Zumba, Breastfeeding, C-Section...

thebunches
thebunches Posts: 40
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all! I just started doing Zumba with the brand new version (I'm on the 45-minute "Activate" disc). I'm hoping it works off some of this baby weight...My little girl just turned two yesterday, and I am tired of being bigger now than I was three years ago. Anyone out there doing Zumba? How's it going?

Also, any breastfeeders out there? I BF'd my little one for 20 solid months, and now my "girls" are like flapjacks. I'm looking into getting breast-enhancement herbal pills, because now they're even SMALLER than they were BEFORE I got pregnant! My old bras don't even fit right. (Sorry, maybe TMI for the guys here. lol) Any suggestions other than surgical enhancement? I don't want fake boobs; I just want my old ones back!

And C-section...this flabby skin is just that...SKIN. (Well, there's some fat in there, too, of course.) I can handle getting rid of the fat, but what about the skin? It's not awful; I just hate how it pooches over my jeans or whatever. I feel so gross and ugly these days.

Thanks in advance...I need some motivation.

Replies

  • reinventingandrea
    reinventingandrea Posts: 323
    I'm in the same boat with you with the c-section. That skin isn't going anywhere. Maybe someone will come along with a magical answer to help us both! Oh, and I have a two year old also. I need to get back on the Zumba boat myself. I was doing it regularly and getting great results but things around here went crazy when my older kids got out of school for the summer and I got out of the routine. Good luck!
  • KRWsmom
    KRWsmom Posts: 13
    My son is 21 months and I have the same skin thing you are talking about. there is this empty bunch of skin at my waist that makes me look bigger than pre-pregnancy even though I am 14 lbs less. Hope someone can help us:)
  • janbottorf
    janbottorf Posts: 12
    Stick with Zumba, girl! It's so much fun, and it's a great workout too! Don't worry about doing it just like the people on the DVDs, it's perfectly OK to do your own version of the moves, as long as you're feeling the music, moving and having fun! Unfortunately, I don't have any advice on the other stuff, as I've never had any children. I do know that my boobs also shrink along with my waist size. haha. I have yet to find my true bra size, I don't think. I won't have plastic surgery either, though. Victoria's Secret bras really do work wonders! haha. You're beautiful just the way you are, don't stress! :)
  • tishaloses
    tishaloses Posts: 234 Member
    I haven't tried Zumba yet!!! But I hear a lot of people get great results!! As for the "girls" I have been doing Micheal Jackson Exp. for Wii and have tones the "girls". Cup size stayed the same but they are looking better. As for c-section its still a work in progress(I've had 2). I do reverse crunches and scissor lifts(I think that is what they are called) you can feel it for sure in there!! Good luck!!!
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    babies do that to breasts in general, not just the breastfeeding!! unfortunately there is no pill or cream that will give you the volume back to fill in the breast skin. Same bad news for extra skin on the tummy, too, I'm afraid!! exercise will trim you down, but stretched out skin isn't likely to bounce back if it has not by now, you can definitely minimize it by toning though!!! And if you think of plastic surgery, you don't have to get "fake" boobs, you could just get a breast lift, they will be smaller, but extra skin will be taken so that they sit where and how they should again!!! =D
  • IndigoVA
    IndigoVA Posts: 164 Member
    I can reply to the boob part. After my first child, my breasts were pretty deflated looking for a few months after I stopped breastfeeding, but they went back to almost normal over the following year or so. After my second child, my breasts looked like two deflated balloons after I stopped breastfeeding. Seriously, they were practically flat! Over the span of several months, they became less deflated-looking, but they are still very droopy. So yours may never go back to normal, but I'd say to give it some time after you wean to see what they will really end up looking like.
  • mama2eight
    mama2eight Posts: 4 Member
    Hi!
    I can't tell you about the bf and c-section, but I can tell you about Zumba.

    I started doing Zumba (the original DVD set) in November 2010 when I weighed 244 pounds. I would do 3 days on, 1 day off, repeat. In January I went in for an emergency hysterectomy and was out of commission from January 17 - March 6 (I was supposed to stay away from aerobics for 3 months, but I couldn't resist). I started Zumba back up in March and in June purchased the new DVD's. I've never done the Activate but since I was so familiar with it, I jumped into the Exhilirate. (I tried Ripped/Sentao yesterday and it kicked my butt!).

    So after all that, as of today I weigh 196lbs. Doing Zumba has just been a life-saver for me. Combined with calorie counting I've been able to peel off the weight a lot faster than I ever had before.

    I'd tried diets before, different exercise videos, running, walking, you name it, but I couldn't lose weight. But with the Zumba, I'm just dancing, and I love to dance. Plus, my kids do it with me (even my 5 year-old), because it's a lot of fun.

    I'm going to try the Mix & Concert dvd's here soon, but I'm the type of person who likes to get a workout down-pat before moving on, and it took me a while to master Exhilirate~and now I'll just alternate that with the Ripped/Sentao. I also need to start incorporating light weight lifting because I'm losing the weight too fast and getting a little flabby....

