women who had babies

njean888

That is something that some women stay with and others do not. I'm not sure why. I ran after both my pregancies and lost all the weight but was still a bit flabby in the stomach area but once I started working out hard with programs like P90X and Insanity. My mid section looked amazing. When I'm in a bikini you cannot even tell Ive had kids. One more thing though is diet, when I did those programs I followed the nutrition plan to a tee. Good luck and workout hard!

Mumbum78

It is true though. A calorie deficit and contrary to popular belief,strength training are the way to go. I also had a c section,but I find scar massage really helps the "puckering" as well!

Cberg9

All I was told was cardio, cardio, cardio, core, cardio. I'm interested to hear any good tips as well.

Actually fat lose comes from creating a deficit, no cardio needed. You can do this by diet only, Cardio only, strength training only, or a combination of all of them. Essentially eat at a small caloric deficit and exercise (mostly strength training with a little cardio)

If you are at the same deficit you will get faster results doing more strength training then cardio.

Interesting, coming from someone who never has been or never will be pregnant.

^ HAHA

bellavie23

Personally, plenty of males can give helpful information without having been pregnant themselves, just like a trainer doesn't have to be obese to know what you have to do to lose a ton of weight, he is just trying to be helpful..knowledge is key, but ANYWAYS. I have had 5 pregnancies, 3 which were c-sections, I would not do a ton of sit-ups if I were you because you dont want to 'bulk' up the muscles on top of your scar tissue (if you have any), keep it different but reverse crunches, flutterkicks, I do some 'donkey kicks', and 'bicycle moves' (lay on my back and alternate arm to knee while moving legs back and forth) and focus on lower ab exercises. I am still working on flattening mine as much as possible, Ive lost some (had our last baby in Dec 11, 25 lbs down, still have a good 40 til Im happy again), but I would make sure what ever you do, you use cocoa butter lotion or something like that every day to help firm your skin, any bit helps! Zumba is my helper right now Good luck!

melrose09

I hate to tell you this, but the "pooch" is probably because of a diastasis recti. What happens is there is a seperation between the muscles in your abdomen. There are exercises that can improve, but it is not the typcial abdominal routine. Regualr abdominal exercises can acutally seperate the muscles farther.

That's what I was thinking. about 8 weeks after I had my son I started working out and notices that I had a 3 finger wide gap in my abs. I just did lots of leg lifts laying on my back and eased into the tougher stuff. I still have a slight separation (about 2 finger widths) but it is no longer is an issue. But my abs felt so week for MONTHS. Cardio definitely helped, too. I still have the tiniest of pooches, but I think it's mostly skin. St. Ives Renewing lotion seemed to help with the shriveled up look I had going on.

BUT...I bet your little bundle was totally worth the pooch

EbbySoo

1. I have terrible genetics in terms of skin elasticity. I thought I was doomed to pooch forever. 2. I have diastisis recti as mentioned and made it worse with certain core workouts. 2. I was skinny fat (thin, healthy, great endurance) but hadn't retrained the muscles post pregnancy for strength/density, just for weight loss. 3. I started intermittent fasting, it worked amazingly. But after I read more into it I realized, it came down to a calorie balance, building muscle back up while slowly losing body fat. Now I'm deadlifting 205 lbs for reps, benching 145 for reps and squating 150 for reps instead of rinky dink circuit workouts and this is me. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/ebbsies/more.php?section=progresspics Before I started IF and focusing on strength rather than weight loss. Body recomposition ftw.

EbbySoo

Oh yeah and FWIW, I still have stretchy skin when I bend over and when I'm bloated, I get terribly bloated... but I am 17% in those pictures I linked above and managed to get to 14% (just to say I could) last summer. Even if you don't want a physique like mine (trust me I've been lifting heavy off and on since highschool) you will not come close without A LOT of heavy heavy weights (I work harder than most men in the gym when I get the chance to be there), but even with gradually building up strength on compound lifts, you will see huge changes in your post pregnancy bodies. My kids are 3 and 4, are 12 months apart exactly.

shmunster

All I was told was cardio, cardio, cardio, core, cardio. I'm interested to hear any good tips as well.

Actually fat lose comes from creating a deficit, no cardio needed. You can do this by diet only, Cardio only, strength training only, or a combination of all of them. Essentially eat at a small caloric deficit and exercise (mostly strength training with a little cardio)

If you are at the same deficit you will get faster results doing more strength training then cardio.

