Anonymous wrote:Do you have a more apple shape? With narrower hips?

Anonymous wrote:I am down to my pre-kid college weight. It is a normal weight, 5'8 135, but while I looked amazing in college I have the c-section hang and like fat in places that I gained during pregnancy, like my under arm "bat wing" area, which is super stubborn and I am way more flabby jiggly than I used to me. I still look good in clothes, I am a size 4, but embarrassed when in a bathing suit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lost the baby weight and more and am down to 110 lbs. With my height, if I lose any more weight I'll be underweight, so continuing to lose weight is not an option as it just wouldn't be healthy. Yet the "mommy tummy" shape remains. Even though I'm thinner than before the three kids, the flat tummy of my pre-baby self is elusive. Is it just never coming back? Or are there exercises that might help bring it back? I've been doing ones recommended for diastasis recti because I think I have that... Maybe I just need to give it more time? Or do I need to let it go and accept this is my shape now? Not interested in surgery.

When your disinterest eventually wanes (and it will), go get a consult with Erica Anderson at the Naderi Center.

Anonymous wrote:I have lost the baby weight and more and am down to 110 lbs. With my height, if I lose any more weight I'll be underweight, so continuing to lose weight is not an option as it just wouldn't be healthy. Yet the "mommy tummy" shape remains. Even though I'm thinner than before the three kids, the flat tummy of my pre-baby self is elusive. Is it just never coming back? Or are there exercises that might help bring it back? I've been doing ones recommended for diastasis recti because I think I have that... Maybe I just need to give it more time? Or do I need to let it go and accept this is my shape now? Not interested in surgery.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar body type OP and similar issue. I have had success in the last year in sort of "smoothing out" my mom tummy. I am still thicker around the midsection than I was pre kids and I dont' think there is any way to change that without surgery -- I think literally my bones and organs have moved around in a way that makes my old narrow waist and totally flat belly impossible.

However my belly is no longer round. I look better in a bathing suit and I a feel like my clothes fit better. It wasn't about losing weight. I had to really focus on core exercises and start lifting heavier weights. I do a combination of barre and strength classes with a focus on using heavier weights whenever I can. Also I make sure to work every aspect of my core -- upper and lower abdominals and obliques and all core stabilizer muscles.

Here is a tough but very effective core workout that helped me: https://youtu.be/1WIah0t1Bzw?si=HPsoBj1c-3-uk2kr

It's a really tough workout and I still can't do every single thing she does but I push to get through it. There's also a 10 minute version I do when I am doing something else for a workout but feel like I need a core focus. Even just adding some of these exercises to another workout (I find the leg raises when lying on the floor to be easy to offer a lot of bang for their buck) helps.

I'm never going to get a tummy tuck or other surgical procedure to address this so I've been pretty happy to discover I can make it a lot better with just targeted exercise.

Oh I wish I was you! I’ve done that workout - have been following Caroline for years now. I can hold a plank for 2+ minutes, can get through most of her ab workouts, can even do pushups now (real ones, not on my knees). I’m the strongest I’ve ever been in my life. But my stomach pooch remains 😕

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar body type OP and similar issue. I have had success in the last year in sort of "smoothing out" my mom tummy. I am still thicker around the midsection than I was pre kids and I dont' think there is any way to change that without surgery -- I think literally my bones and organs have moved around in a way that makes my old narrow waist and totally flat belly impossible.

However my belly is no longer round. I look better in a bathing suit and I a feel like my clothes fit better. It wasn't about losing weight. I had to really focus on core exercises and start lifting heavier weights. I do a combination of barre and strength classes with a focus on using heavier weights whenever I can. Also I make sure to work every aspect of my core -- upper and lower abdominals and obliques and all core stabilizer muscles.

Here is a tough but very effective core workout that helped me: https://youtu.be/1WIah0t1Bzw?si=HPsoBj1c-3-uk2kr

It's a really tough workout and I still can't do every single thing she does but I push to get through it. There's also a 10 minute version I do when I am doing something else for a workout but feel like I need a core focus. Even just adding some of these exercises to another workout (I find the leg raises when lying on the floor to be easy to offer a lot of bang for their buck) helps.

I'm never going to get a tummy tuck or other surgical procedure to address this so I've been pretty happy to discover I can make it a lot better with just targeted exercise.