pregnancy doesn't "ruin" your body...

amazing body...well done

Wow -

I'm appalled that so many people are saying "congrats on having good genetics" and suggesting this girl is just showing off something that comes naturally to her.

This girl's body looks to me like the result of hard work and close attention, and it's ridiculous to say that she looks so good because it's "in her genetics." I know you want to feel better about yourselves, and even that positivity will help you move forward... but bashing people for looking good, or lessening someone else's hard work by suggesting they didn't have to work for it is unrealistic and downright offensive.

Pregnancy does have legitimate effects on the body which cause weight gain, but that doesn't mean it can't be prevented, while maintaining the baby's health. Yes, it's hard, but your results reflect the amount of work you put in before, during, and after your pregnancy. I'm willing to bet most of you didn't have flat tummies before your pregnancy, and/or didn't work as hard as this girl to stay in shape during and after.

Stop making excuses to make yourselves feel better.

Edit: Let me reiterate, I am NOT saying you're letting yourself go just because you're pregnant... I'm saying, this girl probably put in EXTRA work and worked really hard. I don't think this should be expected of anyone, just that it's possible for anyone.

I weighed 115 with a damn hot body and flat stomach before I had my kids. I also worked out while pregnant, and ran 10+ miles a week. Of course I ate ice cream and tacos, but I did that before I had kids too. I was up to 155lbs my last pregnancy (had excess amniotic fluid so my abdomen swelled, and cracked and peeled and itched) while exercising AND chasing after 2 toddlers. I've been busting *kitten* daily for 8 months to get my body back and guess what... I'm STILL covered in stretch marks and my tummy skin STILL sags and probably always will unless I win the lottery and can afford surgery.

Hmm, not sure what to say without sounding like a total B.
I have had 3.
I looked HOT before kids, worked out, loved my body.
First kid, not terrible wreckage. Took about 4 months to get back to a decent bod.
Then I had #2. Biggest of the three babies, got stretch marks.
Then I had #3 14 months after #2.
Yes, it did wreck my body.
I looked nothing like before.
My stomach stretched and I do have skin sagging. I have stretch marks (these don't go away without laser surgery )
I work out. I eat well. I was never more than 10 pound over what I wished I weighed and have NEVER been overweight.
So for some strange person to tell me that I don't work hard enough to get that body back, well that is just nonsense.
Without a surgery there is no way in hell I will get my pre baby body back.
I am not lazy.
I work my *kitten* off.
I eat extremely well.
I am 38 years old and in the best shape of my life.
I will never be able to wear a bikini with confidence like I used to.
Shame on judgmental people.

This reminds me a lot of Lauren Brooks--I was just using her kettlebell DVD yesterday, and she was saying her motivation for making it was when she got pregnant and was terrified of what it would do to her body. She ran and used kettlebells regularly and got back in her pre-baby shape within months.

I've never had a baby, but want to some day....my abs are nowhere near toned right now....

What do you do for ab workouts, and what's your advice for avoiding stretch marks?

I was very fit with a flat belly per children, but then swapped all that for time with my kids, i didn't feel the need to work out like I had but now they are older and doing there own activities I'm back to how I was before admittedly my belly isn't the same ( looks like a balloon that's been deflated too many times lol) but the plus side is they have given me bigger boobs, would I change anything? No I love my stripes they show me I'm a mummy, well done for all your hard work and if my belly looked like yours I'd walk round in a bikini ????

This reminds me a lot of Lauren Brooks--I was just using her kettlebell DVD yesterday, and she was saying her motivation for making it was when she got pregnant and was terrified of what it would do to her body. She ran and used kettlebells regularly and got back in her pre-baby shape within months.

I've never had a baby, but want to some day....my abs are nowhere near toned right now....

What do you do for ab workouts, and what's your advice for avoiding stretch marks?

