I'm sorry, but for some of us all of the removing alcohol, sugar, carbs, and working out all day will not help excess skin. I am super petite, at only 5'0". Three pregnancies stretched out my stomach beyond repair. Losing weight made the pouch as small as possible, but it's still there. The only answer in these cases is plastic surgery to remove the skin. Instead I just shove it in my jeans. I've tried tightening creams, and compressions to try to make it smaller or tighter, with no success. t's all hanging low right at my pelvic area, often called a mother's apron.

A panniculectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the pannus — excess skin and tissue from the lower abdomen. This excess skin is sometimes referred to as an “apron.” Unlike a tummy tuck, the panniculectomy does not tighten the abdominal muscles for a more cosmetic appearance, disqualifying it as a cosmetic procedure.

Yes. I'm 45 y/o. Keto.

Anonymous wrote:Yes but you won't like the answer!

Cut out dairy, gluten and sugar.

Ditto. It was really the sugar that did it for me. I also happened to cut out dairy and gluten for ibs. I didn’t them at different times and saw that the sugar was the biggest factor.

Pilates and walking or biking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ ps I’m 39 & the youngest of my 3 kids is 6 now. The middle one weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was 22.5 inches and basically I don’t think my stomach is ever going to recover from that lol. I was 5’5, 110 before kids. 135 before I started exercising & now 128 with only the exercise I said above but no diet.

So sad to hear your story because I fear the same thing has happened to me. My last child was also 9 lbs 6 oz and really did a number on my abdominal muscles. I was 5’4, 108 before kids, now 113 with COVID weight, and although I’d like to not be packing this round gut I just can’t get motivated to diet. 42 and feeling hormonal changes already. Hoping the thought of beach this summer might be a little motivating.

PP here — due to no childcare this year I haven’t been able to make time for exercise at all. I guess I am more active because I am chasing after the 3 year old instead of sitting at a desk all day and we go on family hikes occasionally. But I’m also stressed. The most I do is walk a few times a week for 20 min. I really need to do more but feel overwhelmed.

For everyone saying they eat healthier at home due to pandemic... I feel like we’re baking more than ever, and eating comfort foods I rarely made before due to time like lasagna.

Anonymous wrote:^^ ps I’m 39 & the youngest of my 3 kids is 6 now. The middle one weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was 22.5 inches and basically I don’t think my stomach is ever going to recover from that lol. I was 5’5, 110 before kids. 135 before I started exercising & now 128 with only the exercise I said above but no diet.

So sad to hear your story because I fear the same thing has happened to me. My last child was also 9 lbs 6 oz and really did a number on my abdominal muscles. I was 5’4, 108 before kids, now 113 with COVID weight, and although I’d like to not be packing this round gut I just can’t get motivated to diet. 42 and feeling hormonal changes already. Hoping the thought of beach this summer might be a little motivating.

Doesn't matter how much you work out- you HAVE to eat less, period. Sucks, I know.

I got back to even less than my normal weight after my third kid, and have kept it off for 2.5 years. I think for me the big change was doing more core work and weights vs solely cardio, and diet. I eat way less processed foods and sugar now. I was always a normal weight at 5’8 and 137-140, but now I’m 128-130 and really don’t do anything that different except eat cleaner and added strength training/barre classes.

I got back to pre-pregnancy weight during the pandemic without specifically trying. I have actually given up and then it happened. I think what helped was not eating out for a year.

Anonymous wrote:^^ ps I’m 39 & the youngest of my 3 kids is 6 now. The middle one weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was 22.5 inches and basically I don’t think my stomach is ever going to recover from that lol. I was 5’5, 110 before kids. 135 before I started exercising & now 128 with only the exercise I said above but no diet.

Op here - yes! My first was 9.5lbs, second was 9lbs and third was about 10lbs. I am afraid my stomach will never go back to normal.

^^ ps I’m 39 & the youngest of my 3 kids is 6 now. The middle one weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was 22.5 inches and basically I don’t think my stomach is ever going to recover from that lol. I was 5’5, 110 before kids. 135 before I started exercising & now 128 with only the exercise I said above but no diet.

I could write a novel on this topic but the bottom line is yes I still have a pooch. I run walk or ride a stationary bike six days a week and take one day off. Now I am finally trying to add back in core exercises. And what I really should also do is try to watch what I eat a bit too but I need to find some way to eat healthier but that’s like easy little steps that I can maintain over a long period of time rather than a crash diet that I can’t keep up.

The point was that if you lose enough wait, you will probably go back plus working out a lot.

I had a surgery 2 years postpartum and spent two weeks on a liquid diet in the hospital. I went below my prepregnancy weight. My stomach went back. I did have severe morning sickness so I only gained 20 pounds for both of those births.

I had a third child afterwards and I am 5 pounds heavier than my prepregnanxy weigh. I gained 45 pounds with my last child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes but you won't like the answer!

Cut out dairy, gluten and sugar.

Disagree.

Peloton is not a great workout, sorry to tell you. You need to move your whole body-engage all your muscles. Do hiit classes, run, weight train with heavy weights (not power lift, but as heavy as you can manage to get a few sets of 12 in) strength and tone with Pilates (great for core).

Cut calories to lose those last 10 lbs. You can’t control where fat will deposit or where it will lose by not eating dairy, gluten sugar- plus this sets you up for gaining more weight because you feel deprived. Eat healthy and balanced from a variety of food groups and use moderation.

And be realistic. Pregnancy stretches the skin, the underlying layers of fat, and the muscles. Even when the weight is lost it may not look exactly like pre-kids, but with the 10 lbs gone and more well rounded workout routine, I think you will make a lot of improvement toward what you want.

I am the PP you re disagreeing with.

I actually agree that you need to do WT and lift heavy, but I hate to break it to you, the above I posted is true to. And it's not about "fat" exactly, it's about your metabolism and inflammation.

Look, I am fifty and I am in really nice shape. Not as firm or bouncy as I'd like to be, but I'm slender, flat stomach, no turkey arms, no saddle bags. Very few women my age look like I do, TBH. I know there are those who live at Soul Cycle, and are starving themselves but that's not me.

I'd rather cut out the garbage, lift a couple times a week and be on my merry way. So many women my age blame menopause for packing on the pounds, especially
around the belly. There is some truth to this, but diet has a ton to do with it. I actually started eating this way after a health scare, and noticed the huge side benefit.

Also, my skin looks great. But I should add I never smoked, and I rarely drink. YMMV