Help!- protruding belly after starting ab exercises?!?!

jessysmith421

Hi everyone,

I've been trying to lose weight for about a month now. I eat about 1500 calories a day and started the 30 day shred 3 weeks ago. To be honest, I haven't really noticed much improvement (except for a 5 lb loss when I first started restricting) but I've come to terms with the fact that I guess I'll just have to lose the weight in a slow manner since I don't have tooooo much to lose in the first place. I'm at 155 right now and want to get to 135, I'm also 5'6.5 and 21. My question is, while I haven't necessarily noticed any positive changes, my stomach has seeme larger recently. When I first started on this journey, as long as I stayed within my calorie limit, my stomach looked smaller and flatter the next day. Ever since I started the shred, though, it's been looking very large (albeit firmer and less jiggly) and it protrudes much more than before. The 30 day shred has a lot of ab exercises, but I expected it to make my belly smaller, if anything, not larger. Does any have any possible explanations for this?? Is it normal?? Thanks for your help!!!!!

JustSomeEm

If you've been doing ab exercises, maybe the muscles under the flab are starting to get more toned and pushing your flab outwards? It should disappear as you lose a little weight. Good luck!

tjphelps73

Ab exercises do not reduce belly fat. The muscles tear, firm, and become stronger. Building muscles while eating right when help tear down the stored fat and shrink some of the belly fat. If you pull the flab, let go, it jiggles, it is water being retained which depending on how sore your muscles are or how much sodium you eat day to day will also figure into the flab.

Keep pushing forward.

Lelah77

Keep it up! Davis is right - your more toned muscles are pushing the fat forward a bit. It will subside eventually. Know it stinks for now, but keep your deficit & exercise routine and you will win in the end.