(Today we have Beth back from Fit2B. She wowed you before with her oh-so-earth-shattering and very helpful posts–Lose Your Mummy Tummy and Why Crunches Are Bad for You and A Surprising Cause of and Treatment for Back Pain. This time, she is going to really shake things up with a post about 4 Things that Cause Belly Bulge. Read on–I guarantee this information is life-changing!}
The six pack is what most people fixate on when they want to trim their tummies down, but a bigger conversation among real core experts is arising about other factors that influence the shape and health of your belly.
As someone who has been in the fitness industry for almost 19 years {okay I’ll admit the first 2 years were in the Kids Klub of my local gym} I’m literally a degree-holding body nerd, and I’ve spent the past three years–solid–focusing on your center bits. To me, everything goes back to your core, so I’d like to share four freaky things–stuff you may have never thought of–that I’ve learned will truly sabotage all the time and money you’ll ever invest in your abs.
(Note: before we get going here, some of the following links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking I might make a commission, which is oh-so-greatly appreciated and helps to keep this free resource going 
.)
4 Ways to Ditch Belly Bulge
Lower Your Heels
High heels.
Why do we wear them? Oh, yeah, they make us look taller and they also make our tushies look 25% bigger. {From Adrienne–I didn’t know that about my tushy. Yikes!} But how do they do those two things?
By lifting your “heel” up which puts your body’s weight on the wrong foot bones while taking weight off the RIGHT foot bone and shortening your calf muscles. This is NOT good for your other muscles and bones, because no part of your body is an island unto itself.
Everything in your body is attached to other things, and when you take those elevated shoes off (even those sneakers with a 1″ rise) those shorter leg muscles reach up and pull your pelvis out of whack, and your abs attach to your pelvis.
A wonky-tilted pelvis makes for a bulging belly and is very much related to tight hamstrings and tight calves.
Next time you buy shoes, transition to a little lower heel. Then next time, transition again. Go barefoot as often as possible and – if you can – get a negative heel shoe one of these days. That way your calves are stretching instead of shortening.
Katy Bowman wrote, Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief, that has amazing information about your feet, calves, etc. If you have foot issues, or want to dig more into the relationship between high heels, your feet, and more, check out this book.
{From Adrienne again–I am working on this. I am a long time Dansko addict so I am trying to figure this out. Bummer I bought several pairs of Danskos off of Ebay. Sigh. I can completely attest to the tight calf thing.}
Adjust Your Screen
Wait, let me adjust my computer screen before I write this, so I’m not a hypocrite… Okay, now I’m ready. Leaning forward toward your computer, slouching back with your laptop on your knees, sticking your head out and down to check your smart phone… Have you ever noticed how your belly sticks out more in those positions? But if you stack the bones in your torso, your belly appears flatter? Like this…
head between shoulders like a ball floating on a fountain’s spray
shoulders over ribs, relax them down and back
ribs over hips like two halves of an eggshell being matched
pubic bone right below hips so you’re not tucked or arching but simply neutral and sitting on your boney “sits” bones.
If you’re a member of Fit2B, this routine “Aline it Flat” goes over all of that in workout style!
(And if you’re not a member, you can join now with Code AdrienneUrban and get a nice discount…see details at the end of the post.)
Now, there’s a MAJOR principle in fitness which is that “Form Follows Function.” Or like your mama said it: Don’t make that face or it might get stuck that way.
She was right. How you train is how you end up looking.
You sit slouchy, then you’ll still look a bit slouchy when you stand up. Our bodies get stuck in patterns of posture {oh there’s a whole blog to be written right there!} So if your pot-gut is protruding for 3 hours every night while you surf the web or watch TV, don’t assume that doing 300 crunches will magically fix that…
… Speaking of crunches… They’re on my list of no-no’s, too!
Stop Doing Crunches
You are about to do the LAST crunch of your whole life. Normally I tell people to avoid them like sin, but you’re going to do one right now and you’re going to watch your belly while you do to see if your belly flattens when you lift your shoulders off the ground. Go do it. I’ll look away and tell myself that it’s for the greater good.
You didn’t do it, did you? I scared you a little didn’t I? Well, good for you, because if you had crunched, you would have seen that your belly bulges. Form Follows Function.
When you crunch your spine, it diminishes the space in the center cylinder of your trunk, forcing your organs outward against your belly button and downward against your pelvic floor. Not good. Plus, if you sit slouched a lot, your spine has already been flexed a lot, and you need to extend it the other way more. Read all I’ve ever written about crunches here.
Stop Eating Cortisol-Increasing Foods
It’s Autumn as I write this, and my local grocer is full of fresh-baked bread and candy for the holidays. But gluten and refined sugar can really mess up your gut because they elevate your cortisol, a stress-hormone, that not only bloats your belly but helps insulin in telling your body to store fat.
Limiting or eliminating your sugar intake and gluten-based breads will go a long way to flattening your tummy.
–You can do it folks. (This is Adrienne talking again.) If I can give up sugar–anyone can!
For more information on sugar, going sugar-free, and gluten-free baking tips, check out the following posts:
- What is Candida – and the Beginning of My Sugar-Free Life
- My Childhood and 5 Causes of Gut Dysbiosis
- Great Gluten-free Baking Tips
- Stevia -What It Is and How to Use It
And I just can’t say enough about Beth. I’ve been trying, little by little, to get my core in shape. I am amazed at how much work I have to do on this, but it’s worth it. I really encourage you to look at her site, Fit2B, and strongly encourage you to consider getting a membership. Honestly (well, I would never lie to you, so it’s kind of odd to say “honestly”, isn’t it?), this is sooo worth it. Gut health is crucial for overall health. I really think this is one of the best investments you could make in your overall health.
I for sure don’t want a wonky-tilted pelvis, do you? Nope!
And of course, I am always trying to save you money on your health, so here are the savings I’ve arranged with Beth.
With SAVINGS CODE AdrienneUrban, you get:
3 month membership for just $20 (a $10 savings)
$10 off a one year membership (you get 12 months for only $89.99)
and you get to support my blog while you’re at it so you can feel REALLY good about getting rid of your belly .
Here’s to all of us getting our core in good shape so it can support all the important stuff that’s inside of us–so we can be healthier and be better moms, wives, and citizens–Yippee!
P.S. In case you’re a little confused about what code to use and where to put it, please use AdrienneUrban (all one word) and put the Savings Code in here:
So what do you think? Amazing stuff, eh?
Let’s get rid of our high heels, wonky-tilted pelvises, and embrace better health. I, for one, am super glad to be ditching the crunches, aren’t you?
Which Belly Bulge Causing Thing(s) Do You Do?
What’s the First Healthy Core You Are Going to Make?
4 Surprising Ways to Ditch Belly Bulge is a post from: Whole New Mom
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