Let it hereby be known......
I hereby quit trying to get rid of my belly.

I watch what I eat.
I exercise.
I swim.

The weight just fades away from every part of my anatomy. Hell, even my fingers are getting thinner but will my belly shift. Will it feckers like.

I refuse to do 1,000 sit ups everyday a la' Brittany as I cannot be arsed. I can't afford lipo and control pants are too uncomfortable.

So I'm going to learn to love my belly and hey! I may even take up belly dancing and shimmy for you all at the next B3ta bash.

(ok! not very likely)
( girlinthehole, Tue 27 May 2008, 19:52, 35 replies)

You can teach it tricks...
Like how to crush a beer can or feed a squirrel.
(Belgaer is, Tue 27 May 2008, 19:53, closed)

Oh BGB
I'm so with you on this one. I'm not so much apple shaped as like an olive on a toothpick. My spindly arms and legs and total lack of hips or butt just throw my huge tum into sharp relief...
(Rakky (forgot her password) The muffin maverick, Tue 27 May 2008, 20:36, closed)

Good for you!
Love your body just the way it is. But if it ever annoys you more, apparently try yoga, it's nice and relaxing but uses those abdominal muscles without doing sit-ups.
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Tue 27 May 2008, 22:40, closed)

Click, click, click, click, click, click
A thousand times more *click*!!!

Watching what I eat - check (ish)
Exercising - cycling (a lot - 16 miles a day for the school run - okay, maybe not every day), climbing each week, swimming, talking - that counts!
*EDIT* I forgot the yoga too - that never seems to make any difference, but by god am I bendy!

Still I have the physique of a sausage - no bloody waistline whatsoever. What's the point of a firm backside if you have no waist to set it off?

Behold! I *am* SausageWoman!
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Tue 27 May 2008, 22:42, closed)

It's not the shape itself that makes it attractive,
it's being comfortable with the shape you have.

Atleast, it is with me. I couldn't care less whether you have a size 8 figure, the perfect pair shape or an hourglass figure, what's really attractive is being able to look at yourself in the mirror and go "I don't care, I look good to someone." And with that, you will.
(Belgaer is, Tue 27 May 2008, 22:54, closed)

Woohoo!
Belly power! Although it's easier being a guy with a belly cos you can say witty things like, "It's not a belly, it's a fuel tank for a love machine" or my fave, "There's no sense having a deep sea drill if you don't have the ballast to sink it".
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Tue 27 May 2008, 23:40, closed)

i just tell people...
that Guinness and I are having a baby.

or at least i did before last thursday when i gave up teh boozes.
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Tue 27 May 2008, 23:52, closed)

It sounds almost patronizing to say it... But it's true.
Well done for obviously enjoying healthy living but knowing where to draw the line.

Because the inescapable constraints of one's metabolism or packaging cease to be the main attribute for which you're judged when you pass the age of twenty five.

A non-Barbie like shape is in no way going to lose you any respect or kudos. Frankly, the appeal of such diminishes with age...

Besides give me a real woman any day.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Tue 27 May 2008, 23:58, closed)

I agree with the sentiment
I'm much happier myself doing whatI want and being happy than worrying about what other people think of the way I look, but what works for me is; when you're walking try to pull your pelvis up to your belly button. That strengthens the muscles that hold your insides in and so flattens your belly.

If you did all those sit ups, you'd probably just ed up wth more muscles holding the fat out.
(misskitty reeks of sex and turpentine; laudanum afternoons, Wed 28 May 2008, 4:30, closed)

Just to confirm....
I don't wish to be a size 8, I just want a less wobbley belly.

I've thought about doing yoga and may look into that especially for the bendy benefits ; )
( girlinthehole, Wed 28 May 2008, 8:30, closed)

consider this:
hops have an oestrogenic effect on the body, and therefore quit drinking beer and belly may just go away. Try drinking vodka instead.
(ShigTheNewt isn't funny. -_-, Wed 28 May 2008, 8:37, closed)

if you've no waist
it's possibly just your body shape. It's taken me ages to work this out. I'm slim, but have no definite curves. Other women are nipped in at the waist. Not me. I'm exactly the same shape as my mum and granny - good, Ulster, agricultural lumps of girls :)

As for the yoga, I thought I was bendy (hell, I have double-jointed hips and I'm very proud of those) but I was crap at yoga bendiness compared to all the other grunting leg-warmer-wearing buddhists in the class.

Get a hula hoop. A proper adult-sized one. Good for the abdominals, fun, and we can form a burlesque squad.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Wed 28 May 2008, 8:46, closed)

Sounds like we should form our own club
Women without Waists.

We could have lots of slogans...

Wanking for waists.

War on waist.

Waist not Want not.

Wonderwaist.

Go Waist.

Waist off.

I could go on and on, but I have to go and eat to keep my waist in shape - like the old joke, round *is* a shape!
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Wed 28 May 2008, 10:15, closed)

Love
Some of us here like a bit of a belly. I'm not a chubby chaser or anything but anorexic women just don't do it for me
(andythepieman Is surfing the waves of indifference on, Wed 28 May 2008, 11:13, closed)

Oh I hear you and feel the pain
I could have written this post myself.

