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Pooches: What causes them?
I had a great debate with a workout buddy about pooches. She says that she doesn't do abs because another co-worker of ours (who is insanely shredded) is able to maintain hers with diet alone. I have to disagree here because no matter how clean I eat or how much weight I lose I still have mine.
What is everyone else's thoughts on this? Anyone have a pooch and eliminate it nonsurgically? Since I've done ab workouts I've seen a dramatic improvement but it's still there.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
I think a good portion of it is genetics. I have nvr had a 'pooch' problem, & any flab I do accumulate is easily burnt off w/ a good core workout (God bless shoulder mount combos!) -- but looking at my physique & my dad's, even when we are in shape, he has nvr been 'ripped' & neither have I, just really well-toned, regardless of diet or exercise regimen. My brother OTOH, that motherfucker can shred himself when he puts his mind to it. Maybe it would be different for sm1 luke myself or my dad if we did sm freaky hardcore bodybuilding type diet & exercise, but what I am getting at is that our bodies all simply respond differently to given workouts & food plans.
Also, it might depend on the severity of your shape pre-pooch & what exactly caused it. You've mentioned that you used to be pretty heavy. I don't recall your previous stats & am not asking for them here, but in your case it could simply be that your skin is not extremely elastic there & so wasn't able to completely bounce back after you dropped all the excess wgt. My mother developed one after my brother was born, due to a botched C-section, that is all but non-fixable via exercise alone bc she has hardware in her back (installed after a severe pre-babies injury) that prevents nearly all core exercises. She does a lot of walking & occasionally sm light wgts, & diets well, so she is dropping the wgt, but she would probably need surgery to SLIIIIIIIIIIIIM down just bc she is so physically limited in the amt & type of exercise she can do. I know that's quite different from your situation, but just my observation.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
I have one because my son's big head stretched my belly out when I was pregnant. :( Still debating on whether I should wait it out and see if it eventually corrects itself or get lipo. :/ I don't think I need a tummy tuck, as there isn't that much excess skin..it's just a little belly.
I do know that eating too much sugar (more than 20g) a day, eating dairy or too much meat makes you look a LOT more bloated in the mid section. I went semi-vegetarian, low sugar for a while and it looked so much flatter. I need to get back on that diet but it's so hard to maintain! I love bacon and ice cream!
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Could be loose skin. My ex was overweight and lost a lot of weight and he had that pooch thing. Genetics too, I also had a bit of a pooch and it was hard to get rid of, I had dropped ~15 pounds once and it was still hard to get rid of. I was 105 at my smallest weight and I think there was still some there. I got really sick once and then it went away, but that's because of the weight I lost from being sick.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
i think its a body type, its genetic..if you are "gynoid" or "ovary body type" with an estrogen dominance, you are gong to collect fat in the butt, thighs, and lower tummy. the only time my stomach is completely flat is when i have an extremely low body fat %, and i mean extremely low, like where my ribs stick out more than my boobs and my butt is a pancake..so just kind of deal with the tiny little bit on my lower tummy and wear a garter belt and nobody notices. it could also be skin being stretched from a lot of weight gain or pregnancy.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
If you're eating clean and exercising then it is probably genetics. There are tests that show diet is more productive than exercising especially for belly fat, but if you still have fat on your stomach despite eating clean then intense ab workouts should help get rid of it. It's not impossible to get Rid of non surgically you just have to do some intense workouts and stick to them along with eating clean and it should go away eventually. I know I get a food baby if I eat a lot of breads and pastas and other heavy things, but when I don't eat those for a few days my stomach is really flat. Are you eating breads and pastas regularly? If you are maybe take those out of your diet completely and see how that goes.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Tempest- from the pictures you post it looks like yours is just a little bit of loose skin. Most women's bellies have a natural crease there from sitting- like a knee or elbow line, and even when I don't have fat in the area I still get a deceptive shadow in photographs (it's also where those pesky hairs like to gather). Right now training abs is really unpopular in women's fitness because it can cause you to gain a couple cm of muscle, however gaining a little muscle in that area might cause your loose skin to stretch and vanish (just make sure you train lower abs specifically). Otherwise if you can't get rid of the little fucker without feeling like you're at an unhealthy weight I'd just get a white makeup crayon and highlight it off the way you might remove bags under your eyes.
