I an trying to change my lifestyle at the moment to help me lose some weight. I am changing my diet and exercising more but I am not totally sure if I am doing the right thing to flatten my stomach.
The only thing I really do for my stomach is to do some crunches with my feet flat on the floor. After I have done a couple of sets of 15 I then raise my legs so that my thighs are at 90 degrees to my upper body and my legs are bent and do a set or two like that. It seems to me that this may just be building the muscle under the fat and pushing it out more.
Should I do more work on my obliques? Are there certain exercises I can try which will pull my stomach in?
Standard answer: you cannot target weight loss. All the crunches in the world will strengthen your abdominal muscles, but unless you make other changes then your great new abs will remain hidden below a layer of body fat.
Dietary changes and sustained cardio work are what will lower your body fat, which in time will hopefully work to flatten your stomach. Specific exercises to lose fat in one targeted area are less useful.
Not only that, but those great abs will push the stomach fat out further, giving the appearence of an even bigger gut. This is something my gf is in the process of dealing with. She’s recently lost quite a bit of weight (about 40 lbs). Her face looks skinnier, her body looks much skinnier, her hands are skinnier (rings are falling off), but she can’t get rid of her gut. I’m sure it will just take time. She lost the weight pretty fast, some I’m sure she’s going to have to stick to what she’s doing for another year or so to get everything to even out. BTW While were on the topic of weight loss, I have two quick questions (well not me, her). First she’s been REALLY REALLY cold for quite a while now, (can be bundled up in blankets, socks sweat pants, sweat shirts etc…) and still be cold to the touch, she’s been to a doctor that did all kinds of lab tests and said she just fine. She should probably see an endocrinologist, but I’m wondering if it’s just due to the weigt loss. Second, she’s annoyed because her breast size went way down. She did’t have a huge cheast to begin with, but know she’s self conscience because she’s quite flat now. So her question (okay, and a little mine too) is, will her cheast eventually fill back out?
To reduce the size of your abdomen, suck it in as far as you can (just like when you’re standing in front of the mirror) and then do your exercises. This makes the abs work “inward” rather than “outward”.
The abdomen is the first place to store fat, thus the last to lose it.
The chest is one of the last places to store fat, thus one of the first to lose it. Her breasts wil not “fill back out” unless she gets implants.