I would like to know if your stomach area got better just by losing weight. Did it get as close to being flat when you got nearer to the ideal weight?

(A little into the background -- I am not doing too many core exercises, my main exercise is the elliptical machine, I do some weights as well, I read somewhere that the love handles and the stomach area will get better merely by dropping #'s, even if someone is not into core training).

That is so dependent on genetics.

I have never, ever had a flat stomach. My sister, my mother, my grandmother - never. We've always had a rounded out abdomen, no matter HOW MANY ag strengthening exercises we do as that's just how our bodies are built.

I know overweight people with flat stomachs... so go figure.

WIth that said, with exercise (core strengthening) you will flatten out a lot, but if it will be completely flat or not, who knows.

But berry, your stomach got better with losing weight right? (That is, it shrunk to some extent even if not perfect). The reason I am asking is bcos I have now lost 30 lbs and there is absolutely no visible changes to my stomach area which remains same -- a big bulge. Do you think if lost another 50 lbs to reach my ideal weight, my stomach would be much better?

How do you know that it hasn't changed? Are you wearing a smaller size? Have you taken measurements? Are they the same? Th mirror can be deceptive.

The first time I lost weight, 50 pounds... I could not see the difference in the mirror. I had gone from an 18 to a 14 in jeans, but I looked like the same me in the mirror. Why? The same imperfections. The same flabby arms. The same flabby stomach. The same imperfections.

My husband thought I was nuts as I was DEFINITELY smaller, by a lot.

The last time I took photos of myself throughout. I took body measurements throughout and I did so to show my brain that I WAS getting smaller. Then I could see it. So, yes, it got a LOT better and I mean a LOT better... but I still had a rounded abdomen... and saggy skin. I was healthy though and my husband loved the new thinner me.

Now that I have gained almost all the weight back (and quickly) I can also see how and where I ballooned back up. I don't get much wider in the hips, I get much wider front to back.

Losing Lbs is going to be the best way to a flatten your belly. Berryblondeboys is right, it also depends on your body type!

You cannot spot train any areas of fat away you have to loose the fat layer by burning more calories than you eat, also there are foods that promote fat loss and consuming these foods can also aid in the loss of fat from your tummy as well as all other areas of the body. Exercising and toning the muscles is also important as that will give more definition, also you burn more calories the more muscle you have, but core exercises alone will not banish tummy fat.

When I lost the weight before (my lowest was 148) I had a mostly flat stomach and no love handles, and at that time all I did to lose the weight was walk everyday and did no strength training at all. I chalk it up to the fact that I was younger then so it didn't take too much effort to drop lbs

For me? I have to measure to know for sure. (And it has).

Because if I just look down, with the shrinking boobs and arms and legs, it makes tummy look bigger than before. Even though it too is smaller. Just not as fast as other areas.

A.

It's definitely better. I can flex my core and it looks good. But not flat, and it won't ever be without surgery. I've had two pregnancies (was way too heavy with both of them) and it is as good as its gonna get. ;-)

My stomach and big boobs are those "hard to move" areas. It took 30 pounds to switch one pant size. I do crunches almost daily.

If you lose enough weight, you WILL start to lose from your problem areas, wherever they are. My own problem areas are hips/thighs. I have a flattish stomach even when I'm 50 pounds overweight and a very flat one when I'm thin. However, my hips and thighs have bulges until I reach a BMI of about 20.

F.

bignomore my stomach is holding on 'til the end, one day I happened to notice that I had lost a lot of "back fat" there are places you are losing that make your clothes fit better that you don't really see, like your back. With the elliptical I would imagine your legs are really toning.

I don't know if it's an old wives tale, but when I was younger doing aerobics they always stressed holding in your stomach while exercising, supposedly that made a difference in the flatness of the muscles. I do know if you just tighten your stomach muscles throughout the day, like sitting in the car or at your desk,it helps with my posture and kind of becomes a habit.

My hips are the last thing to go it seems, we all have our different areas.

Best to you, keep at it and congrats on your loss so far!

I thought I would always have those little saddle bags on the outside of my upper thighs. Once I reached goal weight, I noticed they were gone. My abdomen went flat also towards the end. I have loose skin so no bikini for me, but under clothes, it looks pretty flat. i did a low carb diet.

You definitely want to measure. That's the only way to really know for certain how your body is changing. (Also, I recommend measuring based on how your body is shaped, not the "standard" measurements. For example, I have no idea where my waist is so I don't know where to measure for that. I just use the area at my belly button and call it close enough. And I have problems with being fat above and below my belly button so I measure both those spots.)

I noticed a HUGE difference in my stomach measurements with a 50 pound loss - 13 inches above the belly button and 15 inches below the belly button. I went from a size 20 to a size 10. And that was without doing much toning exercise at all. I much prefer to do cardio.

Because if I just look down, with the shrinking boobs and arms and legs, it makes tummy look bigger than before. Even though it too is smaller. Just not as fast as other areas. - Thanks astrophe!

I sometimes think when I look down that nothing has changed...but you're right...it all has changed. Smaller jean...smaller bras.

I never had a flat stomach, even when I was thin, but it was in proportion. After having 2 abdominal surgeries in 2011 my waist measurement went up 5 inches. My ab muscles are really damaged. My other measurements have only gone up 1/2 to 1 inch since then. (there was a 20 lb gain.) So now that I am starting to lose, I have only been measuring my waist. The muscle is not the only problem. I do have belly fat, and that's what I'm hoping to lose. I know weight loss comes from all over, not just the place you want it, but to me, the waist area is the only part that matters, because I can't wear pants that aren't elastic waist with my waist the size it is now.

Freelancemomma, the one consolation with big hips and thighs is that this fat is not dangerous to your health. The abdominal fat is, because the fat surrounds your internal organs. I don't mean to say that it's not of importance to YOU. I know you want to look your best.

Somewhat. However, due to like old fat cells filling up with water easily, once I eat, it gets comically HUGE. This combined with having smaller thighs makes it look even bigger in proportion. However, if I didn't eat yet and I don't wake up bloated, yes my stomach looks flat with good posture. Otherwise...back to suckin in. Since I have so many old fat cells though, most days I look like a stick figure with a beachball belly! I heard something interesting about why competitive eaters tend to be so thin - and the same I think applies to me - since I don't have a thick layer of firm fat holding down my belly, my belly has room to stretch stretch stretch.