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Help to lose stomach fat-I've tried everything
I am a 20 year old female about 120 pounds, I am in healthy/athletic shape because I'm a dancer and I also enjoy running and going to the gym when I have time. So basically, while I'm at college I do at least some type of physical activity everyday and I generally eat healthy. The only time I eat unhealthy is when I'm hungover, and sometimes I eat at night before bed if I'm stressed/bored/need the comfort. But overall I watch my calories and eat healthy. I drink alcohol often because I'm a college student so I generally drink 3-4 nights a week, but I try to stick to light liquors (I know that doesn't really change much).
I have very muscular/skinny arms, legs, and even upper stomach, but on my lower stomach I have ALWAYS had a pouch. I know that people are going to say this is probably because of drinking, but even before I drank when I was younger and still really skinny I always had this pouch. I've never in my life not had the pouch. It is hte most frustrating thing and i don't know what to do anymore because I want for once in my life to be able to wear belly shirts and to feel really fit at dance and be able to feel comfortable wearing bathing suits. I'm so comfortable with the rest of my body, but the pouch is ALWAYS there no mater what and it probably sounds dumb but it has caused me endless self-esteem issues my entire life. Last spring I even did Isagenix where I have two shakes a day to replace meals and then have one 400-600 calorie meal. I lost a lot of weight and my stomach was a little flatter but the pouch was still there. This past summer I worked out and danced like crazy, I only ate 1000 calories a day, and I tried my hardest not to eat night. Again, I lost a lot of weight and my stomach did get noticeably flatter but the pouch was still there. I have a great workout regimen including a lot of ab work and exercises I have researched for lower abs, but still no changes in the pouch.
I am so frustrated with this lifestyle of having to go into hardcore dieting and working out just to see my stomach flatten out a little (still a pouch though) but once I start to live normally again my stomach is not flat. I know that people's bodies collect weight differently but there HAS to be a way for me to get this pouch away. I am obviously to young for surgery and I have never tried diet pills because I don't want to hurt myself, although I might try taking coffee bean extract pills before meals. But the thing is, I worry that no matter what kind of diet/exercise I do i will lose weight in the rest of my body but not my pouch, just like what always happens. I know this might seem dumb but for me it is something I have been struggling with my ENTIRE life and it is SO frustrating. If anyone has had this problem before or can give me any advice about lower stomach pouch I would really appreciate it. Thank you!
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no need to go to gym just don't eat before about two hours you sleep and do some stomach exercise in your bed before sleeping Also drinks alots of water
that's worked for me and my stomach became smaller after 3 days kinda :)
good luck I hope I helped you or maybe you should see the doctor if you have depression your stomach sometimes be big sorry about bad English
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Congratulations. You are a human being!
Most women, most human beings, even models, have a bit of pouch just below their belly buttons. Just go out looking for photos pre-photoshoping. It's not "Extra Weight". That's called "The Human Body". That's not even about everyone's uniqueness, it's fundamentally how we are built as a species. Very, very few people don't naturally have that, regardless of how healthy they are.
The people who don't have that, are the unusual ones. Even people who rely solely on their bodies for their work, have what you are describing.
Therapy would be a better investment than supplements.
The struggle is what is hurting you, not the tummy.
A nutritionist would be a better investment than another crash diet.
For long-term success, you need longterm solutions, not starvation diets.
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This is probably not going to be the answer you want to hear, but you need to learn to like it.
My girlfriend is about 10 lbs heavier than you, and she has the same thing. I could give a shit less, it's just curves. It's not like she's fat, she's just not got definition to her stomach and it's not perfectly flat. There is nothing at all wrong with curves on a girl, a little belly included.
You've been sold this impossible standard of beauty that has you as a healthy, athletic person who takes care of yourself still obsessing over some stupid detail about your body that isn't even a negative in any sense except for advertised and airbrushed standards of beauty.
You do not need to have a flat stomach to be gorgeous. You really do not. Especially so far as guys are concerned. It's not even that we will ignore that if you have other positive qualities that outweigh it. It's that we legitimately do not give a flying fuck. If you're gay, the same goes for any girls who might be interested in you. Either it won't matter, or it'll be one of the unique attributes to your body that makes your body yours, and hence a positive to them.
I love my girlfriend's belly. She doesn't work out like you do, she just eats fairly healthy and walks and stays about 125-130 by default. I would encourage her if she wanted to work out for health reasons, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with her body. And there's nothing wrong with yours, either.
I felt sad when I read this. A beautiful young woman who is athletic and intelligent about what she does to keep herself that way who is insecure because she has been taught that a natural feature of her body is ugly and marrs her appearance to the point that she doesn't want to wear anything that lets someone see it...
