Has anyone had a c-section overhang and got rid of it completely with diet and exercise?

[SloanyPony]

If so, what diet and what exercise? How much do you weigh and how tall are you? (ideally you'd tell me your body fat percentage but not many people know that)

They say if a woman can get to under 20% body fat then things like loose skin and overhangs etc will go - as they are really fat, not skin, if it was just skin, it woud be paper thin not a grab a handful situation but I'm not sure to what extent I am convinced!

Can you ever truly get rid of it without surgery?

Tell me what works!! Am willing to have tummy tuck if I can't get rid by other means...

Looks like a cornish pasty!

I've been mulling this over for a while now and been inspired to bin the junk and do some exercise.
Just need to finish that chocolate popcorn I opened last night before I start .

pilates helps for tummy-flattening.

after i had DS by section 4 years ago i started doing it religiously and my tummy got pretty flat with barely any overhang.

after having DD a year ago also by section i am afraid it is back with a vengeance and even though I am only 8 stone i have got a tummy and I HATE IT. its my own fault really - should go back to pilates but cant be arsed, i dont enjoy it at all...

You could try the 10 minute one I linked to a few posts back, I do this three times a week (when I remember) when I'm watching a film.

Might be easier than dragging yourself off to a class.

Thanks for all these, ladies. Keep your anecdotes coming, even if they are just tales of woe!

I can't help thinking that diet and exercise must help enormously, and until I've done that "properly" I just need to stop berating myself and then once I've done it, decide where I am with it...

To be fair I'm really in the zone at the mo which is what prompted me to post, so lets hang in there eh x

I can't remember the last time i watched a film.
By the time my DC are both in bed, I want to go too I'm so tired.

I remember from eons ago that if you exercise then you seem to feel more energetic in general. I just can't see how, or when to start.

This is the problem Morag...you gotta get up and do it before the kids wake. That's what I need to do really - mine dont wake up uber early, about half 7 so there's no excuse really...

zzzz meh

Would there be any way you could exercise with the children around? I have stacks of dvds and I do one five times a week before the school run, and at weekends. Then it's done and the thought of exercise is not hanging over me all day. They are anything from 20 minutes to just over an hour. My two year old sits on me, gets in my way plays in the room with me.

Obviously this only works if you're not in a total rush to get out to work or whatever and older children are fairly good at getting themselves ready.

I've found so long as I get the exercise in, especially weights (rev the metabolism up), then I don't really have to watch what I eat. I'm fairly careful, but never had to go on a proper diet.

I am no expert, but I exercise to a DVD in the morning whilst the DD's eat breakfast (no way am I getting up before I have to them). They laugh at me whilst the eat and generally get under my feet for the last 10 minutes or so, but I think it does set me up with more energy for the day and shows them a healthier role model. I am not particularly fit but trying. Am also seeing a plastic surgeon for a consultation in August .

do you work at all? Could you run in yr lunch break or run home part of the way?

How much overhang would you be happy with? I had my second CS recently, so have quite a major shelf but I'm hoping it will go. I'm still breastfeeding and craving calories, so I'm not doing much about the eating part just yet. But last time round, with walking everywhere, some swimming now and again, and eating reasonably healthily and keeping alcohol intake quite low, I got my body shape almost back to normal, just a very minor "ridge" rather than a big overhang. (And I certainly hadn't got rid of all my fat.)

Oh and I've also bought a dance fitness DVD which looks great, but haven't found the time yet.

I've had one section. I'm pregnant again now, but 4 months ago I was 8st 9lb. I'm 5'4" and quite muscley, so at that weight I'm all bones sticking out. My tummy had a very slight overhang due to the shape of the muscles not fat, but this wasn't noticable under clothes / swimming costume. I got like that with LOTS of dieting, running and by doing 100 tummy crunches a day!

The trouble was so I had wrinkly loose skin on my tummy. I could wear a bikini only if I made sure the loose skin stayed tucked in.

Now I'm pregnant again all the loose skin has been taken up so it actually looks better.... but I'm seriously considering asking the consultant to take an extra half inch of skin out when they do the section this time.

Under 20% body fat sounds really quite low to me; over a certain age and that will definitely have an impact on your face and be aging - and you can't hide that in spanx knickers!!

Watching with interest.

