Not everyone can get a flat stomach - True or False?

You can get a flat belly (no exercise involved). I got my belly flat not by exercise but by ditching grains/flour/legume/sugars/processed food. Exercise just helped my shape a bit. And moderate exercise is just good for the body. The human body is designed for movement. But body composition is mostly about your diet. Genetics and exercise cover the rest.

If you are skinny but have a "pot belly" - that is called "skinny fat". That's what happens when you lose weight my losing lean muscle mass. And huge amounts of cardio will do more for eating into muslce mass than fat mass. Especially when you aren't that overweight to start with.

The belly is from grains/flours/sugars/high PUFA vegetable-seed oils and processed edible food-like substances. (i.e. about 90% of the grocery store).


"If it takes multiple layers of brightly-colored packaging and a $multi-million, multi-media ad campaign to sell it, it’s not food. No one has to put meat or eggs in a brightly colored box with a cartoon character on it.

"Eat what you can pick, dig or spear. Mostly spear. LIve in Freedom, live in beauty."
---http://www.gnolls.org/2074/why-snack-food-is-addictive-the-grand-unified-theory-of-snack-appeal/

EDIT: I eat lots of fat. Mainly saturated fats. I get my fat through pastured butter, coconut oil, olive/avocado oil, eggs (have four today!!) meat - mostly red meat but I buy lean and add fat (all the bad crap they are fed ends up in their fat). I love Hormel's All Natural Uncured bacon!! Hoping to one day get my hands on some pastured meats. All veggies are cooked in butter and/or bacon fat. My occasional berries have either coconut cream (unshaken can of coconut milk) or full fat greek yogurt on them. Fat is the main part of what I eat each day. This is what got my stomach flat.

Oh good, glad we cleared this up, because I've been wondering why Olympic athletes, runners, swimmers, and fitness competitors who eat a lot of carbs and do cardio are such disgusting fat@$$es with big pot bellies....mystery solved!

Could it be that there is MORE THAN ONE WAY to get fit, lean and reach your goals?...Nah, that's too reasonable. Well, glad you found THE answer. Cheers.:drinker:

I second the BS factor. Some women will never have a "flat" stomach. That would be me. Even when I was young and in total good shape I always had a little "tummy roll" right below my belly button. It has come close to going away, but I was never going for 5% body fat; it's not my style or goal. Now I would be happy with a reasonably normal tummy.

I think it takes more than controlling one's diet to obtain a flat tummy for some people. Like, weights, protein supps, etc.

My response:

You'll NEVER know unless you commit. Most people don't really commit to trying to get it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I agree with this.

I wanted a flat stomach. and now I have a relativity flat stomach depending on the day. I eat what I want, when I want(including junk food type items) and I still have a flat stomach.

As long as you put the work in, I def. think it's possible.

every trainer, phys ed teacher and nutrionist I have spoken with all say that the tummy is the hardest place to lose weight and make it noticeable. But here's the thing....diet alone or exercise alone is not going to make it happen. You have to do both! It will be much more difficult for some than others so don't get discouraged. Also some exercise will work better for some than others also.

When I was taking yoga in college we would do anywhere between 60-140 crunches per class and we met twice a week so I had a killer stomach then. But we wouldn't do all the same kind of crunches either. We would do about 20 of one kind, 15 of another, and so on. But we would also rotate the kinds we did from class to class. Just like today you may ride a bike and tomorrow you may walk. It would help give certain muscles a break. By doing several different kinds that also tackles several different muscle areas.

Try several types of exercise to find which works best for you. Believe it or not yoga can help alot with toning and stretching musles...especially if you add to yoga like we did with our crunches!

So just keep in mind a balanced diet, exercise and patience. You may not always have the outcome of a bikini model but something is better than nothing!!!

Regardless If you answer true or false guys please dont let genetics be your excuse!!

