how do i get my prekids waist back?

[ifIsaynodontjustaskdad]

I am back to prepregnancy weight and have a flat stomach but my waist is thicker than before kids by four inches! Is this an inevitable part of ageing (I'm 35) or can I make it small again?

Before kids I had a 24 inch waist and big boobs which made me look hourglass shaped. Post kids I have a thick waist and am flat chested. It's really hammering my self image and I don't think dh fancies me any more.

I have three preschool dd and I work part time, we are skint so gym membership or buying expensive kit is out and I needed something that worked around kids and the travel commitments in both dh and my jobs so I started c25k, but am only on w3r2 and apart from that I'm pretty unfit.

For context I am 1.68cm (5ft 6) and 58kg so I'm not huge, but neither am I tiny and the weight has shifted from my former 32js and brought its friends to party on my waist and thighs making me look pretty rectangular.

Do I need to accept that this is my shape now and head over to style and beauty, or can I fix it?

[num3onway]

Watching as this interests me also

I to have three dc and am stuck with post baby tummy

Tummy pinged back after dc 1&2 but 3 seems to have done it in!

[Primadonnagirl]

Hula hooping.. I swear to god I have lost 5 inches from my waist. You need to use a proper exercise hoop but can use a child's toy one until you get the hang of it. Start small and build up. I now do half an hour a day..watching TV!!

[ifIsaynodontjustaskdad]

I am intrigued by hula hooping, I never had one as a kid so I honestly wouldn't know where to start. What's the difference between an exercise hoop and the toy? Dd1 birthday coming up so may buy me her one

[MotherOfNations]

I'll second Primadonna on the hula hooping. It really does work wonders. You do need to hoop in both directions though or you end up with all the definition on one side. It took me ages to learn how to hoop anti- clockwise. Hooping to music is good.
I'm 32 wks pregnant and can't wait to get back to it but have just found out that as I'm having a c-section I have to wait til 12 wks post birth.

[MotherOfNations]

An exercise hoop has a bigger circumference, is heavier and much easier to keep up. Mine weighs 3lbs but I really want a 5lb one.

[WallaceWindsock]

I have found after huge amounts of trial and error, a set of exercises which are slowly but surely pulling everything flat. This is exciting as I had diastasis recti (separated tummy muscles) after birth and I have now closed the gap to one small finger space, so they really work.

To pull my ribs back in I just did loads of hula hooping and danced about like I was giving a lap dance!! The waist circling movements pull the muscles together.

For tummy I eased in with ten of each of the below exercises twice a day. I'm now up to 80 of each twice a day.

Lie on your back with knees bent. Pull your pelvic floor in and your pubic bone up as if trying to curl it towards you. This is a pelvic tilt. Hold each one for as close to ten secs as you can. Once you have the hang of it you can make it more advanced by extending a leg and stretching it along the floor at the same time.

Next lie on your back with knees bent, feet on floor. Using JUST stomach muscles pull one leg up so that its at 90degrees, hold for ten secs and lower. Do the same with the other one. Once you've got this down, do both together and you can do short quick stretches where you don't allow your feet to return to the floor.

Lastly, and this is the real one for closing the separation gap, lie in the same position. Put your hands onto your tummy and push the two halves of your tummy together, as if manually closing any separation you may have. Then keeping hands pushed together raise your head off the floor. You want to raise it just enough that you aren't yet doing a sit up, but can feel it working your muscles. Do this as many times as you can and slowly. Once the muscles have knitted you can put hands behind your head and lift your head further and do the exercises quicker and for longer.

If you don't know if you have a separation type "checking for diastasis recti" into YouTube and there are videos showing how to do it. A lot of exercises can make the separation worse and as I said up thread these seem to be something which isn't a quick fix but which has actually really helped recondition my muscles. I've gone from a 3 finger gap to a very small one finger in 5 months and the muscles feel much stronger. I also make an effort to pull the muscles together, like doing a zip up from the bottom to just above rib cage whenever I'm walking around, literally all the time. This has helped me feel better about my figure and again helped strengthen them.

Sorry for length, I get very cross when I see people advising crunches etc as for a lot of women this can make the muscles bulge once you've had kids and doesn't actually help knit everything together tightly. Hope this helps!

[chutneypig]

I was about to suggest C25K then saw you'd started. I started in January and its made a huge difference to my waist, sadly my stomach isn't flat yet but working on that!

It took a couple more weeks for me to feel fitter with it, but I love running now. I feel better mentally for doing it and its definitely helped me feel better physically.

[Primadonnagirl]

Argos do weighted exercise hoops but I'd start with the toy first just so you learn the rhythm.
Mother...I have a 5lb one now...great but expensive. It's ridged as well for even more resistance. I do have to say though I only go clockwise and don't have any noticeable difference in tone..both sides really toned?!

[MistyB]

Well, I'm no expert and my bum moved round to my tummy, but your ribs and hips move during pregnancy and getting them back to the same place is not always easy. I am also no heavier than before but weight is in different places which is less flattering!

Jillian Michaels of 30 day shred does a 6 week 6 pack which in my experience does pull in the sides more than flattens the front. It is fairly easy to fit in as its 30 minutes, needs very little (sports bra, trainers, DVD/iPad download and optional 2lb weights). It does also work on the rest of the body so will help the rest of the body.

I do find however, that 6 weeks is a long slog and as soon as you stop everything pings back so I find it a bit depressing as I would like a once and for all solution!!

[MotherOfNations]

I can't keep the toy hoops up at all. I think I'll buy a 5lb hoop to use after baby is born though I'll probably need to use my lighter hoop for a few weeks first until I get into the swing again.

[Lazysuzanne]

thanks for your post Wallace :)
I dont think I have diastasis recti but you've prompted me to do some googling and I think I need to rethink my ab training and start using some more of the stuff I learned in pilates!

[Gracie990]

Callanetics has a waist whittler excercise, it's very good.

[Talkinpeace]

before the 1960's the secret was corsets

[badguider]

If you want to improve your 'obliques' which are the side muscles in your stomach area then balance stuff is best... and this has the advantage of giving you good balance which is a great foundation for other activities.
Working on an exercise (birth) ball or a wobble board is good, or on a vibrating plate, or with weights standing on one leg at a time, anything basically that makes you pull your core in to balance.

[DownstairsMixUp]

I don't believe anything other than weights will help that. Just cardio alone is not enough, it will burn the fat but it won't firm you up. And not girly weights, the biggest weight you can handle, 3 sets, 8 - 10 reps, you should really be pushing it on the last 3 reps. Read about women's weight training, it does wonders for your body.

[Slavetominidictator]

Marking my place... Feeling guilty as I've only had one dc, but tummy is trashed. Same weight but totally rearranged. Not cool.
Thanks, OP, for asking these questions and everyone else for the replies.