stubborn tummy pooch

brookie678

Hey everyone before I came to MFP I went from a kind of muscular but still chubby-ish 150lbs to a kind of not so muscular soft but skinny-ish 128lbs if that makes sense. I was working out a lot when I was bigger and then dropped it altogether and started dieting pretty heavily so now I'm not very toned especially in my lower tummy (poochie area). I'm happy with my tum the way it is, and the pooch that I have isnt super soft fat (ya know the kind that just melts off) so does anyone know a way to get rid of it? Maybe some stomach exercises that target just that area of my body? Thanks!

Paula_Addem

I'd like to know the answer too!! I had a baby March of 2009 and am now trying to lose all that weight and then some. I'm getting down to my lightest weight slowly but surely, but am not seeing that "pooch" going anywhere either. It's frustrating since I've always had that pooch but never so much of it since it stretched so much more when I was pregnant. Please help!

princesspurple

I had a baby in Dec 2008, I started running in January of this year, and just did a session of Insanity, and now I am seeing a difference! That little pooch is turning into a toned bottom belly!

stroutman81

Softness is either skin or fat. In either case you can't selectively choose where fat or skin is "tightened." That's entirely determined genetically.

You can focus on a balanced strength training program and read this thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/113609-relatively-light-people-trying-to-get-leaner

ButterflySojourner

While I've never done it myself, I've always thought that a tummy pooch can be melted away not with exercises that target one area or another, but with overall calorie-burning exercises in general. I'm a fan of core muscle exercises, i.e. yoga, that dynamically target your core, not linear-type exercises like sit ups... Anything with more dynamic movement seems to work much better than mere mortal sit ups!

As I understand, HDLs (high density lipids) are the solid kind of fat that you often find on the tummy of someone who's had a lot of ups and downs in their weight. LDLs (low density lipids) are the kind that burn off quickly. HDLs are harder to gain or lose, but they can still be lost!

Also, saw your pic with hula hoops. I hoop too! I'm always explaining to people though that (IMHO) it does not actually exercise your core muscles that much, though the hoop rolling over your waist is surely a nice midriff massage

kami28

I have the tummy pooch, too. I had 2 c-sections, so it's even worse than ever before. I remember hearing somewhere that reverse sit ups/ reverse crunches (whichever it's called) will help tone up the tummy pooch. Unfortunately, I heard that before I was really serious and ready to make a change, so I can't tell ya if it works or not. Not yet, anyway. Maybe a search online will help ya find out. Good luck to ya!!