouTube. (I don't work for them, and am not compensated in any way for suggesting them. I just think they have good content about physical therapy (but kind of poor content about diet, which technically isn't in their scope of practice).

springlering62

Well, I do all the tips in your post- except the warm peppermint tea.. iI’m also working on posture, which is a big issue for me.

My sweet little belly is as round and soft as can be, despite killer abs underneath. Some of it is genetics, some of it’s simply just a thick layer of extra skin, following a substantial weight loss. Sure, I can rope it in with Lycra. In fact, with the right kind of support, I’d have a concave belly, but choose not to live with the discomfort. Ick.

I think it’s doing a disservice to the rest of us by creating an expectation- an expectation that we put on ourselves after reading this and similar posts. that we can and should seek a flat belly. It is just not possible for some of us.

I think that’s what people are expressing here. We deal with the cards we are dealt, play the very best hand we can with them, and accept the results.

I joke here a lot about my Floam belly, but after 30+ years of abusing it before mending my ways, I’m happy as hell to have it.

I’m super happy for you that you can maintain or have a goal of a flat belly, but it is simply not in the genetics or residual “blessings” of weight loss for most of us.

Wish I had some tips to share. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’d suggest “work harder”, but believe me, I try. Several hours a day, typically, when I’m not visiting the grandkid like now. I get tougher and tougher, but no flatter. *sigh*

yirara

What helps for me, apart from posture: eating lots of fruit and veg as I guess fibre, drinking enough, and having my thyroid meds spot on as I'm otherwise constipated and start to look pregnant. 😅

caylapal888

springlering62 wrote: »

Well, I do all the tips in your post- except the warm peppermint tea.. iI’m also working on posture, which is a big issue for me.

My sweet little belly is as round and soft as can be, despite killer abs underneath. Some of it is genetics, some of it’s simply just a thick layer of extra skin, following a substantial weight loss. Sure, I can rope it in with Lycra. In fact, with the right kind of support, I’d have a concave belly, but choose not to live with the discomfort. Ick.

I think it’s doing a disservice to the rest of us by creating an expectation- an expectation that we put on ourselves after reading this and similar posts. that we can and should seek a flat belly. It is just not possible for some of us.

I think that’s what people are expressing here. We deal with the cards we are dealt, play the very best hand we can with them, and accept the results.

I joke here a lot about my Floam belly, but after 30+ years of abusing it before mending my ways, I’m happy as hell to have it.

I’m super happy for you that you can maintain or have a goal of a flat belly, but it is simply not in the genetics or residual “blessings” of weight loss for most of us.

Wish I had some tips to share. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’d suggest “work harder”, but believe me, I try. Several hours a day, typically, when I’m not visiting the grandkid like now. I get tougher and tougher, but no flatter. *sigh*

Hi, @springlering62 ! Just like some of the comments above part of your comment was just unnecessary and missing the point of my original question. No one had to respond to this question and post if they did not have tips to share.

Everyone deserves to love their body. The goal for everyone does not have to be to have a flat stomach and abs but it is okay for people to want them just like it is okay for people to accept the cards they feel they were dealt. This post was about health/gut health not solely cosmetic even though again it is okay for some to have a flat belly as a goal.

But, I thank you for mentioning genetics and skin because that does play apart along with other health issues. Those things can make a stomach more prominent. But I also know sometimes "genetics" are an excuse for laziness and as I mentioned there is more to an extended belly than fat. The post shared things I do to keep my belly down. Gut health is important. I DID NOT create an expectation. Seems like you had a emotional response and reacted from that place with your comment and missed the point of what I was trying to ask like some of the others. My belly is not a "blessing" I am working my butt off for it and prioritizing my health for it despite genetics to achieve and maintain it.

mtaratoot

I'm surprised not to have seen a link to THIS thread yet.

sollyn23l2

mtaratoot wrote: »

I'm surprised not to have seen a link to THIS thread yet.

Because the OP has their own agenda, and that's not the message they're looking for.

MargaretYakoda

I stopped caring about heteronormative beauty standards decades ago. It really helps me feel a lot better about the various shapes my body takes.

Mazintrov13

Asides from lowering body fat overall I would say what’s made the biggest difference for me:

-transverse abdominal focused workouts twice a week
-stomach vacuums regularly
- not eating specific food that I know makes me bloat (onions/cabbage for me)
- Coolsculpting/fat freezing for lower stomach (although this is kinda pricey for the results you get, I definitely noticed some improvement though)

Also just overall body recomposition via weightlifting utilising progressive overload, filling out other areas and becoming fitter overall will improve the appearance.

claireychn074

mtaratoot wrote: »

I'm surprised not to have seen a link to THIS thread yet.

Thank you! I was trying to find that but my bookmarked discussions disappeared and I couldn’t find it 😀