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I, too, am 5'3", and I understand how you feel about your belly. Once upon a time, I had a similar 'issue'.
I never had a waistline to speak of. In high school, it measured 25" which isn't so bad until you put it with my other measurements at the time: 85 lbs, bust 29" and hips 27". That bugged me a lot. I guess it's cuz I'm short. In reality, there's not much room to have a more distinct waistline: The bottom of my ribcage is only a hand's width from the top of my hipbone. So, there wasn't anything I could DO about it. But I believed it made me look fat.
As a teenager, I also had acne really bad. I used to stand in front of the mirror and squeeze several times a day. One day I asked my dad if we had any more scouring powder. He asked what I needed it for and I told him "To wash my face with."
He about freaked! "You can't use scouring powder on your face!!!!" Next thing you know, I had an appointment with a dermatologist. Went to him for 3 years. It helped -- I don't have any scars or pits on my face -- and I eventually outgrew it..
But the thing that I was most self-conscious about was being flat-chested, of course! No matter what the fashion trends were, I could never find a shirt that fit right cuz I couldn't fill it out. Or else, the shirt fit so snugly, there was no way to hide my shortage. I used to slouch a lot, or roll my shoulders forward so it was less apparent.
When I was 15, I decided to stop wearing a bra altogether. I found it to be a most uncomfortable garment, and I wasn't *using* it even when I did wear one. My mother would always ask, "You got a bra on?" Obviously, if she couldn't tell the difference between 'bra on' and 'bra off': I DIDN'T NEED ONE!
You have a step-father that gives you a hard time. How old were you when your mother married him?
My problem was my mother.
In her eyes, I never did anything right. If she heard someone compliment me, she'd jump right in and tell the person how wrong he/she was about me. She'd talk -- gloat, actually -- about mistakes I'd made (Aren't mistakes part of learning? Part of growing up?) and list several of my faults -- in front of me, or so I could hear her, of course. Loved to embarass me, criticize me, belittle me, and disappoint me.
Time and again, she'd give me permission to [you name it]. Then, after using her permission several times to coerce me, and letting my anticipation build up: When it was time to do it, she'd tell me I couldn't.
When I would give her a gift at Christmas or on her birthday, she'd say, "You should have gotten me [a different color/size/style/etc.]."
Or, "I don't like it, take it back."
Or, "What the h*** do I want THAT for?"
Never "Thank you."
Sometimes, she'd buy me something she thought I'd like and give it to me. Then, if I liked it, she'd make me give it back to her or tell me to pay her for it.
When I was 16, my dad put me in counseling, then group therapy. Later, he took me to a psychiatist, too. After about 4 sessions with the mind doctor, I told Dad, "The doctor says Mom's the one with the problem, not me." After that, Dad didn't take me to the shrink anymore.
There's so much more I could tell you about her mental and emotional abusiveness. This isn't even the tip of the iceburg. And you know what? She's still the same way,
ONLY WORSE!
I understand your urge to move out.
I wanted to leave home, too. Mom was so mean and HATEFUL. (She even tried to push me down the basement stairs during my first pregnancy.) But I stuck it out until I finished high school, for several reasons:
If you can't hang in there, maybe you have a sympathetic relative, or a friend whose parents would let you move in for a while. Do you attend school? Church? School counsellors and pastors usually know how to help, or know someone in your area who can.
If you like to read, there's a great book that will teach you how to respond to people who try to mess with your head and your life. It's entitled,
Be The Person You Were Meant To Be -- Antidotes To Toxic Living by Jerry Greenwald. It's out of print, but if your library doesn't have it, you can get it at [URL=http://www.******.com]www.******.com[/URL] for under $1.00. GET IT! All the counselling and therapy didn't help me as much as this book did. You will use what you learn from it for the rest of your life because it works.
Now, about your tummy. You say you look pregnant or like you have a beer-belly. And I think I read that your abdomen gets more prominent after you eat -- is that correct?
You also mentioned that your tummy is flat when you lay on your back. I might be able to help with your tummy, but first I need you to check a couple of things:
1) Lay on your back. Tense your abdominal muscles. Now, grab hold of a hunk of that fat between your belly button and pubic area. Try to get your fingers and thumb down to those tightened muscles before you pinch up that fat. Then, look at your hand. About how far apart are your fingers and thumb while you are still holding onto your fat?
2) Lay on your back. Place one end of a ruler (or something similar) on your pubic bone, and the other end on the bottom of your breast bone. Can you do this without your belly keeping one end of the ruler up in the air?
I'll be watching for your answers
!
) and after about 15 minutes it felt better... and by the end of the night the pain was totally gone. i think you should give the heartburn medication a try... what have you got to lose, except the pain and tummy! ha ha.
Re: a flat stomach...my one wish since age 10 
