Ok...It's never going to happen for me. I have great obliques and a sort of a 4-pack, however after years of obesity and pregnancy, a c-section and a myomectomy my tummy is a bit saggy. Not horrible. I have lost 16 inches from my waist, and I have firm muscles I can feel them. You just can't see them very clearly because of the excess skin. So unless I get some plastic surgeon to take mercy on me, I won't be joining in on this challenge. :) Thanks though. :)

Libby, as I've said before, everyone who wants to improve their abs is welcome and picture posting is optional :) And a 4 pack is great!

As for plastic surgeons, I heard that you can write Oprah about your excess skin and then potentially get her to pay for your surgery. Of course, they will have to film you every step of the way, but I guess that is a small price to pay if you want it bad enough ;)

Ok ok....
 

Sure I'll post my tummy! :) Thanks Shane for the info. I might have to contact the show. :)

My tummy from the front. I went from 39 inches to 23 1/2 inches.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...0922070935.jpg

Obliques
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...0922070934.jpg

PS. How did you guys attach the pics to blow it up?

your stomach looks great, Libby! definitely something to thrive for... and an itty bitty 23 inch waist? daaang girl!

How to blow the pics up:
click post reply. See the paper clip looking thing? Click manage attachments. Find the pics and upload them. Then, the arrow next to the paper clip will show you the picture titles. Click "insert all" to put them all in as thumbnails :)

So I've been not so good (lots of sweets) and started my period (lots of bloating) so the scale and camera are in hiding (out of sight out of mind). I need a kick in the butt to get going again!

Melissa. Here you go: :kickbutt: and a :coach: for good measure!

I've been playing around with a new ab exercise, Roman chair sit-ups. See here for a discussion and short clip. They're a compound exercise for your core: they work abs, hip flexors, and, it feels like, lower back. Fun fun!

Warning: these can kick your butt, so start w/out added weight. I haven't gotten stuck, but I can see how one could. It's probably a good idea to have a spotter the first time you try these.

I suppose you could also do these with a twist to work the obliques. I don't bother doing isolation oblique work, though.

Be strong,
Kim

Thanks for the link, Kim! :D Sounds like a full body work out.

Melissa, I see Kim already gave you a kick in the butt! :lol:

I probably need one, too. I've been eating CRAP the last few days. I'll do well until the evening, and then I'll either huff down FRIED or CARBILICIOUS things. The scale went up a pound today, but I'm pretty sure it will go down... it always does. ;)

Back to clean eating and portion control for me :( :( :( <----now I remember how I GOT fat in the first place... I like BAD, unhealthy food ENTIRELY Too much!

Just popping in to say hello and see how everyone's doing. Any new progress pics?

I was thinking about taking another one but don't think there's much change from last week. ALTHOUGH, I just started a new training program that I'm super excited about. I hired an online personal trainer for 2 months complete with nutrition plan and everything. It's been two days and so far I'm doing well. She said NO CHEATING AT ALL for at least 21 days. *ack!* 2 days down (almost), 19 to go. *rofl*

Meanwhile...a 23" waist!! OMG! You do realize that's my DREAM right? You rock!

Question... when ya'll measure around your waist, do you measure the top part or do you measure around your belly button right before your hips?

A 23" waist is probably unattainable for me. The thinnest my waist has ever been is 24" and that was while I had NO meat on my bones (hollow stomach, could see all my ribs, etc).

I have a large bone structure. Obviously, this does not hinder me from being slim, as I've never seen a fat skeleton, have you? ;) Still, the smallest my waist is probably going to get is 25" or 26" if I'm measuring it accurately.

NSV! So, my girlfriend has these pants from Express and they're a size THREE. She can't fit them anymore BUT I CAN! I convinced myself that it's probably just because they have a bit of stretch in 'em, though I'm able to fit A LOT of clothes she can no longer wear... 3 reg's and 5 jrs. :eek: More than half of them actually fit me comfortably, too, while the others would need to be unbuttoned after a good meal :lol: FYI, I've always considered her skinny and so has pretty much everyone else. Right now, she's wearing 6's, 7's, and 9's. She is 3 inches taller than me and 5 pounds less, though now several people are commenting that we look near the same size.

I don't know how I'm fitting into these tiny sizes when I don't think I'm thin at all! Infact, I think I am a tad bit meaty (although at this point, all that meat is muscle except for what is on my lower stomach).

goinforthegold - no more progress pics until I've MADE progress :lol: I ate my fair share of unhealthy food this week... I need to get back on track!

Afternoon folks!

I look at myself straight on in the mirror and measure at the smallest part of my abdomen. It's really quite high.

Thank you for the kick in the pants! So far today has been good, hopefully I'm on a roll. The bloating has reduced too so thats a big plus. I totally understand the evening fat food fest Nightengaleshane, luckily tonight I will be in class from 4-10 so that's quite unlikely to happen.

I've done the Roman chair, it is quite the exercise! I really like it but then again I like all ab exercises. If you flip over on that too it's an awesome glute workout and add some weights and do some shoulders at the same time and OH MAN (my trainer takes no mercy at times)!

As for the waist measurement there are many different ways to do it so who is to say which was is really correct? You can measure at the belly button, 2 inched above it, the smallest part, etc... I think the most important thing is to be consistent.

It's a little vain but I always measure the smallest part (it's the same thing as weighing in the morning after emptying the bladder). Right now my waist is 28'' and I KNOW 23'' would be quite odd looking on me that's for sure, but I also have 41'' birthing hips so my 28'' is already quite small in comaprison. I have issues with the little doughboy fat covering my lower abs and the love handles.

Good luck Goinforthegold on the 19 days you have to go! I'm sure you will be able to do it and imagine how awesome you will feel once you accomplish it!

