Post Baby Body Help!!!!!!!!!

I'm right there with you!
My lil girl is 4 months old now & i have a 2 y/o son.
Same as you, I hate gyms & diets.
Biggest thing that helped me after my pregnancy with baby #1. Was Using them as weights :)
Go for walks. That will really help.
Also go to www.sparkpeople.com
I didn't follow the whole website, but they have awesome videos you can use for free.
They're pilates, yoga etc inspired.
The vids are like 5-10min each. And it will help teach you some exercises you can do at home.
I lost about 40lbs after my 1st doin this. Send me a msg if you want more ideas.!

I really like the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser. She has a lot of DVDs and all of them are good. I lost quite a few inches on the 30 Day Shred. It's really intense, but it's only 20 minutes. I figure I can do intense for 20 minutes :)
I'm not a dieter either. I hate diets. I wind up going nuts and then I eat everything in sight. So, I just switched up some stuff. I try to eat a little something with in an hour of getting up to jump start my metabolism. For lunch, I eat a piece of fruit first, then my "normal" lunch (for me a sandwich or a salad), then I do a snack with protein in the midafternoon. I eat a "regular" meal for dinner, I am just more conscious of my portion sizes. If I'm still hungry after dinner, I might eat a bowl of Multi Grain Cheerios before bed. If I'm feeling hungry and I know that I just ate, I drink a glass of water. If I'm still really hungry after that, I'll eat something small. I allow myself some dark chocolate every day. I don't eat a lot, just enough to take the craving away.
If you have cable, satellite or Dish, you might be able to get some workouts On Demand. Netflix has several work out DVDs as well. Good luck!

Why can't you join a gym? Well, have you heard of Strollerfit? This is what I joined after my first kiddo. Its a class Monday - Friday that incorporates your children and entertaining them in the work out. I love it and feel motivated to go! There is cardio and and core training and so many woman lose weight with it! Its worth looking into at least.

Otherwise, my advice is that every woman is going to like different videos for different reasons. Try a couple different kinds and see what works best for you.

Good luck!

A. V.

I _LOVE_ this video. It's gentle and very effective if you stick with it, and just 20 minutes a few times a week should help strengthen, tone, and relax you. I recommend it highly. http://www.amazon.com/Hilary-Burnetts-Pilates-Basics-Burn...

Before you do a lot of these videos which I am sure have lots of core work, check yourself for diastisis. It is seperation of the stomach muscles and regular core work can make it worse. Do a google search on it and how to check for it (sorry, have to run or would leave more detail).

If it's mostly skin, dieting won't work anyway, and toning won't work on skin (only muscle). Therefore, I suggest good posture! Working on keeping your abdomen toned and stand up straight, etc... However, if there really is more fat than skin, it will take more work than just good posture :) I have had four kids. Between each one, I lost every pound of baby weight and even more (thanks to breastfeeding and running, but NOT cutting calories at all!!), but I still have a little skin pooch. Exercising during pregnancy helped with recovery also. I exercise at home a lot when I can't make it out to run with friends or go to the gym. Jump rope works for me, and it is convenient, costs nothing, and a great workout. By the way, I have accepted that little pooch as part of bearing children and focused on healthy eating patterns and exercise for my self esteem and health. I am an RD so it's important to have food and exercise in balance and moderation in the house. I also need to remember my kids are watching my patterns and how I feel about myself.
Good luck. I hope you find a healthy balance and have much success!

Lots of run ons in this response, sorry about that!

Any of "The Firm" videos are great. A lot of ab work can be done at home with or without a video. Lookup "abdominal planks" -- that's a great, easy core workout. Make sure you work your upper abs, lower abs, and your sides. My hubby & I try to do abs together every night -- just 10 minutes and you'll feel it the next day! His favorite (for the sides) is where we stand; place your right hand on the back of your head (with that elbow bent) and the left arm straight out to the side. Reach your elbow up while your left hand reaches down. Then do the opposite - reach that left hand up while the right elbow goes down to your side. Do 10 reps, then switch & put your left hand on your head. Do one or two sets on each side, and build up to 3. They are easy & effective!

