Flat abs? Help!

ArtsyBrainz
ArtsyBrainz Posts: 112 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, so I’m having a bit of a problem. I started doing ab workouts at home wanting a flat stomach and small muscle. I’m naturally petite and I don’t have a lot of fat on my body. However I’ve been working out for 2 weeks now and my stomach looks big and bloated almost. I didn’t want this to happen and I’m confused. My diet is healthy but I’m wondering if I should stop what I’m doing. Should I rest for awhile and see if the swelling goes down? Lastly, is this reversible or will I be like this forever? Thanks!

Replies

  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
    It could be fluid retention due to hormones or muscle repair. How quickly did you start and how many do you do? An workouts will build muscle though not remove it
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    Does it look big and bloated the whole time? Or do you wake up flat and then by the end of the day you look pregnant?

    That happens to me on a daily basis due to food and especially due to particular foods that I know do this to me but I eat them anyway, such as cauliflower.

  • Pipsqueak1965
    Pipsqueak1965 Posts: 397 Member
    Nice hair!
  • xelsoo
    xelsoo Posts: 194 Member
    Are you intolerant to anything? Does it get swollen after certain meals? It could be a digestive issue rather than a workout one, which would seem rare if you are doing the exercises properly..
  • ArtsyBrainz
    ArtsyBrainz Posts: 112 Member
    Hannawaksfar

    I do things like crunches, planks and small ab exercises like that.

    Cahgetsfit

    It looks like that all day and that’s why I was a little concerned

    xelsoo

    No, I don’t think so. It’s been like this all day for the last few days. Usually after exercise it hurts there. Maybe I’m overdoing it a little?
  • Dreamwa1ker
    Dreamwa1ker Posts: 196 Member
    Could it simply be time-of-month related? https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10689837/does-this-uterus-make-my-stomach-look-fat/p1 I know I seriously bloat on certain weeks of the month.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,881 Member
    Dreamwa1ker wrote: »
    Could it simply be time-of-month related? https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10689837/does-this-uterus-make-my-stomach-look-fat/p1 I know I seriously bloat on certain weeks of the month.

    Hormonal bloating is indeed one possibility.

    Also, I have uterine fibroids which "blow up" when I ovulate and menstruate.
  • ArtsyBrainz
    ArtsyBrainz Posts: 112 Member
    Dreamwa1ker

    It’s not due for me to happen so I don’t believe it’s that.

    kshama2001

    Ooh, interesting. However read above ^^
  • ArtsyBrainz
    ArtsyBrainz Posts: 112 Member
    @kshama2001

    @Dreamwa1ker

    @xelsoo

    @Cahgetsfit

    @Pipsqueak1965

    @Hannahwalksfar
  • ArtsyBrainz
    ArtsyBrainz Posts: 112 Member
    @mom23mangos

    Thanks! I haven’t been working out the past few days and it went down a little but the bottom muscles of my abs are still swollen. I do walk since that is better than doing nothing but I’m hoping things clear up in a few days. It’s only been a day or two since I stopped. :)
  • wmweeza
    wmweeza Posts: 319 Member
    I work out at home and at the gym, and I badly strained my ab muscles and was informed that I needed to lay off any ab work for 6 weeks. I didn't feel like I overdid it but apparently I had. The muscles just felt slightly achy like after a usual workout and felt bloated, but it didn't go away. It's surprisingly easy to injure our bodies. The good part is I didn't do major damage and now I know my limit
  • Dreamwa1ker
    Dreamwa1ker Posts: 196 Member
    aphrodite16uk wrote: »
    Have you ever been pregnant? My ab muscles were damaged during pregnancy and I still have a gap between them. I can’t do most of the exercises you mentioned because the muscles can’t hold in everything behind them and I get weird bulging.
    I’m doing some rehab exercises which have helped, but it’s not back to normal yet.

    Is that diastasis recti? Can you share some of the exercises helping with that/resources that you like?
  • DanyellMcGinnis
    DanyellMcGinnis Posts: 315 Member
    My fibroid was just big all the time, unrelated to time of the month.

    (My problem now is that my abs are not wonderful after an abdominal hysterectomy but I am working on that.)

    I also now sometimes have bloating if I have eaten too much salt or occasionally too much food volume (I eat a lot of fiber so that can happen).
  • ArtsyBrainz
    ArtsyBrainz Posts: 112 Member
    @aphrodite16uk
    @wmweeza
    @Dreamwa1ker
    @DanyellMcGinnis

    No I have never been pregnant. That’s what happened to me though. My abs ached and swelled almost and still are a little swollen but went away a little bit it’s only been 3 days since I stopped. I went from not exercising in months to doing a lot of core workouts. I think I did overdo it too much too quickly. That might be it! I have been resting and not doing anything but small walking right now to keep myself active but not overdoing my muscles. The exercises I did was crunches, planks, scissor kicks/flutter kicks, bicycles, and in and outs is what I call them. I did 2 sets of 30x or for plants and stuff I did 45sec once. I do eat a lot of food normally but everything has been healthy.
  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
    Yu May have injured yourself. Just take a week off core work and start slowly back after that
  • ThatJuJitsuWoman
    ThatJuJitsuWoman Posts: 155 Member
    [/quote]

    Is that diastasis recti? Can you share some of the exercises helping with that/resources that you like?[/quote]

    Yes it’s diastasis recti. I have a dvd called Postnatal Rescue by Erin O’Brien, and a book called Get Your Body Back by Wendy Powell. Wendy has a 12 week course called Mutu System, which I can’t afford, but I’m finding the exercises in the book helpful so it’s probably good if you’ve got a bit of spare cash.
    The basic idea seems to be to work one side at a time, rather than all the ab muscles together. After 2 months I’m feeling much stronger, and my belly doesn’t stick out as often, though the gap is still there.
  • ThatJuJitsuWoman
    ThatJuJitsuWoman Posts: 155 Member
    That’s 2 months of working on the exercises btw, not 2 months after giving birth! My “babies” are actually 3 years old.

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