Exercise Buffs-help!

In order for me to lose any weight at all, I have to do cardio. Running or jogging has been the best exercise for me. I don't run much, not even a mile, but am consistent with it every day and have lost weight pretty quickly. Also, I just started a new exercise program at home called P90X and it's fabulous!!! It's very hard and intense, but definitely well worth it! I too am needing to lose the pooch, plus some and I am working hard at it. Good luck!!

If you're looking for an exercise that will give you healthy abs/core, do Pilates. It's awesoome. I recemmend it to my patients all the time. And do your Keigel exercises! The abdominal muscles and pelvic floor muscles are connected to one another, so the stronger your pelvic floor muscles, the stronger your abs can be. Try to cocntract your pelvic floor muscles and abd to protect your back - like when your pick up your children, groceries, leaning over to do anything. It helps prevent back injuries and give you mini work outs all day long!

As for the pooch, it may be skin that has lost it's elasticity and my never lay perfectly flat again. Skin can heal, but it has a finate ability to regain shape. Every time it is stretched out, like during pregnancy, it loses a little bit of its ablity to regain its shape. You're only 8 months post-partum, so your skin might regain more of its shape. Make sure you're getting enough vitamin C. You bodys needs that to make collagen and elastin - the stuff that keeps your skin firm and prevents wrinkles. I take 500mg twice a day and, at 40 years old, I have a lot less wrinkles than many others my age. I'm hoping I can still say that in 20 years!

good luck - and kudos to you for exercising and keeping yourself strong and healthy!!

Congrats on losing the weight! My daughter is a year and a half and I still have 20 pounds to lose! I've gone to this website to get exercises. These are the core exercises that they list: http://www.acefitness.org/workouts/5/

Also, I've been reading a lot about tightening your abs and I've read that the plank and the bicycle are two of the best exercises to do. Also, I read one article that said your ab muscles get stretched during pregnancy, which is why it's so hard to lose the belly. The story said to work on keeping your abs pulled in tight all day because it strengthens the inner abs. It said to sit up with good posture and pull your belly button in. When I drive in the car I tighten my abs, concentrating on the ones that are really low and moving up, and count to 30 and 60 seconds and I do it over and over again.

Good luck!

I strongly recommend going to strollerfit.com and buying the restore the core DVD. It is amazing. Your stomach muscles feel smaller after every time you complete it. Sounds like you are working hard. Good luck!

I think it's important to be patient with yourself. It's not really ideal to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. If you persist in your efforts, you will see the results you seek. And if you really want to try to target your abs, you should consult a certified personal trainer or consider taking up a core conditioning exercise regimen with a certified Pilates instructor. (Even ballet classes, especially "floor barre," which is very much like Pilates, will help target your core muscles without developing bulk.) You'll see better results if you work with a certified teacher because he or she will be able to watch your form and provide personalized feedback.

You complain that you feel like you look pregnant, and feel as if you have solid muscle beneath with a pillow on top. I would encourage you to keep an eye on this because it might not be what it seems. Keep up with your annual gynecological exams. Sometimes women develop fibroids in the uterus (especially mid-30's into the 40's). These can make your belly pooch out (giving you an almost pregnant looking belly). And no amount of diet and exercise will make a fibroid just go away. (This is especially important to consider, if you have, in fact, lost 30 pounds in 8 months ... we tend to store estrogen in the fat in our body, and so losing so much weight so quickly would throw your hormones out of balance in your body and could result in the sudden growth of a fibroid!) So - please just be aware that things aren't always what they appear.

how about laying on your back and doing leg lifts? I know this works your lower abdomen. Do them slowly and concentrate on keeping your core tight.

Hi, A.,

I know you asked about exercise, but the first thing I thought of when I read your post was "The Flat Belly Diet." I am NOT a proponent of fad diets, and this program, if done to the letter, is definitely a fad diet. So I do not recommend getting the book and following the diet plan that it lays out. However, I think the basic tenets of the book, which target belly fat, actually have a lot of merit and are worth reading. I started tracking my calories and structuring my meals loosely around the ideas in this book, and found the results very satisfying. I definitely slimmed down through my torso and belly first. Buy a used copy and see what you think!

