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Original poster

How do you get a flat stomach?

87 replies

Cartoe · 13/03/2022 18:21

I haven't ever had a flat stomach, surely it's not just genetic?
Mine is well rounded! After belly button (top half is mostly flat).
I'm not overweight, around 170cm and 60kgs.
I've been working on abs, some definition (mostly in the mornings only), I have a strong core but still have a fat stomach, more lower half. I walk/gym/cycle several times a week. Eat mostly healthy.
I find carbs, bread and pasta especially make me more bloated, though it can be most foods, simply after I've eaten any meal.
How do people do it? (Also late 30s and have had children)

OP posts:
RobertaFirmino · 16/03/2022 02:00

[quote Amelion]@TristesseDurera I said posture will change how your belly looks. I meant some people’s posture makes their belly stick out more. Posture and core strength obviously don’t mean you don’t store fat on your belly but it can change how it looks.[/quote]
So true. At physiotherapy, they showed me how to stand correctly and honestly, the difference it made to how I looked was astounding. Even if you think you are standing up straight, chances are you're not. Look it up, remember to do it all the time and it soon becomes second nature.

Laserbird16 · 16/03/2022 02:14

Probably posture. Do you have lordosis? Aka sticking your butt out. That can totally make you look like you have a round belly even if you're quite slim. You may need to work on tucking your tail, releasing your mid/lower back muscles etc.

NoToLandfill · 16/03/2022 03:24

Look at a classical Greek statue, none of the adult women have a flat abdomen. Teenage body perhaps yes.

Cormoran · 16/03/2022 04:20

It is purely an amount of body fat. On this page, you can see pictures of women at different body fat%. athleanx.com/articles/women-body-fat-percentage-photos .
@Cartoe You are not overweight but it doesn't mean your body fat is low enough to have a flat stomach. You can use this US navy calculator to assess your body fat%. www.bizcalcs.com/body-fat-navy/ .

You can have a flat stomach, bit it takes discipline to maintain a low % and no, carbs have nothing to do with that. It is the crap (crisps, greasy food, processed snacks) and alcohol.

TristesseDurera · 16/03/2022 07:35

@Cormoran

It is purely an amount of body fat. On this page, you can see pictures of women at different body fat%. athleanx.com/articles/women-body-fat-percentage-photos . *@Cartoe* You are not overweight but it doesn't mean your body fat is low enough to have a flat stomach. You can use this US navy calculator to assess your body fat%. www.bizcalcs.com/body-fat-navy/ .

You can have a flat stomach, bit it takes discipline to maintain a low % and no, carbs have nothing to do with that. It is the crap (crisps, greasy food, processed snacks) and alcohol.

I did not have a flat stomach when my bmi was 15 and my body fat was 10 percent. I was hospitalised for my eating disorder.

Please don't ignore and invalidate the lived experiences of many women which have been shared on this thread.

A page showing what SOME women look like at different % body fat is not a universal law

Slidey23 · 16/03/2022 08:04

I have had a flat stomach for most of my life but have never been very skinny elsewhere. Since putting on an extra stone and getting older I have a little tummy now. This year I’ve been focusing more on strength training, my core strength has really improved and amazingly my waist has slimmed and my tummy is flatter. I am amazed by the progress. I’ve been doing body pump 2-3 times a week and 2 cardio classes. Not lost any weight but I look and feel much better.

WellNotReally · 16/03/2022 09:36

@Cormoran

It is purely an amount of body fat. On this page, you can see pictures of women at different body fat%. athleanx.com/articles/women-body-fat-percentage-photos . *@Cartoe* You are not overweight but it doesn't mean your body fat is low enough to have a flat stomach. You can use this US navy calculator to assess your body fat%. www.bizcalcs.com/body-fat-navy/ .

You can have a flat stomach, bit it takes discipline to maintain a low % and no, carbs have nothing to do with that. It is the crap (crisps, greasy food, processed snacks) and alcohol.

I disagree. Not everyone can have a flat abdomen. When my BMI was 18, and I was exercising daily, I still had that fat. It's genetic, nothing to do with crisps etc.
SommerTen · 16/03/2022 10:22

I only once had a totally flat stomach aged 15 - 16 at 7 stone or maybe a bit less and 5'4" I'd been unwell due to a reaction to some epilepsy medication and very nauseous for several months... I'd lived on just strawberry ice cream & wholemeal toast with low fat margarine... then began to eat more but did lots of swimming...
My stomach was definitely flat but I looked awful with damaged hair & bad skin due to lack of nutrition.

Even when I've been slim since then I've always had a rounded tummy as I've not really been into regular exercise since.

I'm 45 now and I think to get a flat stomach I'd have to live on air and do weight training and cardio for hours daily as I weigh 13 stone easily.

I think if you're already thin with lower body fat and used to exercise it's probably easier to achieve healthily.

VerityPJohnson · 16/03/2022 11:06

I have quite a flat stomach but all the fat is in love handles round the back, really depends where your weight likes to go!

