Flatter tummy

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emyleer115
emyleer115 Posts: 19 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I know "abs are made in the kitchen", and I've been eating healthy and relatively clean for nearly 9 months now. Yes I was extremely overweight, obese even, before. But now I'm about 10-15 pounds from my goal, and my stomach still looks poofy and its still swishy! I haven't done any exercise really, so I was wondering if doing ab workouts will help my tummy be tighter and appear smaller??

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  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
  • ryanbrowning115
    ryanbrowning115 Posts: 69 Member
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    Exercise will definitely help, especially strength training. Also, sometimes it can take a little while for our skin to adjust and bounce back after losing a lot of weight in a short period of time.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    emyleer115 wrote: »
    I was wondering if doing ab workouts will help my tummy be tighter and appear smaller??

    Not really. To get an idea what ab exercises can do, suck in your belly and look down. Ab exercises won't do any more than that. It sounds like you have a combination of loose skin and extra fat. Most of the skin should tighten up by itself within 2-3 years of losing the weight. The fat of course will come off from a calorie deficit. Fat loss can't be targeted though. Try to get on a full-body strength program. Do you have access to gym equipment?
  • emyleer115
    emyleer115 Posts: 19 Member
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    I don't have loose skin at all. So it's just fat that won't go away? :(
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    emyleer115 wrote: »
    I don't have loose skin at all. So it's just fat that won't go away? :(

    You're 10-15 pounds from goal. It is extremely common for the stomach to be the last place to lose fat. Lose the rest of the weight and you'll likely see a big difference.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    You're young, it will happen with time.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    They certainly won't hurt! I have to say that I get a very different look from targeted ab work. Maybe that's genetics, though? People say they don't help much, so I could just be different.

    I, too, kept my last weight in the midsection, so don't think 10-15 lbs is nothing. My last 10 lbs looked like they all came off my middle!

    The 'look' I'm talking about is just more definition without changing weight, like little muscles showing, and the area feels even more solid. I do use weights or bodyweight that makes the abs have to lift, pull, or stabilize something heavy. I know a heavy, compound lifting program is supposed to work, too, but I can't do full-body lifts because of a back problem I have.

    I like ab work and consider the 20 minutes or so I spend general fitness like getting a few more steps in, so that's probably a consideration. If you enjoy it, it's not going to hurt anything, I figure, and for me it actually does show much different results. Give it a shot if you like, imho.

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