Before babies: 5′ 4″ and 104 lbs., naturally thin and ate whatever I wanted, didn’t work out, had great body and flat abs…lucky young me! Stress and infertility: gained up to 148! Pregnant with morning sickness: 148 to 138 to 169 After natural childbirth: about 135 Pregnant again 14 months later: 138 to 167 After C-section: about 132 Years of busy motherhood (ignoring self): up to 167! and stayed between 150 and 160 for a decade! FINALLY: worked very hard at diet/exercise and now 40 yrs old and weigh about 127…BUT still trying to get my old body back! Honest question: if I lose another 10 to 15 pounds will the belly go away? Is it fat or is it just stretched out? It FEELS like jiggly fat, but it is VERY stubborn! I walk 5 miles EVERY DAY, I eat very healthy and low calorie every day, I drink nothing but water (and lots of it), and I am doing LOTS of ab crunches and exercises. Will it EVER go away? Or do I need a tummy tuck? I tend to carry my extra weight in that area, so I keep thinking that just 10 to 15 more pounds and the fat will finally burn off…but am I kidding myself? Will I get down to 110 to 115 and STILL have a flabby belly? I am DYING to get into “bikini shape” for the summer, but I don’t know if I will make it. OK, fellow moms…is it truly possible without surgery, or I am too stretched out?
Wow! That bottom picture looks awesome! All of your hard work looks like it has paid off. Keep it up, you look great!
I can completely relate. Before having my 1st child (at age 28/29) I was 5’7″ and about 118 lbs. I was always very thin, ate whatever I wanted and never had to exercise. Now, my 2nd baby is 2 years old and I’m close to 150 lbs. I’ve been working very hard to lose weight and I hate my belly the most! I too wonder if it will shrink when I lose more weight.
you already look ready for bathing suit season! Don’t worry!
I commend you for all your hard work and discipline! Even if you’re not totally satisfied with your belly, you have done miles of good for your health and well being by taking such amazing care of yourself. That is so great for your kids to see.
You look totally ready for a bikini now!! You look great…enjoy the summer and know you are a hot mama!
first, you look great. I would consider pilates instead of all your crunches – sometimes that can make you develop abs that stick out instead of ones that are flat. You can do mat class & learn the technique or on the reformer. I love it. Don’t have a flat tummy but maybe someday!
First, I’d encourage you not to eat low-calorie — it’s not good for your body, and is probably undermining your efforts at weight loss. If you’re active and eating healthy, your body is going to maintain the healthiest weight. It still might not be the weight that you perceive to be ideal, visually speaking. My heart hurts a little to hear how hard you’re working at this! Feeling good about oneself is important, yes, but it’s relative. If you’re suffering because you can’t reach your ideal, maybe it’s time to work equally hard on becoming comfortable with the body your *body* wants you to have.
Finally… in my opinion, you look great in a swimsuit. Truly. (Remember, too, that natural light is much more flattering…)
Props to you for dropping the weight and working so hard! You look good. In my personal opinion, 40 and over is the twilight of bikini time for most women. Babies or no babies, time has its way with us. My suggestion would be to stop focusing on the bikini, keep eating a healthy diet and vary your workout routine. I love weight lifting, bicycling and Iyengar style yoga.
Thanks for the feedback, ladies. I am trying to just enjoy being in pretty good shape…great shape compared to LAST summer! My main problem is this: I tend to carry my weight in my belly, so when I was overweight, people THOUGHT I was pregnant…I got that embarrassing question many times! UGH! Now, even though I am technically at a good weight and fairly fit, I still think I look “a little bit pregnant”…but my youngest is almost 13 years old! The main reason I want flat abs is to avoid looking pregnant. I could handle carrying a bit of flab in other places, it just is embarrassing to look pregnant when I am definitely not pregnant. At my biggest, I truly looked about 8 months along, and now, I think I look around 2 to 4 months along. I just want to look NOT pregnant, KWIM? If I can at least achieve that, then I will be happy and not as worried about weight or specifics…as long as I don’t look pregnant, I’ll be happy. And this applies to many things I wear: I even have that “fake baby bump” when wearing jeans and dresses. I can handle cellulite…I have that on my thighs and butt. I even feel good with my front and back views: it’s the side views with that bump that bother me. I will try things like Pilates…I hope it works eventually. I am seriously considering “lipodissolve”…noninvasive liposuction…if I can’t lose the flab on the belly. I would LOVE to do this naturally, though…not ready to give up on that yet. Anyone else get the “when are you due?” question when you are a long way this side of pregnancy? It really does something to the ego when everyone THINKS you look pregnant when you are not! I am trying to deal with it, but it isn’t easy. :(
We live in a strange culture where we’re conditioned to believe (through the media) that stomach fat on a woman is not the usual state of being for a healthy woman, so if she has it she must be pregnant. This is ridiculous — stomach fat is a sign of healthy *fertility* — it’s simply where nature has programmed us to carry the fat that is helpful in sustaining a normal pregnancy.
I get the pregnancy questions too — I just chalk it up to ignorance. The person asking is always far more embarrassed than I am; what do *I* have to be ashamed of? Nothing! I have a tremendously healthy and powerful body. It looks the way it is *supposed* to. It’s not my fault that people in our society expect women to look like something they’re naturally not.
I had my first child in July of 2007. My pre-pregnancy weight was 110 lbs, and now six months after she was born I am between 113-114 lbs, but my body looks very different. I did have to have a csetion due to me being so tiny, but what I am wondering is, will be body ever be the same? I admit I have not dieted AT ALL, I guess I am just lucky to have lost the 38 lbs I gained with Pregnancy. My stomach is jigly but pretty flat, but down in and around my scar region it sticks out and looks jiggly. Will crunches work? How could 3 or 4 lbs really make me look so different??
Sounds likes my story. Only I’m 52 years old. I was sick of all the diets and so I went on a real search for how our bodies work, biologically speaking. Muscles and all. I found two things that worked for me. Went from 192 down to 117 in 7 months, with exercise, of course. I started cleansing and fat-burning with a program I found instead of dieting and I used Turbo-jam and Slimmin6 aerobics and instead of doing reps weight workouts, I only do static contraction with weights now and it’s amazing and much quicker, but you need a partner due to the heavy weights. You can find out about static contraction through google.
WOW! We could be sisters. I have the C-section droop too. I carry my weight in my belly. I am still up at the 155-160 but I would be happy with getting to where you are! You look great. I have always been a one piece girl so I will just cover my droop! I just got the Wii Fit and it’s sneaky. I see the weight coming off but don’t feel the pain!! I struggle with the mid day snacking and my mother’s awesome Sunday dinners!