Its genetic I think. Seriously, bellydancing is supposed to be ace for your belly, and you're supposed to not be a skinny minx to do it. I couldn't quite feel comfortable enough dancing with the belly out though, bring on the smocks and baggy jumpers

Replacing beer with vod is an excellent recommendation that really does work if you have to drink
(maggotriddendirtbox fast, feral and sharp as a tack since, Wed 28 May 2008, 11:51, closed)

Good on ya!!!!!!!!!
Learn to love your body the way it is and don't take any crap from anyone else - especially the mass media (bear in mind that the fashion industry is dominated by gay men). Of course, it's good to be healthy but it's about the health benefits, not the body-shape.

A mind may be a terrible thing to waste, but a waste is a terrible thing to mind!!!

* clicks like a mad clicking thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Wed 28 May 2008, 12:06, closed)

Hooray!
I used to have one of those ab-roller thingies. I used it as a dust-collector-come-towel-rail.

You and I can have a game of Belly Wars at the London bash ;o)
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Wed 28 May 2008, 12:56, closed)

.
Belly Jousting!
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Wed 28 May 2008, 13:02, closed)

To lose belly fat
you need to eat less calories than you burn and you'll need to do sit ups.

There's no way around it, belly fat is one of the hardest to get rid of. I've got an arse I can crack walnuts with due to the excessive weights and running I do, but without the careful diet and sit ups, I've still got a little paunch there.
( Moonraker isn't the droid you were looking for, Wed 28 May 2008, 13:08, closed)

<a href="http://www.Belliesarebeautiful.com" target="_blank">www.Belliesarebeautiful.com</a> NSFW
I think we need to visit this site.
( girlinthehole, Wed 28 May 2008, 13:18, closed)

^ ^
Bookmarks site for 4pm
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Wed 28 May 2008, 13:22, closed)

@Moonraker
I bet your popular at Christmas : )


@Everyone else - I know some guys like bellies, and my current squeeze likes my belly but I just wish there was slightly less of it. That is all.

@ancrenne - why does it need a NSFW - it's only bellies.
( girlinthehole, Wed 28 May 2008, 13:40, closed)

Doh!
Ok it's done!
( girlinthehole, Wed 28 May 2008, 14:01, closed)

I went looking at Bellies Are Beautiful
And this one made me both laugh and spit my coffee out. It doesn't even look like a belly - it looks like some strange sort of...creature.


( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Wed 28 May 2008, 14:12, closed)

.
You could go on Extreme Makeover UK edition.
( browser still relating boring anecdotes into a void on, Wed 28 May 2008, 14:16, closed)

@Chickenlady
That must be a picture of the belly of the pregnant man who used to be a women. Obviously all the body hair is from the testosterone injections he used to have.

@ aboutateaspoonful - I don't think they'd let me on due to me being bloody gorgeous but with a big belly.
( girlinthehole, Wed 28 May 2008, 14:17, closed)

@ BGB
I'm not so sure...I had a father-in-law with a belly like that....

In fact both my ex-father-in-laws had bellies like that...
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Wed 28 May 2008, 14:19, closed)

@chickenlady
I think that's the pregnant man in America!

Tummy :

I was forced to attend dance lessons for most of my childhood (I'd rather have been playing football) and the result of that has left me with a (relatively) flat tummy. I say relatively, because I'm over 30 and I've had two kids. My thighs, on the other hand, have to be watched or they turn to chunks of lard. Forty minutes minimum on the stepper every week and they're fine. Any less and yucky time!

Is there a woman on the planet who's totally happy with her body? I've never met one.
(TheWeeWitch hasn't been here much recently .., Wed 28 May 2008, 14:21, closed)

Sugar
is responsible for our change in body shape. We used to have big bums and thighs, but sugar is solely responsible for fat on the abdomen that we have today.


More interesting facts later.


.
( Madam Marlboro wonders if you've found her yet, Wed 28 May 2008, 14:26, closed)

Sit-ups/crunches are useless
Well, they aren't, but they won't reduce fat on your belly. They'll put more muscles underneath them, but spot-reduction of fat is a myth, spread by "personal trainers".

www.acefitness.org/fitnessqanda/fitnessqanda_display.aspx?itemid=341

Fat loss patterns are genetic, and are not related to particular exercises.

The only way to lose fat is to use more calories than you consume. The most effective way to do this is to lift free weights (don't use weight lifting machines), as it increases your resting metabolic rate and uses many more muscle groups as the exercises are complex.

Ladies - don't worry about becoming inflexible and muscular. It's not going to happen by accident, female bodybuilders have spent years and years training every day on a strict diet with hormone replacement to look like they do. It sounds silly, but it's the thing I hear from women most often when I point at the squat rack or a bench.

Apologies for not being funny, but this is the thing I hear in the gym that irritates me the most. A close second to "do 100 reps of this tiny weight and your muscles will be defined, but not large."
(Toucan - http://www.titmonday.com, Wed 28 May 2008, 15:19, closed)

HAve a clicky
Generously proportioned women are the way to go. If your happy with yourself, you can be guaranteed to find someone that will be happy with you too.

DISCLAIMER: This person may be difficult to track down. And once tracked down, it may be a while before anything comes of it. I know. AMerica is not cheap to visit til we sort out who's moving where :S
(Teran Thinks Pogonophobia is funny, Wed 28 May 2008, 16:00, closed)

1. run in the morning before breakfast
3 times a week

2.eat the same amount you're eating now but divide into more meals every 3 hours (to stop body going into starvation mode and storing fat)

and

3.never eat carbs after 7pm

bingo!
(The Goat www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com, Wed 28 May 2008, 17:07, closed)