A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Hi there =) I have struggled with weight maintenance for as long as I can remember and I have pretty bad genetics. Everyone is obese with diabetes in my adult family (aunts, uncles, grandparents) and an aunt on both my mother and fathers side have had gastric bypass surgery. I exercise 4 or 5 times each week for more than an hour, I have a very active job, and I eat extremely well. I am in decent shape, 5'6 and 135lbs, but I constantly struggle to lose my tummy fat. I look thin everywhere except my stomach, it looks like I have a fat person stomach and I call it my "shelf". How can I get rid of this? I also do not eat dairy or gluten due to celiac disease and digestive issues. I count calories and I constantly watch what and when I eat but I still feel I could never wear revealing clothes or a bikini. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you =) Reply to this Question
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reader, anonymous, writes (14 August 2009): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionI am toned! And I don't starve myself! And I do lots and lots of cardio, my heart rate is always 180 or more! And I switch up my routines frequently.
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reader, anonymous, writes (14 August 2009): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionIts not the bit of tubby fat needed for a baby though...its literally like. A shelf of fat that goes all the way across and it looks like I lost 100lbs and fat and skin stayed. And I do not smoke or diet, I just live a healthy lifestyle. Thank you for helping.
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reader, anonymous, writes (14 August 2009): Your problem is genetic. I have seen friends who have ate well and exercised and lost all weight, only to find the weight goes straight back on and this is confirmed by their Dr. It also seems to be a very sensitive issue for some. For others, I see happily married large women, with happy husbands because their personalities are with it. Are you a cigarette smoker? Now that is a problem with many people. It costs about 100 dollars per week. It shortens the life by 14 years. It slows a workers productivity down. It effects every organ in their body. And they crave for more after one. The result they know what they may face at the end of the day is severe lung problems like a collapsed lung in hospital or a stroke or emphasyma.
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A
female
reader, k_c100  +, writes (14 August 2009):
 Your waist is tiny! You really have nothing to worry about I promise!
If it is as you describe - like a shelf at the bottom of your tummy - then this is literally something you cannot do anything about. That bit of the tummy is the part I was talking about earlier, the bit you need for childbirth! It is the most natural thing in the world and no matter what you do it will never be flat! That lower abdomen is where a baby would grow (to put it in simple terms!) and hence the body stores extra fat around here purely in preparation for having kids! Every single woman has a "shelf" as you put it, just some are larger than others. If the rest of your tummy is flat then yes it will stick out a little but you shouldnt be ashamed of it, its perfectly natural!
From what you said you eat - I hope thats not all you eat during the day! I hope you eat a whole lot more otherwise you will be malnourished! Eating more protein helps convert fat to muscle so that might help a little bit, but you wont get drastic results. Maybe putting a little weight on might actually help you - if your weight and waist measurements are anything to go by you could afford to put on around 7lbs, and with any luck this would spread out evenly around your whole tummy so the lower abdomen doesnt look like its sticking out so much.
I really think you should just forget about trying to get this bit of your tummy flat, you have to accept that you are a woman and this is how women's bodies were meant to be! I bet you have a great figure so just be happy with what you have got, and love all your body because it makes you who you are. We all have little flaws, bits of our bodies we hate....but this is what makes us human, it is what makes us special. Be proud that you have a feminine figure and be happy that you will have no problems having kids when you are older! Women with totally flat stomachs have major problems having kids, and get terrible stretch marks because of their lack of skin and fat around the tummy area!
I hope this helps!
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reader, anonymous, writes (14 August 2009): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionWell as far as diet, I am allergic to any wheat, oats, barley, and rye products and dairy products so I can't eat bread or pasta at all. I eat a bag of steamed birds eye vegetables every day and many fuji apples and dried apricots and whole natural almonds. My waist is 27inches, and 3months ago it was 25.5inches..but even at 25.5inches I had this strange shelf on the bottom of my tum..and I've even done all of the special exercises to target the area. At 18, my body shouldn't have this much trouble staying in shape. It almost looks like I was heavier and lost weight and left with the shelf, but that never happened. Thank you to all who helped so far, I can't wait to read more answers. And don't worry I'm terrified of ivs and needles so no lipo for me!
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reader, anonymous, writes (14 August 2009): I have only got two answers for you. Number 1 you are no less attractive as men individually like different sizes of women. So just focus on the health aspect. Number 2 every-one has a medical issue and most, a lot worse than yours. So start living and stop worrying.
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female
reader, k_c100 +, writes (14 August 2009):
I really hope you dont listen to Satindesire, Lipo is the most dangerous of all cosmetic surgeries and can lead to some horrible complications after the surgery. It has the highest death rate of all cosmetic surgeries and often leaves nasty scars, so it just isnt worth it!
First of all well done to you for having such a healthy lifestyle and working so hard to make sure you dont end up like your family - I too come from a very overweight family and I know how much of a struggle it is at times to keep up all the hard work to stay slim!
At your weight I cant imagine your tummy is particularly big, I am guessing this might be more in your mind than in real life?! Women have a tummy for a good reason - childbirth. We are all predetermined to have more fat and extra skin around the tummy so that there is room for expansion when we get pregnant. Those women with very flat stomach's - terrible for giving birth! If it wasnt for c-sections those girls would lose out in the old survival of the fittest because they physically are the wrong shape to have babies!
But as a woman who also hates her tummy I know how you feel. My tummy has recently got flatter because I cut out all white food (I dont know how much carbs you eat, I'm guessing not much because you sound very healthy already!). So I dont eat any white bread, pasta, rice or potatoes anymore and only eat a small amount of wholegrain or wholewheat carbs each day. This seems to help!
And maybe focus your workouts on your abs - womens health magazine (they have a good website too) always has some good exercises in there to do. I heard that Britney Spears (back in the day when she was thin!) used to do 1000 crunches a day to get her abs - so it all depends how much you want to fight nature and get a flat tummy!
If I were you I would just be proud of my figure and learn to accept that your tummy is just part of being a woman!
I hope this helps and good luck!
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A
male
reader, RAINORFIRE +, writes (14 August 2009):
 you have to tone up your muscle starving your self alone wont help get you a flat tummy have you ever seen an old skiny person there all saggy they may be skiny but they have no muscle, you can try diffrent things theres tons of stuff on the market take energy drinks to and hit the gym hard do crunches sit ups run the whole routng find out what works for you but inclined sit ups with a weight ball are great, keep it up and dont give but your really going to have to work at it since your fghting genectics as well. would suggest takng more carbs and hit the gym harder tone that tummy replace the fat with muscle.
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reader, anonymous, writes (14 August 2009): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThank you for telling me I am an inspiration, I sure try to motivate others and even assisted my mother in losing 30lbs. As I sit here eating celery with peanut butter, I think I maybe just need to cut out all sugar besides fruits. Because even dairy free organic peanut butter has sugar and fat...
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A
male
reader, Fatherly Advice + ♥, writes (14 August 2009):
 I have no advice, but I want to comment on how well you are doing. You really are an inspiration to the rest of us. Especially considering your genetics. That belly fat is related to the diabetic tendencies. It is never going to be easy for you as it is for some. Fortunately you have already developed the lifestyle that will keep you away from diabetes. Keep up the good work. I have the same genetics, and even when I was in fighting trim for high school wrestling I had "love handles".
FA
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