Extremely Recessed Lower Ab Muscles?

Hey Guys,

Wondering among those of you who feel you've gotten "thin" (or perhaps others too?), if anyone's lower abdominal muscles are extremely retracted?

Mine are ridiculously flat. I was looking at pic of soccer player Beckham and mine are even flatter than his. I had to have a CT just five months post-op and the doc told me that I had virtually no visceral fat (fat around my organs). I've been thinking that this and having a recessed stomach is really unusual for someone mid 40's.

Just wondering if anyone has heard of any hormonal changes brought on by RNY that might cause this? My only guess is that decreased insulin production (other hormones?) combined with lots of all kinds of vigorous exercise has caused at least for now to not store fat in a typical "middle aged" way.

It's not that the muscles have eroded with weight loss, either. I do just as much core work as I do other exercise.

Best Wishes,

Dave

 

Heh, I still have yet to see my lower ab muscles unless I yank on the roll of skin that's still there.  

Hey Dave,

Mine are pretty flat and I have 4 1/2% body fat in my abs. I contribute the flatness to the frickin' thousands of crunchs, situps, etc. I done since WLS but who knows.

Boner

I'm not anywhere close to being a flat belly yet, but I'm close enough that I can tell that it's time to start doing some serious ab work. I'm getting pretty thin everywhere except around the middle and it makes it appear to be that much more disgusting. I've never enjoyed gut work but who knows. Maybe this time I'll get a hard on for it.

Jfish,

I don't do traditional ab work, I do a lot of stuff that works the entire trunk, like twisting machines or sitting back to back with a partner handing a medicine ball around. Also stuff where I support myself in the air on one hand and on one foot (same side) and keep the trunk straight (try doing this and then reach the top hand toward the sky, then reach it under your body and pat yourself on the lower back, then do a pushup and switch to the other side.

Best Wishes,

Dave 

Hey Dave,

I was noodlin' your question last night on my bike ride and thought about the fact our pouch is so much higher than our old stomach that maybe that's why the old gut is flatter but the new gut kind of pooches out on top, for me anyway (i.e. muffintop). As the pouch begins to grow, it needs a place to pooch out, the old stomach is flat as a pancake.

Interesting question.

Boner 

Thanks, Boner

I guess it could be that the old stomach has deflated to make the mid abs flatter, never thought of it that way. Isn't much pooching/paunching out at the top either, though. I only hope that I'm just unable to store fat. Wouldn't that be nice?

Best Wishes,

Dave

I just had a LBL last month and my abs are very flat. After losing 300 lbs, I looked HUGE still...so even though I only weighed 199 lbs, I thought 20 lbs of flesh /fat were going to come off. To my surprise only 8 lbs of skin was removed between my whole LBL and my chest reduction. There was NO FAT there to come off.....so yeah I'd say there is something to be said about the way we store fat. I know with the DS, it does produce metabolic changes, I'm not sure the RNY does the same thing. perhaps it's a combo of the RNY and the extremely stringent diet and exercise regime you have going?

Scott

Hi Scott,

I think the RNY eliminates or greatly reduces many stomach secretions, particularly ghrelin and the insulin response. Not sure what that has to do with abdominal fat, if anything. I wonder if fat that's aborbed further down the digestive track (I'm bypassed 150 cm) is less likely to become abdominal fat? Wouldn't that be nice?

I'm sure the diet and exercise has something to do with it too.

Best Wishes,

Dave

I know with the DS there is defintely a change in the insulin response, that is why diabetes is sometimes resolved hours after it, but there is also another hormonal change with the DS, again it may occur in some level with the RNY, but with the DS the change gives you a different response to food, so that you kind of get a "thin persons" metabolism. I have to look up the specific hormone, I think it's on my profile.

Dr. Husted in Tenn is now experimenting with trials of a new surgery called Vergito. It doesn't involve any malabsorbtion but it changes the order of the intestines.....so that the body responds differently to food. It's only in it's trials now, but he believes it looks promising. I personally would not be a guinea pig for it, but to each his own...lol.

Scott