This is good news

My story about my flat stomach is good news. Definitely for me, because I was working on it for a long time, but was never really satisfied with the outcome. All I needed was the right person with the right advice at the right time.

Our stomach is a mirror of our lives

My stomach was okay. Not sensational flat but okay. I worked out every day and never put on weight. It all started in 2014 in India when I went through difficult times. My mother got really sick and died not long after. The expatriate life I was living, was demanding. I started to eat chocolate every evening in bed for comfort.

As a fitness trainer, I moved a lot. One hour training in the morning and bicycle riding in the afternoon through crazy India. Oh, I thought this little bar of chocolate won’t make a difference. Every evening I enjoyed my chocolate time in bed and in the morning I worked out, no problem.

But then it started. Something changed. My lower stomach got softer and a layer of fat appeared. Although I was nearly 50 by then, it still irritated me. Oh well, I thought, maybe it is the chocolate bar. I am good at giving up on things for my well-being, so I stopped eating chocolate in the evenings. But my stomach stayed. Even as a fitness trainer I could not find the right explanation.

New times, new incidents

So I moved on in life into better times. Australia was waiting and the next project was to renovate an old Queenslander cottage. I was motivated and in just two weeks I painted the two-bedroom house in sparkling white all by myself.

Then it started. My lower back was in pain, ouch! One particular muscle was cramping and so tight, that I couldn’t stand straight in the morning. It will go away I told myself, it is just temporary. But it didn’t go away. Professional help was needed. So I went to a therapist in a little town not far away. I took off my clothes the physiotherapist looked at me and said: “Your deep core muscles are not strong enough, you are just working on the upper abdominals”. There was the answer. As a fitness trainer, I felt slightly embarrassed, but then what, I still can learn after 15 years.

She gave me homework: Deep core muscle training. And I did it, every day. Not a quick fix, but now after 3 months, I have a really nice, flat stomach. And besides that, the lower back pain said goodbye! My gratitude goes to all the amazing physiotherapists who help people to feel better!

In the next blog, I have put together the most effective exercises to build up the deep core muscles.