I have had 2 sections, the first one was an elective for medical reasons and the second section was an emergency. My second section was only 12 weeks ago ao I have only recently just started losing weight.

When I had the second section the Surgeon said that my previous section wasn't great and she was giving me a mini tummy tuck so I could get my figure back, I think she was joking but it would be great if she wasn't.

I am only 5.2 and I worry that when I get back to my normal weight (8 stone) that the overhang will be even more noticeable as I will be very slim everywhere else.

Depends what your overhang is like. I had a really big one after my first child that I definitely reduced with exercise (pilates and hardcore cardio - running, gym etc). After my second, I swear the surgeonstitched me up better and my overhang was only very slight. I am a bit chubby at the moment, but I reckon if I got really fit again the overhang would be minimal.

see link here

Under 20% gets you into the unhealthy range unless you are an athlete. The only way to achieve an athletic body fat % is by having a carefully monitored diet (probably put together by a nutitionist and containing quite a few calories - but only the 'right' fats) and by exercising at least 10 hours a week - aerobic and anerobic.

Not a routine for Ms Average!

30 Day Shred, running, pilates and Billy Blanks Boot Camp work out would be my recommend.

i had a bit of a shelt before i was pg so the cs really hasn't helped.

my bmi is 25 and am pretty fit but old shelfy never goes anywhere. looks like i have a strange sort of sausage attached to my front. am returning to pilates will see whether that does anything cos running and diet doesn't.

i also have a problem with a stomach muscle on rhs, it sort of pings out and goes into spasm when i bend over sometimes.

It's a good point about the spanx - because the post-cs tummy can be uneven and jelly-like, control pants make a really satisfyingly big difference and "flatten" the shelf very effectively. Obviously not solving the problem in itself, but very good for confidence when dressed.

ok i have just done a test at this site (i keep a tape measure at the desk for internet shopping )

and it says i am 18% fat. so either it is completely wrong - and the places they wanted me to measure are not areas where i carry fat - or sloany the 20% fat thing is tosh.

i can't decide whether i want the test to be wrong and think there is some scope for losing a bit more fat and hence shelf or to be rather gleeful at 18%!

Fishie - really hate to rain on your parade but IMHO you would have to be doing a LOT of exercise/VERY heavy weight lifting to have a BMI of 25 and body fat of 18% as a woman.

Body fat monitor scales are the easiest measure for non-professionals to tell % body fat.

Feel free to tell me you are a professional athlete and I can get lost!

i run about 5 hours a week but no i agree with you it does't seem likely. the test measured hips calf thigh and wrist. i suspect if it did tum or bosom we would be seeing a rather different result...

I only got rid of mine after DC1 when filling it with baby and cake prior to DC2's birth but I guess that is not the direction you'd be looking at!

I am not too bothered tbh as it still balances out - lose weight with each baby so I am thinner than I've been since I was about 14. So shelf a small price to pay, although I am a fan of Gok style all encompassing pants.

fishie - don't weep, you sound fit!!

I have a BMI of around 22.3 and a body fat of 23/24% (so said body fat scales around a month ago anyway.) I am not amazingly strict with diet but exercise quite a lot (probably about the same amount as you, but split between running, circuit training, pilates etc.)

For a woman of 35+, unless you are prepared to be very restrictive with your diet, or have the time to do a couple of hours a day exeercising, it is VERY hard to have body fat lower than 20% And arguably not something to aspire to.

(Disclaimer - I am sure that there are a few naturally incredibly lean individuals out there who only lift their wine glasses for exercise and still manage a low body fat %!! )

i am 5"5, 9 stone, with overhang.

in fact the more weight i lose, the worse i look (naked, look better clothed)

when i toned up properly after DC 1, my tummy was a bag of wrinkles with no navel, just a line. but no overhang.

for some, like me, only surgery will give a normal appearance.

in true mumsnet style, ive learned not to give a shit

good luck all you dieters/keep fitters, hope things improve

My youngest wakes at 0600hrs each glorious morning.

I've not had the money for a gym membership or time for a run now I'm a SAHM.
I have however, had plenty of excuses ready to hand for my ballooning gut.

Thanks for the idea about DVDs. I think we'll all find it very entertaining and fun. Even a few minutes a day should make a difference.