Pleeeeease help... huge pot belly!!

[clarkykitten]

Right, I really need some help. I have 2 DC, DS is 4 years and DD is 21 months. I have always been a size 8-10 and within weeks of birth managed to get down to my pre pregnancy weight so have been really lucky in that respect. However, since having DD, I have so far been asked 3 times if I am expecting again. 2 of those times were today, within an hour of each other from 2 different people!

It is really getting me down :( I saw myself on a Christmas video and I swear that I looked about 6 months gone. I do loads of walking, shred 3x week and have started doing yoga 3x week to help a back problem I have. I ordered the Tupler book (lose you Mummy Tummy) and have been doing the exercises for a few days. She says Shred type abdominal exercises are really bad and can create a gap in the muscle of your abdomen (I did have this when pregnant with DD but it seems to have gone back down to 1 1/2 finger width).

What does everyone else do for a flat tummy? I don't mind having a bit of a belly but I don't want to keep having to explain that I am not pregnant I am off to yoga now but look forward to hearing any responses.

Sadly, most pot bellies are fat.

Toning up will not make any difference unless the fat goes- you can't spot tone if the muscles are hidden under fat.

Sorry if this seems callous- but I am the same size as you and if I put on 3-4 lbs which I have over Xmas etc, I look 5 months gone.

Hmm, is it a muscle thing, a fat distribution question or a bloat issue do you think?

Muscle - core work in yoga?
Fat - spanxx? (not lipo )
Bloat - follow an exclusion diet?

All this may be utterly unhelpful but am sure your stomach is beautiful anyway. People can jump to weird conclusions and it does not help if it is about sensitive body areas!

cut out bread as much as poss - works for me. I used to be able to eat whatever I want but now a bread roll gives me a solid baby belly that takes at least 24 hours to go.

Thanks to you all for your responses. To be honest, I reckon it is a mixture of all three, Topaz. I started the GI diet in January, just to feel a bit healthier and it seems to be helping. I don't really eat bread and if I do it it that seedy rye bread flat stuff. I wouldn't be surprised it is mainly fat... I am toned everywhere else, but my belly is like dough (even DS once said the pizza dough we were making felt like my tummy!). Maybe I have to give it a few more months of consistent exercise to make a difference....