Hi ladies! My 2 and 3 year old sons were born 13 months apart and my body didn't have much time to recover in between pregnancies so I'm left with a lot of belly fluff. No matter what I do (eat healthy modestly portioned meals, cardio, yoga, and/or ab specific exercises) it never budges and I'm constantly sucking in my gut and trying to disguise it with my clothing. I'm a slender person but this belly really makes me feel disgusting. I'm not generally a person that's overly concerned with looks but this is something that makes me very self conscious and it often affects my overall mood. It's taken a long time for me to work up the gumption to ask about this...
Has anyone had success with a diet that targets abdominal fat? Special exercises that work well? I'm desperate to try anything. Ideally, I would like to have a tummy tuck but I've heard that they're very expensive. Any info on that type of procedure would also be helpful in case I decide to try that option in the future. Thanks!
My mother told me awhile back that Dr. Oz did a segment on his show about "pregnancy" belly. I haven't seen it but she said he gave some exercises and things you could do. Maybe try a search on his show's website or just a general google search. I have the same problem and while it is not ideal I wear "spanx" type underclothes that help hold it in.
My friend who is an estitician at a doctor's office said that after this pregnancy, my second, that she was going to do this procedure on me called a Velashape that is supposed to tighten skin. It's this machine thing (non-surgical) that doesn't hurt and you move it around whatever area you want to tone up. I think there are only a few places in the Valley who have it. Her office is:
http://www.bellissimaofaz.com/
I saw someone on the Rachel Ray show who had the same issue (pregnancy belly skin), who had exercised to no avail and did this machine and it made her look much better. Also pilates is good, so I hear.
I would recommend trying Pilates specifically since it targets your core muscles. It sounds like part of the problem may also be excess skin from your pregnancies. Try not to be so h*** o* yourself about it, your body has changed and will always be a little different after kids, but they are sooo worth it!
I know what you are feeling! I am not all of the way there yet, but I have found the most success with the South Beach Diet. It targets tummy fat first ad isn't as extreme as the Atkins Diet, as example. It incorporates lean meats, good fats (like olive oil) and I guess you could say it's similar to the Medditeranean (sp?) diet. There are three phases on it and my husband and I have both been very successful with it. There is a book or you can go to southbeachdiet.com and if you register it tells you about the diet and you can use the site to plan meals and even print out your grocery list. Good luck!
I second the Pilates suggestion! It's amazing!
I like the other suggestions of pilates, etc. I have a little bit of this myself and as for day-to-day dressing, I use the "belly bands" that I wore when I was pregnant. I bought a new one (that wasn't stretched out) and wear it under my shirts. It helps hold it all in. I got it at Target for like $15. Totally worth putting me in a better mood during the day. :)
I have had the same problem and I have recently discovered that I have low thyroid levels which makes it so I can't lose weight. And it's all because of my birth control. I was on the shot for a while and then I switched to Mirena, which I love but I have to take a little pill everyday to try to correct my thyroid problem. So I don't know if you are on birth control or not but that might be part of the problem if you are.