Interesting, coming from someone who never has been or never will be pregnant.

I dont see the problem, fat is fat, stretched skin is stretched skin whether it be from pregnancy or a beer gut. His point is valid too, and as for the prostate comment, if my husband had prostate problems and I came across a thread on it, and had something to offer I would post it, better to help than keep it to yourself

EbbySoo

All I was told was cardio, cardio, cardio, core, cardio. I'm interested to hear any good tips as well.

Actually fat lose comes from creating a deficit, no cardio needed. You can do this by diet only, Cardio only, strength training only, or a combination of all of them. Essentially eat at a small caloric deficit and exercise (mostly strength training with a little cardio)

If you are at the same deficit you will get faster results doing more strength training then cardio.

^^ PS I don't care if he has a penis and hasn't pushed out a baby but is in love with someone who has. He is 100% right.

fteale

I think it completely depends how elastic your skin is and how bad your stretch marks are. I had one giant baby and a caesarean, and one normal sized baby and a natural birth. Unfortunately the bad one came first so I have a million and one stretch marks, the skin is paper thin, literally transparent in places, and I have a badly sewn caesarean scar which is set at an angle which give me a shelf. Attractive, huh?

My body fat is 20%, I weigh 123 lbs, and I exercise 4 or 5 times a week, and I will always have the saggy skin and stretch marks, because it's not attached to anything, so there's nowhere for it to go.

xonicolette

I have been doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and 6 Week 6 Pack everyday and it has done wonders for me!! I am 3 months post partum tomorrow and my stomach is not even close to what it used to look like when I came home from the hospital. Once I finish my last 2 weeks of these two workout DVDs, I will post my results. But so far, I am loving how my stomach looks each and every day.

Oh and I am also eating very healthy, I am breastfeeding so I am not really supposed to go on any kind of diet or really watch my calories since I am burning 500 by just breastfeeding, but I still am losing my pooch in only working out in a month so far

AlynnP1005

All I was told was cardio, cardio, cardio, core, cardio. I'm interested to hear any good tips as well.

Actually fat lose comes from creating a deficit, no cardio needed. You can do this by diet only, Cardio only, strength training only, or a combination of all of them. Essentially eat at a small caloric deficit and exercise (mostly strength training with a little cardio)

If you are at the same deficit you will get faster results doing more strength training then cardio.

Interesting, coming from someone who never has been or never will be pregnant.

Regardless if he has never/will never be pregnant, what he is saying is true. If you are looking to lose "weight" (that can include water, muscle, little bit of actual fat) then kill yourself with cardio. If you are looking to lose fat, then creating caloric deficit by watching your diet (and your macros), doing some cardio (not spending hours on the treadmill) and strength training will get you there so much faster. Trust me, I used to be all about the cardio, and it got me no where. Its only since cutting back, watching my macros and adding in strength that I have seen real results. And yes, I have been pregnant, and gained almost 100 lbs while preggo.

Manda_H

with time and exercise SOME skin will retract but it all depends on genetics and how much you ballooned out in the first place. I got up to 270 lbs with the big of my #6... I got down to 140 with diet and exercise after her.. and my stomach was tone with nearly a 2 inch sag when i was done. You cannot tone skin! no amount of exercise is going to put it back into place. Its like trying to fix a ballon after you overexpanded it a few times

fteale

I think i have accepted my pooch!!

My tummy itself is flat, but its all the loose skin that gives me a pooch! And no amount of cardio or eating clean is going to make my skin spring back into place!! If there was a miracle non surgical solution i would take it on!

I also have separated abs and will now need an op to bring them back together. My youngest child is 9 months old.

I will keep a watch to see what others suggest

I am the same as you on the loose skin, but it's not true about the surgery. I was told the same, but I have managed to close the gap in mine doing a lot of the right abdominal work. Leg raises, v-sits (brilliant for this) and planks. I do an ab routine 3 times a week, and in the last year it has made such a difference. I had a 2 cm gap before, now they feel closed.

Nefertiti31

This is the question I was looking for. I have a 5 and 4 year old and I'm just started last year on working on finally getting rid of the pestering baby pooch. I lost a record 10 pounds last year (A smail but giant step in the right direction lol. Don't let the ticker below fool you) and this year, I'm working on more. I'm starting to try these planking exercises, but now that I see it..I'm going to give these reverse crunches a try too. Thanks everyone for throwing their suggestions in the pot. Never know which will be the one to help.

