Stretch Marks & Pouch Before & Afters

jhehle

When I started MFP





Now:

wow you are totally inspiring! you look fabulous!

jhehle

wow, tearful and beautiful!!

I love my babies!!

RachelT14

My weight loss here has been very slow and steady, 240 days logging and 24lbs lost with a lot of inches. When i started (and i am really sorry that i didnt take any pictures) my pouch was very noticable and hung down quite a long way, like someone else said i could have held a pencil under it! In the last few weeks i have noticed that it not longer hangs but sticks out from my body, there has definetly been some toning and upward movement. I dont have many stretch marks with it but the few i have dotn really bother me.

My babies were both nearly 10lbs so i was very stretched and put on huge amounts of weight with my pregnancies, but if i dont manage to loose anymore of the pouch and the stretch marks dont fade then so be it i have 2 wonderful children i was told i would never have, these badges of honour are a small price to pay for the miracle of having 2 children and proving my doctors wrong.

bzmom

Im sorry but this is wrong if you do nothing but or mostly cardio you will end up with hanging extra skin and I dont think that is what you are looking for lifting weights is very important for toning.

according to Jillian Michaels & some others the only way to get that harmful belly fat gone is CARDIO..... yes, imprtant to do the weights too, but CARDIO, CARDIO, CARDIO.... so maybe try to even up your %'s a bit more like 60-40 or even 50-50... and as far as stretch marks from pregnancy goes... I call them my war wounds some women who are unable to have children would love to have had the ability to have gotten stretch marks.... who cares, be fit & healthy, not some image we see airbrushed on magazine covers :happy:

RainbowBrite86

When I started MFP





Now:

wow you are totally inspiring! you look fabulous!

Thank you! That means a lot ♥

Sarahx86

My MFP start pic, my youngest was 11mo when I took this pic. You can't see the pooch super well, I was trying to hide it with my shorts.


I literally just took this pic. This is 4, almost 5, months into my journey. I am 22lbs down and about 6 from my goal. As you can see, the pooch is still there a bit on the bottom, and I still have stretch marks but as far as my stomach has come, I can live with the stretch marks.

Amazing! Thank you for posting!! My stomach is v similar to yours but not as small, hopefully soon mine will shrink as much as yours has! What did you do in terms of excersise and diet?

apeecaleb

After carrying twins, and then about a year later my youngest, my body is far from perfect, it took me awhile to come to terms with the fact that I will never have a perfect bikini body again, but you know what, that's okay.

I found this fabulous poem and wanted to share it it's from this blog...

http://birthwithoutfearblog.com/2012/01/19/stretch-marks-wear-them-with-pride



the poem up close:

Beautiful, thank you so much for posting;-)

NaiaNZ

janalayn

I am using firming lotion that seems to be helping ... I am planning to buy a compression garment - a friend had success with this as it supports the skin to help it relearn where it lives rather than letting gravity pull it down. Also it can take up to 18 months to 2 years for your skin to shrink back as much as it will.

Yanicka1

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this is my belly now after giving birth to 6 kids in about 11 years. What you do not see are the strech marks up to over my belly button, my excess skin, my 6 inches scare just under my right ribs. Unless i have a tummy tuck, this is the belly i have for the rest of my life and i intend to do the best i can do with what i got.

sjackson1717

Everyone's skin and body's are differnt. Your results may not be the same as anyone else on here and you won't really know until you try. Do the hard work and you may end up with better results than you think.

Daxgyetmhanaak

I feel your pain Dexy, my stomach looks like a deflated balloon and I am really insecure about it (also had two c-sections which also left an unsightly mess). I lost the weight after my first child and did notice the belly bulge was much smaller. BUT I gained all the weight back and was much heavier with my second. SO I've decided that I am going to focus on losing some weight first and then consider some laser treatments once I have reached my goal weight. Seems like a nicer option than a tummy tuck and much more affordable.

NatalieWinning

When I started MFP





Now:

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I've had 4 kids. Mine is like this picture, and maybe a little smaller, less noticeable. I know it's there. I'm pretty sure no one else does unless I point it out. It doesn't have to be a big deal to make you worry and want to stay fat for. My boobs were the glaring frightening road map of stretch marks. I know they are there, but no on else could ever find them now. Don't worry about it, it takes time, but doesn't have to be a life changer. Very obese people have it much worse than the after effects of pregnancy.

