Maybe I want to be skinny fat

Ab workouts do not burn belly fat, they build the muscle underneath it so that when you DO burn the fat, there is muscle tone underneath. Unfortunately there is no way to spot reduce fat, you just have to keep a moderate caloric deficit, work out, and your body will burn in whatever places it so chooses, hopefully eventually including your belly.

*edit* Also, I do not recommend eating "the bare minimum," as your body will eat the muscle, not the fat, which I'm pretty sure is not what you want, even if you do joke about wanting to be skinny-fat! Skinny fat girls still have tummy pudge

If you want to burn fat start lifting heavier weights, cardio will NOT give you the flat stomach you desire. Try ignoring the scale, and go read New rules of lifting for women or something like it. There are some women on these boards with SERIOUS results from lifting, especially in the ab area

My abs are pretty solid so it does make my stomach look like it sticks out a tiny bit from the side BUT what I have is solid muscle and not worth losing for the sake of a 'perfectly' flat tummy I've watched a lot of other women who have a muscular build like myself and their midsection looks great! I was a little bit put off by this at first but with the honks, waves and hollers I get when I run in shorts a sports bra I'm thinking it looks pretty good Don't worry about it, I have no doubt others are thinking they wish they had your 'problem'.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chronic-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-relationship-between-exercise-and-inflammation-and-what-it-means-for-your-workouts/

I dropped 10lbs following a high-carb (i.e. high-sugar equivalent), low-fat, low-calorie diet. I had to do lots of exercise. I had to eat constantly because I was constantly hungry. I had to weigh and log food, count calories, etc. But I was still bloated. I still had a belly. (I'm 41 years old and have always had a belly. 33-35" at the smallest part of my waist). After 10lbs it had dropped 31". Wow...

I went Primal (started Primal Blueprint over at Mark's Daily Apple). Within the month I had gone down to a 26" waist and got a flat belly (for the first time in my entire life). I got to cut back on the exercise. I got to stop with the eating 5-6 times a day. Three eggs and 4 pieces of uncured bacon and I had no interest in food for at least 6 hours - and the daytime energy!!!! WOW!!! Turns out all those healthy grains were the cause of my belly and every digestive issue I've had to deal with my entire life. All that fiber was destroying my gut and bloating me up. Every doctor I went to said more whole grains and fiber to cure your IBS. I did the opposite as pure experiment and fixed a whole lot of things that were wrong with me (and the Fibromyalgia they told me I had turned out to be blood sugar highs and lows. Reactive Hypoglycemia aka prediabetes. I have never been overweight or obese - just a little chubby and always had a bloated belly. I was at a normal weight with high blood sugars). This is why I was hungry every 2-3 hours.
But N=1...this worked for me.

horsebackring gave me a small stomach with abs, if you dont like lifting, also be careful what you are eating, lots of carby startchy foods might seem like a good idea if you are working out more, but I find eating less of that and more protein calories instead keeps my weight from going up. Find a happy medium of workout calories you can eat back, if I ate all of mine back i would gain, but if I didnt eat any I would plateau.

if your saying that your stomach sticks out,perhaps try to eat less bloating food..ie carbs,brocoili..

If you want to burn fat start lifting heavier weights, cardio will NOT give you the flat stomach you desire.

This statement may be false, depending on what type of flat stomach you desire and your genetics. Everyone is different so I won't assume that what worked for me will work for everyone.

I kept a flat stomach most of my life, including after giving birth to 2 children within 3 years, withot lifting weights. I did not have a "six pack" nor did I desire one. I had a flat, smooth, soft belly. At age 51, though it's a little bigger around than it was when I was in my 30's, it is still pretty flat.

I'm not knocking weights though. If you like that type of exercise it is very good for you. I'm just saying it's not the one and only way to get a flat tummy. Aerobics will get you there as well. The biggest difference is whether you want the "ripped" muscles or a soft flat look.

my weight increases when I exercise too, because my muscle mass is increasing - and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chronic-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-relationship-between-exercise-and-inflammation-and-what-it-means-for-your-workouts/

I dropped 10lbs following a high-carb (i.e. high-sugar equivalent), low-fat, low-calorie diet. I had to do lots of exercise. I had to eat constantly because I was constantly hungry. I had to weigh and log food, count calories, etc. But I was still bloated. I still had a belly. (I'm 41 years old and have always had a belly. 33-35" at the smallest part of my waist). After 10lbs it had dropped 31". Wow...

I went Primal (started Primal Blueprint over at Mark's Daily Apple). Within the month I had gone down to a 26" waist and got a flat belly (for the first time in my entire life). I got to cut back on the exercise. I got to stop with the eating 5-6 times a day. Three eggs and 4 pieces of uncured bacon and I had no interest in food for at least 6 hours - and the daytime energy!!!! WOW!!! Turns out all those healthy grains were the cause of my belly and every digestive issue I've had to deal with my entire life. All that fiber was destroying my gut and bloating me up. Every doctor I went to said more whole grains and fiber to cure your IBS. I did the opposite as pure experiment and fixed a whole lot of things that were wrong with me (and the Fibromyalgia they told me I had turned out to be blood sugar highs and lows. Reactive Hypoglycemia aka prediabetes. I have never been overweight or obese - just a little chubby and always had a bloated belly. I was at a normal weight with high blood sugars). This is why I was hungry every 2-3 hours.
But N=1...this worked for me.

Thank you, I am getting ready to read those articles, but are you suggesting that I do the paleo diet?

Why not? If what you're doing isn't getting the results you want, it might be time to try something new. Even if you choose not to, the articles on cardio (and the information on grains/legumes) that were linked, and that are found throughout the paleo/primal circles have some merit to them and are worth at least exploring.

my weight increases when I exercise too, because my muscle mass is increasing - and it's pretty well documented that exercise doesn't help us lose weight; that's almost exclusively a function of diet.

Well I'm open for suggestions of what I need to change about my diet in order to attain a flat stomach. I don't care if its ripped or not, I just don't want this god awful pooch.

If you stick with the 30 day shred it will likely get you there. I've never done that but I've read of good results on here. Things that have worked best for me over the years are running, fast walking (at least 4 mph), step aerobics and Zumba. But I can only say these worked for me. Your body could be different.

Oh, and drink plenty of fluids and don't go too low fat. This will help keep your skin supple so it's doesn't sag (probably more of a problem for a 51 you than you).

I tried the Jillian Michael's, the P90x, Insanity, Bodyrock.tv, but NONE of them got me the results that heavy lifting has. When I say heavy lifting, I mean squats, deadlifts, pullups, overhead press, bench press, etc. I only lift 2x a week. Do each exercise 5 reps 3x, then lower the weight by 10%. Do 5 reps 3x then lower the weight 10% again. The weight should be heavy enough that 4-5 reps is hard. I noticed a huge difference the first week. Just make sure the deadlifts and squats are at least 3 days apart (don't do them on the same day).

If you lift high reps low weight, that's when you bulk up and gain more muslce. Heavy weigh and low reps leans you out and won't bulk you up. Good luck!

As for the weight that seems to happen when you start working out, that's likely water retention! When you start throwing something new at your body, the body reacts by holding on to some extra water to help heal itself and protect it. This will eventually drop back off once your body gets comfortable again. I suggest you continue to work out and drop the scale for a month or two, but take your measurements instead. Working out often leads to inches lost but the pounds don't always show on the scale at first. But really, would you rather lose 10 pounds, or 2 sizes? Nobody sees the scale but you, but everyone notices you when you get smaller!