flat stomach - possible/healthy for women?

Hello there,

I know the "flat stomach" posts have probably been beaten to death, but please indulge me! My question is: Can women realistically and healthily attain that flat stomach? So far, in my life, the only person I know with a TRULY flat stomach is a girl with a severe thyroid condition. I know lots of skinny girls, but none of them have 100% flat stomachs.

Now, I am not asking this question because I am dead-set on achieving this magical flat stomach. I have a stubborn little convex fat deposit right where my abs should be and have actually grown, with (LOTS OF) time, to love it. I think it's beautiful in its own, much healthier than the alternative way. It says, "I'm a woman", not "I starve myself and spend my life in the gym". 

So guys (well, girls, really), you've heard my story, now how about yours? Do you HAVE a flat stomach? Are you striving for one? Have you achieved this in the past?

Just curious! :P

After 4 kids and 4 c-sections, ain't never gonna happen!  I still have a small roll just above my c-section scar that I am trying to make smaller/get rid of but nothing but surgery, at this point will ever give me a flat stomach.  I have pretty much learned to live with it :)

I would love a flat(or flat-ish) stomach. That is my next goal now that I am at a healthy weight. As an apple shape body type this may not be possible for me, but I'm trying to get it as flat as I can.  I guess it depends on what you mean by flat, because the cute flat tummies I see all have a natural curve to them which I think is cute, so not flat as a board or anything...

sokkies

yes, it's possible. no, i don't have one. but i think i could, if i worked at it. i'll never have the abs of a fitness model, because i had abdominal surgery with a midline incision. big, nasty scar :)

I'm sure it's possible if you work out and have a low fat diet.  I'm not even trying anymore.  I have some definition on my abs but it's still soft and curvy.  My bf loves it and so do I.  I think it looks feminine to have a little belly :)  Like a greek goddess.

It's definitely possible, but I personally don't care for it. I think a little pooch is sexy and very feminine, my boyfriend also agrees. 

i have a flat stomach (5'8 120ish).  i don't really work out anymore (i really should...) but it's just always flat unless i've eaten a big meal.  so it's definitely possible, but it's probably due to luck, because i eat normally and don't really exercise.  

Some women can; most can't.  It all depends on your build.  Some women are too curvy (by which I'm referring to structure of the spine/butt - not any euphemisms); some are straight enough for a flat stomach

I know many many women with flat stomachs! It's all about diet and what you put in your body that makes your stomach flat. Partially hydrogenated oils, sugars, deep fried food, etc will never get you a flat stomach, it will layer fat on your tummy and thats why a lot of thin women have pooches. When I switched from a terribly unhealthy diet to a high-fiber high protein diet the pooch dissapeared, and I never did any crunches.

This one girl I know achieved amazing abs in about two months, and I asked her how she did it. She said it was all about diet. She eats semi-clean, and doesn't eat carbs after 2 pm. She stays on a strict diet and eats the same things, at the same times every single day! I have been trying this but it takes a lot of discipline.

I'd say that my stomach is flat, but I have fatty love handles. :[

Original Post by irisherin88:

I know many many women with flat stomachs! It's all about diet and what you put in your body that makes your stomach flat. Partially hydrogenated oils, sugars, deep fried food, etc will never get you a flat stomach, it will layer fat on your tummy and thats why a lot of thin women have pooches. When I switched from a terribly unhealthy diet to a high-fiber high protein diet the pooch dissapeared, and I never did any crunches.

This one girl I know achieved amazing abs in about two months, and I asked her how she did it. She said it was all about diet. She eats semi-clean, and doesn't eat carbs after 2 pm. She stays on a strict diet and eats the same things, at the same times every single day! I have been trying this but it takes a lot of discipline.

I'd say that my stomach is flat, but I have fatty love handles. :[

I'm not an expert, but...I'm pretty sure there are more factors involved than BS diet rules involving what time to eat carbs ;)

A lot of it is genetic: different women store their excess fat in different places. For me, my stomach is the first place I gain weight and the last place I lose it. But my sister-in-law gains weight on her stomach last. I've seen her gain 20 pounds and fill out in her legs and butt while keeping a completely flat tummy. With our airbrushed magazine covers, we tend to fall into this mindset that being at a healthy weight will mean a flat tummy, no love handles, and definitely no cellulite. For many women that is simply unrealistic unless you get down to nearly 0 body fat.

Original Post by secondmouse:

Original Post by irisherin88:

I know many many women with flat stomachs! It's all about diet and what you put in your body that makes your stomach flat. Partially hydrogenated oils, sugars, deep fried food, etc will never get you a flat stomach, it will layer fat on your tummy and thats why a lot of thin women have pooches. When I switched from a terribly unhealthy diet to a high-fiber high protein diet the pooch dissapeared, and I never did any crunches.

This one girl I know achieved amazing abs in about two months, and I asked her how she did it. She said it was all about diet. She eats semi-clean, and doesn't eat carbs after 2 pm. She stays on a strict diet and eats the same things, at the same times every single day! I have been trying this but it takes a lot of discipline.

I'd say that my stomach is flat, but I have fatty love handles. :[

I'm not an expert, but...I'm pretty sure there are more factors involved than BS diet rules involving what time to eat carbs ;)

I was just about to chime in on that one! It doesn't matter at all what time you eat carbs. Ugh. I have pooch now, but I used to have a washboard stomach - at that time I was still eating fried foods and food with added sugar, and apart from that my diet was all carbs - I was simply eating at such a deficit (exercising so heavily) that my stomach didn't have an ounce of anything on it. When I was at my thinnest I'd eat a fully carb loaded, fatty dinner at 10/11 pm at night, followed the next day by a carb-heavy breakfast.

And crunches won't do squat. Only losing body fat will acquire a flat stomach; the roundness doesn't come from the muscle, it comes from fat.

And there's nothing wrong with a little bit of a pooch. Like a_c_m said, it's feminine. (But I also have nothing against flat bellies, either).

ETA: I'm also an apple shape, so the belly is generally where the fat likes to deposit itself first. But I managed a flat belly for a long time, so it's possible. Mind you, I was doing things in a pretty extreme manner, so I do wonder if I can get it again in a more balanced way.

i was just saying thats how it worked for the one girl. i don't eat at certain times of the day and i have a flat stomach.

many trainers that i know from my gym say that abs are 90% diet 10% exercise. thats abs though, not meaning just having a flat tummy... dont everybody chew me out at once.

Original Post by jessrene:

For many women that is simply unrealistic unless you get down to nearly 0 body fat.

this is hyperbole, right?

At my best my stomach is pretty flat. It's mainly via clean, healthy eating.

I am 5'9 and 175 pounds and I have a flat stomach.. but big hips!!

I'm 5'2" and 115 pounds, well, 117 lately, and I don't have even close to a flat stomach. I wonder how much weight I'd have to lose to lose some tummy inches. Right now my waist is 31.5 inches. Do I really have to diet down to 105 or something to get a flat ish stomach? That is right at the bottom of my "healthy weight range". Maybe most apple shapes have to be close to the bottom of the "healthy weight range" in order to have a flat tummy? I don't know. Its seems exhausting. I thought that at 115 I'd be happy with my tummy, but I guess I thought it would be at least down to 27 inches so I could fit into normal clothes.  I guess I should be thankful because when I was 147pounds, it felt impossible to get down to even 120.

sokkies

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by jessrene:

For many women that is simply unrealistic unless you get down to nearly 0 body fat.

this is hyperbole, right?

yep! :)