Is it normal to not have a flat stomach?
The short answer: yes!
Quick summary 📝
1️⃣ The constant stream of "perfect" flat stomachs in social media can distort reality. In fact, having a non-flat stomach is completely natural
2️⃣ Our bodies store fat in a certain way and in certain places more than others, including around the bottom of the abdomen
3️⃣ If you want to feel healthier, prioritise activities that bring joy rather than aiming to change your stomach – like dancing, swimming, or yoga
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With so many of us looking online for inspiration and entertainment, it can be hard to ignore the videos and pictures that surface of the “perfect” body. And one thing that comes up a lot is flat stomachs or flat bellys. It can be so frustrating to see this everywhere 😖 and can lead us to think “is this the norm?”, or “how can I achieve a flat stomach?”, or even "are there any flat belly diets I need to go on?"
So, if you’ve ever had these questions, luna's here to clear things up for you.
The bottom line is: it’s normal to not have a flat stomach/abdomen 💯 Our bodies store fat in a certain way and in certain places more than others, including around the bottom of the abdomen. Things like genetics, the environment in which we grow up, and health conditions also have an impact on what your stomach looks like.
It's also important to remember that "gaining weight" is sometimes portrayed as a negative thing on social media – actually, when you're a teenager, gaining weight throughout puberty is normal and an important part of growing up ✨
For this reason, luna does NOT recommend losing weight unless you are overweight. If you are overweight, having a well-balanced diet can help you lose weight – doing this in combination with healthy amounts of exercise is usually a good idea.
A lot of methods that promise "fast weight loss", or "losing belly fat in 30 days" through crash dieting, flat tummy teas, and restricting foods aren't healthy or sustainable for your physical and mental health.
If you want to feel healthier, luna’s advice is to do physical activities that you love which may help as an overall flatter stomach workout ❤️ This will keep you interested and happy – making exercise more sustainable in the long term! Whether that’s swimming, dance, yoga, jogging, hula hooping or something else entirely 🤷
You could also make sure you have a healthy diet of foods you find tasty, but don’t push yourself – always listen to your body.
Ultimately, even if we all ate exactly the same foods and exercised in exactly the same way, we would all still look and feel different – because every body is ✨unique✨ It’s really important to remember that as long as you feel happy, healthy and confident, that’s what matters!
How we answered this question:
luna's team of experts comprises GPs, Dermatologists, Safeguarding Leads and Junior Doctors as well as Medical Students with specialised interests in paediatric care, mental health and gynaecology. Questions are answered and reviewed by this team.
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