4thehardman

I go tmy tummy back quickly with my first but after the triplets I still look 8 months pregnant with 1! The girls are 3 now.......I guess I need many many tips! x

Crowhorse

Good genetics.

alyssa92982

I bounced back with 3 kids-clean eating and good ole jillian helped. Then upped my workouts from to p90x.

LuckyAng

Everyone's body recovers differently. I didn't specifically do anything to get rid of the baby weight, but looking back (my youngest is 12) I was pretty active. I was running after 2 babies (they're 14 months apart), and I breast fed them both. My son for 9&1/2 months, and my daughter for 18 months. I was a size 4-6 (I am 5'10) after I finished feeding 2 babies back to back. When my daughter was 2, I took karate and yoga classes so I am sure that helped me stay that size for a bit. I didn't gain till they were older, so it had nothing to do with them.

EbbySoo

I bounced back with 3 kids-clean eating and good ole jillian helped. Then upped my workouts from to p90x.

Based on your pictures, your genetics were a huge part of this as well as the caloric deficit, good for you for committing and getting it done! You look great.

Aroz25

All I was told was cardio, cardio, cardio, core, cardio. I'm interested to hear any good tips as well.

Actually fat lose comes from creating a deficit, no cardio needed. You can do this by diet only, Cardio only, strength training only, or a combination of all of them. Essentially eat at a small caloric deficit and exercise (mostly strength training with a little cardio)

If you are at the same deficit you will get faster results doing more strength training then cardio.

Interesting, coming from someone who never has been or never will be pregnant.

my thoughts exactly!

Meggles63

FYI: fat on the stomach is not the same as prostates

You're missing the point entirely. Post-pregnancy issues do not apply to men. Prostate issues do not apply to women.

Also, I think most ladies here will agree that the post-pregnancy fat we've experienced is entirely different than other fat we've accumulated.

I've had 4 c-sections and I'm gradually reducing my pooch via diet and exercise. I RESPECTFULLY disagree with you about post-pregnancy fat...there is no difference. The gentleman responded about how to burn fat, and that was perfectly correct! No need to get all huffy about it, IMO.

Aroz25

I have heard that reverse crunches are a good way to start too. I've been battling the baby pouch for 3 years now! I've only just started making an effort to lose weight so hopefully this works!

Perswaysion

I just joined this tracker...and got my calorie intake recommendation...however, there was not a box to click for "currently breastfeeding". I know I require more calories than this because of that...anyone have some insight?

www.kellymom.com has information relating to dietary needs of breastfeeding mommas. My son weaned a year ago so don't quote me but I think the additional calorie intake is right around 200-300.

rachel_hod

Reading this was like I had written it myself! I'm exactly the same height, weight and have a daughter who is 19 months old!! Did you come across any amazing tips for the baby bulge? I had a pretty good figure before having her and wish I could get that back but know it will only take hard work and dedication - I would rather focus my hard work on the correct exercises than ones which aren't targeting the issue.

rachel_hod

I wish I could help, I'm curious as well. I am 5'5 and still have the pooch at 125lbs. It is going down thou, I am doing 30DS plus another workout everyday and seems to help a bit. I really want to get rid of it soon cause we will be trying for another baby soon....

oh and my daughter is 19months, if that makes a difference. So maybe time will heal all pregnancy scars?? except stretchmarks of course.. darn then stretchy marks

jlnk

I think a major distinction is if the pooch is from excess body fat or if it because the muscles are still stretched. My current pooch is more a muscle issue than a fat issue...soooo, I do A LOT of abdominal work in addition to eating as wisely as possible.

jlnk

I think a major distinction is if the pooch is from excess body fat or if it because the muscles are still stretched. My current pooch is more a muscle issue than a fat issue...soooo, I do A LOT of abdominal work in addition to eating as wisely as possible.

My son is 5 months...

Twylyght

Core workouts really helped me. A lot of reverse crunches (I hate those, but they work) and flutter kicks!!!!

ZombieSlayer

No clue... I've had that damned pooch since puberty (it's a genetic thing... even when I was at 18% body fat I had it). :grumble: