Why does your stomach from having babies take forever to lose??
GracieLeephillips
Posts: 11 Member
I just started excersising and have myself on a 1200 calorie diet, and I've had four boys..my start out weight was 145 and I've dropped to 135 in just three weeks..I do alot of hiking and dance cardio..but after four babies my stomach is my biggest flaw..any tips on how to lose the baby weight in your belly? 
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What are your stats? Height weight etc?0
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Hips 34 waist 370
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I weight is 135...3 weeks ago when I started I was 145..0
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28 years old0
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Ok and height and age?0
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Height is 5'4 and age 28:)0
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8mo PP here from baby #3- stomach is the worst- but- it does go down. It has the 2 times before, anyway.
Granted, it will never look "good" but it certainly looks better and better the more weight I lose. You cant spot reduce unfortunately. The dreadful mommy tummy is usually a life sentence unless you have great genes or a good surgeon. However, go check out the success stories board there are some mommies over there who have made a world of difference on theirs. Just remember #1-genetics #2-hard work #3-over all fat loss.
At 135 (i dont know your height) I am not sure what your goal weight would be?0 -
Also as an active 5'4, 28 year old at 135 pounds: You're at a normal weight BMI and it's going to take a lot of time to take off any fat. According to the TDEE calculator I use, it appears you could eat another ~200 calories a day and still lose weight. Slow and steady is the key on so-called vanity pounds. Maintain as much LBM as possible.
And give yourself a break; you've had your stomach stretched and re-stretched 4 times in a pretty short period of time (assumption based on your age). It's likely the stomach you see is loose skin, may just need to wait it out to see if it shrinks.0 -
MommyMeggo wrote: »8mo PP here from baby #3- stomach is the worst- but- it does go down. It has the 2 times before, anyway.
Granted, it will never look "good" but it certainly looks better and better the more weight I lose. You cant spot reduce unfortunately. The dreadful mommy tummy is usually a life sentence unless you have great genes or a good surgeon. However, go check out the success stories board there are some mommies over there who have made a world of difference on theirs. Just remember #1-genetics #2-hard work #3-over all fat loss.
At 135 (i dont know your height) I am not sure what your goal weight would be?
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It does take a long time for many of us but let's be serious--you've been at this for three weeks. That is hardly forever.0
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GracieLeephillips wrote: »Height is 5'4 and age 28:)
Ah- Yes 4 babies in a short amount of time. My tummy is mostly skin (the super ugly part anyway) backed with some fat.
I am 5'4 as well and a GW of 130-135. When I am in the 130s it actually looks decent, minus the skin bag of stretch marks right through the middle! LOL.
How young is your youngest?0 -
My last baby was born in 2010..I was young and of course I used the pregnancy as a way to eat and drink whatever I wanted I wasn't thinking that doing that it would be so much harder to lose the weight....now that I've gotten older, I'm starting to realise it's important to be healthy and been excersising my butt off lol..my worst fear was somebody saying " its gunna take a surgeon to get rid of your belly" but that cost alot of money so I'm trying to do it the right way, but boy is it hard!! Thank y'all for your advice and tips 0
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I don't think it's just from having babies. There are lots of women who haven't had kids yet that have this issue.0
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My thought is that your skin is all stretched out. The subcutaneous fat is spread all over that stretched out skin. The skin is not going to retract/shrink much until the fat cells shrink. Think of a stick of butter softened and then spread thin all over the surface area of that stretched out skin. It takes four sticks of butter to equal a pound and how many would it take to make a 1/4" or 1/2" or 1" layer all over your belly? Plus, you're losing fat from other places too, not just on your belly. That's why it takes so long.0
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My youngest is five:) I got all boys lol so they are half my workout lol and so is loose skin from babies is that even fixable on your own?0
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GracieLeephillips wrote: »My youngest is five:) I got all boys lol so they are half my workout lol and so is loose skin from babies is that even fixable on your own?
Skin? No. Over time it may shrink up, appear tighter as it gets pulled from shrinking your overall physique.
Some may be skin, some may be fat.
What is your goal weight?0 -
120 is my goal..:)0
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It gets a lot worse after having babies...in general.strong_curves wrote: »I don't think it's just from having babies. There are lots of women who haven't had kids yet that have this issue.
My kids are 6 and 8...I've lost 97 lbs since having them and I still have a lot of sagging skin and fat on my belly. Not sure it's ever going away.
