stomach indent!!
 

I am a pretty healthy weight but I carry most of my fat in my stomach. I have been on a pretty strict diet and have been working out. In the last few days I have started to incorporate more abs exercises (lunges/crunches).

I was pretty sore this morning, including my lower stomach. I noticed there's a pretty prominent indent below my belly button that almost makes both sides of fat around it look separate like a belly butt.

I have tried to Google this issue (specifically related to weight loss and exercise) but come up with a lot of forums talking about a similar issue with pregnancy and muscles separating. I am not pregnant nor have I ever been.

So, I am wondering:

a) what on earth is this?

b) does this soreness indicate that I somehow strained myself and separated the muscles? I read about people having this issue but it seemed either pregnancy related or something they have had all their lives.. not something that just suddenly appears.

c) could this be related to ab/muscle formation? For those of you who have that definition-- did it start to come with the losing of weight in small chunks like that?

It's unlikely ab formation because the reality is that abs don't show up until your body fat percentage is quite low. The layer of fat over them needs to be thin to see them. So if you're specifically seeing them in an area that has a thicker layer of fat, it's not your muscle definition poking through.

As to whether you have a tear or a hernia or something, I don't know. How sore are you? Maybe wait a couple days for the DOMS to recede. If it doesn't, then you might have an injury.

Would that mean a tear? I feel like I would have felt it when it occurred then and I don't recall a pain when working out. It's mostly just sore at this point which doesn't bother me. The weird dimple that seems to have appeared over night is what is concerning. :\

Yes, but I've never had a tear or a hernia and so I don't know how they feel. Maybe someone else can chime in on that?

How could we know? Head to the doc and get it checked out and maybe ask for a referral to a PT - they're great and can help you get started on body awareness and injury prevention.