That stupid stomach pooch!

madisonsteelex

Thanks everyone! but there really is that little roll at the bottom in the center and it's really not attractive! haha

I'm going to try and do more body recomp instead of just focusing on fat loss

becoming_a_new_me

I have lost nearly 40 lbs and I'm getting super close (as in 7 lbs) away from my ultimate goal and this stomach pooch is NOT going away...
Has anyone lost it?
Does it ever leave?
At about what BF% did yours disappear?

I'd show you mine, but don't want to make you puke. It sounds to me like you want a six-pack and not a lean tummy. Seriously girl, concave is not the way to go...it is not healthy. If you want to have a six-pack do crunches and ab exercises. If you are wanting convave....STOP NOW! You'll kill yourself trying to get there and you are really beautiful the way you are. You have awesome curves, and most women would kill for your bod. I want to be tone and svelte too, but won't kill myself for it. Talk to a personal trainer if you want definition, but don't starve yourself to look like Kate Moss.

madisonsteelex

I'd show you mine, but don't want to make you puke. It sounds to me like you want a six-pack and not a lean tummy. Seriously girl, concave is not the way to go...it is not healthy. If you want to have a six-pack do crunches and ab exercises. If you are wanting convave....STOP NOW! You'll kill yourself trying to get there and you are really beautiful the way you are. You have awesome curves, and most women would kill for your bod. I want to be tone and svelte too, but won't kill myself for it. Talk to a personal trainer if you want definition, but don't starve yourself to look like Kate Moss.

Oh I'm really not starving myself! I just hate the look of that little indent ugly thing at the bottom of my stomach.. I wish I had a better picture. I was just wondering about what BF% I would have to get down to for it to go away
I'm thinking probably around 20-21% So I'm gonna start doing a lot more strength training for body recomp:D

thanks everyone

psuLemon

Well I can tell you, it won't happen with the amount of calories you eat now. You need to body recomp which requires eating at a very low deficit and adding muscle. This can affect weight loss (you may add weight) to increase muscle definition. Eating 800-1000 calories does nothing but maintain body fat and kill your metabolism. Find out what your TDEE is, and do strength training to burn body fat.

madisonsteelex

I eat 1200-1400 calories a day.
Last night I had a rice dish at my friends around 10 at night and never added it to my diary because I didn't get home until 3 in the morning

I'm eating plenty I can assure you.

psuLemon

I eat 1200-1400 calories a day.
Last night I had a rice dish at my friends around 10 at night and never added it to my diary because I didn't get home until 3 in the morning

I'm eating plenty I can assure you.

Do you know what your tdee is?

busyPK

I've had two kids in two years, I'll show your a pooch! :laugh: But I think you look fantastic, but others have given you some tips that I'm sure will help for more definition.

chachita7

If that is a stomach pooch, I wonder what mine would be called -- You look great!!!

purpleipod

I'm confused what stomach "pooch" you're talking about.

Arwen1922

I WOULD CALL THAT PART OF YOUR ABS NOT POOCH!! YOU LOOK GREAT!!

ShrinkRapt451

Oh I'm really not starving myself! I just hate the look of that little indent ugly thing at the bottom of my stomach.. I wish I had a better picture. I was just wondering about what BF% I would have to get down to for it to go away
I'm thinking probably around 20-21% So I'm gonna start doing a lot more strength training for body recomp:D

thanks everyone

What, you mean the place where your rectus abdominis muscles attach to the ligament that then connects them to the pelvic bones? Which you can see on your stomach because you have pretty decent abs? THAT thing?

Honey, please. That is a 100% normal part of your anatomy. Dissecting your appearance this way is not going to lead to healthy things for you.

bprague

I don't really see it in your picture, but if it's like mine (abs look great as long as the very base of them are covered by pants) then I get what you mean. Mine are just like a bit of squish that doesn't transition smoothly into your pelvis but overall your abs have the impression of being flat (until you see the damn base of them!).

SO, basically, I get what you mean about the pooch and I won't patronize you by telling you how lovely and flat your stomach is (even though it is) because I feel the exact same way about my stomach as you do yours. Just by looking at your calories, I would say you are not eating enough. I would eat more and lift heavier (well, really, I am doing this now). This is changing my body composition, I think and it's still early (I lose weight very very slowly because I refuse to starve and eat minimally 1500 calories per day), but it seems like it's working for me.

siabevis

you look great!

Miss_Yellow_Teapot

I always thought a pooch was a dog, do you mean pouch? lol. Can see how that last bit must be annoying tho, just work a bit more at it and you will soon get results

psuLemon

I eat 1200-1400 calories a day.
Last night I had a rice dish at my friends around 10 at night and never added it to my diary because I didn't get home until 3 in the morning

I'm eating plenty I can assure you.

