ok,, so need motivation about bellies,,,,

jrbanta

If anyone likes to walk, the Leslie Sansone Walk It Off and Tone It Up 1-5 mile DVD program is a pretty good workout that emphasizes all muscles along with strengthening core abdominals to reduce the belly fat. I started doing it this past week and I feel like I've worked hard on my entire body when I'm done. It's cardio and toning at the same time. You can choose how far you walk and she also has extra workouts for slimming and toning in addition to the walking/toning workouts. So depending on time and your goals you can choose how much or little you do. Was about $12.99 at Target. :bigsmile:

KittyCathy

I have the same thing!! Just had a son and it the hanging fat on my stomach seems to be the last thing that wants to go down!! It will probably always sag but probably not that bad once you lose all your weight! Im hoping mine starts to look better to : [

emilillymom

I have been doing cardio and just start 30 day shred to help with some toning. I took a Zumba class this fall and notice that it helped with the tummy area. I have also notice that drinking more water daily has helped me. I have two girls 41/2 and 21/2 and its been a long journey getting my body back but I celebrate the little success.

jrbanta

Has anyone else noticed? I read somewhere that when you lose weight it happens from the top-down. I notice on my own body that my face and neck slim down, then my shoulder and chest, then my legs and butt. My belly is last! I've read that the belly is the last to go and unfortunately in the past I have given up and gone off my eating plan before I see success in losing my belly. How does it work for the rest of you? Lots of cardio really does help but I HATE abdominal exercises because they are so hard for me due to weak muscles in that area. The very area I need to work on and I avoid it because it is so hard. Any good exercises that can be done quickly that give quick results??:ohwell:

BrownEyedG1rl

Ughhh...I can totally relate! I have 2 children. My last one will be 2 in Feb. I have a wrinkled, stretched, flabby belly too. It's gross and I hate it. I'm also hoping it will mostly go away. I already know that I will never be one to wear a bikini and I'm fine with that, I just want a flat belly. It's frustrating because I started working out on a regular basis about 4 weeks ago and the end of the first week I pulled a stomach muscle and it HURT bad to do any abdominal exercises. So I've had to stop doing them for the past couple of weeks until it healed. It is finally feeling better and I'm going to try to do some abs tomorrow. But most of my work is getting the fat off....lots of cardio!!!

aippolito1

that tummy will tighten as you loss fat and tone muscle!

Drink water, watch your calorie intake and do lots of cardio!

Don't listen to this guy. Cardio is not what you need to work on this. If it's just skin, you need to do yoga, pilates, and do a search for c-section belly help 'cause there are exercises specifically for that that will help. But yes, watch your diet, exercise, drink lots of water, also try lotion to tighten it. The younger you are, the easier it will be to tighten up.

janesmith1

Has anyone else noticed? I read somewhere that when you lose weight it happens from the top-down. I notice on my own body that my face and neck slim down, then my shoulder and chest, then my legs and butt. My belly is last! I've read that the belly is the last to go and unfortunately in the past I have given up and gone off my eating plan before I see success in losing my belly. How does it work for the rest of you? Lots of cardio really does help but I HATE abdominal exercises because they are so hard for me due to weak muscles in that area. The very area I need to work on and I avoid it because it is so hard. Any good exercises that can be done quickly that give quick results??:ohwell:

I was doing running for a while at home but I don't run very fast. Still it makes me lose bra cup sizes first.

I did this dvd - I think she's the best & it's the best one
http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Abs-Meghan-White/dp/B000B5XPFG/ref=sr_1_9?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1296018234&sr=1-9

In fact with this new program I'm doing (see below) the stomach exercises are NOT killing me - I can do V ups, etc due to all the work I did before with that dvd. Planks, jumps, jumping - that's what kills me, oh and push ups.

Really interesting about how we lose weight - my face is good, but I'm a TRIANGLE, and my stomach, oh dear, you just don't want to know. I did take pix of myself today front and side, and omg, I'm DISGUSTED at what I see. Hopefully one day through hard work, tears, being killed in exercise & watching cals, I'll be able to post those pix HERE, and say this was me before.....

callipygianchronicle

I have tremendous sympathy. There are days when I say nasty things about my belly, too. But then I remember how sad those words make me feel. And how much better I feel when I show gratitude toward my body, for the gentle way it carried my child, and for the hard work it has done to carry me for 35 years—even when I did a poor job taking care of it.

