Stretch Marks & Pouch Before & Afters

sleepytexan

im putting all my hopes into skin firming lotion. i know it wont get rid of all of it, but im hoping for something i can live with

don't bother . . . waste of money.

mom of 4

SafireBleu

You are 18. You are still young. You still have all that elastin and collegan working in your body. I went from 300 lbs to 150 in my 20s and did not have loose skin. You need to do the cardio and the strength training and it'll be flat. Now that I am almost 40 and have had 3 pregnancies in my 30s I don't have all that collagen and elastin so I will have the lose skin. I think the difference between you and some of the women here, like me, is age. Do the work and it will pay off.

love0809

Im 22...I had my little girl in June 2008 by c-section...Had my son Nov 2009 by c-section...
I was 180 and cut out pop and and some junk food..im down to 170 but would love to be down to 150 or close to that..
If anybody knows a good way to lose the weigh plez let me know...im a stay at home mom i don't have the money to go to the gym or anything like that...plez help me

mwcraig34

I have stretch marks! I know its different for guys but I have them. Before I got fat, I lifted weights religiously! My muscle grew faster than my skin and I got stretch marks on my chest and butt and inner thigh! Then I stop lifting and got fat and now I have stretch marks on my belly too! So ladies stretch marks are not that big of a deal to me! My wife had my three babies and she also got stretch marks for all her hard work and I love every inch of her!!! We need to not be so vain and accept what we have ladies be proud of your bodies because you are beautiful!!!!!

crzybeautiful11

We need to not be so vain and accept what we have ladies be proud of your bodies because you are beautiful!!!!!

Totally agree with this!

Stretch marks are a way to remember carrying a tiny life inside of you. They may fade, but will never go away, so love them for the memories! They may not be pretty, but they are a fact of life.

unicorn1081

this thread is inspirational for me! Bumptastic! I can't wait to post mine!:happy:

may2490

I know that my stretch marks are pretty damned permanent, but that they will (and have mostly) faded to a white/silver.

It's really the idea of having a lot of excess skin hanging off me that scares me, I don't have the money or courage for a tummy tuck!

After my second child, I had more stretch marks and a pooch that I didn't have before.

But now (almost a year later) my stretch marks have nearly faded to skin color so they are near invisible.

As for my pooch, it is getting smaller and smaller, along with the weight too. I am adding more weight training to my core workouts as well. I was told to lose weight normally and do strength training. I used resistance bands at first. Now the weights.

vegamy

When I started MFP





Now:

Great work! My tummy looks a lot like your after picture right now, but I'm still bothered by stretch marks and loose skin a bit (HW: 235, CW: 156), but looking at pictures always makes me realize that I've come a long way and now I look a LOT better than being obese!

vegamy

I've got both. They're still there, they just look better now because the body under the ugly skin is in much better shape.

Then (no pregnant pictures - I was 17 when I got pregnant so people weren't exactly excited about committing that to memory):

Now:

You look great! You look so healthy and happy!

hermiony

this is after 2 kids and 2 sections. this pic was over 7 months after having the last baby







and this is about 6 months later.44 lbs down, another 40 to go.





i have been using vitamin e, essential oils and bio oil and massaging almost every day.

RianneMulder

I don't really care about the stretch marks, it's OK for people to know I'm a mother!

DeenieWeenie

I've had 3 kids. 1 natural (she's almost 19), 2 c-sections( my boys are 10 & 5). Reality for me is, I'll have a small pooch probably. If it goes down that's awesome!! as for stretch marks, they do fade! They are my mommy combat scars! :bigsmile:

meeulk

Such is life.

I wouldn't give up my kids for a flat belly.

Agreed! Me either! And, I have the pooch! No more bikinis for me even if I do transform into a thin muscular being!

Nanita02

Dexy what kind of workout n how long.. Great job! You look wonderful!

