Does anyone else's belly start off flat (or low) in the morning and by mid day it balloons up? This always happens to me and I'm not sure what this is. Sometimes I think I may be allergic to something I eat or.. could it because my stomache muscles are not in the best shape after having 3 kids? Will losing weight eventually stop this? Sorry about all the questions but it really annoys me.

Any advice would be well appreciated and thank you in advance!!

SAME thing happens to me. I attribute it to normal, daily, food/liquid intake.

I'm currently trying to tone the heck out of my *pouch*... having 4 kids sure did take a toll on that area of my body

I find I get that effect if I don't drink enough water. Being in the weight loss mode myself I guess my body is filling up those emptying fat cells with water so I make sure I drink enough to flush myself out. Water is our best success tool with this WOL.

thanks so much everyone!

I feel a heckuva lot better knowing it's not just me. I'm going to try drinking more water (although I wonder where I'll store it as I drink about 10 glasses a day already)

4beans, did you notice it changed after you lost the weight? Does it get better?

Mine is SOOOO BAD! I wake up looking pretty good then by noon I look 9 months pregnant and I am NOT kidding! its so nasty! I think I have to get back to my exercising! that I miss!

Do you have any sugar alcohols or other LC substatutions? Ar eyou eating alot of dairy or cheese? It could be a food intolerence to either. I know if I have to much dairy I bloat up like mad.

Do you eat alot of processed high sodium foods such as bacon, ham, and so on? It could be water retention from all the sodium.

Before this WOL were you eating as many raw veggies? The increased veggies can be giving you a little gas until your body better adjusts to them.

First I'd vote for cutting out any fake foods and cutting down on processed foods. Then maybe try a day or two dairy free to see if that helps. You might also want to look at the yeast chapter and the candidia forum on this bored for the symptoms of a yeast over growth. Make sure you are drinking massive amounts of water through out the day to prevent water retention and to help flush toxins from the body. You might also look into Good Earth Slimming tea. It is a natural duretic which can help with water weight. It also has no caffine or senna (the thing in many diet teas that can give diareah or gas problems). Since it is a duretic though you need to drink even more water to not become dehydrated.

it's funny Ladybelle, because all the food you mention is exactly what I'm eating. I'm going to try your suggestions especially the tea (*relief* to hear about a tea that doesn't cause the runs).

wenzeday, I agree with the looking 9 months by the end of the day. I'm going to try Ladybelle's suggestion for a week (not yet though) and report back.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Wow,,,I am so happy to read this!! I too, have a "pooch" and do crunches until I can barely move!! My two kids did this to me!! If anyone can let me know an exercise that helps get rid of the "icky pooch" please let me know!! I am drinking more water now, because I did feel bloated when I didn't drink as much. I do eat the "fake foods" too much, so those are out starting now!!

Have you tried Pilates? I still have a pooch from 2 kids and 2 c-sections, but it's getting smalelr. The pilates really help to strengthen the ab muscles mroe then crunches and help to get a long lean look.

I really like the Gaiam brand of videos. You can order them online. There is a Pilates for weight loss, but if you are getting DVD don't get tha tone as it has problems with some DVD players. VHS is ok. I also have one called "the method" which was good, but they don't have a workout that doesn't go through the slow explinations each time. After a few times of doing the moves you only need some reminders on form, not to go through a whole build up. I can't afford the windsor series. http://www.gaiam.com/retail/default.asp

I have the Pilates Mat workout for beginers, and hope to get the intermediate soon. I just need more time to work with it. The weight loss tape is around 45 mins long, and the mat workout has a 25 min workout, and onc eyou get the basic moves down a 12 min compressed workout.

My body has always been like that. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that I am not drinking enough water.

My stomach hasn't been flat since the 80's...<sigh>

Depending on what I eat/drink, I have the same problem. This too shall pass...

Pilates pilates pilates! It works your "powerhouse" (stomach) very thoroughly, as well as legs , hips and butt. Also, there used to be a great series of exercise tapes called Callanetics. I think you can still get them on Amazon. VERY good on abs (as well as everything else!), and specifically designed to be kind to your back.

If you are a real masochist check out the discussions on the BFL forum about ab bootcamp. Done right, esp on an inclined bench, it will cause all kinds of new fun pain.

I've always had a flat stomach no matter how much I weighed until I had my son. Now it just makes me want to cry when I look at it...I can't even see my c section scar! I will have to try the pilates... they offer a class at my gym.