Ladies only please!
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NRSPAM
Posts: 961 Member
Ok ladies, I have a question. It's been almost 2 years that I've been on this weight loss thing, and I've done really well. I've lost 60lb's....but, I can't get rid of my belly! I have 2 children, and with my last one, I was super huge! He weighed 10lb's, so he was a big baby, plus I gained quite a bit of weight. I only have about 20lb's 'til I hit my goal weight, and I just don't see me losing all this belly with only 20lb's. If you have had the same problem, and were successful at losing that belly flab, and actually having a toned tummy, can you please post pics, and tell me exactly what you did? Thank you soooo much in advance!!! 
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Replies
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Just losing weight doesn't work. You need to lower your body fat and work on your abs. That said, you may just have stretched skin that may not ever go back and be "toned". My baby is 31 and even at 115 lbs and 19% BF I still have a bit of belly that just doesn't go. A lot will depend on your genetics and how much your skin will be forgiving.0
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Oh, that's not good news...I can't imagine weighing 115 and still having a belly. that just doesn't seem fair.0
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:sad: :sad: :sad: Not what I wanted to hear. Lol. Well, I guess I can try to get to goal, and see what things look like. My goal BF% is 23.0
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Hello!
I share your struggle - I'm small but I still have a tummy after 3 kids!
Don't lose hope though...20 pounds is a lot of fat, and it could shrink your belly completely. That's what I'm holding out for.0 -
Do lots of sit ups or crunches
Apparently pilates is really good for toning the belly. At the body pump classes I go to they normally get us to put a big weight (The round ones) on our stomachs and push our bums from the floor
Maybe try to reduce your carb intake to get it flatter. With me if I eat a lot of bread, pasta, rice etc it has a wiggle, but if I don't, it doesn't lol!!!!
Fab work on losing 60lbs!!! AMAZING!0 -
I have about 7lb to lose now (Im 5'7 and my goal is 140-145 - UK slim size 12) and my belly is quite flat. It is still quite wobbily though! I'm working on tightening it up and I am noticing a difference. I'm doing Jillian Michaels DVD's and Tracy Anderson Mat workout, plus C25K. I cant afford the gym (re time and money).
My lb is 13 months and I haven't really been motivated enough until recently so hoping I can keep going.
I should say though my belly/waist has always been my smallest part of my body (I'm pearshaped) so that prob helps me.
What workouts are you doing?0 -
I too have the BELLY... Unfortunately, I am unable to do crunches and situps as I have 4 herniated disk in my lower back and degenerative disk disease in my neck. When I ask the trainer how the hell I was going to loose my stomach if I can't do the "normal" stomach exercises he told me to swim, get in the pool get a kick board and kick for miles and miles... point your toes, keep your legs straight and suck in your stomach the entire time you do it. Let me tell you, it hurts like a mother but it is making my stomach smaller. Mind you I have alot of weight to lose so it may be working because I do have the weight to lose, not sure if once the weight is gone it will have the same affect but it's worth a try and it's a really good healthy burn! Good Luck!!0
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About a months of cardio (combined with strength) and I can see the definition in my abs again. However, I haven't had kids yet. On another thread a lot of moms said adding heavy lifting really burned up the tummy for them though. Doing the standard sit-ups etc wont help much though unless you add cardio to burn the fat covering it. And there are many workouts more effective than sit-ups.0
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Go into my pics if you want. I have a before and a recent that are 23 lbs apart. I achieved this with a moderate cal deficit and weightlifting to make sure most of the weight loss was fat.0
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I think the "belly" is a subjective term … no, it probably won't ever go back to the nice flat before-baby tummy. But it can go down pretty well. I've heard many times that the lower belly is the last place to lose fat, so your last 20 pounds may make more of a difference there than you expect!
If you aren't already lifting, or at least doing some sort of resistance work, now would be a good time to start. More muscle often will help with that belly, in the long run. Do some abs, but don't focus just on abs. You do need a nice, strong core and good muscles there, but if there's fat, you can't trim it off with crunches :laugh: I'm not a perfect example of the ideal post-baby belly (my youngest is 2) but I've found that doing more tummy exercises =/= flatter tummy. I pay attention to my core during my other lifts (squats, bench press, pull ups, etc) and then do russian twist and a few different plank exercises (usually <5min total).
