what are the odds of toning my tummy in 6 weeks?

[LadyFaile]

i know it sounds nuts and everyone will probably tell me i'm looking for a crash diet and they don't work etc.

well no, actually i don't want to lose weight at all. i was underweight for ages and just got back to a healthy weight. but i carry a lot around my waist, just like my mom. i think a lot of it is water retention from too much carbs + dehydration. so i'm going to force myself to drink water and cranberry juice instead of pop, and try to cut back on my starches (eep) and junkfood (no prob)
but what can i do physically as well? i don't expect to get a 6 pack in 6 weeks but this should be enough time to get rid of a little bit of the .. squishiness.. no? what can i do besides situps? fyi it's mostly the lower part of the abdomen (bellybutton down), the upper part is fine. it's great to be flat and skinny with a spare tire, really :dizzy: talk about unproportioned.

anyway 6 weeks is all i have cause that's when i go to Hawaii, and i bought 2 bikinis for the trip :)

i just realized i've probably asked all this before, maybe more than once. i don't remember what the outcome of my asking was, maybe nobody answered me or maybe i just never got around to trying whatever it was. meh. tight deadlines make for a great motivator

[danakscully64]

Have you ever heard of Winsor Pilates? If you do it at least 3 times a week (the 20 minute video or abs), you will DEFINATELY see results, especially if you're not eating a bunch of crap. Years ago, before I went veg, I did the 20 minute video for 2 weeks, 8 sessions total and dropped an entire pant size. My sister dropped her pregnancy weight with both of her kids thanks to it. Plus, she's in the informercials coming out this month! :)

I recommend only drinking water because cranberry juice is full of sugar and sugar stores as fat.

Just remember, in order to get some abs, you must burn all of the fat on top of them. Just cutting out soda (if you're drinking quite a bit) will change your body a lot.

In my kickboxing aerobics class, we learned a bunch of different exercises for abs. Crunches (front, left, and right) are awesome. You must mix it up to get results though. I think that the very best exercise is (you can use another person for this)... You lay on your back, body layed out straight, have someone put their feet next to your head, grab their ankles, and lift your legs up straight and take them down slowly. I have never been so sore after an exercise before in my lower abs.

I hope my advise helps. If you would like some more suggestions, feel free to private message me :) Good luck!

[barrylove]

i know it sounds nuts and everyone will probably tell me i'm looking for a crash diet and they don't work etc.

well no, actually i don't want to lose weight at all. i was underweight for ages and just got back to a healthy weight. but i carry a lot around my waist, just like my mom. i think a lot of it is water retention from too much carbs + dehydration. so i'm going to force myself to drink water and cranberry juice instead of pop, and try to cut back on my starches (eep) and junkfood (no prob)
but what can i do physically as well? i don't expect to get a 6 pack in 6 weeks but this should be enough time to get rid of a little bit of the .. squishiness.. no? what can i do besides situps? fyi it's mostly the lower part of the abdomen (bellybutton down), the upper part is fine. it's great to be flat and skinny with a spare tire, really :dizzy: talk about unproportioned.

anyway 6 weeks is all i have cause that's when i go to Hawaii, and i bought 2 bikinis for the trip :)

i just realized i've probably asked all this before, maybe more than once. i don't remember what the outcome of my asking was, maybe nobody answered me or maybe i just never got around to trying whatever it was. meh. tight deadlines make for a great motivator
Here are some questions and answers in the comments section from my You Tube AB clip....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHd89otakGc

Also, you can get tons of info from my ebook at www.exercisereverybody.com just sing-up and I will send it to you today

Good Luck!

[queenfluff]

i know it sounds nuts and everyone will probably tell me i'm looking for a crash diet and they don't work etc.

well no, actually i don't want to lose weight at all. i was underweight for ages and just got back to a healthy weight. but i carry a lot around my waist, just like my mom. i think a lot of it is water retention from too much carbs + dehydration. so i'm going to force myself to drink water and cranberry juice instead of pop, and try to cut back on my starches (eep) and junkfood (no prob)
but what can i do physically as well? i don't expect to get a 6 pack in 6 weeks but this should be enough time to get rid of a little bit of the .. squishiness.. no? what can i do besides situps? fyi it's mostly the lower part of the abdomen (bellybutton down), the upper part is fine. it's great to be flat and skinny with a spare tire, really :dizzy: talk about unproportioned.

anyway 6 weeks is all i have cause that's when i go to Hawaii, and i bought 2 bikinis for the trip :)

i just realized i've probably asked all this before, maybe more than once. i don't remember what the outcome of my asking was, maybe nobody answered me or maybe i just never got around to trying whatever it was. meh. tight deadlines make for a great motivator

He he..I have the same problem. I have more fat around my stomach than other places. I am going to Florida in a few weeks.