Daxgyetmhanaak

WOW! Thank you for the inspiration - I was feeling pretty sh*tty a minute ago!

Aleciajones

Whatever lotion you use make sure you don't just apply it but really rub it, massage it even, into the skin. On the stomach and arms I use jojoba oil. Will it actually do anything, I don't know. I have a long way to go before excess skin becomes an issue but it makes me feel better to do this now, gives me hope. I have also heard about the compression clothing but haven't seen it proven t work for everyone.

future_marathoner

There are a lot of things to help fix these. May not go away completely, but I have found that these skin tightening wraps and the defining gel have helped AMAZING amounts. Tighter skin, less marks, etc. I use them EVERY 2 weeks and will until I'm done with my journey.

Dexy_

Everyone telling me about stretch marks, I have mentioned before that I am VERY aware that they aren't going anywhere. I KNOW I'll NEVER be able to show my bare belly.

I'm just terrified of the excess skin. With that, I'll never be able to wear tightish clothes. I'll be forever banished to baggy clothes, and that sucks.

Also, everyone saying "love your body for what it is" "your kids are worth it" rah rah rah I'm sorry but no. I do not like my body. I never got the chance to ever love my body before pregnancy (got pregnant at 14). And as much as I love my kids, no ruining my body doesn't feel worth it. Even though I would never trade them for my old body, when others have twins, huge babies, & several pregnancies and never get excess skin/stretch marks it makes me SO mad.

I guess I'm just unlucky & bitter about it. Hopefully one day I'll accept my hatred for my body & move on!

hellonheels88

MADERMA!!!! It worked wonders for me. The summer after having my daughter (about 6 months post partum) I laid out in the sun to tan and was horrified when I looked in the mirror and saw that they were bright pink/purple and stayed that way for days. I used Maderma for weeks before going to the beach last year and they were hardly noticeable and I rocked a bikini! They didn't get all bright red or anything in the sun. They have lightened up A LOT and I don't feel as self concious now.

melstephvan

Ok, SO... DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOURSELF!!!! That said, after 2 pregnancies where I gained 93lbs with the first, and 83lbs with the second I am now FINALLY getting rid of my stupid little "pouch"! I focus on working the "transverse" abs - the abs that sit under everything else and wrap around your spine.... You want to suck it all back towards your spine! When working these muscles make sure to bring your belly button to the floor!! I started with Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, and it showed results with in a week!! Now I'm kickboxing 3 times a week and doing my JM with added transverse ab moves twice a week(google them, & make sure your heart rate is up to burn the fat off)

Whatever you do - DONT give up on being healthy!!! And as for the stretch marks.....Embrace them, keep them moisturized, and instead of hating them, remember why you have them - I love my stretch marks because they remind me every day that I am a Mother, and damn proud of it!

Good luck in all you do! Add me if you want melstephvan

KareninCanada

Tosca Reno has three kids.... I think she's sufficient proof that it can be done. But she's also proof that it takes a TON of work.

SG2856

I have something for you to try may sound a little wierd but I knoiw it works on scares. My dad was told of this after having open heart surg. The ICU nurse told him to use witch hazel. A stretch mark is basicly a scare so it is worth a shot. I used it after my surg for rotator cuff tear as well and my scares look great. The thing that sounds wierd is how you apply it. You can gt straight witch hazel but then you have to find a way to put it on the marks. The nurse told my dad to use Tucks pads with witch hazel this was it is already on pad you dont have to poor it out on anything and you dont get cotten ball mess left all over every were. I placed a pad on each of my scares and let it sit for a few min then took them off and tossed them. Tucks has many things that may work for you if you think about it what is its job that it does causes the reduction of swelling of the area used on. I think you might be surprised at the results may not get rid of them all the way but I think it will make them better and if it doesnt It will not harm you. Good luck and hope you try this and get awesome results.

fiberartist219

You should see a therapist about the body image stuff. Honestly, if you hate your body and don't see the point in being healthy, that is an issue that cannot be repaired with plastic surgery, lotions or weight loss. Losing weight and/or looking good will not make you happy.

What is the point in being healthy? Find something in your life that you love and be there for it. Whether that's a person, or a hobby or just getting out of bed in the morning, you can find something that you love and that you need to be present for. I know when I'm not healthy, I am too tired to enjoy all the fun things in my life, like spending time with my husband, my friends and just showing up to work. I hate feeling sluggish all the time.