My abs aren't perfect, but I'm one of those weird women that likes ab work! =) I think your core is very important to stability and posture as we age. You don't have to work your abs every day, but at least commit to 3 times per week. Good luck & have fun!

I really liked Jennifer Nicole Lee's "Fabulously Fit Moms" DVDs. They are 30 minute workouts and I started using her Total Body Workout 6 weeks after having my second. I later started liking Denise Austen's Bootcamp (although she is super-perky and too hyper, so sometimes you have to ignore her or turn off the volume). I also like the 10 Minute Solutions DVDs since you can do one or several. I have the 5 Day Get Fit Mix which I really liked (especially the abs ones) and Kelly Roberts' Kickbox Bootcamp--she has some awesome core workouts and she's kinda fun to go along with. Anything with kickboxing is a great stress reliever for me, I just have to be careful with my 4-year-old forgetting that we only punch the air. :)

You might also like any DVDs that have Pilates incorportated--they are great for your middle and help with posture and balance. I never followed a strict diet but was starving all the time since I was breastfeeding and working out a lot so just ate when I was hungry, aimed for "5 a Day" (portion out that part of your day's food the night before and it helps), and drank a lot of water.

If you're interested in a DVD, check out the trainer on YouTube. I find that it helps to see if it is someone you are going to find too annoying to watch, or if you think it looks like an awesome workout and you can't wait to try it. My husband also used to check out workout DVDs for me at the library so I could try them out before buying them if I liked them a lot. Also, check if you need any equipment. I bought a used exercise step from someone through CraigsList, which I really like having (one of the videos required it), and I have a few different weights of dumbbells.

Good luck! I've never had a gym membership before but was in my best adult shape after having my second by working out in my living room. I can't wait to start working out again!

Pilates works great - it really focuses on your mid-section and buns. I started out doing it 3x a week, and after 3 or 4 weeks I really started noticing a difference.

1) DON'T diet. diets NEVER work, and that's because it's a short term solution for a long term problem. you go on a diet, then you go off it. the good thing is that you lose weight on a diet. the bad thing is you gain it all back when you go off the diet. so. don't diet!

2) just eat sensible! (I maintain myself in the fitness industry, so I'm speaking only from what I know works & I've had 2 babies/c-sections myself!) You don't have to starve- but you DO have to make good choices.

3) Guidelines: (a) if you have to drive-thru to get it, don't eat it or drink it. (b) if the smell lingers in your car for hours, you probably shouldn't put it in your body either (who knows how it's lingering in your stomach!) (c) if you need to soak it with cheese, gravy, dressing, mayo or salt in order to make it taste good- then skip it altogether it isn't worth it! (d) reduce your carbs by switching to brown rice, corn tortillas and spelt bread (e) don't drink your calories!!! you don't need juice or soda and stick to coffee black with fat free creamer (if needed). (f) frozen entrees or 'quick' meals for the microwave are terribly processed and if there are words on the ingredients list that are difficult to pronounce; its LIKELY it's difficult for your liver to process as well. (and your liver plays a part in weight loss too!)

4) If you need DVDs for the home to tighten your abs, good starting points are PILATES. but you really need to mix in some cardio so if you can get outside for power walks or add in some running or swimming that would be BEST for your core. Try Pilates and 30 Day Shred. Both are great workouts.

the best home workout DVDS I've found are by Cathe Friedrich. She can be a little pricey, but worth it.

The one I have been using to get my abs and muscle tone back is called "Intensity Series: Boot Camp + Muscle Endurance DVD." It's got some CRAZY core training. Here's a link

http://shop.cathe.com/category_s/59.htm

Also, a great website to preview workout DVDs is
collagevideo.com.

I gained about 60 pounds during my pregnancy. Part of it was stress and health problems. I found Pilates to be very helpful. The exercises are mild so you don't end up over working your abs. I would suggest a Pilates book rather than dvd's. The books allow you to pick and choose what exercises are right for you and you can go at your own pace. Once you know that, you can create your own set of exercises to do each morning. Usually only takes about 15 minutes and you get results pretty fast. The key is just to increase the difficulty of the exercises, the book will explain harder or easier versions of each one. I would change my set every 2 weeks. I am now down to 130 lbs :)
Hope this helps, Good luck.