Best wishes,
H. S

how about hanging leg raises, are you doing those? If you have a roman chair at your gym (it looks like an arm chair high up, with no seat), you prop yourself up with your arms and shoulders and your lower body hangs. You then lift your legs up to parallel with the floor, keeping them straight so your body looks like an "L". This really targets the lower abs. It puts a lot of strain on your lower back though, so if you don't have good core strength, work up to this first by doing the same exercise but instead of lifting your legs while they are straight, you bend your knees, and bring them up to your chest. This will strengthen those muscles and flatten them out, but you still have to continue focusing on losing fat through diet and cardio to get rid of that "pillow" on top...its the combo thats key. And keep changing up that cardio, don't get stuck doing the same thing for long or you won't see results. good luck! here's hoping you are in a bikini with a 6 pack by summer!

A.,
One thing that helps me is to constantly hold it tight. As for crunches if you hold it tight while doing them and stretch out your stomach after, it will not "push your abs out". stretching after makes your muscles long and lean. I would do the sit ups, and crunches, with a firmly held stomach and stretch after by laying on the ground and reaching up and doing back bends starting on the ground. But it really is an overall wight loss too:) So keep pluggin' away!
good luck and way to go reaching most of your goal!
E.

Pilates!!! You will be amazed at how fast your mid section tones with this. If you have On Demand there are a bunch to try out. You can do a quick 10 or 20 minute one and be done.

Also-watch your carbs-esp. the whites (bread and sugar)

Have you considered Pilates? That is a great way to flatten that area that you are trying to target. I a have done Windsor Pilates videos or like the ones that come free on cable.

I love your determination.

I'm a yoga instructor. I teach prenatal and postnatal classes.

It sounds like you have a split rectus abdominus. It happens with most pregnancies. Some women heal better than others. Your abdominals split because the baby pushes them outward. There's nothing to be done to prevent it during pregnancy.

However you can fix it. It takes time... Months of doing these exercises regularly. http://www.pregnancy-info.net/separated_muscles.html

good luck!

Geat ab exercise from Denise Austin for the belly button area. Lay flat on your back on the floor. Place arms behind your head with elbows bent, place soles of your feet together with knees bent (like a frog). Now, push your lower back to the floor, then relax, then again. Does that make sense?

Nikki said it best- P90X!! It's expensive, but it WORKS :)

I am 35 & had my last child at 32. I gained 70 lbs from being bed ridden 4 the last 4 months of my pregnancy then had a c-section & 4 months after my son was born had 2 have my gallbladder out. Needless 2 say exercise was out of the question 4 at least 1/2 a year after my son was born. I had a hard time trying 2 get the weight off until I found Tae Bo. It worked great! My husband loved what it did 2 my butt & I wore a bikini (not a 2 piece) 4 the 1st time since I was pregnant w/my 1st at the age of 23. Try it, it worked great on my pooch, butt & thights. I also worked out w/2 lb. weights 4 adding some definition 2 my arms. Also, I feel a little more less vulnerable when I am not w/my husband because it helps U w/punches & kicks. It also helps U become more flexible, which my husband loves also ;-) Good Luck!

You have to be careful with the ab work, because like you realized, some of it can cause your stomach to stick out, and if you build a lot of muscle there, well, it may be more firm than fat but it can still stick out. For me running and ballet type exercise where I hold my abs in have worked the best.

Also, you can lose weight, but your body and genetics will play a major role in where it comes off first. For you, the belly may be the last thing to go. You said you still had 10 pounds or so left so maybe that will largely come from the stomach since everywhere else doesn't have anything left to lose.

One last thing: You may need to give yourself some more time. I know eight months seems like a lot, but for me it's now a year since I had my second, and my stomach has recently gotten even smaller (I haven't lost weight recently, apparently it was still just rebounding from pregnancy). At around 7 months after I had my baby I was reconciling myself to the fact that I would just have to be content with a slightly larger stomach even though I was the same weight as before but guess what? 5 months later and now I think my stomach is back to about what it was before on its own. And I didn't even have a C-section so it might take your body a little longer.

Good luck to you, and it sounds like you are very determined so I have no doubt you will get your body back the way you want it.