To wonder if it's impossible to have a flat stomach?

[moutonfou]

I'm 9st, BMI 20, never weighed more. I exercise 5 times a week (running/yoga). I still have a little roll of tummy that I can pick up and spills over my pants when I bend/sit down and shows through tight exercise tops.

I have a friend who is a professional dancer and probably as fit as they come, and noticed that even she has one.

Is it just something women have unless they seriously dedicate themselves to strength training and maintaining a very low body fat percentage (which I am not in the market to start doing!) Or is there something I can do to tone/reduce it?

Just lie down, even mine is flat then😄

Mine was perfectly flat until I hit 30. 9 half stone. 24 inch waist. Never exercised apart from dancing in nightclubs.

I miss it 😭😭

But is it flat when you're standing up straight? That's what I would classify as a flat stomach. Everyone can pinch some fat because skin is stretchy.

There are two components to what you're talking about; one is genetic and one is the amount of work you want to put into it.

If you're not genetically disposed to having a flat stomach, even heavy strength training and cutting (dieting while attempting to preserve muscle gain) just won't give it to you. I work with fitness professionals the world over, some of which have the most amazing abs I've ever seen on a human being (Elisabeth Akinwale! Neghar Fonooni!) and some of which who do the exact same levels of work and still just don't have visible abs.

If you ARE lucky enough to be genetically disposed, then the amount of work you'll have to put in varies -- some people can get there by dancing in clubs and some people require serious strength training. And for a LOT of the professionals I work with, the amount of work that even they need to put in is HUGE and just not a priority for them.

So it's two questions, really -- whether you CAN get there, and if you can, whether you want to based on the amount of work it would be for your body.

I had one for about 15 seconds in my teen years

I'm BMI 20 and reasonably slim. My stomach looks flat in clothes but it's still a little squidgy. I don't really do much exercise apart from walking.

When I was a very slim toned BMI 19 my stomach was flat to the point that it was hard to even pinch skin! I miss it too!

I think it is impossible for some people, yeah.

Body type plays a big part. If you're short of torso, then it seems to be much harder to get that flat, elongated look than someone with the skeletal proportions of Myleene Klass or whatevs.

It really depends on your natural body type. My sister got her flat stomach at bmi 18 (she's your typical rectangular petite asian girl). I got mine at bmi 28 (nothing to pinch at all and have a 6 pack, but I do have hips and a bum).

Some people are just more muscular than others.

I have a huge post c section tum now but prior to kids I could get as fat as I liked and never a tum. Just how I was made.

Depends on your body type. I am pear-shaped, always had a flat stomach (it would go in when I lied down) until I put on weight during pregnancies and breastfeeding. Even then I only started having a bit of a belly at a BMI of 24.

My legs and hips on the other hand... I know they can never be slim, no matter what I do. Huge bones, strong muscles and many layers of fat

I wish I could, I'm your typical apple shape and any weight I gain goes onto my middle. I look like a space hopper on stilts most of the time 🙄

We're designed to have it for ovary protection so it's hard to get rid of.

I was thinking about setting myself a challenge to get a six-pack. This would literally be a temporary thing until achieved then I would forget about it.

Easiest route for me is to lose 5 kg... except that's not easy. My BMI would then be about 19.5, too. Just... neah. Can't be arsed!

Ive never had one, even when I was a pre-teen/teenager and did swim training six hours a week. My thighs are awesome though; no cellulite and I am strong as anything. Finally at 41 there is a part of my body I appreciate!

Mine is flat enough and my abs show quite clearly but I have to watch what I eat to keep my body fat low enough and I hit abs at the gym almost every day. When I gain a bit of body fat or I eat something salty and have water retention it looks so different. I can see why for a lot of people it just isn't worth it!

I'm very similar to you op. Just under 9 stone now, but I was about 8st and a size 6, and weight training 3 times a week before my last baby and even then I didnt have a flat lower belly.

I've been trying to get back to where I was, and after 9 months of exercising multiple times a week (back training 5 wks after baby) and eating mostly clean and breastfeeding. I still have a podge. Even though I'm a size 8.

I don't hold fat any where but around my middle so a few pounds really shows on my belly.

In prep for our holiday I really ramped things up, ate totally clean and trained loads. 3 weeks of that has made a huge difference but I still have work to do.

People think I'm silly, but when I put on a size 8 dress and there's a belly sticking out it looks awful, I can't wear any fitted clothes. I'd happily go up a couple of sizes for a flat stomach. But I think it's just genetics. I have friends a couple of stone heaver with flat stomachs.

Well, if you sit up/crunch of course there is some spare skin/underskin fatty tissue - how else would you be able to stand up straight??

Oh and I have upper abs, as in the top 2 of the six, then the lower 4 are covered in flab. Think I'm some sort of freak of nature!

Good post from gwenneh. I think it's obvious some people are more genetically disposed to flat stomachs than others. I had a friend/colleague who ate a LOT, didn't do exercise but led a generally active lifestyle, and she always stayed skinny with a flat stomach. When she was pregnant and had some sort of scan/checkup the doctor commented on her amazing stomach muscles and said she was very lucky to have them naturally like that!

I'm a healthy BMI, but even at the most exercise and dieting I'm prepared to do (HIIT workouts 4-5 times a week, 1500 cals per day) I've never been able to see my abs or have a flat stomach. The time needed for that level of training and the food deprivation is definitely not worth it for me.

Never had a flat stomach since I hit puberty and got big boobs. Even when I was 17 and weighed 7 stone it was never flat.

Apparently my grandmother had a completely flat stomach but was jealous of her cousin's little belly because she perceived it to be more "womanly". So I'm embracing that.

There's only been one period of my life where I had a flat stomach, and that was when I had lost too much weight everywhere in general. Less carbs helped because I didn't bloat as much, but I'm soo envious of anyone who is effortlessly slim!

The fat layer is there to protect your womb and ovaries, so it's gonna be a real tough, committed job to shift it. I can't be arsed.

My BMI is about 17. I've had 2 c sections. It's like uncooked dough.

My friend maintains hers by doing 500 sit ups a day.

Fuck that.

I had one in my early 20s but then I also used to have alcohol in place of food, go out a lot and do a shit load of speed so not an NHS recommended diet.
I also had one after I had my second child when I stopped eating and went down to 8st 5lb but I also was a little bit not quite right in the mind.
So it's obviously achievable for me but not without drugs or postnatal issues it seems!