Getting My Stomach in Shape

You can't spot train. So losing overall body fat is the only way you're going to get rid of it.
Personally, no matter how much I lost and how much I worked out (I workout 6 days/week, 1.5 hrs a day with everything from HiT/Tabata, bootcamp, weights, etc....)...nothing budged. My muscles were distended and I had saggy skin and stretch marks on my abdomen.

So, I had a full tummy tuck. Best decision ever.
Now my belly matches the rest of my body's hard work!

Abs are made in the kitchen . watch your diet and do lots of core strengths ine exercises. You can find then on the Internet. Planks, all kinds of different core exercise for abs

Unfortunately, it's really hard to get mom tummy to go away. I was talking the other day with my yoga teacher, who's thin and fit, and even she was saying no matter what she does, it won't budge after having three kids.

For me, I've hit a point now in my mid-40s where I've accepted that the extra bump on my tummy from having kids is just going to be there. There's no shame in having kids. My body worked hard and there's just going to be "leftovers." It is what it is. I can minimize it a bit through exercise, but it's just never going away without surgery. Once I got my mindset in the right place, it didn't bother me as much anymore.

It depends. If it's skin or separated muscle, only surgery is going to fix that. Otherwise, I also recommend insanity. I hate exercise, and every minute of it was awful for me, but it did such beautiful things to my body's appearance. ;-)

The core workouts Chalene does in her Beachbody DVD programs, Turbo Jam, Turbo Fire and Piyo are AWESOME. They core workouts are usually 20-30 minutes but VERY EFFECTIVE. There are lots of good core workouts on youtube too. Along with good muscle training like those 2-3 times per week, you need a clean diet and lots of walking to keep the middle deflated. And don't eat at night! Let your body have 12 hours to fast between dinner and breakfast. You can eat at night SOMETIMES, but always eating late at night makes it impossible for belly to go away. Also sitting is deadly. If you drive a lot and sit a lot you have to get those workouts in.

After having two kids, I lost all my baby weight by running and eating right but it took awhile for me to figure out how to get my stomach back. Sit-ups and crunches were not cutting it. A friend lent me the Insanity workouts and that did it for me, especially the ab workout. I normally don't buy into things you see on infomercials but this is really a good workout.

What are you already doing? How is your diet?

MandA is right, you can't spot-train. I'm curious to know what your current fitness regimen is like. It would help me to more fully answer your question.

you can tone your ab muscles, but you can't lose fat JUST there.
khairete
S.

If you are getting in shape everywhere else then that is a good sign. Sounds like you are probably active and eating,drinking healthy.

I totally believe in targeting muscles but I also ZUMBA, bike and walk each week for cardio. On top of that I do an ab video each day that is about 5-7 minutes and then I do planks. Front and side planking. I swear by the planks!! I see and feel results after about 1 full week..not that it creates a 6 pack after 1 full week but that you see results.

Mental health is important when it comes to body image. I have accepted that I am a mom. I have grown babies and fed babies with my body. What miracles!! My husband loves my body and my kids love me. A bikini body is just something that would be nice but not a top priority. I like to feel healthy and look healthy. Healthy does not equal a specific jean size. This mindset keeps me centered and happy.

Now try those planks! Let us know if you see any results from what ladies on here have suggested.

Check yourself for diastisis recti (separation of the transverse abdominal muscles). Its supper common after pregnancy and crunches and planks can actually make your tummy bigger if you have it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzIrt82maws

If you have diastisis recti, check out the MuTu program below. Without weight loss, I lost 2 inches in my waist line in two weeks even just with the super easy restorative exercises. I loved the more intense workouts too, but all my progress happened with restorative exercises alone.
http://mutusystem.com

Also, besides the 5 mo prego looking tummy, diastisis is often accompanied by pelvic floor disorder and if you don't strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, there are all kinds of problems that can happen later, like organ prolapse and umbilical hernia. To be honest, discovering I had diastasis recti ended up sending me down a rabbit hole of realizing other problems in my body all boiled down to poor alignment. Now I am working on many issues, but at least I know why I have had so many problems (knee pain, hip pain, tampons falling out).

I'm so glad I have the opportunity to restore the problem before Hernia or prolapse occurred.

I have very poor stomach muscles. I probably also have some diastasis recti, however, if you learn to eat the right foods for your body, excersize the right way, and strengthen pelvic floor muscles that will help tremendously. I use an abdominal wrap when I work on my abs. It keeps my stomach muscles together, and strengthens them at the same time.

Good luck!

Hi S.,

When nutrition absorbs properly, the body balances weight and things even out. Mom tummies are sometimes toxicities that just don't go away...I don't care how well you are eating now, or how much you are working out, the synthetic chemicals that have absorbed into your body don't just go away on their own. Even if you have eaten healthy all your life, your body absorbs your laundry detergent, the soaps you use, etc. My Mom had a "mom" tummy and so did her mom. I don't, neither does my sister because we figured it out. Detox your home, detox your body, then the good eating and the working out will work.

Hope this helps!
M.