It's the question that everyone is always asking- how do I get a flat tummy?? I'm not asking exactly that since I do know that you do have to lose the fat on top of the muscle to see defined abs, but my problem is that I seem to be genetically predisposed to having a tummy. I'm currently 5'5" and 110-112lbs and I look too thin. I'm starting to eat more frequently and take vitamins and my face is starting to look fuller and healthier again (I had a 3 month long illness that is still partially going on). Between 108-113lbs, my stomach looks very flat but I look disgusting and emaciated. I want to gain a little bit of weight, but everytime I gain weight it all goes to my stomach and my breasts. Also, I have HORRIBLE posture and a weak back, and that contributes to my stomach looking larger than it should for the tiny amount that I weigh. My question is that should I just accept that I'll never have a flat, toned, tummy? Is it impossible for me based on my back and my genetics? Also, I lost 50lbs and have a little bit of loose skin on my stomach that also seems never to want to tighten up. Thanks for your responses.:_)

If you smoke, do your best to quit quickly, that can have a negative effect on your skin.

Also, try upping your water intake to at least 3/4ths of a gallon, to a gallon a day and take Vitamin E supplements or make sure that the multivitamin you’re taking contains enough Vitamin E. This will help to tighten up your skin.

As for seeing the “Six-Pack”, some people are genetically predisposed to gaining muscle, and some people are what we call “Hardgainers”, who find gaining lean mass difficult. Also, some body types won’t show the ab******ls as well as other.

You must also be at a very low bodyfat percentage to have the leanness to see your abs. Keep working at it, and I’m sure you’ll get there.


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Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

Since you mentioned you have "horrible" posture, I'd work on correcting that. You'll likely to look thinner with proper posture, not too mention your body will love you. Do a search on the net for some things you can do for improving your posture...I would think something like ballet would help since they always seem to have beautiful posture.

Also, when you gain weight are you just gaining fat? Make sure that you are gaining lean muscle. Gaining the muscle will build you up so that you don't look too thin.

At the same time though, yes genetics and the skin's elasticity can play a part. If you are 20 for example, your skin will probably be able to shrink back more easily than if you were 50. Having said that, I do believe if you work hard you can achieve what you are looking for. I watched a women in her 40's with two kids, lose over 30lbs and gain some incredible abs. She was one of those women who carry their excess body fat in thier stomach area, but after about 6 months she looked fabulous. When she started to lose weight, her abs looked very "lose" so she fine tuned her diet and eventually achieved some really nice definition. Oh, and this woman was a smoker and a heavy booze drinker (which she later cut down on but still drank).

Good luck!

Are you eating enough? If not, your body will go into starvation mode and will not let go of that fat in your stomach area. And are you sure that you're not TOO thin? Of course, that's relative to your bone size and your muscle amount.

...Oh I'm sorry, i didn't read your post good enough, I see now where you said you look too thin due to an illness. It does seem like maybe your body has been storing it's fat in the stomach because of not getting enough food. If that's the case, I'm not exactly sure how to reverse it, other than eating more and like 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day (but make sure it's healthy) and making sure to exercise also. But also, many women are predisposed to storing more fat there. I, for one, do not want to have a sunken in stomach or six pack abs, I like a little tummy for myself, I think it's sexy, but that's just me. But I understand about wanting to lose some, I still want to lose a little, too. Keep up your cardio and healthy eating and taking vitamins. You will probably slowly make progress... and don't drink soda, drink lot's of water. =) By the way, are you getting enough calcium? Calcium helps release stubborn fat stores, it's vital to losing fat.

Oh...in some cases, an over abundance of yeast (or too much sugar that leads to an over abundance of yeast) will cause the stomach to bloat. Make sure to clean up your diet if you think there's a possibility of that.

[This message has been edited by mysterythere (edited 10-14-2003).]

Hey, I wanted to ask you something else. Is your stomach full like a bloatedness? Because here lately mine has been like that too, off and on. And I am not fat (I'm about the same height as you, 5'5 1/2, but I do weigh more, about 135 right now, but I was at 130 before my stomach started feeling more bloated). I, too lost a bit of weight over the past year. I did just start taking extra calcium, though, so maybe that will help release more fat from my stomach... But there was another worry for me.. You're female right? Well since we are both females, I hope it isn't anything more serious like fibroids, I heard that they can cause a bulging in the stomach. Just wanted to let you know about that, but I hope that's not it for either one of us! =)

[This message has been edited by mysterythere (edited 10-16-2003).]