DoobryWhatsit · 16/03/2022 11:10

You need to heavily restrict calories if you want a properly flat stomach (I'm not recommending this BTW!) Also, the amount of curve in your spine makes a huge difference (varies wildly amongst women) ALSO any pictures you ever see of anyone with a flat stomach, they're either a) an Olympic athlete, or b) sucking it in (or quite possibly, both!)

Put it out of your mind. Have a biscuit 😉

BeanyBops · 16/03/2022 11:21

Extremely low body fat. Most women don't have a completely flat stomach because unless you are genetically gifted, the low levels of body fat that you need to attain in order to have a completely flat stomach are extremely difficult to reach and potentially unhealthy. You sound like you are very slim already. Remember that what you see in the media is most likely photoshopped,those women will also have dieted to extreme levels and dehydrated themselves then used posing and lighting to their best advantage and then photoshopped on top of that.

TheRedHen2 · 16/03/2022 11:56

I completely agree that it's genetic.

Both my grandmother and mother have the same body shape as me. My grandmother was a size 20, I've always been an 8-10 but the shape is still the same.

I'm the fittest and healthiest I've ever been now. Exercising in various ways - weights and cardio for around 6 hours a week not including dog walking. I still have a tummy. I've had a BMI of 18 and still had a tummy.

I have slim legs and arms.

It's my shape.

Tryingtogetitright · 16/03/2022 11:59

Be careful with Ab work outs if you do have diastasis recti, a lot of them make the muscles bulge and make the problem worse.

Google the "Every Mother" app, sure there are other similar ones, the exercises are safe for diastasis recti. I pay to use the app but following the suggested exercises has made a huge difference to my stomach.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 16/03/2022 12:05

luck of the draw I reckon. My BMI has never been lower than 22, and I've never been smaller than a size 12. But for lots of my adult life I had a flat abdomen. I was never skinny - huge arse and thunder thighs - but it's the last place I gain weight. Right now my BMI is 27 and so I do have a bit of a gut, but still not much of one.

RockinHorseShit · 16/03/2022 12:06

You don't, you learn to live the skin you're in & get of social media & with it's edited images & stop being so bloody unrealistic. Women are not meant to have flat stomachs, that's why it's impossible to achieve for most people

KalaniM · 16/03/2022 12:26

I really think we have to normalise that a curved belly is normal and fine.

The tyranny of “flat”….Hmm

Imherenowandthen · 16/03/2022 12:32

Can someone suggest a good probiotic? I've been taking some but they give me stomach pain and make my stomach gurgle.

Zazdar · 16/03/2022 12:51

Extremely low body fat. Most women don't have a completely flat stomach because unless you are genetically gifted, the low levels of body fat that you need to attain in order to have a completely flat stomach are extremely difficult to reach and potentially unhealthy.

You only need to go to extremes if you want the full “ripped” look. Because of the health implications, even competitive female body builders only do this for the competitions.

Zazdar · 16/03/2022 12:55

Women are not meant to have flat stomachs, that's why it's impossible to achieve for most people

That’s as daft as saying women aren’t meant to have big boobs. It’s obvious from this thread that some women are meant to have flat stomachs, some aren’t.

implantreplace · 16/03/2022 13:06

@RockinHorseShit

You don't, you learn to live the skin you're in & get of social media & with it's edited images & stop being so bloody unrealistic. Women are not meant to have flat stomachs, that's why it's impossible to achieve for most people
Let me guess You don’t have a flat stomach

Are you saying the fact that I do have a flat stomach makes me somehow not a normal woman because I’m not how I’m “meant” to be?

Smellyporcupine · 16/03/2022 13:38

@RestingMurderousFace

I achieved it once, for about twenty minutes in 2002. Zero carbs and gym 5x a week, never been so miserable in all my life.
Me too. I used to be a fitness instructor and personal trainer in my 20's. I had an definition for about a week on a only eating rice diet 😂 So you can do it with with low body fat and core work. I held some fat on my lower tummy even when really slim. Now I hold a lot everywhere
RockinHorseShit · 16/03/2022 14:30

I had a flat stomach for most of my life @implantreplace, ate what I like & I could still give women half my age a run for the money in my 60s

Im a realist though, I got very lucky due to genetics. It is not an average female shape. Mine actually turned out to be a medical condition anyway

Smellyporcupine · 16/03/2022 15:36

What annoys me is when you see the plus sized models and everyone celebrates how refreshing it is, but they are mostly shown with flat stomachs. So either that's some clever photoshop whatever the size. It seems it's not ok to have a stomach, you have to have the nipped waist, but you can be plus size elsewhere. There are some brands using customer photos which show EVERYTHING in reality

implantreplace · 16/03/2022 16:18

@RockinHorseShit

I had a flat stomach for most of my life *@implantreplace*, ate what I like & I could still give women half my age a run for the money in my 60s

Im a realist though, I got very lucky due to genetics. It is not an average female shape. Mine actually turned out to be a medical condition anyway

You said

Women were “not meant to”

But then you say genetics

Doesn’t make sense

Zazdar · 16/03/2022 16:24

It is not an average female shape.

Average doesn’t necessarily mean desirable.

The average UK adult is overweight.