Wanted: A Flat Stomach!

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ittyXbittyXbritty
ittyXbittyXbritty Posts: 73
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, so my entire life I have always had a really pudgy belly...even in my photos of me as a toddler and in pre-school, my tummy jutted out. I cannot stress how sick and tired of it I am. My entire life (okay, only eighteen years, but still) I have had this problem...and once it was pointed out to me when I was eight (yes EIGHT) years old, I could not stop thinking about it. It's always been on my mind...and probably one of the reasons I have bulimia now. But, I digress...

Can ANYONE help me get my stomach flatter?! I have tried crunches, pilates, and different exercise machines at the gym but I haven't seen results...Even when I was starving myself and burning hundreds of calories a day, my stomach STILL was super pudgy. It's like it just won't go away.

Does anyone know how to fix this?
If it also helps to know, I'm trying to recover. I run anywhere from 2.5 - 5 miles each day OR I bike about 12 - 14.
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Replies

  • jjefferies7
    jjefferies7 Posts: 120
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    eat at a reasonable deficit, dont starve
  • jcolier
    jcolier Posts: 64
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    try eating more. Seriously! not candy, coke, breads, or pasta. Good food. I've read that your body keeps fat if you don't eat enough food. I'm in the same boat (but male, and much older). I eat more and don't gain weight, since I exercise every day. When you get your metabolism back up to speed, then you can cut back.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
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    The quickest fix is a proper posture. Throw those shoulders back, sit up straight, and it'll look smaller.
  • AzhureSnow
    AzhureSnow Posts: 289 Member
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    try eating more. Seriously! not candy, coke, breads, or pasta. Good food. I've read that your body keeps fat if you don't eat enough food. I'm in the same boat (but male, and much older). I eat more and don't gain weight, since I exercise every day. When you get your metabolism back up to speed, then you can cut back.

    Google "starvation mode myth". It is just that - a myth.
  • vdolmstead
    vdolmstead Posts: 17 Member
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    Believe it! Holding it in strengthens those muscles and flattens the belly. Crunches help as well, but holding it in is an exercise in itself that can be done ANYWHERE and ANY TIME.
  • wgn4166
    wgn4166 Posts: 771 Member
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    i want one too!
  • spammyanna
    spammyanna Posts: 871 Member
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    Reduce your body fat %.

    You can't spot reduce, in fact I read somewhere that doing too many crunches will make you tummy look bigger.

    Eat enough to fuel your body. Lift weights with your whole body, deadlifts, squats...

    Do HIIT (high intensity interval training)

    (PS: just cause you can google something, doesn't make it true [or false)
  • happypath101
    happypath101 Posts: 534
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    This is the thorn in my side too. I'm older than you and I've had a cesarian. So, I really struggle with it. Along with the things you've tried, I also find that going lower carb/higher protein REALLY helps. Also, you might want to try Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred. Good luck! Just remember to keep the self-love as you try to get rid of the belly. :O)
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    You need to seek treatment for your eating disorder first and foremost. Your obsession over one body flaw isn't healthy. Treat your mental health first, then worry about your physical appearance.

    You stomach is probably where your body stores it's last remaining fat stores. Our bodies like fat stores. When we do things like starve ourselves by eating too little our bodies use muscle as energy in order to preserve this precious fat. This is why you still had/have stomach fat at a relatively low body weight. Once you get your mental health taken care (seriously, do this first) of what you need to do is maintain a SMALL calorie deficit, eat plenty of protien and lift weights.
  • CharityPearce
    CharityPearce Posts: 215
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    Sadly, a lot of that is genetic, and there's only so much you can do about it... For instance, you can't control where your body stores fat. But eating a healthy diet and exercise (all over, not just abs) will help you get all over proportions under control. There is no miracle food or miracle exercise that will give you a flat tummy. Just keep eating right, drink plenty of water, and exercise, mixing cardio and strength training. And good luck. You're such a beautiful young lady to be stressing so much over this. And standing up straight is great for you all over, not to mention that it makes you look confident, which always makes you more beautiful!!! Hang in there! :wink:
  • juanmacko
    juanmacko Posts: 4
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    Well said lol
  • whitefang66
    whitefang66 Posts: 38 Member
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    You need to seek treatment for your eating disorder first and foremost. Your obsession over one body flaw isn't healthy. Treat your mental health first, then worry about your physical appearance.

    LOL who are you? Judge frickin Judy???
  • athenagv
    athenagv Posts: 63
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    Sadly, a lot of that is genetic, and there's only so much you can do about it... For instance, you can't control where your body stores fat. But eating a healthy diet and exercise (all over, not just abs) will help you get all over proportions under control. There is no miracle food or miracle exercise that will give you a flat tummy. Just keep eating right, drink plenty of water, and exercise, mixing cardio and strength training. And good luck. You're such a beautiful young lady to be stressing so much over this. And standing up straight is great for you all over, not to mention that it makes you look confident, which always makes you more beautiful!!! Hang in there! :wink:

    Perfectly put!!! Just keep at it and you'll see results! It wont happen overnight...but with hard work, you'll get there :) Good luck to you hun......and You are Too Pretty to stress over this. But I do understand! We as females care how we look and something like a pudgey tummy does lower self confidence. But like i said work hard at it and dont give up!! :)
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
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    first, watch this pot belly scene, pulp fiction:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOfNk7TxASo

    second, cardio and less processed crap


    third, don't focus too much on your tummy, i just started wearing my hair up since i was 14...when a girl told me i looked ugly with it up. i'm 26 now. isn't that silly?
  • amystyran
    amystyran Posts: 84 Member
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    on 30 day shred, jillian used to make me do obliques to get the bottom podgy bit from my stomach! youtube it to see what she does. or buy the dvd, it should help :) and it's only £5 :)!
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
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    Believe it! Holding it in strengthens those muscles and flattens the belly. Crunches help as well, but holding it in is an exercise in itself that can be done ANYWHERE and ANY TIME.

    This is what I do all day... works for me. I don't do any crunches apart from boxing class once a week.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    You need to seek treatment for your eating disorder first and foremost. Your obsession over one body flaw isn't healthy. Treat your mental health first, then worry about your physical appearance.

    LOL who are you? Judge frickin Judy???

    You think it's okay for someone with an admitted eating disorder to be seeking diet advice on the internet?
  • DaintyAngelDreams
    DaintyAngelDreams Posts: 55
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    Hey :)

    My fiancee always had a 'pouch' and I was reading up of ways to get rid, and read an article saying that carbs (esp the bad one's) cause you to gain fat in the lower tummy area, and that this was then impossible to lose through exercise unless you cut right back on bad carbs, and limit the good carbs. He tried and within a month his "pouch" had gone, and he now has a flat tummy, which is something he'd never had before. Also drink plenty of water, and keep salt intake to a minimum so you avoid water retention (which makes you bloated)

    Hannah
    xx
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    You need to seek treatment for your eating disorder first and foremost. Your obsession over one body flaw isn't healthy. Treat your mental health first, then worry about your physical appearance.

    LOL who are you? Judge frickin Judy???

    I'm with Rae, In terms of health, the eating disorder needs to be addressed first. If that's not corrected the rest is frivolous. That's not a judging others issue. It's an effectiveness issue.
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
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    I want one too but I figure I'll worry about that once I get closer to my goal weight. I'll take any progress I can get at this point. :)

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