Is it actually POSSIBLE to lose the baby belly, or do we just accept we will never be the same again..

[starlight99]

the reason I ask, is I am now 2 years post baby and I STILL have my baby belly, despite lots of trying (exercise, watching what I eat etc.)
I know they say pregnancy changes your body for good, but there are people out there who look slim AND they have had children.

How do they do it????

Or do they just have those big M&S tummy-squishing knickers on?

[domesticslattern]

Are you back to your pre baby weight starlight and it is just your belly?

[nikki1978]

Not sure really. I got down to 9st 7 and my pre pregancy weight had been 12st 10. My BMI at this weight was about 24 but I still had the wobbly belly (and the saggy wrinkly skin but I will have to accept that now!). Maybe it would go if I got down to like 8 and a half stone but then I think I would be left with more skin

I just accept it as part of me now. I do wear spanx when wearing jeans as otherwise I get the dreaded overhang.

My mum had three kids and has a flat stomach but she is a size 8.

[Jamieandhismagictorch]

I have a wrinkly tummy and loose skin, so it will never be flat, but Pilates and a Slendertone have really helped.

IME, people who have gone back to a flat belly have

a) not had Caesarians
b) been quite young
c) been very toned before they had DC

DISCLAIMER : this is not scientifically proven

[devilsadvocaat]

a) tick
b) tick
c) ...bugger.

[Jamieandhismagictorch]

devil - don't worry, it was meant to be a) b) OR c) - not all of them

[devilsadvocaat]

ooooh

i'm in with a shot then.

thank you dr.

[Miggsie]

I do a lot of "step" exercise and pilates but still had a tummy so my osteopath said "I think you need to engage your stomach muscles more" so I said "oh, you mean do lots more pilates and tummy crunches" and she replied, "well, don't do more, just think about your stomach when you walk or bend down, or do any activity in everyday living."

So now I walk along saying "suck it in, tense the abs, suck it in, tense the abs...engage the core" like a sort of mantra.

I've even changed my swimming technique to engage buttocks and abs more than my legs.

And it actually seems to be working...you know that bit of floppy belly that just wibbles away above your knicker line...? Well, it is GOING DOWN

[starlight99]

I am still 1/2stone off being back to my pre-pregnancy weight. But it is more about my tummy than anything else. When I look at myself side-on in a mirror I just think [shock}!! This can't be me! I used to be slim!
Also when I moan about it to my friends I expect them to say "oh what rubbish, you look fine"..
...but they ....er..don't

[starlight99]

ooops
never can get the hang of those brackets

[drinkmoretea]

Well, I'm 9 years post DTs... back to same size as before but on the large side of 12 as opposed to the small side of 12...

a) no caesarian
b) early 20s
c) previously toned

Tummy rounded (like half a beach ball) with loose skin, not like someone overweight where it's just squidgy and wobbly and fits in with the rest of their body iyswim..

Have no idea how to get rid of it, dieting doesn't work, tried loads of exercise over the years none touched it... Very depressing, only wish I could afford surgery

[Jamieandhismagictorch]

Miggsie - you are right. It's possible to do loads of sit ups, but all wrong. The reason I like pilates is that it has taught be to engage my Abs, and now I do that when walking, swimming etc.

[ChaosInCamelot]

I think it's a combination of factors. My tummy has gone flat again, but I was in my late twenties having my 3 (so fairly young compared to a lot of my 'mum' friends), I didn't have a c section, and maybe I have fairly elastic skin. I will never know if things would be the same if I had been older / had a section.

I do exercise quite a lot and eat healthily (gain weight easily if I don't do both of these) Dc3 aged 15mths is still bring though. I have found that I have lost weight when breastfeeding so am wondering if I will gain when I stop. I hope not!

Those pants are handy for wearing under a dress when you want a smooth non vpl look though. I wear them sometimes on the rare occasions of being out in a fitted dress. Well worth the investment of a good pair or 2.

[ChaosInCamelot]

Yes, agree with holding abs a lot. It seems to train them a bit.

[PotPourri]

It's possible to get the shape back, but ime it will always be wrinkly! I remember my sister, mother of 4, telling me just that when I was pregnant with my first.

BTW, what made it possible for me was training for a marathon. So it was super training/exercise. 4th baby on it's way now, so time will tell if I can get my flat abs back without the extreme measures

[snigger]

7 years after the fact, I have had to sadly acknowledge that my baby belly is, in fact, my buttery-toast-and-lemon-curd belly.

Boring but true - exercise and moderation will bear fruit, eventually.

[devotion]

Hello

I really think it depends on what you had before, if you are naturally slim and had stomach muscles before then it will return but if you had a soft belly even if it was flat before then it will be harder to get flat again.

I am on my third baby and dont think I will be so lucky this time to get my belly back just because it can only take so much of stretching (delighted to see ChaosInCamelot has).

Someone mentioned holding your abs in all the time especially when you are out walking does help tone them.

But at the end of the day have you got boobs? If you have boobs that stick out more than your belly (with the help of a good bra) then you are fine. I have no breasts and belly that sticks out past your boobs is not a good look

[ReneRusso]

I think it is largely down to luck, i.e. genetics, how elastic your skin is. Caesarean's don't help much either as they tend to give you a hanging apron.

[cranbury]

I was fine after DD, in my late 30s and c-section but very fit before and I snapped back. Now after no.2 and another c-section and not so fit in between pregnancies I can't lose the weight and I now have a lovely overhang. I have to tuck my belly into my trousers and pants