Do you have a flat stomach but dont eat clean?

Makoce
Makoce Posts: 938 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
You always hear abs are made in the kitchen.
Does this phrase only pertain to the actual sculpture of ab muscles, or a flat stomach in general?
Ive read a lot that you have to eat "clean" in order to achieve it.
Or if you just wait on a calorie deficient. ( I feel that would make more sense.... right? )

I'd like to know how much this is true or if any of you have achieved a flat stomach by eating whatever you want.

Reason I ask is because Im at the lower end of my goal, and the lower end of my "healthy" BMI range.
But yet I feel like Im 5 months pregnant and still see a huge stomach when I look down at my feet.
I like the rest of my body, but Id love my huge stomach to go away.

Everyone says you cant spot reduce, so how would doing ab workouts like crunches and all of those help?

Really curious how this works and how im going to achieve it, thanks!

Replies

  • ilovescarymovies
    ilovescarymovies Posts: 202 Member
    Bump. curious as well :)
  • BrookeBQ
    BrookeBQ Posts: 163 Member
    I have a flat stomach but no ab definition. I don't eat clean.
    My SO has awesome abs, though. He DEFINITELY doesn't eat clean, has terrible food habits. He has great muscles all over, the jerk...
  • jess17587
    jess17587 Posts: 153
    omg how did you get that flat stomach? So jealous! :noway:
  • okgal247
    okgal247 Posts: 68 Member
    I would say that I have a relatively flat stomach (not including that dreaded "pooch"...which really isn't *all* that bad...), and I don't eat clean.

    I eat whatever I want, and there was a point where I had a 100% flat stomach with doing abdominal exercises that targeted all aspects of the abdominal muscles- rectus abdominus and obliques- and making sure I did plenty of exercises, like U-Boats, that target those "lower abdominal" muscles.

    Nonetheless, everyone is different... but that's how my body reacts to calorie counting/exercise. Maybe it's not so much clean eating, but making sure that you're not just experiencing a lot of water retention?

    Anyway- best of luck to that flat tummy! :happy:
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
    I have one and I don't eat clean. I eat whatever I want, but I measure/weigh and log everything, and stick to my calorie limit most of the time. I have an active part-time job that is a good substitute for exercising.
  • BrookeBQ
    BrookeBQ Posts: 163 Member
    I think some bodies are just different biologically. I carry weight primarily on my hips and muffin top. I didn't do any core exercises to get a smoother stomach- I just calorie count and run (and have a Fitbit, so 10,000 steps a day).
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Yes, I have a "flat" stomach. No, I don't eat "clean" (not even close). I carry my fat in my thighs, not my stomach. I also don't do a lot of "core" workouts, just lift heavy, big compound lifts like squats, deadlifts and overhead press.

    20127619_9689.jpg
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Thanks so much for the GREAT answers guys, you guys are so lucky as well! Beautiful jobs.
  • kingscrown
    kingscrown Posts: 615 Member
    I've found flat abs depend on your body type. Bone structure can have a lot to do with it. My daughter and her friend are perfect examples. Both young women at their proper weight. Her friend is not an exerciser, but stays in pretty good shape. She's bigger boned and I think her stomach sinks back into her skeleton for a flat stomach. My daughter has a 6 pack and is pretty muscley all over. She works out. She's got a smaller bone structure and her stomach sticks out. It's a rockin 6 pack stomach, but not flat.

    I think the watching what you eat will be more for later down the road. Neither gal eats clean.
  • iechick
    iechick Posts: 352 Member
    You always hear abs are made in the kitchen.
    Does this phrase only pertain to the actual sculpture of ab muscles, or a flat stomach in general?
    Ive read a lot that you have to eat "clean" in order to achieve it.
    Or if you just wait on a calorie deficient. ( I feel that would make more sense.... right? )

    I'd like to know how much this is true or if any of you have achieved a flat stomach by eating whatever you want.

    Reason I ask is because Im at the lower end of my goal, and the lower end of my "healthy" BMI range.
    But yet I feel like Im 5 months pregnant and still see a huge stomach when I look down at my feet.
    I like the rest of my body, but Id love my huge stomach to go away.

    Everyone says you cant spot reduce, so how would doing ab workouts like crunches and all of those help?

    Really curious how this works and how im going to achieve it, thanks!

    I'm in maintenance and have a bmi of 19.3 (so lower end of the healthy range), and I do have a flat stomach and I do eat a mostly whole foods, plant based diet. I aim for 80-90% and then I leave a bit of room for fast food, meat and dairy and non-whole food plant foods. Don't know if that contributes to my stomach shape though. I'm pear shaped and carry my extra 'oomph' in my thighs (though that's about gone now due to weight loss and walking/running).
  • HexyleneGlycol
    HexyleneGlycol Posts: 56
    No matter how big I get my abs always tend to stay relatively flat. Definitely NOT a clean eater!!! I think its cuz I laugh a lot...maybe genes have something to do with it...A long time ago when I actually used to go to the gym I used the ab machine. The one where you sit on it leaning back a bit and a bar attached to weights at the back goes across your chest and you push the weight forward with your chest. I used it like 8 years ago for about a week and my abs seemed to stay defined ever since then. I would always recommend that cuz it worked for me!!!
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
    I have a flat stomach but no ab definition. I don't eat clean.
    My SO has awesome abs, though. He DEFINITELY doesn't eat clean, has terrible food habits. He has great muscles all over, the jerk...

    Oh but his day will come. At least , when it does, you'll be in a position to help him.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    I thought they just meant ”eating at a caloric deficit" by the 'made in the kitchen' phrase.

    (My abs are almost flat, lots flatter than they were before the caloric deficit and lifting heavy! I am still a 'flat-ab-work in progress'...No, I don,t eat clean. I just eat 'less')
  • silken555
    silken555 Posts: 478 Member
    my weight is distributed fairly evenly with my thighs and hips/buttocks being the more prominent...as a result, I never really had a huge pooch. My abs are already fairly flat and I weight 175lbs @ 5'-2.75". They are starting to be defined seeing as I started lifting...:) I really do think it's a matter of body type.

    Forgot to add that I definitely don't eat clean...:)
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
    My diet is OK. Fairly clean but some splurgy things I like from time to time.

    In many ways we are at the mercy of our genetics (barring plastic surgery) on some things. I have a small waist and a pretty flat tummy because I generally don't gain weight much in that area.

    My BUTT on the other hand..... LOL....I've just come to terms with the fact that this train's caboose will never be all that little.
  • gracielynn1011
    gracielynn1011 Posts: 726 Member
    I have a fairly flat tummy. I still have a small pooch from having had 3 kids, but I am definitely pleased with my progress. And the pooch is not visible in clothing, Dh says that it seems to shrink more all the time.

    I will probably never have ab definition and that's fine with me. I am happy that I am finally starting to feel comfortable, and date I even say proud, of my body. There are foods that seem to cause me more bloat that others. To avoid that, I drink a lot of water, take a daily pro-biotic and multivitamin, and get enough exercise. If it gets bad and nothing seems to help, you may need to cut those foods out for you. I don't normally recommend cutting out foods, but if it helps improve your physical well being its worth a shot.
  • Mborroto25
    Mborroto25 Posts: 79 Member
    No matter how big I get my abs always tend to stay relatively flat. Definitely NOT a clean eater!!! I think its cuz I laugh a lot...maybe genes have something to do with it...A long time ago when I actually used to go to the gym I used the ab machine. The one where you sit on it leaning back a bit and a bar attached to weights at the back goes across your chest and you push the weight forward with your chest. I used it like 8 years ago for about a week and my abs seemed to stay defined ever since then. I would always recommend that cuz it worked for me!!!

    I'm sorry, I usually don't criticize what others say, but is this post a joke? I literally laughed out loud.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    A long time ago when I actually used to go to the gym I used the ab machine. The one where you sit on it leaning back a bit and a bar attached to weights at the back goes across your chest and you push the weight forward with your chest. I used it like 8 years ago for about a week and my abs seemed to stay defined ever since then. I would always recommend that cuz it worked for me!!!

    computer-facepalm.gif

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