Nanita02

Hermiony, you have given me hope that the pouch can be history!!!!!!!!!! Thx bunches!!

bellevie23

I dont have any "before" belly pics as I was pregnant or not comfortable embracing it, but now that I am embracing the changes my body made, I did take these pics yesterday. This is at 2 months post partum from having my youngest. I had a daughter at 19 naturally, a MC at 23, and my 3 living children are now 34 months, 14 months, and 2 months old (were all born via c-sections). I tend to disagree with the stretch mark comments of they will never go away, there are procedures to fix them, it is not a "impossible" notion to have, just as much as getting rid of the pooch is. You continue to do tons of certain ab exercises you are going to build muscle over your scar tissue to me (at least in my head lol). Anyways, my point of posting these pictures is to show my stretch marks, I do have them, I did not lotion like I should have any of my pregnancies, I have started now that I am working out (still..not as religiously as I should) but I have kept up with my biooil, the stretch marks seem to be getting less apparent, although they still are bad in some areas Hoping with the rest of the weightloss it stays manageable...OH and to add, I started 2 months ago at 228, I am at 190 now, so I have lost 38 lbs the last 2 months, not from anything crazy, just drinking water and watching calories, not even working out because I wasnt cleared til a couple weeks ago, so now I am trying to lose the weight a little slower, but I wanted to post on this, when I get to my goal weight I will post some more, I know it will take time, took many many years of being pregnant to get this way, i dont expect it to come back in any quicker time than that. GL ladies, I agree to try and embrace it, I am pretty vain when it comes to my appearance, but Im trying each day to focus on the things I am proud of, if a guy cant handle my flaws he is not welcomed in my kitchen anyways

BAMFMeredith

I got stretch marks and the pouch, but little by little the pouch is going away. My stretch marks aren't as visible as they used to be, but I've kinda accepted them as battle scars. I just took this pic this morning (my son is 5 now).

Scarlett_S

I have a bit of a belly pouch left and I've come to realize? It isn't fat, it is skin. Skin that stretched both with two pregnancies and weight gain. Unfortunately, it won't go away with diet or exercise. I didn't lose my weight quickly and I did it the right way. Sometimes the skin has just been stretched beyond its limits to return to its normal state.


I accept that this is who I am. I have two kids and I won't ever have a flat belly again nor will I ever wear a bikini again. I'm okay with it.

Perhaps some day - I will have a tummy tuck, but right now I'm too cheap to have cosmetic surgery just to have it.

I think in the back of my head I knew this, just didn't want to believe it! Argh! It's exactly this that makes me want to just be fat forever, what's the point in being healthy if I still HATE my body?

You won't hate your body. You will love being at a goal weight, being fit, and achieving that.

I have stretch marks (42, I have three kids who weighed between 9-10 pounds respectively at birth, all of 'em) and I have loose skin because I've lost almost 100 lbs. I am not thrilled about it, and I will never wear a bikini, but I have rock solid abs underneath that skin, and muscles all over. No one could ever tell the difference in clothes. My arms look great, my legs look great except for the very top of my thighs. Again, the only thing that is going to fix it is surgery and at this point I'm just not willing to take the time off work OR working out to do that, never mind the money. It would cost me about $20K to fix everything "wrong" and I just don't plan on spending that kind of money when I don't care that much and neither does my husband.

You will learn to accept the body and be happy to be fit, and it may not be as bad as you think once you are done. Plus, the stretch marks will fade to a very light silver.

kandyjo

Um.... I have had two kiddos and my skin has been doing a good job of "shrinking" back.... It's not the same and I'm sure it will never be, but it isn't hideous!!! HYDRATE!!!!!! I really helps your skins elasticity... Drink lots of water... Eat healthy!!!!! And cardio and strength training... that's mine routine and so far so good!

I KNOW my body will NEVER look like it did before kiddos, but I'm not knocking the way it is starting to look now! I'm impressed at the amount my infamous "pouch" has shrank!

Asil76

I LOVE this!!!

Thank you for sharing :flowerforyou:

TinaDay1114

I have a bit of a belly pouch left and I've come to realize? It isn't fat, it is skin. Skin that stretched both with two pregnancies and weight gain. Unfortunately, it won't go away with diet or exercise. I didn't lose my weight quickly and I did it the right way. Sometimes the skin has just been stretched beyond its limits to return to its normal state.


I accept that this is who I am. I have two kids and I won't ever have a flat belly again nor will I ever wear a bikini again. I'm okay with it.

Perhaps some day - I will have a tummy tuck, but right now I'm too cheap to have cosmetic surgery just to have it.

I think in the back of my head I knew this, just didn't want to believe it! Argh! It's exactly this that makes me want to just be fat forever, what's the point in being healthy if I still HATE my body?

As you lose weight and get healthier, you'll start to come to terms with the flaws that your body still has. It has taken me a long time, but instead of looking in the mirror and thinking "damn that belly skin!" I focus on the things I like...

I have fabulous arms. I've worked very hard on my arms and they look great.