Like I said, few women get a flat tummy after kids (unless they have a tummy tuck
), but that's okay. We earned a bit of curve, and our husbands tend to think it's really quite sexy. Yes, work on the last 20 pounds; yes, make sure you have a strong core; but remember what gave you that curve (babies) and be proud of it :laugh: 0 -
Lifting weights will do more for your abs than standard ab exercises. (crunches, situps, whatever)0
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Lifting weights will do more for your abs than standard ab exercises. (crunches, situps, whatever)
I'm banking on this! I still have a lot to lose but if I keep my lean mass and shed the fat I"m *hoping* the situation which is my somach will resolve itself.0 -
Do lots of sit ups or crunches
Apparently pilates is really good for toning the belly. At the body pump classes I go to they normally get us to put a big weight (The round ones) on our stomachs and push our bums from the floor
Maybe try to reduce your carb intake to get it flatter. With me if I eat a lot of bread, pasta, rice etc it has a wiggle, but if I don't, it doesn't lol!!!!
Fab work on losing 60lbs!!! AMAZING!
NO on the crunches or situps that builds the muscle but it is still hidden by that bf...
Lift heavy things repeatedly as I will end yo suggests0 -
bump0
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I'm under 100 pounds with a belly (I'm short so people don't freak out)
I will take pics this weekend from my last workout (Combat)
Now I'm doing T25 We shall see how this goes! I think my body fat % is still too high, I need to check that again.
Hang in there!!!!
What are you doing currently?0 -
and I think my next program after this will have more lifting.....0
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I only started in july and I have 60 more lbs to lose, but Im worried about the same thing. I gained weight from having kids (2] and my first really destroyed my belly. I have what I like to call- the mommy pouch.. So well see if I can lose it, but my skin literally sags, and most of it is just skin, not fat- at least where it hangs uhhhh its gross!! But my hubs just reassures me if I still have it after and really cant get passed it, we can save up for a tummy tuck and possibly something to reduce my stretch marks ( I got them terribly from my first bby. Not sure how to post pics on this site from my phone yet, but u really dont want to see lol.0
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There I added it to my profile, so you should be able to see it I think the oic was taken a month ago, more or less.0
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So I am at the playground the other day with my kids. Another mom asks me, "Are they all yours?" "Yes. All four are mine", I reply. Her next question as she looks at my stomach...."And is that a baby belly?" (as in are you pregnant?). "No", I smile trying to be gracious, "That is the remains of baby bellys and what I am trying to get rid of!". "Oh good" she says, "because 4 is certainly enough". Yep. Sure is. (for me-right now). Buuttt..... wait, what just happened here? First of all, and I say this to let you know why this was a pretty big blow for me- not to toot my own horn.... I am a size 4. I have 23% body fat. I workout a fair amount and struggle daily with food. And I always feel fat because of this tummy pooch! You see, I have diastasis rectus, which is a splitting apart of the ligaments that hold the the panels of the ab muscles together in front. Late in the day when I am tired, when I have eaten certain foods and when I weigh anything more than 114 pounds (and look sick everywhere else)... I certainly have a pretty noticeable round pooch.
Ok, so obviously this person kind of showed herself to be a person with limited ability to censor her thoughts before speaking. But she got me thinking about my continual cyclical eating. Dieting down with very low calorie days. Wearing myself out. Binge eating. I often gain and lose the same 8ish pounds each month. It has to stop and I think it has to stop in my mind before anywhere else. I will continue to work on this and just found an amazing article by Nia Shanks that speaks loudly to it. And she has links to many other great pieces she and others have written. I recommend getting lost in that rabbit hole of reading!
And PS- for other moms with this condition, because I have seen many posts about it and have posted myself about it before as well... I do believe that diet and certain exercises have helped considerably. It takes time and unfortunately is not completely fixable apart from surgery but improvements can be made! I have some before pics on my site...
Here is that Nia Shanks link....
http://www.niashanks.com/2011/10/my-battle-with-disordered-eating/0 -
Do lots of sit ups or crunches
This can be bad for diastasis if that is an issue. standing ab work with over the head medicine balls is better. as well as the heavy work.0
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