Postpartum belly

[Clara9123]

Hi all,

I had my little one back in 2019. I've lost some weight since then but have been left with some saggy skin around my belly. Its really affecting me mentally as my body is so different from what it used to be. Please tell me theres something i can try to help tone it or tighten it. I've not tried much yet. Hoping to hear about something that's worked for someone else. TIA

Please. Any advice is most welcomed

No way to tighten skin unfortunately. I've lost a lot of weight and I'm looking into cosmetic surgery. Once skin loses elasticity from pregnancy or weight gain, no exercise or cream etc is going to change it back. You can have the excess skin removed but a tummy tuck is a big operation

I wasn't too bad after DC1, but DC2 (who was bigger) stretched my skin too much.

I make sure I'm exercising sufficiently, eat well etc, but my stomach will never be flat. I consider it almost like a battle scar, and am thankful for what it's provided me with - 2 healthy kids.

Post-partum Pilates worked for me. There are videos on YouTube you can search for. Will help tone up tummy muscles

It really depends, the skin under my belly button is so stretched and scarred that there is nothing that I can do except have surgery to remove it. I would love to have the confidence to say it doesn’t bother me but I am saving up for a tummy tuck. I am 34 I don’t want to have to live with tucking my skin flap into my pants :(

Reading with interest to see if anyone can come up with something magical.

I've had two DC, one in 2007 and one in 2011. I exercise regularly and eat well (I'm 5'3 and a size 8), I'm in decent shape. A couple of years ago I was actually underweight and had very little body fat but I still had saggy skin on my tummy, despite it being as flat as it could ever ever be!

I think there are two things you can do:

1. Embrace it. Your body grew a human - how amazing is that?

Or if you can't do that and are really struggling...

1. Surgery. I think surgery is the only option to get rid off stretched skin.

I think there

Not going to lie. Some days are better than others, I'm trying to embrace but im finding it really difficult to accept my body now. Im scared to go down the cosmetic route as theres so much can go wrong and i dont want to be left with a scar that might look worse than my loose skin. Wish i had the good attitude like the rest of you and just accept myself

Aw, I'm so sorry that you're feeling like this @Clara9123. To be fair, I'm 14 years in so have had a while to get used to it (having DC2 didn't make it any worse, if that helps).

I suppose the reason that I feel I can embrace it is that, with me, it seems like it's one thing in the list of things "wrong" with my body 😂. As I said in my last post, I'm in pretty good shape. I'm lean and toned...bear with me - this is not a brag!
However, my legs are covered in thread veins, my thighs are striped silver from stretch marks from puberty, my knees look like grandma knees, my boobs resemble spaniels ears. I hate the shape of my nose, I'm 37 and already starting to get wrinkles...If I got one thing fixed then what about the others?

The list is endless. But hey it all works! One day I might be in a nursing home having forgotten how to walk and feed myself.

Thanks @BusySittingDown this is my first baby and i was very toned and in shape before so hopefully just takes time to get used to.
Im currently making an effort to exercise and try tone up so hopefully i can improve on it in some way

Be kind to yourself. 2019 isn't long ago at all - the best thing you can do for yourself is look after yourself, eat right and exercise (I know that it can be hard to find time with a toddler) but muscle memory is a wonderful thing and you will get back to how toned you were before. You might have the stretched skin but I guess that is a compromise for the wonderful child you have . They don't care what you look like. You're their lovely mum!

I bet it's not as bad as you think it is either.