There is nothing you can do to prevent stretch marks. It's genetics and skin elasticity. Trust me, and ALL of us who religiously rubbed oils and creams into our tummies, don't waste your money. A good (but not foolproof) way to find out if you're going to get them is to look at your mother and grandmother's post-baby bellies.

by "let yourself go", believe it or not i didn't mean 'end up looking like anything other than me'. hahaha. you guys are too funny. I am referring to the women who dont even try. the women who are self described as being "fat", who complain about being overweight/out of shape, the women who HATE their body and yet eat donuts, drink milkshakes, and sit on their *kitten* because they're moms and that what moms do. i have a relative who was pregnant at the same time as i was. we started off the same. same height, same weight. she gained three times as much weight as i did during pregnancy. she said how she was going to 'enjoy' her pregnancy and eat whatever she wanted. i didn't do this. after delivery, she took it easy and still does. i didn't do this. she says things like, "i'd rather have my child and hate my body than love my body and not have my child". i say you can have both: a body you can be proud of AND children. it's not one or the other.

and yes, i realize that individual results may vary. as long as you do the best you can, that's all that matters.

I agree with you, many overweight people write it off as "I've had [x number of] kids" and make no effort. My entire life, my mom has been 250+ lbs and I was the youngest of two kids. I grew up on Burger King, Sonic, Hamburger Helper, and Swanson pot pies. Until I joined the Army right out of college (I had to lose weight to get in, fortunately it was just a simple juice fast away) and started becoming more educated about nutrition, I never realized that it wasn't a "predestination" of your weight.

Super dislike. Right on, ladies, for sticking up for the average woman. I'm one too. I can lose weight to be stick thin and it won't change the fact that having 3 babies changed my body, internally and externally. I won't go into details tho. It's not bad, otherwise we wouldn't keep adding to the human race, right? But I will never look the same, and I'm okay with that. I have 3 awesome babies that I love. I'll work with what I have left when all this baby making is over. LOL

With my first baby I bounced back with my second I bounced right back. That's not to say that I didn't have stretch marks. I look like a road map. But with number 3 I didn't bounce back so fast, and well number 4 I am still waiting for the bounce back. There are those lucky few that have babies and don't look like me. But my stomach now looks like a saggy gross mess. On top of the mass amounts of excess skin I have sagging in front of me that gets worse with each pound lost (I have to put deoderant under my flap to keep it from smelling) I have a severe diastasis recti, which is the total seperation of the muscles that hold your abs together. Mine is so bad that there is no exercise that will fix it. I need surgery. I hate my body now. And I just got the reminder that if I move the wong way or try to to ab exercises all of the adhesions from my 4 c-sections I have start ripping and I feel like I just I did right after my babies were born again. I don't have the 10 grand it will cost to have all of this fixed so yes babies did wreck my body and I took damn good care of myself while I was pregnant and after. If I don't want a muffin top I have to where a size 14 but then I spend half my day pulling my pants up cause they're to big but pants that do fit all this left over skin just oozes over the waist band. It's not laziness, pregnancy ruined my tiny smooth waistline, and my ablity to workout properly. But I wouldn't trade my kids to get that body back. I would the other hand like to have the money to get the surgery to fix the painful problems it has left me with.

It's funny. With my first pregnancy, I was a carb-crazed lunatic. I seriously couldn't stop shoving chocolatey stuff in my face. I gained a ton of weight. With my second pregnancy, I'd learned my lesson *and* I was starting at a much higher weight, so I was much more conscientious, tried to keep my sweet tooth under control, tried to focus on good, fresh, healthy foods. I gained the same amount of weight. :laugh:

I'm going to have to work really hard to get back to where I want to be, but my pregnancies were more than worth it to me. My kids are actually a big part of why I want to be fitter and healthier.

...and it shouldn't be an excuse to let yourself go.

When I got pregnant, I searched the internet, hoping to come across post baby belly pictures. No one continues to take photos of their belly after the baby is out! I desperately wanted to know what to expect and was terrified of what pregnancy would do to my body. I'm here to tell you that it doesn't ruin your body and you will bounce back quickly.

few days before delivery
http://oi39.tinypic.com/343qm38.jpg

6 months post delivery
http://oi41.tinypic.com/1zd43o7.jpg

now. 1.5 years post delivery
http://oi44.tinypic.com/1tu87r.jpg

I kinda think I see where you were going with this but you just failed miserably at the execution. You should really work on your wording.

Yes it possible to get fit after pregnancy (which isn't all about looks), however you made the blanket statement that women will bounce back quickly. This is why all the hostility. I am also guessing you are younger which makes a big difference from what I have heard.