***Just went back to look at your latest pics- that thing is so not a pooch. It's a teeny tiny skin crease only visible with direct overhead lighting. I stand by my draw it away method until your skin slowly tightens around your new rock hard abs.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HallelujahHopkins
Tempest- from the pictures you post it looks like yours is just a little bit of loose skin. Most women's bellies have a natural crease there from sitting- like a knee or elbow line, and even when I don't have fat in the area I still get a deceptive shadow in photographs (it's also where those pesky hairs like to gather). Right now training abs is really unpopular in women's fitness because it can cause you to gain a couple cm of muscle, however gaining a little muscle in that area might cause your loose skin to stretch and vanish (just make sure you train lower abs specifically). Otherwise if you can't get rid of the little fucker without feeling like you're at an unhealthy weight I'd just get a white makeup crayon and highlight it off the way you might remove bags under your eyes.
***Just went back to look at your latest pics- that thing is so not a pooch. It's a teeny tiny skin crease only visible with direct overhead lighting. I stand by my draw it away method until your skin slowly tightens around your new rock hard abs.
LOL thanks. You might be able to pinch it for yourself come Nov/dec. :D
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Have to agree that ab training can make things worse. When I was doing core focused yoga 4x a week I lost weight, my ass and thighs looked great, but my pooch stuck out more than ever.
I think it really is just genetics or loose skin from weight loss/giving birth in most cases. The best you can probably hope for is a slightly smaller pooch if you've always had one. I hear body wraps are good for a temporary fix though.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Do you know if you have gluten allergies or intolerance? Sometimes little pooches in otherwise slender people can be caused by this. You might want to pay special attention to how you feel after you eat things containing gluten. If you notice bloating and digestive issues you may want to try cutting those foods out of your diet and see what happens.
I know "gluten free" is sort of a fad right now, but it is a real thing and does cause a lot of issues.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
I don't have a "belly pouch", even after beings slightly overweight due to injuries and mental issues (read, after regaining most of the pregnancy weight last year). I'd say it's a combination of genetics and taking my sweet ass time to lose the extra weight; no more than a pound and a half a week. I have some abdominal fat, but it's not in the form of a "pouch" that protrudes outward; it follows my body outline.
I barely gain weigh on my mid section; it all goes to the chest, back, hips, butt and thighs.
Another super important factor that has not been mentioned in here and a probable reason why I had not developed a pouch; posture. Great posture does wonders for people.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Just remember that there is no such thing as being able to spot-target any fat-carrying area on your body. If you exercise, you lose fat overall (rather than from the area you felt you worked on most intensely). Fat distribution has quite a bit to do with genetics. So some women can lose fat more easily from their stomachs, while some women may lose it a bit more easily from their thighs / face / whatever. But genetics aside, you can't target abdominal fat by doing crunches. Doing ab exercises will develop the muscles under the area carrying fat, which may cause the pooch to seem more pronounced.
It's healthy (albeit inconvenient) for women to carry fat. We're supposed to have more fat on our bodies. Even if there's hardly any fat there to begin with, if you have strong ab muscles, then it's likely that the bit of fat you have there (which should probably be there if it's not going away through healthy means) will be more obvious. For this reason, I prefer to have a somewhat underdeveloped ab region despite the benefits of having a stronger core.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
I know a girl who use to eat a lot of red meat and when she quit eating it for a month, she lost her belly fat quick. She use to eat it almost every day tho. Maybe stick to just white lean meats and see. Although, I don’t see this pooch you talk about.
P.S. You have a lovely body. An hourglass with nice big tits. ;)
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Everybody's body is different. I think it is a combination of genetics, diet, exercise, lifestyle (sleep, water intake, alcohol use, type of exercise, etc.), any sort of major weight gain/loss in that area like from pregnancy or just weight gain in general, and stress. You have to figure out what works for you. Also, the more you focus on it, the more you will notice it, the more prominent it will look to you, etc. And vice versa.
