# Where the hell did my abs go? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065 "2003-04-07T14:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/21 "2003-04-08T17:19:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*ultrafilter \*\*\* > Being cut is a matter of what you eat, not what you lift. So, what are you supposed to eat? ---
**Author:** ![corvidae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@corvidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corvidae)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/22 "2003-04-08T20:50:11Z")
Stand up straight - good posture makes a big difference. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/23 "2003-04-09T00:18:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by White Lightning \* > \*\*So, what are you supposed to eat? \*\* Fewer calories than you expend. Beyond that, it may not matter so much. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/24 "2003-04-09T01:10:57Z")
Well, mine are still there, its just that giving birth hid them behind a little post-baby pouch. I suspect that isn’t your problem. Please keep in mind that Justin Timberlake (who I’ll only admit knowing who his is for this moment in time, and then I expect to forget it - I am a nearing 40 Mom with no need to know who Justin Timberlake is - my daughter is three and thinks the Wiggles are hot), has to look good for a living. Which means he doesn’t need to sneak in a workout before work - his workout is his work - with his personal trainer and followed by his lunch designed by his dietician. Once I accepted the fact that I could look that good too (well, the female version of that good), if I and my STAFF devoted several hours a day to it, I became I much happier person. The other realization was that Oprah hasn’t been able to pull it off (and keep it off) - with her staff (though her staff does keep her looking darn good for a lady of her age and size). ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/25 "2003-04-09T06:29:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*Sit-ups … cardio? Yup. Perform half-crunches with your feet and calves propped up on a bench, bench or wall; back flat upon the floor or mat. Cross your arms in front of your chest (don’t put those hands behind the head!), and raise your head & shoulders off of the floor. Don’t have to raise super high – halfway up will do. … > \*\* My Gawd! One thing I never expected to hear about sit ups is “repeat briskly 300 times.” But what I _really_ never expected to hear is “Rest 30 seconds and repeat.” I hurt just thinking about it. I’m going to go lie down. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/26 "2003-04-09T16:31:30Z")
Okay, I attempted **bordelond** ’s torture technique. I was able to get to ninety before the bayonettes pierced through my tummy and into my spine. After 30 seconds rest, I was able to add a pitiful twenty before my abs were screaming like a little girl with a spider down her sundress. ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/27 "2003-04-09T17:48:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NurseCarmen \* > \*\*Okay, I attempted **bordelond** ’s torture technique. I was able to get to ninety before the bayonettes pierced through my tummy and into my spine. After 30 seconds rest, I was able to add a pitiful twenty before my abs were screaming like a little girl with a spider down her sundress. \*\* With me, it’s not just the pain during the sit ups. For the rest of the day I’m vulnerable to a sudden attack of muscle spasms that will yank me forward like an old man leaning on a cane. Very inconvenient. ---
**Author:** ![Ashkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Ashkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashkicker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/28 "2003-04-10T00:30:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Satisfying Andy Licious \* > \*\*My Gawd! > One thing I never expected to hear about sit ups is “repeat briskly 300 times.” > But what I _really_ never expected to hear is “Rest 30 seconds and repeat.” > I hurt just thinking about it. I’m going to go lie down. \*\* I was thinking the same thing!!! I read “300 times” and I was thinking damn who have you been working out with :eek: ? I’ll tell you one thing, if you got 50 out of me after a month of training, I’d feel like a success. Do you really have to do 300? My gosh that sounds excessive or I’m just lazy.:rolleyes: I think I need to go lie down now. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065/29 "2003-04-11T21:17:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ashkicker \* > \*\*I was thinking the same thing!!! I read “300 times” and I was thinking damn who have you been working out with :eek: ? I’ll tell you one thing, if you got 50 out of me after a month of training, I’d feel like a success. Do you really have to do 300? \*\* No … if you are completely untrained, start with sets of 15-20. Add a few reps to each set every few days. Once you get to where you are doing 50-60 per set, start adding 10 to your reps each week. Build up gradually to 300 or so per set. 300 is not a hard and fast number. The point is to do enough to where you are doing the movement over a fairly long interval of time. Eventually, you can quit counting and just do it by time – you might do the movement for 3 minutes, rest 30 seconds, rinse, repeat. **Nurse Carmen** , actually, this exercise is one of a battery of three abdominal exercises. I was able to go from a size 40 waist to a 34 in 3 1/2 months. I lost about 45 pounds in the process. I ate virtually perfectly, though – 6 small meals a day, very low fat, high on complex carbs, low on simple carbs. The abdominal exercises, plus several other calisthenic exercises, plus 3 or 4 2-mile walks a week were the extent of my exercise. I got off the diet somewhat, but kept up the exercises. I gained 10 pounds back quickly, but did not go up in waist size. I was able to keep it off about 2 years, even after stopping the ab work and calisthenics and replacing them with basketball, jogging, and more walking. Then I just let it all go to pot. :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-did-my-abs-go/167065.md?page=1)