I love my hourglass shape. I have larger hips and have always hated them - until I realized? They give me a beautiful shape.


There will be things you love and things you don't love about your body. Don't let the "don't loves" control you. Keep losing weight. Get healthier. You'll be surprised at how your focusing on what can change and what does change helps your mindset.

^^^^ YES, this. My "pouch" has gone away -- and as it has, I love my new body. I worked hard for it, too. I'm not trying to be 20 again (I love my two boys, and see stretch marks as my badge of courage).

If you keep going, and do strength training/ab work, you'll get there. I NEVER thought I'd lose that thing, but I went from this:


...to this...but it took me about a year of steady, hard work (and slow weight loss):

memcd911

I have a bit of a belly pouch left and I've come to realize? It isn't fat, it is skin. Skin that stretched both with two pregnancies and weight gain. Unfortunately, it won't go away with diet or exercise. I didn't lose my weight quickly and I did it the right way. Sometimes the skin has just been stretched beyond its limits to return to its normal state.


I accept that this is who I am. I have two kids and I won't ever have a flat belly again nor will I ever wear a bikini again. I'm okay with it.

Perhaps some day - I will have a tummy tuck, but right now I'm too cheap to have cosmetic surgery just to have it.

I think in the back of my head I knew this, just didn't want to believe it! Argh! It's exactly this that makes me want to just be fat forever, what's the point in being healthy if I still HATE my body?

Please please please don't think this way. Seeing excess skin and not being patient is part of what led to me gaining some of my weight back. I had lost about 60 lbs. I was in a 6, and even had a few skirts that were size 4. Smaller than I ever expected to get. But all I focused on was the skin, which I refused to view as skin and still viewed as fat. Not allowing myself to be proud (along with some major emotional setbacks elsewhere in life) I climbed back up to a 10. Hindsight is 20/20. I look back and wish I had that amazing body I had worked for. And this time when I get back to that size, I'll be patient about my skin shrinking.

bellevie23

Um.... I have had two kiddos and my skin has been doing a good job of "shrinking" back.... It's not the same and I'm sure it will never be, but it isn't hideous!!! HYDRATE!!!!!! I really helps your skins elasticity... Drink lots of water... Eat healthy!!!!! And cardio and strength training... that's mine routine and so far so good!

I KNOW my body will NEVER look like it did before kiddos, but I'm not knocking the way it is starting to look now! I'm impressed at the amount my infamous "pouch" has shrank!

The reasons I heart you LOL

Lifting_chick

I don't know how to post a pic. on the forum but my profile pic. was just taken a few days ago. I have terrible streach marks but they have faded alot over the years. And the pouch I am still working on getting rid of but have made alot of progress over the last several months. Time makes the streach marks better but they never go away

Sharonks

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.

You look great! With time, the stretch marks do become less noticeable. Like me, you got the full tummy effect. Mine stayed red even as my kids became adults. Last year I started rubbing bio oil on them and they are now a less noticeable silvery color.

Sharonks

I have stretch marks! I know its different for guys but I have them. Before I got fat, I lifted weights religiously! My muscle grew faster than my skin and I got stretch marks on my chest and butt and inner thigh! Then I stop lifting and got fat and now I have stretch marks on my belly too! So ladies stretch marks are not that big of a deal to me! My wife had my three babies and she also got stretch marks for all her hard work and I love every inch of her!!! We need to not be so vain and accept what we have ladies be proud of your bodies because you are beautiful!!!!!

I think acceptance by a partner really helps us accept our bodies. My ex wouldn't say stuff like that, he wasn't negative, just non-committal. My current husband says he didn't even notice all my stretch marks when I brought them up. He often tells me how much he loves my body. I have found that with years of encouragement from him that I feel better about my body too. I know I should be able to find that in myself but sometimes a little reminding sure helps!

love0809

Can i ask what u did to lose weight?

allana3uk

When I started MFP





Now:

This gives me SO much hope! I'm a little bigger than your before pic, and have noticed some shrinkage from my own personal starting point, but never believed that it could all go away. I do now!!

You look amazing! Well done xx

Curvy_princess

Thank you ladies!!

sjeagle30

I dont know how much it will work but I just seen on Dr Phil last week when he had Dr Oz on there that there are so many natural remedies and people dont need to spend the money on over counter things. One of these was stretch marks. Combine shortening and peanut butter and make a paste out of it and rub it on. He said after 7 days you will start to see results. Worth a shot I guess!!!