    I hope it works out well for you, too. It's worked wonders for me, and I was overweight years before trying Zumba, and for me to take off 50 pounds in roughly 6 months has just been amazing!
  • jazzy1129
    jazzy1129 Posts: 39 Member
    I am in the same situation you are minus the breast feeding. I have had two c-sections and have that little flap; however, I have noticed with the more weight that goes off, the smaller the flap gets. I just started yesterday trying to tone, I am hoping that works. As for Zumba, it is great. I have it for WII and love it. That is how I lost most of my weight. I did it for 20 minutes everyday for about 6 weeks and Im down 30lbs. Now I dont use it anymore, just because I like to switch up.
  • jenomaha
    jenomaha Posts: 631 Member
    Ok, lucky me, I can address all of these issues :tongue:

    Zumba - The BOMB!!! It is my main source of cardio. I teach 5-8 classes a week. I attribute a lot of y core muscles development to all the twisting, turning and gyrating I do during class, lol!! Not to mention it's a fun, feel happy workout!

    As for the girls - my filled back in after a while and got really nice when I was about 15-20 lbs heavier. But, I recently decreased my bodyfat by 10% and weight by 15 lbs and now I have flapjacks :sad:

    C section - I've had 2. As the weight/bodyfat has decreased, so has the "flap" but the flap is still there none the less, again :sad:

    I work my *kitten* off in the gym and at home with proper nutrition and the fact that all my hard doesn't truly show all the effort I put in, it has led me to want surgery. My ob said the only way for me to get rid of the skin is to have it removed. So this winter, I plan on getting it removed and while I'm there, I wanna get the girls done too. My pec muscles are bigger than my girls, :blushing: lol!

    So take comfort in knowing you are not alone! Good luck to you!
  • Heidi_Maggott
    Heidi_Maggott Posts: 18
    I am considering starting Zumba classes and am so glad I found this post!
    I have had 2 c-sections and gained far too much weight during the 2 pregnancies.
    I will definitely give this a go, but the place I looked at only does classes 2x per week, on a Thursday and Friday.
    I will start 1 x per week and go from there

    Thanks everyone for your input!:happy:

    PS I have also considered the surgery option. I do not want huge boobs, but I would like them to point in the correct direction again!
  • ColoradoRobin
    ColoradoRobin Posts: 510 Member
    I've had a C-section and a hysterectomy and was hoping that flap would go away eventually. I will see how it looks when I get down to my goal weight, keep doing Zumba and weight-lifting, and hope. I'm hoping surgery isn't necessary for all the parts I'm not happy with right now - belly flap, bat wings, and slightly flat boobs. Lol.
  • rachel0923
    rachel0923 Posts: 137 Member
    I haven't had a c-section, but my belly did go back to being flat after I lost all my baby weight plus some after my first baby, when she was about 18 months old. As for the boobs, I find that chest exercises help to get things back up where it is supposed to be, and a well-fitting bra doesn't hurt! Give your body some time to get over all the changes it has had in the past few years before you take drastic measures!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Yeah, my boobs are sad these days. I'm planning on getting new ones someday.
  • thebunches
    thebunches Posts: 40
    Thanks EVERYONE for all of your great replies!!! It helps to know I'm not in this alone, and other women have had these exact same issues and we're either working on them or we've succeeded in getting rid of a problem or two.

    I have a confession to make; when I was married to my first husband, I was a tiny size 0 but my boobs were also tiny...so I tried these herbal pills I found online, and they WORKED!! My best friend and I did them together, and took before-during-and-after pics, and both of us noticed an increase in size after about 6 months, I guess. But I can't find those particular ones online anymore (aside from the fact that the last time I saw them was ten years ago)...so I'm looking to see what else is out there, just because the first ones really worked. I had to stay completely away from caffeine and carbonation, and make sure I ate before taking the "three pills, three times a day"...but all of those were healthy acts anyway, so I didn't mind.

    It's crazy because after I had my first baby, my boobs actually got bigger (and I wasn't breastfeeding), and stayed that way for the next almost-decade. Now that I've had my second baby, and she has breast-fed the life out of them, I don't really agree that "having a baby" just does that to breasts. I didn't breastfeed my first baby, but I did breastfeed my second. Crazy how these things called "boobs" work. :) lol

    I'm excited about the Zumba, but I have no idea of how many days a week I need to do it...I'm trying to do four evenings after work, and every Saturday morning, so I guess I'm trying for five days a week at 45 minutes a day. But I wonder if my goal is too high because it seems so daunting to try to do four evenings (M-Th) every single week. Any advice?

    I guess Zumba won't help get rid of my C-section flap... :(
  • janbottorf
    janbottorf Posts: 12
    You'll need to just see what works with your personal schedule, and also see how you feel. Even 2 nights a week plus Saturday mornings would probably be great. I know when I first started doing Zumba, my legs would get sore until I got used to it. So make sure you aren't overdoing it. My sister-in-law WAY overdid it on the Zumba, plus she was doing P90x at the same time, and she got severe shin splints. Zumba is good for the waist line though...most of the movements work your abs and waist quite a bit. So you could see a good bit of toning up and maybe that will make you feel better about the c-section flap! :)
  • celiag84
    celiag84 Posts: 1
    I've had my first c section and its hard to get rid of tha flabby skin but let me tell you insanity has worked for me its so hard and trust me its worth the pain and sweat its all cardio and its a 60 day program if your willing to work hard to get your stomach in shape without the waste of money getting surgery then put your hard work into insanity like they say only the insane would do it and I'm glad I did I'm still doing it and I'm glad I'm getting my body back y'all just need to be motivated never give up and tell yourself everyday I can do it and the results will be like you never imagined
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