So lets get back to your original question by examining the above statement. Based on your ticket you appear to be about 130 lb and I would estimate around 22% body fat (at least for this example that is what I will use). And since you want to work on getting more ab definition, that means, you need to work on body recomposition which is better with very small deficits or eating at maintain so you can deplete body fat and maintain lean muscle mass. Lets look at this from a mathematical standpoint using the Katch McArdle formula

LBM = 130 - (130*.22) = 101.4
BMR = 370+ (9.79759519 * 101.4) = 1363


BMR = Metabolic Rate, aka the amount of calories you burn by sleeping for 24 hours. Now we established that, we need to figure out how much energy you expend throughout a day with exercise and lifestyle. Lets assume you are sedentary to make this example easy.


TDEE = 1363 *1.2 = 1636.2 <--- energy expended without exericse.

And lets say you exercise and on average burn 500 calories.

You new TDEE = 1636.2 + 500 = 2136.2

So you are burning over 2100+ calories in a normal day, so this is your maintenance calories (+/- exercise). But you want weight loss and since you are within 20 lb of your goal and you want to focus on definition, we want a small deficit of 250 calories.

Caloric Needs = 2136.2 - 250 = 1886


So if your situation is anything like this, you would obviously not being eating enough. If you do more strenuous exercises, you would need to eat more, if you didnt exercise, well it would be difficult to increase definition. Unfortunately, when you get to a point of doing recomposition, eating is critical and I can't tel you how important it is to eat more.

Below are two links. The first one is a study I conducted using MFP people to look at body fat and calories required. And those with low body fat for women consistently ate over 1800-2000+ calories. Many of the women where you weight. So this is why I stress that even if you think you are eating enough, you might not. The second link is just to depict why weight isn't all the important and can show the improvements of body recomposition.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/395948-caloric-intake-results?hl=caloric+intake+results&page=1#posts-5425208

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/392784-skinny-fat-vs-fit-photo?hl=skinny+fat&page=2#posts-5441852

jennalink807

That pooch? It's called internal organs. They have to sit somewhere! :bigsmile:

lol but in all seriousness- you look fantastic!

elenathegreat

You cannot seriously think that is a stomach pooch...I would send you a picture of my 2-kid, 47 year old stomach pooch/pouch, but it would probably make you cry!

galegetsthin

I see no pooch!!!! I think your whole body could fit in MY pooch! You look great! But if just for peace of mind, you want to be doing something, no pop, LOTS of water and no carbs that you cant get from fruit and veggies.

tecallahan

Was this a trick to get us all to say you look FABULOUS!! If so, it worked!! We see no pooch.

SKHaz1

I don't see a pooch either...BUT like others have said you need to get rid of the fat before your crunches will show. You have an abdominal muscle that runs transversely (kind of band like) around the lower abdominal section. Look up "Transversus Abdominus" exercises. Here is a good site: http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/transverse-abdominal-exercises.html

Make sure you have the TA contraction down before you advance the exercises. Some of my patients can contract it right away, and some need more help. When you contract the TA someone standing next to you shouldn't be able to notice and you should still be able to talk while holding it. Its like pulling on a pair of jeans you just took out of the dryer!

Let me know if you need more exercises to target this zone!

theoneandonlybrookie

First, I agree with everyone else in saying that your tummy looks great!

Second, the thing that absolutely shredded my stomach was running with good form regularly. I started doing P90X a year ago, and Ab Ripper really helped me get definition, but running is what helped me eliminate fat from my belly. Nothing else that I personally have tried has even come close to running.

Third, I have no idea whether or not you have had kids. You certainly don't look like you have - as I said earlier, your tummy looks nice and flat. But for some women, like me, there is always a bump out. Maybe it's from pregnancy, maybe from a c-section, maybe it's genetic - I have no idea. I just know that my stomach was never as utterly flat as it was pre-kids.

Again, you look great! Good work!

sarahbear1981

You still have seven pounds to lose. For someone your size that is quite a bit. Why not wait until then to be critical of your new body?

FitForLife81

I think it looks great now but wanted to chime in!

I have had two kids by c-section and I finally got rid of the pooch. Last time I was checked I was around 20% bodyfat and I think I might be lower now but no clue! I have been doing weight training and HIIT type workouts and really diet is important and I agree eat more not less =-)

shadee321

This was an educating question, I know were your coming from and where you want to go, when i was at my skinny i still felt a little chucky not ever getting rid of that "pooch" , My dream is that tight six pack stomach and while i try to get my weight back down i have some new things to think about . Thanks