I hemorrhaged after my daughter was born and had emergency surgery to save my life. I was cut vertically, from navel to pelvis. My scar is bad and my lower belly (which was already covered in stretch marks from the pregnancy) hangs like hound dog jowls on both sides of my scar. It’s not a pretty description, but it is the honest truth.

In the month that I have been exercising and focusing on my health I can say that I have already noticed a huge difference in the shape of my belly and the skin. I do yoga three to four times a week. And I take a body pump class once a week. My lower abs are EXTREMELY weak due to the surgery and inactivity (I cannot lift my feet off the ground even 1/4 of an inch in boat pose). But I swear to you that the yoga is making a major difference.

But just remember, when we use words like “hate, ugly, and disgusting” to talk about ourselves, it won’t matter how small or how flat our bellies are, we’ll still feel shame when we look at. So be kind to yourself.

caitlinsmum

I have tremendous sympathy. There are days when I say nasty things about my belly, too. But then I remember how sad those words make me feel. And how much better I feel when I show gratitude toward my body, for the gentle way it carried my child, and for the hard work it has done to carry me for 35 years—even when I did a poor job taking care of it.

I hemorrhaged after my daughter was born and had emergency surgery to save my life. I was cut vertically, from navel to pelvis. My scar is bad and my lower belly (which was already covered in stretch marks from the pregnancy) hangs like hound dog jowls on both sides of my scar. It’s not a pretty description, but it is the honest truth.

In the month that I have been exercising and focusing on my health I can say that I have already noticed a huge difference in the shape of my belly and the skin. I do yoga three to four times a week. And I take a body pump class once a week. My lower abs are EXTREMELY weak due to the surgery and inactivity (I cannot lift my feet off the ground even 1/4 of an inch in boat pose). But I swear to you that the yoga is making a major difference.

But just remember, when we use words like “hate, ugly, and disgusting” to talk about ourselves, it won’t matter how small or how flat our bellies are, we’ll still feel shame when we look at. So be kind to yourself.

Wow - thanks for sharing. Your words and experience have really inspired me ! (I am another one with a pouchy/flappy belly after baby & c-section. I've heard someone call it a 'mothers apron' and I think it is quite an accurate description if you can picture a padded apron.)


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curleesam

that tummy will tighten as you loss fat and tone muscle!

Drink water, watch your calorie intake and do lots of cardio!

I totally echo this post although I think it also has a lot to do with your pre pregnancy body shape. I have always had a rather flat and toned stomach. Not washboard but flat enough. After I gave birth my belly WOBBLED when I walked which was a first for me and it gave me the motivation to do something about it as I was not comfortable that way. So far I have lost 28lbs and my tummy has lost nearly all of the weight but could still do with a bit more toning. The things that worked for me was a VAST amount of cardio (I do 1 hour each session and 4 sessions per week. My heart rate between 130-160 bpm) and drinking lots and lots of water. I am now at the stage where I need to tone it a bit and I will be happy so I am focussing on pilates exercises using ankle and wrist weights.

Feel free to add me if you want to see my food and exercise diary. I still have 21lb of baby weight to lose.

Good luck!

bdavenport62

I have tremendous sympathy. There are days when I say nasty things about my belly, too. But then I remember how sad those words make me feel. And how much better I feel when I show gratitude toward my body, for the gentle way it carried my child, and for the hard work it has done to carry me for 35 years—even when I did a poor job taking care of it.

I hemorrhaged after my daughter was born and had emergency surgery to save my life. I was cut vertically, from navel to pelvis. My scar is bad and my lower belly (which was already covered in stretch marks from the pregnancy) hangs like hound dog jowls on both sides of my scar. It’s not a pretty description, but it is the honest truth.

In the month that I have been exercising and focusing on my health I can say that I have already noticed a huge difference in the shape of my belly and the skin. I do yoga three to four times a week. And I take a body pump class once a week. My lower abs are EXTREMELY weak due to the surgery and inactivity (I cannot lift my feet off the ground even 1/4 of an inch in boat pose). But I swear to you that the yoga is making a major difference.