For me, personally, the only time I didn't have one was in high school. And in high school, I had THE fastest metabolism EVER and I ate the WORST diet ever with no exercise and sitting all day. And I was thin and poochless. Currently, I feel like I will never get rid of it! I have a very strict diet, eat clean, no dairy, low carbs, low sugar, I drink a shakeology every day, I work out/train about 1.5-2 hours a day (5-6x a week, fasted cardio AM, strength training and weight lifting, HIIT, seeing a trainer 2x a week, bootcamp 3x a week...), I rarely drink alcohol anymore, I do tend to stress out easy though. I have very defined abs and sometimes you can see my lower abs coming through, other times, like if I am bloated (which might be part of my problem... I bloat all the time so easily; my digestion is very f'd up) you can't. Certain foods do it for me.
I'll tell you the only times it went away for me were when I went on a very, very strict and particular diet from a naturopath about a year ago... no gluten, no dairy, low carb, low sugar... I felt like a rabbit! Who was poochless! And getting a colonic =P.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
simone87
i think its a body type, its genetic..if you are "gynoid" or "ovary body type" with an estrogen dominance, you are gong to collect fat in the butt, thighs, and lower tummy. the only time my stomach is completely flat is when i have an extremely low body fat %, and i mean extremely low, like where my ribs stick out more than my boobs and my butt is a pancake..so just kind of deal with the tiny little bit on my lower tummy and wear a garter belt and nobody notices. it could also be skin being stretched from a lot of weight gain or pregnancy.
I agree that it's genetics, I have never been overweight, presently I am 5'5 and 118 lbs and this is the heaviest I have ever been. I have always have a small pooch, I think it's just my body type-- when I wake up and haven't eaten anything it's at it's smallest, and it gets bigger as I eat. Even when I was 98 lbs I had a small one.
You should have some extra skin so that you can bend over/lean back/etc.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Audrey it sounds like you might be allergic to something and don't know it. I found out I'm allergic to dairy so I cut it all out and I swear all of the chubbyness I had in my face went away. Go to a nutritionist or allergist and get some blood work.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Sm1 made a very good point abt posture. Even when I am in very good shape, if I slouch, I look like I have a low-set baby bump :ick: So make it a point to not necessarily suck it in when you're walking, but to keep your shoulders back & almost walk like you've got an iron bar up your ass & it will help the appearance of the 'pooch' immensely.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Sorry for threadjacking my own but @ HH: Boyfriend gave the ok for Abq but after what we went through last year he wants a direct flight in.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Do you do any cardio? Burning off calories could help. Jumping rope or treadmill are good.
BTW, you look great in a bikini!
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Yeah I always do cardio before my usual workout. I lost all the chub from my BA. Just this last few llbs.
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
oh, also, speaking of posture, anterior pelvic tilt (incredibly common) and sway back could be causing it. stand in front of the mirror sideways and "tilt" your pelvis in (more towards your belly button) and look up images for anterior pelvic tilt on google
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
I do a lot of pole dance for excersise but I practically had to starve to get rid of my lower belly (I've been skinny all my life but always had the lil pooch going on) It actually flattened out during a stressful time when I could barely eat due to loss of appetite. Now that I'm eating a bit more normally my lower belly is still looking okay but I seem to be getting saddle bags. Weird + annoying :(
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
I wonder sometimes if an inflamed or swollen uterus is the cause on some women...?
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TransdimensionalPrincess
I wonder sometimes if an inflamed or swollen uterus is the cause on some women...?
I've heard that to be true, or also if someone has PID
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Re: Pooches: What causes them?
I think some people just carry weight there and it never goes away...mine has stuck around through 75lbs of weightloss. It's shrunk a lot, but like my boobs, it just doesn't wanna move out. I don't have any more weight to lose really and it's still there...so irking! I notice it shrinks to the point of near invisibility on stretches when I watch my diet like crazy and make sure it is made up of mostly fruit, veggies, and protein. As soon as I put bread or dairy in me, it pops back out. I do think your friend has a point. But only if she keeps her diet super super clean, and is still being active. I've found a super healthy diet has had way more effect on my weight that anything. But I was always relatively active even in the upper 100s, which is why I think it does have a lot more to do with diet. I don't know if theres anything to do about the pooches other than learn to love them though after they've been shrunk down as much as possible...my sister has always been a skinny minnie gymnast (super fit) and she has one too.