Read my post on Sleep; Stress and NBE. This explains the intense relationship of insulin resistance (high stress lifestyle; inadequate sleep). This throws all our hormones out of balance and pounds creep on, sometimes rather quickly.

Another possible reason for stubborn tummy bulge, is lowering estrogen levels. Especially in perimenopause and menopause. As estrogen levels decline, the alternative estrogen source is fat cells. So our bodies not only cling to fat cells, but they create more, specifically in the tummy area, to try and produce estrogen. This is why you see middle aged and older woman with that "pooch" that just won't go away.

Skipping meals. When you skip meals, your body thinks it's starving....your body becomes stressed. Your cortisol levels skyrocket. Your body retains weight, because it is pushed into survival mode (lack of energy from food intake, it preserves those minimal calories it is given) Eating less than 3 meals a day can put your body into survival, weight retention mode.

If your tummy bulge happens in the form of water retention and bloating right before your period, (your progesterone cycle) this is a sign that you are not getting enough progesterone during this phase. Progesterone also acts as a diuretic.

Hope some of this helps my organic beauties :)

Organic Boobie Love

Good info, thanks! I too want to get rid the fat stores on my tummy, I'm skinny everywhere else. Estrogenic herbs should therefore possibly help.

hey, do you know any reasons for having a really flat tummy but bigger thighs in comparison? my tummy is tiny and alll my weight goes to my legs,they are not fat quite average but i love skinny legs. are there any hormone related ways to change this? id be fine with a little tummy bulge if i had skinny legs :o)

Hmmm interesting... I've always had a problem with bloating. It's not related to PMS because it happens every day -- LITERALLY! I like to joke with my gal friends that I'm "pregnant with Keanu Reeve's baby" (haha) since I'll *seriously* be bloated to the extreme that it looks like I'm a few months pregnant! Although, even with all the joking, it's still hard to deal with since it's been a daily occurence for the past several years now. I always thought that it may be paritally due to my scoliosis since my S-shaped back makes my ribcage portrude out a bit, which my stomach always tries to surpass. I also don't have the strongest stomach in the world either (I've tried to keep to keep my stomach toned & flat but it's been a losing battle so far), so my butt likes to stick out which thus forces my stomach to stick out to balance my body out. Besides physical aspects, I do believe that my excessive bloating is probably caused by something *internally* as well. I just heard your health tip about not skipping meals the other day actually; how doing so makes your body go into "survival mode" which thus produces more fat in the stomach area. I'm sadly 100% guilty when it comes to "starving" my body like this -- not on purpose though! I typically don't wake up in time to eat breakfast at my dorm's dining hall (due to my bad sleeping habits), so that's one meal that's skipped (although I do try and substitute it with a fruit smoothie from Surf City Squeeze!). Most days I'm able to eat lunch & dinner, but a couple days outta the week I don't make it back to my dorms in time to eat lunch. So unless I can get a bite to eat from one of the fast food places on campus, I sometimes skip lunch as well. Sooo basically I'm eating 1-2 meals per day, with no snacks in between. Gosh, that sounds bad just typing it! LOL It's hard though... I don't have a kitchen, so I can't eat whenever I want unless I get fast food which THAT'S not the healthiest of options. Although I guess it's better than nothing... or is it? If I am to "snack" on anything it's usually cookies or something sweet (probably 'cuz my body's screaming for some sort of sugar to keep itself going! LOL).

I dunno, Organic Angel... do you have any suggestions on helping me get into better eating habits?

i remember back in school when it was sometimes hard to get food at the right times... and it got expensive sometimes too!

what i did back in school was we (my roommate and i) bought a small fridge that we kept in the room and we had milk and fruit in it and stuff like that. i hated dining hall breakfast anyway, so i usually had a bowl of cereal or a piece or two of fruit. i would also keep some fruit or a sandwich in my bag if i knew it was going to be a squeeze getting in something for lunch. we had dining halls on central campus, but sometimes it was still tough because i was usually overloaded on credits and classes...

my biggest suggestion would be to get a small fridge for the room for bread, milk, cheeses, and fruit. you can usually get them pretty cheap, and check out second hand shops and stuff for them from previous students...

oh and make your sandwich the night before so you dont have to do it in the morning!!

Hey Frisky,

You can buy some protein bars and eat them as breakfast when you are late? They will be good for your growth to!

Good luck,

Anna

Miss Monet

i find myself in similar situation but i have promised myself that my health comes first so i usually make a sandwich or have nuts or dried fruts with me. Proteinbar is my latest invention. And if i really don't want to skip a meal i just skip the class for an hour and a half and it's good to also just escape the school's stressing environment. But i also have my dorm quite close to school though.

About the digestion i had weird experience few years ago in my previous uni. Whenever having luch at school i had severe gases afterwards accompanied with stomachaches. i could not stand up in the drawingclass afterwards. The only reason i came out with was stress. i am very prone to getting stressed easyly by the environment and can't help it.

But the solution is to have some nuts or carrots or raising always in reach to pop in whenever desire.

peaceful tummy and bigger boobs,
Bonnette

Hi Miss Monet,


I too have the same problem, a huge tummy, every shop I walk into, someone will ask me if I'm pregnant, it does upset me lots and I do not know the reason.
My doctor tells me its gases due to poor absortion but do I have to have this tummy for the rest of my life?
I am quite slim else where. as soon as I eat, I bloat, I wish I could find a answer to my misery.
I have had this problem for three years now, I have a strange shape, with very small boobs and this huge tummy. if I find a miracle cure I will let you know.
from big tum small boobie Laura

hello my organic beauties! Hope everyone had a good weekend. Here are some more thoughts on tummy bulge....or other bulges.

Elle: I believe after doing endless research on why women store fat differently. Diabetics and insulin resistance is always a tummy area issue. As for thigh bulge, it seems to be more of a body shape issue. Example...if you are a pear shape, you are smaller from waist up (narrow shoulders; thinner arms; small-med bust; and small to avg waist) Your weight is gained primarily in the butt; thigh and lower abdomen. For apple shapes, you have med-large bust; varied waist, and thin legs. Hourglass are usually very busty and hippy women. Full-figured. Think Marilyn Monroe. Wherever your fat tends to be more dominant, then that's the very last place you'll be able to trim down at. Ggrrrr.

The good news with that, is you can exercise according to your particular body type. If you are pear shape, and do treadmills, climbers, certain lower body resistance exercises, you may develop stellar muscles underneath, but you are also pushes OUT your fat deposits that lay on top of your muscles. A fantastic book to read is "Escape Your Shape". You can also look up this info at www.exude.com. But the books and products are cheaper to buy off eBay.

Calcium is also great for weight control, and if you are lactose intolerant or gain weight from fatty dairy products, calcium supplements also work, but it is recommended to take as a Calcium-Magnesium combo since calcium needs magnesium for proper absorption



Boobie Love My Organic Beauties