Belly Button question

[vegan07]

Okay. So this is embarrassing, but my bellybutton kind of sags. Like one side is higher than the other and it doesn't even look like a belly button. I've looked at so many before and after pictures of everyone, and I can't find anyone who has had my problem, even at their biggest.

It makes me reallly self-conscious. I get freaked out if my shirt accidentally shows my stomach when I stretch or something. I've noticed this when I lost about 30 pounds (now I'm at about 60 something). It hasn't gotten worse, but it definitely hasn't gotten better. I'll admit I hardly exercised at all until now, because my weight loss has stopped.

I do stomach exercises but I never feel my mid section getting a work out. I feel everything around it and could do endless amounts of situps, but the only thing that will hurt is my back.

Anyway, I guess my question is, is my belly button problem due to extra skin, or a lack of being toned? I still have some chubbiness on my stomach, but it seems like by belly button will never be the same, and its very discouraging. Did anyone else have a situation like this? I wouldn't hate my stomach so much if my belly button was normal.

I can post a picture if nobody knows what I'm talking about, but hopefully someone does because its gross and embarrassing.

 

[TomO]

It's a little hard to imagine what it looks like without a pic, but are you sure you don't have an umbilical hernia. You can look up "umbilical hernia" on Google images and see lots of examples of what that looks like.

 

[vegan07]

I don't think it is. My belly button used to be normal (I think).

As much as it will mortify me, I'll try to get a picture up soon, later tonight or tomorrow.

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Picture: (removed)


My stomach was a little bigger because I just ate, but in the morning its worse because my stomach is more crinkly-like. I don't know if that makes any sense but in the morning its like saggier, but as I eat throughout the day my stomach will get bigger and the sagginess of my stomach goes away a little because my stomach is expanded I guess....


If someone tells me it'll go away as I exercise (I jog & jump rope now) I think I'll be more motivated. I feel great after I work out and accomplished, but then I look in the mirror and get depressed because I feel as if it will never go away. :-(

 

[theleip]

To me it just looks as if you have excess body fat. I could pretty much wholeheartedly say that it will get better the lower amount of body fat you have.

All the sit ups in the world wont help you though.

What are your stats?
What is your diet like?
What is your current training routine?

 

[vegan07]

I'm 18, 5'3'' and 126 pounds. I started at about 190 in September of 2005. Most of my weight was lost in the first year.

Well I'm a vegan (hence the name ).
For breakfast I'll usually have a piece of bread with peanut butter & jam with a cup of chocolate almond milk, or chocolate soy milk.
Lunch - Pasta & sauce with meatless meatballs, and salad.
Snack- Sometimes an ice cream bar, or chips, or vegetables, or fruit.
Dinner - Usually something like vegetable stir fry with brown rice. Or brown rice, beans, and tomatoes.

I'll usually have 1300 - 1400 calories.


Right now I'm jogging one day and jumping rope the next. I take off on Sunday. I jog for about 7 or 8 laps of a track and walk 2 or 3. I can't jog straight through yet. I jump rope for 30 minutes. I split it into 15 minutes (morning and afternoon) because I can't do it all at once.
Once in a while I'll do Tae Bo instead though. I'm going to start playing tennis soon with a friend.
When I was doing the crunches I was on an exercise ball, but I stopped doing that because I didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything.


I'm hoping its just fat, I know some is, but it just looks so weird I think some of it may be skin and I'd be horrified cause I can't really change that. =(