Belly after child warning picture

I just noticed the shape in the middle. If you bend over and see an obvious line down the middle of your belly you may have diastasis recti. I'm not going to post the article I look at for exercises because it's from a different weight loss website but I would google "exercises for diastasis recti" or "exercises for separated ab muscle"

^THIS!!!
You can do a self check there are instructions online how to do one. It's very important you find out if you have this because if you start doing regular ab exercises etc. you can actually make this condition worse. Find out if you have it, then do the physical therapy exercises for them. You might need a swiss ball too. If you don't have it- WONDERFUL! I don't have it but it's been almost 5 years since I've had my daughter (I've had 2 kids both dearly 9 lbs) and I'm doing the post partum exercises. I've also never fully recovered from a lumbar sprain back in 2001 so I have a really weak core. I'm just taking it slow and easy.

yr belly looks normal for someone who has had a baby. did you know that even if you lose the weight and get back to pre baby weight you will never look the same?? your life is different now plus your older, damm gravity gets us eventually. i have had 5 very big babies, all bigger than yours and once my belly looked like yours. my youngest is 2, my oldest is 12. i have lost 4 baby sizes and a couple more kilo and i will be back to my pre baby weight! you can lose the weight with loads of cardio to burn fat, i used a physio to help me exercise my abs properly - before i saw her i was doing it all wrong and was acturally making the bulge bigger. just being on here shows how determined you are, now you have to give yourself time. best of luck.

Search some of the before and after pics for the 30 day shred and lift heavier weights.

I would KILL for your tummy as it is now!!! Love that belly honey, most mums (like me) will never get it looking as good as yours no matter how much weight we lose!

I would kill to have your tummy! Garlic extract in soft gel pills, chromium piccolinate sublingual, cajan, turmeric and cinnamon are all supposed to help with belly fat. I personally when i was young like you used the garlic and chromium and worked really well. I have since discovered as well easy sit ups...i was messing around with my stomach in front of the tv while sitting on my bed lol. I had been moving the 3 different sections of stomach muscles and started to feel a burn. This is how I do my sit ups. It has taken a lot of fat off the sides of my abs and I think im noticing now in front do I dare say.

i have never heard of Diastasis recti and saw the test of bending over im going to have to try this. I know when I had gall out i had a hernia i didnt know about.

Hah, thats nothing.. Mine is HORRIBLE!!! .. But, INSANITY is good for that, cardio and your abs are working the whole time!!!

Cardio, Cardio, Cardio, my dear! It will take the weight off. Throw in some weight training & ab work. I can relate to your post-baby picture. And my baby is 12. You will be fine...slow & steady will get you results. Take care!

There's a saying, "Abs are made in the kitchen." Exercise helps, of course. But eating a diet low in processed foods and simple sugars (candy, cake, etc, or pasta, white bread, etc) and more complex carbohydrates - whole grains, fresh vegetables, etc. along with "good" fats, seems to help.

If might be worth it to have a nutritionist look over your food diary.

At the same time, be patient with yourself. Remember to enjoy your achievements so far!

I had my first baby when I was 18 and to my shock he weighed in at 11lb 13oz, and I had a c section - I remained fairly overweight since then, I had four more children all via c section (weighing 9lb 2, 8lb 4, 9lb 7 and 9lb) when my youngest turned 5 I realised that I had to do something about my weight.

My tummy is hideous and with out clothes I am extremely concious of it, I have lost around 50lb which to be honest has made it look worse, I had very bad stretch marks so has resulted in a wrinkly belly in addition to which my belly is crooked due to not being sewn straight after 5 sections.

However every day I pull on my huge bridgette jones style tight shaping pants and to the outside world I have now a flat tummy to die for! I wear them everywhere, even running my 10 ks.

its only me and my hubby that know they are there and my confidence is so much better with them, my point is I have 5 amazing children and body that looks like I have x I cannot change that without surgery, be proud of every little thing your bundle of joy gave you, even the lumps and bumps.

for those other moments where you want to feel all women! there are many things out there to distract the eye.

compared to mine your tummy is lovely x

Honestly? That looks like stretched skin to me, not fat.

bump

Hi, I have diastasis recti after having 2 kids and apparently losing weight can make it worse (I know....). Have to say, I'd rather have your tummy than mine!

Thing is, I looked on the web and found a lot of contradictory advice on the sorts of exercises you should do, which has made me worried about doing anything.

Anyway, I have been referred for physio, first appointment is at the end of this month, I'll let you know what they recommend.

Guess where I was today...physio appointment!
OK, so she said...no sit-ups, no crunches, don't use the abs machine at the gym. What I need to do is work the deeper muscles like transverse abs and obliques, NOT the six-pack muscles. Apparently my separation is mild (2.5 fingers), so exercise rather than op is the way to go (yessssss!).
She's also recommended a DVD called Pilates for Mums which is approved by the UK Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Women's Health - apparently she's tested it with a few patients. Link to it on Amazon is here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=pilates+for+mums&x=0&y=0