Diet and genetics. I did Orangetheory for 18 months before I got bored and moved on and honestly, nobody who did Orangetheory who wasn’t already naturally slender with muscle looked like they worked out. It’s actually not the workout you want to be doing for the kind of look it sounds like you want. I promise you’d get there quicker by doing light state cardio (ie brisk walking) and a lifting program with progressive overload to build muscle mass. Combine that with a slight calorie deficit, maybe some Pilates style ab work, you’d be golden. Orangetheory is just going to keep you puffy.

1. Surgery
2. Starvation
3. Freaky genes

Pick one...

Stomach bug

Anonymous wrote:No clue I’ve just always had it. Never had to work out. I’m 50. I’ll probably die of a heart attack soon. Just keep up with orange theory. Maybe lipo.

Lipo was a waste of money for me. I've had this thing since I was 110 lbs before kids and I thought I finally got rid of it, but it came back within a year.

High protein, water, lowish carbs, and intermittent fasting did it for me.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve given up on getting that naturally and looking into liposuction. I’d rather just pay the money and get it done at this point instead of spending more time on worrying about it. Once those fat cells are gone you just need to maintain it.

I had lipo 360 in the summer of 2023. While it snatched my waist, the experience was quite traumatic, and recovery wasn't as swift as I thought it would be. Also, weight gain is weird if you regain any, which I have. I was 136 on the day of surgery, dropped to 128 a few months after, and am currently at 140. While I don't gain in my stomach, it now goes to my hips/thighs.

Anonymous wrote:I’m totally having a midlife crisis and I’m okay with that. Backstory: very fit pretty effortlessly for most of my life (always was “active” but never worked out), but I’m older now, just off the heels of back-to-back pregnancies, and turning 40. So! I want a flat stomach.

In July I started at Orangetheory, which I love, and have lost about twenty pounds (I have also overcome insulin resistance). I look fitter but am not quite there. I have a weight goal by my fall birthday, and while I’m at it, I thought - why not try to get a flat - as flat/fit as I can - stomach while I’m at it?

In a similar circumstance, how did you do it? I have a feeling diet has a lot to do with it. TIA.

Do you drink alcohol weekly? If so, would eliminate it.

I like OTF but would focus on weight training(squats, back, chest all these engage your core abs) and use OTF as a cardio day. Have more lean muscle mass will allow you to burn more calories. Outside of that need to sleep 6-8 hours and eat mostly protein with only healthy fats (avocado, don't consume PB).

Anonymous wrote:51 and it's the only thing God gave me. I have to fight for everything else.

Same. I don't have a tiny waist (more of a rectangle shape) but my stomach is flat even when I have some extra pounds, which will typically go to my thighs.

I do a short core workout a few times a week for stability and a little definition.

I’ve given up on getting that naturally and looking into liposuction. I’d rather just pay the money and get it done at this point instead of spending more time on worrying about it. Once those fat cells are gone you just need to maintain it.

I think maintaining a flat stomach can a big commitment for those who don't have one naturally.

Things that have to be minimized:

Gas (through diet management)
Water (no salt, exercise)
Food (no overeating, maintain rapid digestive process)
Fat
Loose skin

I do not have a flat stomach.

51 and it's the only thing God gave me. I have to fight for everything else.

Agree there is a big genetic factor. At my thinnest, pre-baby, it wasn't even pudge, it was just the angle of how my hips meet my torso. I'm not shaped to have a vertical plane there, its more of a 20 to 30 degree angle.

I'm not discouraging you from trying! Go for it. But some people simply can't get to flat, no matter what.

No clue I’ve just always had it. Never had to work out. I’m 50. I’ll probably die of a heart attack soon. Just keep up with orange theory. Maybe lipo.

I think flat stomachs are genetically inherited, honestly, OP. I've never had a flat stomach, and I've always been slender. I can see 4 separate ab muscles - the top ones. Then right below there's pudge Once in my late 20s, out of curiosity, I slimmed way down, exercised like crazy, and nope, still couldn't see the two bottom abs. But since I have a slim figure generally, I wear high-waisted clothes and no one is the wiser.

I've been told that there might be a link with auto-immune issues, and I do indeed have two auto-immune diseases.

The best you can do is eat clean, exercise and reach your target weight. After that, if you still have a belly, well, you'll have to learn to live with it.

I’m totally having a midlife crisis and I’m okay with that. Backstory: very fit pretty effortlessly for most of my life (always was “active” but never worked out), but I’m older now, just off the heels of back-to-back pregnancies, and turning 40. So! I want a flat stomach.

In July I started at Orangetheory, which I love, and have lost about twenty pounds (I have also overcome insulin resistance). I look fitter but am not quite there. I have a weight goal by my fall birthday, and while I’m at it, I thought - why not try to get a flat - as flat/fit as I can - stomach while I’m at it?

In a similar circumstance, how did you do it? I have a feeling diet has a lot to do with it. TIA.