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GracieLeephillips wrote: »120 is my goal..:)
Are you doing any strength training?0 -
Bah. My tummy was FINE after my daughter was born, but now, 10 years later, it's definitely my trouble spot. I'm fairly proportionate all over, except for my tummy, which on a bad day, looks pregnant. I don't have any advice, just wanted to commiserate. It pisses me off. They're all like, "oh, you have to lose the fat to reveal the kick-*kitten* ab muscles underneath." Dude, I'm fairly certain that I could lose ALL the fat and this dumb pooch would still be here. Hiding my six-pack.0
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I'm bout to start weight training this week and try that.. It just sucks that the world has a certain way a woman should look..having babies does alot on your body and it is a beautiful thing, but people don't see that..I do alot of sit ups everyday when I can..but like some of you I just don't think that excersising will fix that "baby pouch" I drink about 10-12 bottles of water a day and drink meal replacement shakes instead of eating and still no tummy shrinkage..everywhere else is but not the dang ol tummy lol..and that tummy tuck sounds amazing but expensive and scary:)0
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MommyMeggo wrote: »GracieLeephillips wrote: »120 is my goal..:)
Are you doing any strength training?
+1
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My kids are 8 and 2 and I have a small amount of lose skin on my stomach. It's only really noticeable when I bend over.0
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GracieLeephillips wrote: »I'm bout to start weight training this week and try that.. It just sucks that the world has a certain way a woman should look..having babies does alot on your body and it is a beautiful thing, but people don't see that..I do alot of sit ups everyday when I can..but like some of you I just don't think that excersising will fix that "baby pouch" I drink about 10-12 bottles of water a day and drink meal replacement shakes instead of eating and still no tummy shrinkage..everywhere else is but not the dang ol tummy lol..and that tummy tuck sounds amazing but expensive and scary:)
To be fair, I think that a lot of the "the world has a certain way we should look" stuff is hogwash. The majority of women and mean who have been pregnant or overweight understand that stretched stomach skin and its associated subcutaneous fat are extremely challenging. It's also hidden most of the time. I'm not saying it's not annoying and disheartening--it can be and I struggle a lot with my body image because of it. But that is self-inflicted struggle and drama. It's not due to societal beauty standards. My husband tells me regularly that I'm sexy and beautiful and besides him, I'm the only person who I try to look good for. It's my own dislike of what I see that makes me a head case about the stomach, not anybody else.0 -
Yes ma'am:)0
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To be fair, I think that a lot of the "the world has a certain way we should look" stuff is hogwash. The majority of women and mean who have been pregnant or overweight understand that stretched stomach skin and its associated subcutaneous fat are extremely challenging. It's also hidden most of the time. I'm not saying it's not annoying and disheartening--it can be and I struggle a lot with my body image because of it. But that is self-inflicted struggle and drama. It's not due to societal beauty standards. My husband tells me regularly that I'm sexy and beautiful and besides him, I'm the only person who I try to look good for. It's my own dislike of what I see that makes me a head case about the stomach, not anybody else.
I get what you're trying to say, but even if it is just in your head in your opinion, you are still certainly influenced by society. Most social pressure is internalized to this degree (nobody is going to outright comment on someone else's tummy) but that doesn't mean it's not there.
But on the subject, I know very, very thin mothers who have never had a weight problem in their life and they have a little tummy years after pregnancy. I think it can take a loooong time to disappear and depending on your genetics it might never go away completely. You can try to work on it but should also try to make peace with it on some level.
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I hear ya! I have 4 kids as well, youngest is 1 and oldest is 7. After my first two kids I didn't feel like my stomach was that bad but after #3... Yikes. I'm 130 lbs and at a healthy weight for my height but the tummy is definitely hanging on! I've had a lot of success with strength training. I've only lost 7 lbs in the past two months but I dropped 2 dress sizes and my body definitely looks different.0
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GracieLeephillips wrote: »I'm bout to start weight training this week and try that.. It just sucks that the world has a certain way a woman should look..having babies does alot on your body and it is a beautiful thing, but people don't see that..I do alot of sit ups everyday when I can..but like some of you I just don't think that excersising will fix that "baby pouch" I drink about 10-12 bottles of water a day and drink meal replacement shakes instead of eating and still no tummy shrinkage..everywhere else is but not the dang ol tummy lol..and that tummy tuck sounds amazing but expensive and scary:)
I've definitely reached an acceptance that I won't be wearing a bikini anytime soon! I carried 4 babies in that belly and it's amazing so I truly don't care if it looks perfect. All I care about is being fit and healthy and I've definitely accomplished that. I do this for me, not other people.
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The term I've heard is diastasis recti. Basically pulling of the muscles in the stomach. They have certain exercises to focus on your core.0
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