Slim down the torso... how to lose this six-pack?

H

hyougaakira

0
I've always been very slender; I don't gain muscle or fat easily, and the distance around my belly has always been somewhere in the 23"/24" range. I recently got into bellydance, and enjoy it so much I don't mind putting in hours and hours a day. As a result, I've built up quite a bit of muscle around my belly, mainly in the oblique and ab range.

HOW DO I GET RID OF IT?

My belly is now 27" around and it's quite bothering me. I understand letting it atrophy is the best way; are there any exercises I can do to help it along? Doing lots of leg-intensive exercises like squats, for instance?

I know that most people want to build muscle there, but I need this body shape because it appeals to the crowd I work with; as a performer I usually play "victim" or "waif" roles, and thus need to be too skinny, with jutting hipbones. This isn't a problem as my body naturally tends that way. But now I have far too much muscle for that.

Any help?

EDIT: I just realized it might be helpful to provide some stats; I'm male (ish... a little hormonal offness makes me very feminine in figure), 19, 5'10", about 135 lbs (right now with all this extra muscle; I'm usually in the 125-128 range).
 
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135lbs is underweight for 5'10" by a good 20 pounds minimum.

If you are not taking female hormones (i.e. gender reassignment candidate) then I think your hormones are perfectly fine, and you normally under eat and don't workout at all.
because your belly dancing is actually working the muscles you've added some weight.

If you ARE taking female hormones, talk to your doctor.
 
I'm not on hormones; my body just isn't very good at receiving testosterone. So... yeah. I don't have girl hips or a chest but nor do I get things like body hair or a deep voice.

I'm aware that it's unusually light; the problem is that it's heavier than I'm used to, and I don't know how to lose muscle quicker than simply letting it atrophy. I've got several performances coming up soon, and as mentioned before, I'd like to get rid of some of it by then. Most of my performance pieces emphasize sharp hipbones, as mine always have been; now, my obliques are starting to reduce how much they jut. This is obviously not preferable. I'm wondering the best way to lose that muscle, or if there IS a faster way than to simply let it atrophy.

As far as undereating... I generally consume some 4000 to 5000 calories a day, so I don't think that's an issue. Underexercise, yes... my only exercise has typically been skating and club dancing, neither of which is great for building muscle anywhere besides the legs.
 
have you actually talked to a doctor? Or are you self-diagnosing a hormone problem? Because you can't just 'guess' like that.

furthermore, there's no rule that says a 19 year old is done growing. I grew about a half inch between 19 and 21, and thickened up in the waist despite not gaining weight (actually lost a few pounds).

That said, I had a friend at 19 who was about 5'8" but had low test levels. Doc put him on test shots and he grew a couple inches, voice deepened, and he filled out in to a masculine shape in fairly short order.

There's nothing wrong with getting normal hormone balance in the body.
 
I have talked to the doctor, yes... I wouldn't self-diagnose something as easily mistakable as that. I don't actually WANT to get bigger. I'm very happy looking and sounding more like a girl. My growth might not be done (one uncle grew 4 inches in college) but since I've been at my current height since I was 16 I think it's PROBABLY gonna stick this way.
 
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