I don't have kids, but if I ever do, I will do what i can to be the best ME I can be.

You look fabulous by the way!

I lost the baby weight fairly quickly for having 2 babies in less than 2 years, but my body didn't realize it until recently

Same here--or at least, I'm not doing so badly so far!

I would take my stretch marks and deflated boobies and three amazing children over having your body any day of the week. Sorry.

I would personally like to thank the person who wrote this post. I'm still young and I'm not planning on having a baby for a long time, but I'm personally terrified of ever having a baby, partly because of how I'm always hearing about how it ruins your body. I'm pretty sure I've heard a lifetime supply of "baby weight" comments. I understand that your body will be forever altered after having a baby (obviously), but I really don't think it's necessary to terrify all of the people who may be thinking about having one with ideas of their bodies and health being completely and utterly ruined. What I've seen is that most pregnancies are relatively normal and healthy, that women do obviously gain a significant amount of weight, but a lot of that weight (at least the big belly) goes away after birth. I understand that sometimes serious medical issues arise, but I think a lot of factors play into pregnancy-age and health before pregnancy being the top two. Obviously someone in their twenties will have better bouncing-back time than someone in their thirties. I really don't think 'genetics', the word everyone seems to love throwing around, is the biggest indicator-I think it's a combination of factors. I've been working extremely hard to get fit and healthy, and it's nice to know that even if I do get pregnant someday, my body may not be utterly and completely ruined because of it. Also, I would like to add that my mom looks great in her fifties right now after having two children, apparently after exercising a bit my dad thinks she looks better than she did on her wedding day.

Anyway, I'd just like to thank the OP for putting out that not everyone's body gets horribly damaged by pregnancy, and that excess weight shouldn't be blamed on only pregnancy. I do think we are accountable for our own health.

Wow -

I'm appalled that so many people are saying "congrats on having good genetics" and suggesting this girl is just showing off something that comes naturally to her.

This girl's body looks to me like the result of hard work and close attention, and it's ridiculous to say that she looks so good because it's "in her genetics." I know you want to feel better about yourselves, and even that positivity will help you move forward... but bashing people for looking good, or lessening someone else's hard work by suggesting they didn't have to work for it is unrealistic and downright offensive.

Pregnancy does have legitimate effects on the body which cause weight gain, but that doesn't mean it can't be prevented, while maintaining the baby's health. Yes, it's hard, but your results reflect the amount of work you put in before, during, and after your pregnancy. I'm willing to bet most of you didn't have flat tummies before your pregnancy, and/or didn't work as hard as this girl to stay in shape during and after.

Stop making excuses to make yourselves feel better.

Edit: Let me reiterate, I am NOT saying you're letting yourself go just because you're pregnant... I'm saying, this girl probably put in EXTRA work and worked really hard. I don't think this should be expected of anyone, just that it's possible for anyone.

NOT true. Not true in the least bit. My bitterness is towards women who think everyone's body works the same. For me it really does come down to genetics. I have the worst luck in the genetic lottery. Between Adenomyosis, needing a hysterectomy, 2 csections, THEN my gallbladder got infected THEN my appendix also got infected.... oh and have I talked about the surgery I had for adhesions? Top it all off no ovaries means my adrenal glands are acting all nuts now too. I've been trying for YEARS to get the proper diagnosis besides "you're just fat, go on a diet". Finally got my answer yesterday with a proper diagnosis of Hashimoto's Hypothyroidisim with possible prediabetic comorbidity. Crazy cakes, but he adjusted my macros to what he thought they should be and I dropped 2 pounds almost overnight I've beens steadily gaining weight regardless of what I do.

And for the record: I don't eat great but I kick *kitten* in the gym. This past year I've done a half marathon, a Tough Mudder and several 5k's. Before I got pregnant with my daughter I did have a flat stomach, and toned arms, etc. etc. I looked awesome because I kicked my *kitten* daily. I was training for a marathon that I wasn't able to complete because I wound up pregnant with a high risk baby who was then born premature. Have you ever been on complete bedrest for 7 months?

So yeah, when I say "Great for you for your great genetics" I really do attribute being able to bounce back because of genetics. She got lucky enough that she didn't have crazy genetic diseases running rampant through her body and was able to maintain. I, however, wasn't so lucky.