Does anyone else have belly fat that looks/looked like this?

@strongfaith91 Aha, same height, your picture shows my goal :) I figure my tummy will never be entirely flat due to genetics and being curvy overall, but if I can look like that, plus abs when I flex, it's all good. My GW was 145 lb [SW: 170, CW: 153] but so some way to go.
 
@strongfaith91 You look amazing! I have a bad habit of tending to think that I'm doomed for being unable to get rid of it, but seeing pictures like yours reminds me that that's a silly thing to think. Thanks for that :)
 
@davidjb Aww you're so sweet! It's funny you say that, because I thought you looked super good and was jelly I didnt have your build. Lots of body dysmorphia, but we're all gonna make it brah. We're always gonna be our own worst critic!

You keep being awesome and reaching your fitness goals!
 
@davidjb The only time I got my flat stomach was when I was doing 3x1hr spinning and 2x1hr of body weight training weekly. That was when I weighted 103lbs. I'm also 5'1''. I saw the most results with body weight fitness. Cardio was just because I enjoyed it. Sometimes I would thrown in a 5k jog during the weekend.

I ate steelcut oats in the morning and kept carbs intake for mostly fruits. I didn't eat rice/potatoes/pasta/bread or drank any juice. My meals were a mix of veggie sauté with chicken or tofu, spinach salads with edamame or avocado and veggies, soup with beans. As soon as I felt full, I would stop eating. I drank a lot of water as well. I wasn't really counting calories. I just made sure that I cook everything that I eat and stop as soon as I felt full. I would eat a snack every 1.5 to 2hrs (I'm hypoglycemic). I found cottage cheese to be a really good in between breakfast/diner snack! I needed the extra protein as I don't consume a lot of meat.

I got a bit lazy for the last 6 months or so and gained a bit of fat and lost the flat stomach. I have a little pouch. I think, it depends on how your body stores fat. Mine tends to be equally distributed so it'll take a lot of time to see any results when training (or gaining weight). The picture was taken after about 2 years of training (went from 135lbs to 105-ish). I think it also has a lot to do with posture.

Aside from that, everyone that I know told me I look sick when that picture was taken. So take this with a grain of salt. People tell me I look healthier today. I don't feel good about my body at this point as I much prefer the flat stomach but yeah... I don't think we're ever happy with what we have, right?

But yeah, honestly, I'm finding it hard to maintain the look I had in the picture shown. It takes a lot of work and I'm lazy and love dark chocolate. I have a crazy work schedule, it's winter and I just want to cuddle on the couch with my dog and play some games.
 
@judsonjedidiah Thanks for all the detail, that was an interesting read. I really just want lower bodyfat % and to be in better shape, I honestly don't think I could keep up with that amount of effort if it took that much for me to maintain a flat stomach too. I love my alcohol + video game cheat days way too much.

Speaking of body weight fitness I'm going to try and get into that, I think I might enjoy that a lot.
 
@davidjb You're welcome. It was indeed hard for me to achieve such results. What really made a big difference was adding body weight fitness.

I do the workouts at home. Fitness Blender videos are a good source of material. You can even search routines that require no equipment. I think it's more convenient to incorporate 30 min workouts 4x a week than 2 full hours.

Side story: I used to follow a group class right after spinning (same instructor) and it made it fun. After 2 years my instructor got physically and mentally exhausted. She was a trooper, giving 5x1hr spinning classes and 3x1hr body weight fitness classes weekly. She still gives the spinning classes but not the body weight fitness. She said she had no social life, on top of things, with this strict schedule. She was working a full time job + teaching classes.
 
@davidjb Just adding to,the chorus. 5'2" and 108. Have a nice defined four pack above the belly button and that exact pooch below it. Have had it since puberty. It's definitely my least favorite feature but almost every woman has it and I really work on not beating myself up over it.
 
@jackie99 Oh, this was me at my lowest adult weight. BMI of 20 and a 4 pack with this little bulge. My body fat was around 16% and I was training for a marathon. If it didn't disappear entirely then, I really don't think it will.

Right now I'm rocking a mean 2 pack and about 26% body fat. It gets bigger or smaller, but it's basically the last pound of body fat that my body is ever willing to part with.

Having said that, I don't dislike it. I think it's cute an desirable on a woman. That little belly curve is as much a secondary sex characteristic as a nice butt, imo, especially when paired with a nice waist.
 
@davidjb yeah, that is what grown women are suppose to look like. Media would have you believe women have flat tummies, but we don't. And we aren't suppose to have flat tummies.
 
@knowhisjoy77 I make clothing and have for 40 years. In their mid twenties all women get that little pooch. It is a natural thing. Some women have less of one, but every naked female I have ever dressed has it.
 
@davidjb Does it go away when you flex your abdominal muscles? Because it looks like it's just your organs causing it. You look like you don't have very much body fat at all, so the only possible fix might be to see if you just have bloating? Not sure if that's helpful, but I have a similar pooch problem if I eat dairy products.
 
@davidjb Yes, that's exactly what I have. Right now I'm about 113 lbs [at 5'2"]. And honestly, because I used to have an eating disorder and I'm trying to to have a baby right now I'm not interested in losing any more weight in my attempt to make it go away. So I just accept it. Sometimes I even think it looks cute.
I did notice it went down in size when I got below 120... but it's certainly still there.
 
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