There is nothing wrong with you, sweetheart. Nothing at all, except learned insecurities. And that's what I really want to keep emphasizing here.
LEARNED! This is not how you would just naturally feel about your body. You've been advertised to and put down either by people or societal messages and you've become convinced that these people are right. You don't see what you want to see in yourself, you see what you think everyone else sees.
While, it's true, there are people who can find something wrong with anyone. These people don't find things wrong with you because they think that either. They find things wrong with you because they have been taught wrong the same as you, and because they have some motivation to find a reason to tear you down.
And popular ideals of beauty are specifically designed to tear you down. To be impossible, so that there's always a new cream, a new pill, a new fad diet you can buy a book about, or a new type of outfit which hides whatever it is they've convinced you is wrong with you. The point of all of this is that these things have been done to you. Heard of feminism? This is one of the many things it's about. Countering the messages to women that they aren't good enough, that they'll never be good enough. You're more than good enough. You're awesome.
There are so many other things you could be better focusing your energy on. Instead of losing weight you could be finding a new hobby or interest, making new friends, or just enjoying the things in your life that are already there more.
I hope you read this and it made you think a little about your priorities and what you think you really need to do to look good. I'll bet you could rock a bikini and turn heads. All you'd have to do is be confident in it. To feel like you look hot.
You know, my girlfriend had similar issues. She looked at herself and didn't see someone beautiful. I've helped with that. I try to help her see what I see, a gorgeous woman I can't help but stare at at times.
If you have a boyfriend, maybe talk to him. If you don't, I have an exercise for you. Go stand in front of a mirror naked and really look at yourself. Find things you like. As many as you can. Things that you feel are beautiful about you. Instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the positive, because the positive is going, to some degree, be things that come naturally from you.
Look at yourself and ask yourself what you like about yourself and why you like it. Don't just stand there either. Feel free to touch. Not masturbate (unless the mood strikes you) but just explore and get to know yourself all over again when you're alone and there's no one there to levy judgement. Look at yourself from all angles, try to see the beauty there, the things that other people actually will notice, the things you like about yourself that others will like about you too.
When you think about something you dislike, ask yourself why. You don't like your belly because you're convinced that you'd look bad to other people. You don't want to wear a bikini where people can see it. What about you? Don't you get a say in whether or not you're a beautiful person? Care less about what others think and more about what you think. You like being athletic. That's fine. Enjoy being athletic. Enjoy the muscle definition, the build your body has because you've worked it into that shape. Enjoy the gifts that nature gave you as well, the things about your body that anyone could look at and think "yeah, those are great"
You've spent too much time focusing on the negative. Please, give what I've said here a chance. Think about whether or not I'm right, and genuinely consider the mirror exercise. You need more positive things to think about your body image.
No one has a perfect body, because there is no such thing as a perfect body. I guarantee you that no matter what you look like there are people who are and people who are not attracted to you.
You know, it's different for guys, but we still get those messages. I'm a big dude. Broad shouldered, thick chest, huge hands, etc. In addition to being taller than most people, I'm bulkier and more muscular than most people. I will never, ever be skinny. Even in my best shape I'm just massive of frame. The bones in my wrist are thicker than my girlfriend's ankle.
Some girls don't like that. They like skinny dudes, guys who are lanky and slender. Other girls love my build. Love big, muscular men. I have never dated a girl who I couldn't throw over my shoulder and carry around pretty easily, and that includes a few girls around 5'9 who will never see 120 lbs without severe anorexia or amphetamines. And there are plenty of girls who find that specific form of "manly" sexy as hell.
I don't spend my time wishing that I appealed to everyone. I enjoy the effect I have on the people who do find me attractive, who think that my confidence in myself is sexy as hell.
That's what you need. Confidence is sexy. If you learn to love yourself, if you can strut your stuff and be proud of the things about yourself that you like, people are far less inclined to find anything but positive things about your appearance. If instead of a shy turn away from someone who looks at you in a bikini, you can return the glance with a smile, no one is going to be caring that you don't particularly like your belly. They're going to be thinking about the things they like. The other things your bikini shows that do look fantastic even by your standards.
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To be honest though you are a college student and still young, if you are athletic and like you said have tried dieting and exercise, but your lower stomach will still not disappear it most likely extra skin, somewhat like baby fat, I know you are not looking into having surgery, and to be honest I do not believe in having surgical removals but, sometimes your body has natural extra skin that is impossible to remove with dieting and exercise and surgery is needed only if wanted.
-YARETZI
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