Have you ever Hula Hooped? It is supposed to be great for toning the abs! I did some Hula Hooping for the first time in a long time a few days ago and boy was I sore but I felt some toning going on around my mid section.

You are supposed to use the heavy hula hoop for best results.

http://www.teamflex.com/health_fitness_news/hula_hoop_revival.asp

[sushi8kat]

barrylove's workouts are great. I highly recommend them. Pilates is great too, but if you don't have access to pilates videos, like me, using barrylove's videos online are awesome. Also, I think water and cranberry juice are good choices. If you are worried about the sugar content in cranberry juice, there are several brands that make low sugar cranberry juice. Good luck to you.

[LadyFaile]

yeah i'm not too worried about the sugar content of cranberry juice. if i pick a brand with less sugar the natural diaretic affects of cranberry will totally outweigh the little bit of sugar in it. as long as it's real juice and not "drink" or "cocktail" it should be fine.
i also really need to hydrate before i go. i get heatstroke really easily because i'm always dehydrated. so this should hopefully take care of both problems in one go :)

i just wish i could get to my gym more easily, they have a killer ab machine there. maybe i'll start walking there again since there's no snow yet :brood:
(it's in an industrial area which is also a truck route so there are no sidewalks, in the winter you can't walk there cause the shoulder is covered with snowbanks)

[Cissy]

I started doing pilates, and it's been about 6 weeks and my tummy is definitely more toned now! I was on the thin side, like you, but just a little squishy in places.

[LadyFaile]

cool thanks guys.
i do have a pilates dvd, i just don't have a lot of room, i bought it and started it up and went to follow along and realized even after moving the coffeetable out of the room, i didn't have enough room to stretch out fully. so i have to skip or cut short some parts. if i lie the opposite direction across the floor i might have enough room though so what i may have to do is watch a sequence and then pause it and do it rather than follow along with the dvd, otherwise i have to turn my head to see it which screws up everything lol.

bah

on the plus side, a friend of mine just got a job at the gym i go to, but at the location in her city 45 minutes away. she wants to transfer here after her apartment's lease is up though so i'll have a gym buddy :) won't be til after the wedding so it doesn't help my short term goals but hey it's still something to look forward to

oh and Barry your youtube clips are great, i really need to get a balance ball, but again no room. we have halfassed plans to find a bigger apartment after the wedding's done and we're caught up with finances again. i'll look into it then. someone even offered to give me a balance ball for free, i just have nowhere to put it :(

[barrylove]

cool thanks guys.
i do have a pilates dvd, i just don't have a lot of room, i bought it and started it up and went to follow along and realized even after moving the coffeetable out of the room, i didn't have enough room to stretch out fully. so i have to skip or cut short some parts. if i lie the opposite direction across the floor i might have enough room though so what i may have to do is watch a sequence and then pause it and do it rather than follow along with the dvd, otherwise i have to turn my head to see it which screws up everything lol.

bah

on the plus side, a friend of mine just got a job at the gym i go to, but at the location in her city 45 minutes away. she wants to transfer here after her apartment's lease is up though so i'll have a gym buddy :) won't be til after the wedding so it doesn't help my short term goals but hey it's still something to look forward to

oh and Barry your youtube clips are great, i really need to get a balance ball, but again no room. we have halfassed plans to find a bigger apartment after the wedding's done and we're caught up with finances again. i'll look into it then. someone even offered to give me a balance ball for free, i just have nowhere to put it :(

Thanks..good luck with everything! :)

[Spikey_hair777]

woah... that sounds coool. i may even try that :P
: the whole little leg lifting thing. though i may have to find a chair to hold onto. XP

[danakscully64]

Here are some questions and answers in the comments section from my You Tube AB clip....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHd89otakGc

Also, you can get tons of info from my ebook at www.exercisereverybody.com just sing-up and I will send it to you today

Good Luck!

I'm going to try this when I have the time! Thanks :)

I've had my exercise ball since Christmas 2005 and I haven't really used it. Now that I have a routine, looks like I'll have to inflate it again (I just took the air out a week ago) and get my abs to work!