So, I guess, this is a question for those maintaining or getting super duper close to their UGW. When does sucking in go away? I'm 20 pounds away from my UGW and I was in the shower today when I started thinking about how sucking in is really a pain. So, does anyone know? Does it come naturally or did you have to train yourself not to suck in anymore?

Are you exercising? At some point it should be come a natural state - core muscles pulled tighter - sucked in, versus a "I should suck it in". It becomes more of a chore to let it all hang out!

Agree with Melissa completely - core strength = better posture, which makes EVERYTHING look like it fits better and definitely makes everything feel better!

I agree you should maybe either directly work on your core more or do some compound lifts which will work it indirectly. I think it's a bit of a misconception to think of muscles as either "tensed" or "relaxed." I mean just keeping your eyes open is tensing those muscles to a degree but you don't really feel it. The point is if you strengthen your core there will be a residual tension that you don't feel but keeps everything sucked in.

It's natural for me now - it wasn't before I strengthened by core, though. I realize now that poor posture and pooch were muscle weakness and correcting that with proper posture and tucking my pelvis was really crucial!

Yeah that makes sense. I think that to a degree just correcting your posture by itself will strengthen your core somewhat. I mean even just bending over to pick something up most of the times its better to have a little oomph in your midsection. Feels stronger and makes my back feel better when I engage those muscles.

I just kind of do it naturally, it feels unnatural to just let my belly go slack.

This! I do it almost all day long, even when sitting down. Not so much "sucking in" as squeezing my core.