I want a flat stomach!

Great article and great post, everyone should read and take note of that article, we only have 1 body and we need to tune into it and listen to it 🙂

i dont see judging or ugliness here. What i see are a lot of women sharing their stories and trying to help someone else from going down that same dark road of bad relationships with self and food. I think its safe to say that most of us have either been where she is now, or maybe deeper into the rabbit hole.

I have spent years undoing all of the bad i have done to my body, hopefully OP wont have to do the same, and I wish 4 years ago some one would have had the courage to tell me that i was under muscled and needed to build, that i needed some counseling (which i did go to), and that I would spend a long time undoing the harm that i did to my body just so i could be "skinny". In the end, healthy trumps skinny and hopefully OP will learn that easier and sooner than some of us did.

The issue is not that you want to change your body.  The issue is just that you aren't comfortable with where you are.  It is good to want change and improve.  Being too content leads to no change.  However, you should be comfortable and proud of who you are and what you accomplished, and not need to hide it.  May you be 105 lbs or 205 lbs.  Rock what you've got, and when you get where you want to be, rock it even more.  No matter where in your journey you are, you have nothing to be ashamed of.  You know you have not reached your destination, you are a work in progress.  it's like refusing to do a pole routine until its perfect.  it will never be perfect, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be proud of the work you put in.

Your biggest meal of the day should be breakfast not dinner. You need more calories as well, especially with strength training (thats what pole is). For it to be most efficient, consume your protein within an hour of working out. To much cardio is actually not good for you and 10-15 minutes of interval cardio (low intensity- to high intensity at 2-3 minute intervals) has the same metabolism effects as doing cardio for 30 minutes that last around an hour. Everyones body is different though. If you don't get enough calories, your body eats the muscle before the fat. To much cardio actually does the same thing. It also causes a depletion of collagen ( aka runners face), accelerates aging, and can cause a reduction in Human growth hormone. Long cardio workouts are pointless unless your training for a marathon and can cause heart damage. Yes, cardio can cause heart damage. Cardio activates your immune system and to much causes a catabolic state ( tissue breakdown), weakened immune system, elevated levels of cortisol, scarring on your heart, etc.. Another note off topic, NEVER take Ibuprofen before or soon  after working out unless you have an acute injury. It prevents all prostoglandins and cox-2 and can prevent your joints, muscles, and tendons from repairing themselves leading to more injury and damage. To much cardio does not do anything for weight loss (except eating your muscle first)  that moderate to low intensity cardio does. Watch what you eat, eat more protein (to much though and it will turn into fat), get good sleep, and eat frequent smaller meals throughout the day. I have issues with losing weight in my stomach to but i notice a lot of it is bloating and it changes throughout the day and months. Look for a good BCAA complex to take after woking out for muscle recovery. It's not a substitute for protein but its better then nothing and I notice my muscles recover way faster since sing it. I mix it with my water and take it after workouts and in between meals to keep up my metabolism. Sorry for ranting lol, just had to say some stuff about cardio…Also lookup Aerobic vs Anaerobic workouts.. Point is, be patient, don't overwork yourself, and eat more if your working out!

I was at work when I wrote that post lol so I want to also say that a girl from work last week came in and had ran 18 miles before work (she's a runner) and was saying she was really sore (obviously) and was taking Ibuprofen for it and so I had that on my mind when I read this. She loves cardio but is pretty skinny, no good muscle tone, and has "runners face." Yeah she has a flat stomach and very low bmi from cardio but personally, it doesn't look sexy at all and most men prefer curves anyways. Cardio is good for you and it does help weight loss but there is a limit to how much you should do. Especially when your calorie intake is less then 1500. When doing longer cardio sessions make sure you replenish your "fuel" often so your body doesn't break down more muscle for energy. The ibuprofen thing is more for people that take it regularly before, during, and right after working out or running to prevent soreness and pain. This includes all NSAIDS. Good luck with your journey whatever you do 🙂

Can I just say without sounding as if I’m yelling you off, the RDA of calories for children is more than what your eating right now! A 7 year old should be getting around 1500!
Your right about height and weight making a difference as others have said as it can affect how quickly you use your energy. However! If your as active as you say this 1200 is waaay below what you should be eating regardless of your size.
It’s true eating less can be counter productive causing extra fat storing. I’m wondering what your mood is like? Are you tired or unhappy a lot?
I would increase your eating to include some healthy snacks to boost your energy intake and carry on with your exercise routine and see how it goes, 1 month is not a long time! I’m sure you can get to where you want to be in time. I’m betting though that your stomach is actually not as bad as you think and you’ve built up this negative image of it that makes you anxious about exposing it! I’d love to see you throw all caution to the wind and post a short video or picture to show us?? Receiving positive comments could help you feel more relaxed about your goal and actually make it easier to reach!
I hope you are able to gain the confidence you want I really do 🙂 everyone should feel good about themselves!

Oh no!! I don’t think anybody ment to make you feel like that at all!
The storing excess fat comments I think aren’t ment to imply that your fat! Just a suggestion as to why you feel your struggling with getting your stomach as flat as you would like!
I’m really sorry if I’ve made you feel worse, I was trying to be encouraging with the advice!! I deffo won’t look into a counselling career that’s for sure!

Leyrose, I've not taken part of the discussion until now but read many of the replies (not all though). I'm sorry that it has made you confused about what you do or think, but I still believe that it is discussions like this that many people actually can learn something from.

Don't be sorry that you posted it!