Where the hell did my abs go?

So, what are you supposed to eat?

Stand up straight - good posture makes a big difference.

Fewer calories than you expend. Beyond that, it may not matter so much.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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