Do you really like your postpartum body?

[34and3]

Because man I'm struggling. I'm 8 months postpartum, baby no 3. After baby no 2 I thought I had a decent body. But now nooooo!

I'm 5'5, use to be 8st 10lb now can't lose the last half stone for love nor money. I have hips when I've never actually had hips. A delightful csection overhang and a pair of spaniel ears for boobs when I didn't even breastfeed .

I'm back to work in January and that's my own set deadline to look and feel better but I'm exercising and eating pretty decently and yet nothings moving.

I guess I have to accept my new body. I KNOW I'm grateful to have three babies and please don't say that's the most important thing because I KNOW but us women should be able to like our bodies too, right?

Rant over! Anyone else?

How are you all doing? I full on cried to dh last week and told him how shit I feel about my appearance. I hate how vain that sounds. He was surprised and concerned in equal measure. He said a lot of the "right" things but accepted that whatever he says won't make me feel better. A reality check hit though that this is the new me and I'll just need to lump it.

So onwards and upwards. When I've got some cash when I'm back at work, I'll treat myself with a shopping splurge!

I am lucky that I lost the weight pretty easily but now I am literally AA chest (maybe a B before) and bum which used to be pert has gone very flat and saggy. I exercise a lot but don’t think the bum will change

I feel ok in clothes but awful naked

Really recommend 1-1 Pilates with someone who knows what they are doing.

I am size 8, never put weight on in pregnancy, practically wasting away as ebf. But my post partum stomach was huge like a giant hard beer belly and it’s not fat, and it’s not diastis recti.

It’s that the internal corset muscles have not reengaged pp and not strengthened despite months of yoga because the body is incredibly good at compensating with the overall system and a lot of conventional exercise can be counter productive to sorting out these muscles as they put too much pressure forcing them apart rather than together. The tum was literally my internal organs hanging out. And it wasn’t going to ever correct itself because my posture had changed during pregnancy to kind of lean back stacking my hips, spine and ribs (splays your ribs and makes them larger which is interesting as many pp noted that), tilting my pelvis to try to counter balance. Those corset muscles never engage when your all wonky like that.

But I found someone great and even one 1 hr session gave me an awareness of how I was standing incorrectly, back pain gone. It’s making a huge difference extremely quickly. After 2 sessions I was nearly straight in posture again and now we are working on isolating each of the muscles which were affected. It’s a lot of careful positioning, breathing and some movement - one leg or one arm etc. Barely exercise but honestly life changing. 100% recommend!

See above^

You can tell if your doing this because your shoulder blades won’t be flat. Shoulder blades should disappear into the back not be sticking out IYSWIM.

Try to stand and flatten the shoulder blades, bring the shoulders up and roll back until they are flat. Practice in the mirror side on tilting pelvis, back and ribs and try to get them coming together. Feels really odd and uncomfortable when your ‘straight’ but that’s just because you got used to it and your muscles have probably shortened to compensate.

Have fun 🥰

Really interesting thanks for posting!

Pilates is making some firm stomach muscles under my flab, although depressingly not yet removing any inches from my waist size.

I do wonder about day to day posture though. I can make myself look really different depending on whether I'm aware of it and holding myself properly or not. I guess very repeated practice gets you to holding the right posture with less thought?

@FunnyTalks

Honestly it’s making such a difference and haven’t been doing it long. The more you do it the more your aware of it. And just checking in multiple times a day makes a big difference fast.

I assume in the end your body will just hold itself like that automatically like it used to.

So if I am making a tea or microwaving I practice standing straight while the kettle boils. Every morning when I get dressed in the mirror. Standing at the check out que etc.

When I get into bed I try to make sure I am straight for 5 minutes and have a bit of a body aware savasnah. Ensure pelvis is in line, that the little arch gaps behind the hips are even. Took only two weeks to get the gap back as one side was completely flat to the ground as my pelvis was twisted.

I can feel my whole body shifting - light aches where the muscles are being reengaged or muscles lengthening again. Core muscles engaging more in the day.

Bringing it into my yoga which I was doing on a kilter and never even realised. Feel my exercise has been more effective since.

If you have some funds really worth doing a couple of 1-1s so someone can help you find your neutral. I knew I had a core issue but never would have known all the other areas were so out of whack. And it does feel really unnatural when your first positioned straight so might struggle to get there without some signposting.

Wow this is fascinating! I’m pretty sure I have something similar. Will definitely look into Pilates, thanks.

Lemon swan is spot on. But any old Pilates class won't do. Got to be 121 or a really small class, that the teacher actually corrects you. Yoga class of 20 with no corrections is a joke in comparison.

My ribs have not gone back, 9 years later. Now in perimenopause which is horrendous. Try and appreciate your body for its capabilities?

Look for classes run by a Body Control trained practitioner. They are disccouraged from big groups. Most will insist on a few 121s before adding you to a group.

I feel mixed on my body. My tummy is saggy (but no stretch marks), my thighs are far bigger and COVERED in stretch marks and it grosses me out.

However I was so sick during my first trimester I lost so much weight and looked very unwell, so I’m greatful to not be in that place again.

plus my husband loves my body even more now