Genetics isn't an excuse, it's reality. People who are genetically disposed to carry their essential fat on their stomach will never have a truly flat stomach, or visible abs. That's roughly 10% of the population. Seeing as essential fat is essential for a reason, those people are genetically unable to get there, without causing severe health issues.

No its not! I had a pouch in grade school even though I was skinny as a rail. And because of that I didnt believe I could have a flat stomach but decided to give it a try anyway. And If I let genetics be an excuse I wouldnt have gotten one.
In my experience people always believe that they have worse genetics than they actually do, but never put in the work or the time to find out what their true genetic potential really is.

Just because you aren't part of that 10%, doesn't mean they don't exist. n=1 does not equal reality, it only equals your personal experience.

Yes but alot more than 10% of the people that commented on this thread answered true ( thats why I said dont let genetics be an excuse). If 9 out of 10 people can acheive a flat stomach its defiantely worth the effort, after all no one knows what their genetic potential is until they actually try to acheive it.

I have a flat stomach. That doesn't change the fact that the answer is actually true.

Do you have any scientific information to back this claim. Because if you have low body fat, a diet to support and muscle to show, then it shouldn't be an issue to have a defined stomach. The biggest issue I have seen is too many people do LCD and kill their muscle mass so when they want abs, they don't have enough muscle to protrude out of their skin. IMO, muscle is the key.

If your body is in starvation mode you will be more likely to store fat in the abdominal area.
When I was at my lowest weight (84lbs at 5ft6- anorexia), I had an extremely flat stomach. Admittedly it was just skin and bone but it was still flat. However, when I started 're-feeding' all of my weight went straight to my belly and I had quite a considerable little pot belly. When I reached my healthy weight of 115lbs my weight distributed itself evenly and I was left with a pretty stomach. Sadly that's gone because I've developed a non purging type of bulimia.

I digress- maybe some people have 'pot bellies' because they are not eating enough? Change of diet + cardio and crunches should do the trick. No matter how many crunches you do you'll still need to burn the top layer of fat off though and I'm not sure about women who have had children.

I think some people also need to change their definition of a 'flat belly'...

Its true,
but you can get flat stomach if you train smarter and eat cleaner.
and its depend on your body type, from Dr Berg website there is 4 categories of body type

• The Adrenal Body Type. In this body type, there is excess accumulation of fat in the belly largely due to an increase in the stress hormone cortisol, known to contribute to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.. The more stress you have, the greater the tendency to store fat. Dr. Berg notes that this is the most challenging body type because of the hormonal imbalance. People with the Adrenal Body Type tend to crave chocolate and eat more often for energy just to get through the day. Unfortunately, the excess causes even more weight gain.

• The Liver Body Type. This is most common in men, but women do have this type of body as well. You may notice a “pot belly” where there is excess weight in the abdomen (as opposed to the sagging midsection seen in the Adrenal Body Type) but thin legs. Dr. Berg theorizes that this is due to accumulated toxins in the liver. The Liver Type tends to crave deep fried foods, so they often have higher cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

• The Ovary Body Type. Hip and belly fat, say Dr. Berg, is due to an excess of estrogen. In addition to “saddlebag” thighs, the person carries fat in the lower stomach and the buttocks. The excess fat causes a cycle in which the more you have, the more estrogen is created and therefore more fat is stored. The Ovary type tends to crave creamy and dairy foods.

• The Thyroid Body Type. If you tend to gain weight all over, you may have the Thyroid Body Type due to a stubborn or slowed metabolism. The thyroid gland produces thyroxine and triiodothyronine which control the rate at which cells burn fuels from food to produce energy. These folks also tend to notice other factors of a sluggish thyroid such as hair loss and brittle nails. Quick energy sources are often craved so energy will spike and then crash – causing chronic fatigue and depression.