Anyway, I'm not a mom, but I can tell you that the stretch marks on my thighs have faded. They are white now and they are not noticeable unless you look for them. My husband used to have bad stretch marks on his belly and those are gone now that he's lost a lot of weight. I don't run around inspecting mom bellies, but everyone is different and you don't know how your body will respond until you lose the weight and see for yourself.

As far as getting pregnant at 14 goes, it sucks that you didn't get to finish puberty (a big change in your body) before getting pregnant (another big change) and see what your body would have looked like without becoming a mother. However, I can tell you as a childfree person that my body has gone through a million changes anyway. I will never be the same shape and size that I was at 14, or 19, or 22, but hey, I'm still gorgeous.

You need to find a way to love yourself for who you are. Let me tell you that weight loss is a lot easier when you love and respect the body that you already have, just as it is.

craziedazie

Everyone telling me about stretch marks, I have mentioned before that I am VERY aware that they aren't going anywhere. I KNOW I'll NEVER be able to show my bare belly.

I'm just terrified of the excess skin. With that, I'll never be able to wear tightish clothes. I'll be forever banished to baggy clothes, and that sucks.

Also, everyone saying "love your body for what it is" "your kids are worth it" rah rah rah I'm sorry but no. I do not like my body. I never got the chance to ever love my body before pregnancy (got pregnant at 14). And as much as I love my kids, no ruining my body doesn't feel worth it. Even though I would never trade them for my old body, when others have twins, huge babies, & several pregnancies and never get excess skin/stretch marks it makes me SO mad.

I guess I'm just unlucky & bitter about it. Hopefully one day I'll accept my hatred for my body & move on!

I can totally relate, I had my son when I was a teenager. I gained 60lbs with the pregnancy and I had never even been overweight before. It was a traumatic experience. I too felt that my body was ruined. I also had an abusive partner who would say hateful things about my body, so I went into a really bad place about my body. It is another kid and 10 years later, and I can promise you that the stretchmarks do fade, the bitter feelings and hate towards your body does fade, and you can most definitely work on that pouch. Point is, I think it will get better for you - I really do. I wish you the best.

CarolinaGirlinVA

I have 4 kiddos and last year started using Palmer's Cocoa Butter Oil (not the lotion, the oil). I apply it twice a day usually morning and evening. I also use it around my eyes for tightness due to dry skin. The oil is very lightweight and it has helped fade the stretch marks quite a bit. I do wear a bikini in the summer. The marks are still there, but less noticeable. Anyone who sees me with my tribe of boys is pretty certain where I got my stripes from!

beckylawrence70

No pouch and very few, light stretch marks on my belly, I have two kids, 23 and 21 and I'm 122 lbs!! Sorry I don't have pics.....

Goal_Seeker_1988

Ain't had no kids but did lose 85lbs and have kept it off for over 3 years. I know that I have fat and maybe some of it is loose skin. From my understanding is that if I am able to drop my body fat percentage I can elimanate all most all of my my "loose" skin. Prolly wont look like I have any @ all. As far as the stretch marks don't stress over them!

amartenson

My ex had serious problems with this, and I purchased Strivectin for her, and worked amazingly well, even on 4 year old stretch marks. It's not cheap, but it helped a lot.

Dexy_

As I've said, it isn't the stretch marks I am worried about. They will fade.

It is the excess skin I am dreading.

allison_42

You're 18. I wouldn't be to worried because you're still young and it tends to be easier when younger. I had my son at 19. Still working on losing my "pooch" but I don't have excess skin. I just haven't been working out and haven't been trying to tone my body including my abs. I didn't actually get stretch marks on my belly but I did get them on my boobs (when I was pregnant they grew a cup and half in like 2 months) and those stretch marks are still there

crystaldkelley

I have alot of extra skin due to gaining alot of weight during pregnancy, I dont think ill ever have a flat stomach and im ok with that. It's a part of me. I do know that no matter what you try there is nothing you can do about stretch marks. Once our skin rips there is no unripping it. It will fade over time and ive even learned that tanning helps make them less notcable. Ive had stretch marks most of my life due to growing so quickly and there are less noticable but will always be there. Im open to all advice on how to get rid of the pouch!