But just remember, when we use words like “hate, ugly, and disgusting” to talk about ourselves, it won’t matter how small or how flat our bellies are, we’ll still feel shame when we look at. So be kind to yourself.

So very true! We always discount what our bodies do for us. I think that sometimes we let them down, not vice versa.

As far as having the "mommy tummy", I was 250 at my heaviest (I'm 5'8) and right before I got pregnant I was 150 (Weight Watchers and running). So when I got pregnant I did gain 70 pounds but since I was even heavier than that before I didn't get any stretch marks or anything so I'm hoping it looks like it did before birth. I also think it has a lot to do with whether or not you had a c-section.

morganadk2_deleted

ehm, what i will say is first and foremost love your body, its the only one you have. Secondly i do have a big belly and i am working at losing as much of it as i can. i dont know if it will ever be rock hard flat, but i do know i am losing weight and it is shrinking. Dearest believe in yourself, it is reallly possible to lose the weight and look beautiful. Please try to develop a positive image about your body, the more you get to love it, the better you will want to take care of it. Welcome and wishing u great success.

IT CAN BE DONE:flowerforyou:

i totaly agree, also i do body pump class twice a week i love it! and its working for me

Zabarilla

I'm right there with you as well. I wasn't allowed to do much physically while I was pregnant with my daughter. I also got pupps while I was pregnant which caused stretch marks from all the itching I did in my sleep. All that was compounded by my anxiety and depression which has been out of control for a year now. I'm slowly getting everything under control. One thing I had to learn was to be kind to myself. I'm my own worst critic. In the past this has worked to help me do better or finish a goal. But I let it get out of control to the point I was tearing myself down not only in the weight area but in my entire life. I now tell myself, out loud, that I can do this, I'll meet this goal, I deserve to look better, to feel better, I deserve to wear something hot. Haha

What I'm saying is have some faith in yourself and your body. Be kind to both and you will be suprised at how much better you feel. I know I wont be the same as I was before. But thats ok. Having my daughter changed me....for the better. I wouldn't have it any other way. Now..... I'll just look better than I did before. Haha

Here is to changing the area's we would like improved.

janesmith1

I woke up this morning, and knew I had done pretty well with calories yesterday. I looked at my belly, it did not flap down as much as it did! I'm so pleased!!! One side in the mirror looked a bit better than the other - less flappy.

rachelcytacki

I posted a similar question a couple of days ago. I feel defeated already and I have only just begun. Stupid flappy belly you can do it and I keep telling myself that anything is an improvement of where I am now.

janesmith1

I posted a similar question a couple of days ago. I feel defeated already and I have only just begun. Stupid flappy belly you can do it and I keep telling myself that anything is an improvement of where I am now.

LOL....I must have missed it. Oh you know, at my weight, it hangs DOWN, but amazingly with just 5 lbs lost, it's beginning to DEFLATE like a balloon, and I've never had a flat belly in my life not even when I was small. I think it's the exercise program I'm using - see sig.

paulinaciryt

It is possible! My sister-in-law lost it after her first baby within a couple months eating 1200 a day and exercising. She just had her second baby and she is already on her way back to her flat stomach.

YeaILift

I have never had a SUPER flabby tummy, but everything will tighten with a proper diet, cardio, and weight lifting.

janesmith1

I have never had a SUPER flabby tummy, but everything will tighten with a proper diet, cardio, and weight lifting.

Your stomach looks amazing!!! I agree, I think through exercise, not just dieting is what will help all of us.

nilisabel

there are special post-pregnancy sit-ups you can do for diastesis recti - ask your doctor/nurse about them. love your body and it will work with you, mind over matter. it's really deep in our culture to say after kids this and that and there is a lot of truth to it, but it is not insurmountable nor even as daunting a task as it appears. It just takes time. And you cannot rush it. But you will get that belly and it is attainable. I've seen lots and lots of moms pull it off, it's just a matter of loving your body (be careful, don't pull muscles), doing the work, not rushing, taking the time it takes to get there.