The most important trigger for storing fat is sugar, says Dr. Berg. Sugar triggers the release of the hormone insulin which converts the sugar glucose into its storage form – adipose tissue. Eliminate sugary foods from the diet, as well as refined grains. Unfortunately, Dr. Berg also recommends avoiding whole-wheat grains and certain starchy vegetables. Nutrition experts do not recommend cutting these foods out entirely, but recognizing that most of us tend to eat too much as we aren’t sure of the appropriate serving size. Three to six servings at ½ cup each meets the needs of most adults.
Exercise should include a well-rounded fitness program. You will not lose belly fat doing ab crunches alone. Include cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise and resistance (strength-training) exercise.
Aerobic exercise burns more calories in a session, and also reduces stress. Strength-training builds muscle which will produce more of a long-term calorie burn, even when the body is at rest. Remember with exercise that you will not likely see immediate weight loss. Although the old saying “one pound of fat weighs more than one pound of muscle” isn’t exactly true (one pound equals one pound no matter what!), when your body fat is reduced and your muscles are built up, you will appear thinner because muscle is more compact than fat.


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I think we're built the same. I always said I was shaped like a boy I'm sure if I saw a picture of you I'd think you have a fantastic body! Always harder on ourselves...

NOT TRUE!

They used to call me DONUT because of my stomach. it's possible. it takes some diet and strength training but it is possible.

I believe this one is true!

Its true,
but you can get flat stomach if you train smarter and eat cleaner.
and its depend on your body type, from Dr Berg website there is 4 categories of body type

• The Adrenal Body Type. In this body type, there is excess accumulation of fat in the belly largely due to an increase in the stress hormone cortisol, known to contribute to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.. The more stress you have, the greater the tendency to store fat. Dr. Berg notes that this is the most challenging body type because of the hormonal imbalance. People with the Adrenal Body Type tend to crave chocolate and eat more often for energy just to get through the day. Unfortunately, the excess causes even more weight gain.

• The Liver Body Type. This is most common in men, but women do have this type of body as well. You may notice a “pot belly” where there is excess weight in the abdomen (as opposed to the sagging midsection seen in the Adrenal Body Type) but thin legs. Dr. Berg theorizes that this is due to accumulated toxins in the liver. The Liver Type tends to crave deep fried foods, so they often have higher cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

• The Ovary Body Type. Hip and belly fat, say Dr. Berg, is due to an excess of estrogen. In addition to “saddlebag” thighs, the person carries fat in the lower stomach and the buttocks. The excess fat causes a cycle in which the more you have, the more estrogen is created and therefore more fat is stored. The Ovary type tends to crave creamy and dairy foods.

• The Thyroid Body Type. If you tend to gain weight all over, you may have the Thyroid Body Type due to a stubborn or slowed metabolism. The thyroid gland produces thyroxine and triiodothyronine which control the rate at which cells burn fuels from food to produce energy. These folks also tend to notice other factors of a sluggish thyroid such as hair loss and brittle nails. Quick energy sources are often craved so energy will spike and then crash – causing chronic fatigue and depression.

The most important trigger for storing fat is sugar, says Dr. Berg. Sugar triggers the release of the hormone insulin which converts the sugar glucose into its storage form – adipose tissue. Eliminate sugary foods from the diet, as well as refined grains. Unfortunately, Dr. Berg also recommends avoiding whole-wheat grains and certain starchy vegetables. Nutrition experts do not recommend cutting these foods out entirely, but recognizing that most of us tend to eat too much as we aren’t sure of the appropriate serving size. Three to six servings at ½ cup each meets the needs of most adults.
Exercise should include a well-rounded fitness program. You will not lose belly fat doing ab crunches alone. Include cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise and resistance (strength-training) exercise.
Aerobic exercise burns more calories in a session, and also reduces stress. Strength-training builds muscle which will produce more of a long-term calorie burn, even when the body is at rest. Remember with exercise that you will not likely see immediate weight loss. Although the old saying “one pound of fat weighs more than one pound of muscle” isn’t exactly true (one pound equals one pound no matter what!), when your body fat is reduced and your muscles are built up, you will appear thinner because muscle is more compact than fat.

:noway: