exercises to lose ladies apron

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,964 Member
    Exercises DON'T directly reduce or affect fat loss or loose skin. Regardless of how many ab exercises one does, fat loss or loose skin is affected by calorie deficit.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • IvyRose8
    IvyRose8 Posts: 25 Member
    You can reduce it by lowering your overall body fat. You can strengthen your abs, which will help.

    But the only... only... thing that will eliminate that "apron" is surgery. It's excess skin that will never fully tighten without an abdominoplasty, aka a tummy tuck.

    $10,000, give or take.
  • I haven't dealt with this personally but I DO know that you can't spot reduce. If you have diastasis recti then you should NOT do crunches or planks or any of that, You need to focus on exercises that tighten the transverse abdominus back up. Check youtube for "diastasis recti test" to see if you have it (most likely if you've had pregnancies). Then find exercises that will help on the same site or google Tuppler Techqnique.

    Fat loss will take the fat off of your abdomen but if you have a lot of loose skin, it may be that only surgery can get rid of it all.
  • runner_esq25
    runner_esq25 Posts: 21 Member
    I'm also interested to hear women's success stories. Any before and after pics without a tummy tuck? I've had 2 c-sections and the pooch is disgusting. It has been getting better with running and yoga...but I still have complete numbness 2-3 inches above scar and I find it really hard to engage the muscles.
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
    Wow, I never gave it a name and after 22 years I honestly thought mine was here for good. I do lots of cardio, stationary bike and the elliptical. I read somewhere that going backwards on the elliptical helps that area. Mine has gone down tremendously, I do have a little excess skin, but I am still pleasantly surprised that it has gone down as much as it has.
  • denisejones123
    denisejones123 Posts: 9 Member
    Mom_esq25....
    After 10 years since having a csection I still have numbness...
    I still have tingling feeling sometimes :/
    My upper abs have stated showing but from belly bottom down is loose!
    2day my tummy sore lower down so I'm hoping it's all getting tightened and I'm on the rite road :)

    And did the test I think I'm ok :/ or mayb I should just check with the doctor?
  • littleandysmom
    littleandysmom Posts: 173 Member
    I exercise almost everyday, but the only thing that has reduced that area is watching what I eat. I eat between 1200-1500 calories a day and exercise at least 45 minutes a day. (I'm 48 and 5'2") Finally I've started noticing a difference.
  • runner_esq25
    runner_esq25 Posts: 21 Member
    I don't have diastasis recti anymore. I did have it towards the end of both my pregnancies. My doctor advised avoiding any ab work (especially crunches, but even planks or anything that engages the abs) for at least 3-4 months after birth. She said the muscles should come back together on their own, but any ab work while they were separated could permanently separate them. So I (somewhat impatiently) waited, and I'm pleased that my muscles did go back together. Now that they are together I am building up my ab work slowly.
  • mizzlaurie
    mizzlaurie Posts: 2 Member
    When my son was younger like from the age of 7-10 yrs, I would call it my 2nd belly and that kind of stuck with us. Not quite such a negative tone with such a thing. I still have it and it bothers me a lot but when I am with people or in the public I basically hide it by not tucking in my shirt. If I even tucked it in it would come out because my clothes do not fit right around my waste. It is pretty annoying. My whole stomach is quite a mess though because of the stretchmarks and the whole nine yards. I read some of the posts and I will try exercising. I am starting that anyway. I heard from a dr. that they would surgically remove it once you have lost the weight. It sounds like insurance would cover it some or all if it was causing irritation and infections. Oh well this is all that I know. Thanks for listening.
  • tavenne323
    tavenne323 Posts: 332 Member
    Cardio. Though I've read/heard that the pooch area is more directly affected by diet.
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    Unfortunately you can't spot reduce fat, you need to reduce your overall fat percentage.

    For me, eating at a moderate deficit and lifting heavy has helped tremendously. I now have a crease along my lower stomach but nothing compared to what it was.

    still a work in progress!
  • After two emergancy C-sections and a VBAC I have a HUGE what my Dr calls a Fat Apron.
    He has said that the skin is so stretched that it will never go back and it will require surgery to remove it, but the chances of getting it done on the NHS are tiny :(
    So I guess I'll have to learn to live with it.
    It really upsets me though.
  • kathyhinsh
    kathyhinsh Posts: 3
    Well I have read all your comments, & I hope that I will be able to reduce my 'apron' (as well as everything else!) as I have to fit into a dress for my sister in law's wedding in July..... Am already on 1200 calories a day, have lost 2 stone, still need to loose another 1.5 stone ideally before the wedding...........
  • silvercanoe
    silvercanoe Posts: 95 Member
    Bump for reference
  • Rowan813
    Rowan813 Posts: 170 Member
    You can reduce it by lowering your overall body fat. You can strengthen your abs, which will help.

    But the only... only... thing that will eliminate that "apron" is surgery. It's excess skin that will never fully tighten without an abdominoplasty, aka a tummy tuck.

    $10,000, give or take.


    This is totaly true. Once the skin has been stretched to a certain point there is no going back no matter how much fat you lose without surgery.
  • kenyainez
    kenyainez Posts: 222 Member
    LOL. I call mine a "Spare Tire". I cannot stand it and it has always been a trouble spot. The only thing I can think to do that'll help get rid of that is what would get rid of all fat on the body, eating clean, drinking water, and great workouts with cardio and strength training with ab and leg routines included. Just keep pushing, it'll go away eventually.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
    Fat loss and making sure that the muscles underneath are tight for after the fat loss. If it's skin then a wait and see approach or surgery are the main fixes. I do know that if you have had kids, there is a separation of muscle in the lower abs. After my daughter's were born and I lost all the weight at the bottom of my flat stomach was a small little pooch of skin, most couldn't see it but before kids I always had a perfect belly so I noticed it. My doctor told me during pregnancy the lower ab muscles separate to accommodate the pregnancy, the only way to get rid of this line was either...get the muscles stitched back together, time, and reverse crunches (still time, it takes years for some to tighten enough to close the gap) or live with it. This is the same area many moms wind up with the apron, due to the gap in the muscles...this area can be saggier and look worse even with fat lose because of the lack of tension and support for the area.

    Boy do I wish my biggest body issue was a little line only I could see at certain angles...I thought it was such an issue, I would kill for the body I had then .
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