I posted this in another forum but it didn't get any replies so I thought I'd ask around here

Hi all. I have recently started using an Ab Lounge (about 3 weeks ago) and I also do Curves 3x a week. I have lost a few pounds but my stomach has gotten bigger. I wonder if this is because of the situps, I'm putting on muscle beneath all the fat that is pushing my stomach out more??? Maybe I'm totally off but that is all I can think of...

I'm not quite sure whether that's the case or not...but I know I've always been taught that I gotta burn off that fat before the ab work actually will show. Doubt that'll help...hopefully someone else will have an answer for you.

Well it depends on when you look at your stomach really...I can notice a HUGE difference between looking at my stomach first thing in the morning and then looking at it right after a meal...that could be the case here.

Has it gotten bigger, or has the rest of you gotten smaller? Meaning did you take measurements and the measurements are larger? Or could you just be shrinking elsewhere and holding onto the stubborn abdominal fat?

The second is true for me. At my heaviest I never had to worry about that roll that covers your belt when you sit down, but now I sure do.

Anyway, just keep doing what you're doing. You'll eventually lose it, it just may be a little more stubborn than other areas.

I doubt that you've put on noticeable muscle in your abs in just 3 weeks. Honestly, I doubt that you've put on any muscle at all in just 3 weeks. Our bodies, especially women's bodies, just don't work that way. We don't build muscle that quickly. Wish we could, but we don't.

Could it be that you've lost an inch or two in the chest area, making the tummy area "look" slightly bigger in comparison?

Or it could be pre-TOM bloat (since you said it has been about 3 weeks). Blasted TOM -- wreaks havoc with our bodies and psyches in so many ways.

By the way, I also have an Ab-Lounge and have been using it fairly frequently for the last 4 months (hehe but probably not as often as I should). I don't know about you, but I can really feel it. I feel it even when I'm not using it -- my abs feel tighter when I'm just sitting down, like right now, at my computer. Having done thousands of crunches on the floor, on a mat and on the ball over the years, I can honestly say this is the first time I've felt my abs actually working.

Workout purists may say the Ab-Lounge is just another cheesy fitness gimmick, but I like it! Hope you do, too!

When I first started losing weight I lossed inches in the stomach area. Than I added abdominal exercises and I increased an inch and could not figure out what had happened. I kept with the exercises and I finally lossed that inch. It could have been I measured differently or maybe I was retaining water. Not really true.

Hmm good points. It could be bloating but it does physically feel bigger.. though I have not measured. My chest is a 44E so that's not a good comparison, although my bra is fitting a little weird so maybe it is. I dunno, I will keep it up though! Thanks for the replies.

Perhaps you can ask one of the staff at Curves next time you go? I've never been to Curves, so I don't know if they have instructors or whatever, but maybe someone there could give you an answer?

If you are doing the exercises correctly-then your abdominal muscles are not getting "bigger". They may get firmer feeling-but they will not gain mass in that area. I agree that you may be losing inches in other areas such as your hips and chest-and it may make your tummy "look" bigger-but that is not the case. We don't lose weight evenly all over.

For instance-when I was at my highest weight, and I lost 40+ pounds before I got pregnant-I lost about 1 inch in my chest...3-4 in my hips, and 7 in my waist. My butt and boobs didn't get "bigger", but because my waist got so much smaller-it really made the hourglass shape stand out a ton more-and made my hips and bust more apparent. Fortunately, I liked it.

Measure, measure, MEASURE.