Woman who struggled with belly fat shows 'how lifting weights changes your stomach shape'

Leana shares her fitness journey, emphasising the importance of reducing body fat before bulking and focusing on abs with progressive overload.

Leana, who documents her weight loss journey on her Instagram account, fitzyelifts, spoke about how she toned her stomach in a video she posted on June 24. She titled her post: 'Watch how lifting weights changes your stomach'. She showed her journey from 2022, when she started going to the gym, to the present, when she has impressive abs.

Leana showed how much her body changed during her weight loss journey. (Instagram/ Leana)

'I’ve always struggled with my belly'

Leana said, “How did I change my stomach shape? I’ve always struggled with my belly, mainly due to fat accumulation because of my genetics. The thing is, after my first calorie deficit, I found myself with a flat stomach, and that was just it. The shape kind of stayed the same, I didn’t get any definition, so I felt like I hadn’t achieved much. I needed to build more definition around my stomach with those ab lines and more.”

3 tips to follow for a toned belly

She added, “Here’s my take on this after finally getting it done successfully, and after getting certified on top of my engineering degree and 3 years in the gym.”

⦿ Leana said, “Bring down your body fat percent to a lower level: Not necessarily 10 percent, but try to get rid of most of the fat so you’re ready to bulk. This way, you don’t accumulate as much fat during the bulk.”

⦿ Speaking of the 'bulking phase', she said, “Work on your abs and apply progressive overload. I always share my ab routine here, and I do think that it’s the only one that delivers good results in a short time. The rest just isn’t as effective (I’ve tried everything).”

⦿ About the 'cutting phase', she said: “Create a calorie deficit to reveal what you’ve built.”

⦿ "It’s true that it took me 3 years to realise all of this and to finally get to work on my abs this year. But it could take you less than a year if you avoid the mistakes I made," Leana concluded.

She also said, “For the first 2 years, I was doing almost everything wrong to be honest, but all that trial and error led me to this result, so no regrets. That’s it. Simple but not easy.”

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.