Well to sum up this novel, everyone have a wonderful healthy happy day!

Originally Posted by NightengaleShane:
Question... when ya'll measure around your waist, do you measure the top part or do you measure around your belly button right before your hips?

A 23" waist is probably unattainable for me. The thinnest my waist has ever been is 24" and that was while I had NO meat on my bones (hollow stomach, could see all my ribs, etc).

I have a large bone structure. Obviously, this does not hinder me from being slim, as I've never seen a fat skeleton, have you? ;) Still, the smallest my waist is probably going to get is 25" or 26" if I'm measuring it accurately.

NSV! So, my girlfriend has these pants from Express and they're a size THREE. She can't fit them anymore BUT I CAN! I convinced myself that it's probably just because they have a bit of stretch in 'em, though I'm able to fit A LOT of clothes she can no longer wear... 3 reg's and 5 jrs. :eek: More than half of them actually fit me comfortably, too, while the others would need to be unbuttoned after a good meal :lol: FYI, I've always considered her skinny and so has pretty much everyone else. Right now, she's wearing 6's, 7's, and 9's. She is 3 inches taller than me and 5 pounds less, though now several people are commenting that we look near the same size.

I don't know how I'm fitting into these tiny sizes when I don't think I'm thin at all! Infact, I think I am a tad bit meaty (although at this point, all that meat is muscle except for what is on my lower stomach).

goinforthegold - no more progress pics until I've MADE progress :lol: I ate my fair share of unhealthy food this week... I need to get back on track!

WOOHOO on the NSV's!! That's awesome!! :carrot::carrot: And I measure the same place Susan does, at the smallest part. Though, I kinda feel like that's cheating b/c the rest of my belly is at least an inch or two bigger. :(

And ya, I don't think I'm doing the progress pics yet...I pigged out all weekend (before starting with the trainer *lol*) and I really don't think there's any change from last time so no need to. Maybe next week...we'll see.:D

Originally Posted by Bikini Ready:
Thank you for the kick in the pants! So far today has been good, hopefully I'm on a roll. The bloating has reduced too so thats a big plus. I totally understand the evening fat food fest Nightengaleshane, luckily tonight I will be in class from 4-10 so that's quite unlikely to happen.

I've done the Roman chair, it is quite the exercise! I really like it but then again I like all ab exercises. If you flip over on that too it's an awesome glute workout and add some weights and do some shoulders at the same time and OH MAN (my trainer takes no mercy at times)!

As for the waist measurement there are many different ways to do it so who is to say which was is really correct? You can measure at the belly button, 2 inched above it, the smallest part, etc... I think the most important thing is to be consistent.

It's a little vain but I always measure the smallest part (it's the same thing as weighing in the morning after emptying the bladder). Right now my waist is 28'' and I KNOW 23'' would be quite odd looking on me that's for sure, but I also have 41'' birthing hips so my 28'' is already quite small in comaprison. I have issues with the little doughboy fat covering my lower abs and the love handles.

Good luck Goinforthegold on the 19 days you have to go! I'm sure you will be able to do it and imagine how awesome you will feel once you accomplish it!

Well to sum up this novel, everyone have a wonderful healthy happy day!

Thanks!

Shane, it's a sheer MIRACLE that I have a 23 inch waist. But I also have my height on my side. I'm 5' 1/4 " tall. You're 5' 7"! Your waist will probably end up somewhere between 26 and 28. Nothing wrong with that. I measure right above my belly button. AND...Dr. Oz says you should suck in your belly when you do it, so you are measuring the OMEMTUM fat and not any squishy fat. Which in my case is loose skin. So I'll gladly suck that in. I just measured and unsucked I am 25 inches. So sucking pays in my case! :) Gotta love Dr. Oz.

And the reason you are fitting into tiny sizes, is because you have MUSCLE TONE!!! I went from a size 22 and I can fit into 0 -4's now. Muscle is the reason. If you are fitting into 3's and 5's at 5' 7", you are TINY!!!! But probably really toned. So as long as it doesn't bum your girlfriend out, keep wearing those clothes. A double wardrobe must be a wonderful thing!

I'm with Melissa ... consistency is what counts.

I have sore lower abs this morning and I think it's from doing bent leg lifts while holding a bar over my head (in my instance it was the headboard while watching TV). It's a different pull ... a good one.

Ok, my waist is between 27" and 28" when I measure the higher spot and suck it in, and it's 29" around my belly button. I usually wear 28" pants (well, if they are the kind that come that way... Silver, Seven, Lucky etc) so it makes sense. Thanks for the waist measuring tips, girls... and I never knew that you were SUPPOSED to suck it in a little when measuring your waist... that's AWESOME :D

Once I get my abs, I'll probably have a 26" waist, I'm thinking. You know... when I suck in ;)

:lol: me wearing clothes she can't fit is something the GF has yet to get used to... and I think she hates it, so I'll let her have her ill-fitted 5's. ;) As for 3's, I can only fit certain ones... you know... the ones that run big to make girls feel better about themselves... oh, surprisingly enough, I've seen some TALL people with really tiny waistlines. Back to the topic of my girlfriend... she has a smaller waist than I do, so I actually feel that it's warped/almost not right that I can fit clothes that she can't... her waist around 25" :eek: and was 24" before she gained a little. The thing is, she gains mostly in her butt and thighs (LUCKY BIATCH! I gain it ALL in my STOMACH! ;))

Seriously, I envy anyone who gains butt/thigh fat as opposed to belly fat. Two people can have the same percent body fat, but the one with butt/thigh fat ALWAYS looks THINNER :(

Yesterday I did ok on my eating. I can do better today. I got carried away with the eeeeevil sourdough bread :devil: