Back to Normal Weight but Not Loosing the Baby Belly

You most likely have separation (diastasys). You need to strengthen the transverse abdominal muscles, stretch the hamstrings, stretch the chest muscles, and strengthen the upper back muscles.
It is very important to make sure you do not do curls and especially not obliques until the transverse muscles have started to pull everything back in and your posture is improving. When you do start other abdominal strengthening exercises, you need to make sure you are doing them correctly, i.e., head completely back, chin away from the chest.
We offer a 6-week workout/workshop for moms that has had incredible results. Check out www.bigbellyfitness.net and click on Tummy-Time for Mommy.
Good luck!

Hello
Since this is my specialty I thought I would chime in. I am a personal trainer and am the only person in the state that is "Tupler Technique" and "Diastasis Rehab" certified.

It sounds to me, as stated in the post below, like you may have what is called "The mummy tummy" or a split in your stomach muscles from pregnancy which is called a diastasis. This can cause even athletes and marathon runners to still look like they are 3 to 4 months pregnant, because the muscles are no longer supporting the midsection, and the organs start protruding. Not only is it frustrating in the cosmetic sense, but these same women usually have back pain because of the diastasis, and other problems.

There are definitely some things you can do!
Postpartum women be aware that crunches where your shoulders come off the ground can make a diastisis worse (split in your rectus abdominus you get from being pregnant - also called "mummy tummy" - the vertical muscle on either side of your belly button that stretch from the top of the pelvis to the bottom six ribs)

"Crunches" were not designed for pp women - at all! They actually make the split in your stomach muscles WORSE!! Also a split in the rectus abdominus can CAUSE or WORSEN a sensative back. The main function of the rectus abdominus is BACK SUPPORT. So if that muscle has a wide split (which happens in 98% of PP women and does not come back together on its own) you will have pain or sensitivity in your lumbar (back) muscles.

Having said that you can adapt many exercises to be suitable for pp and help tone the muscles, and close the diastisis.

There are many specific exercises you can do. "Lose your Mummy Tummy" by Julie Tupler is a great book you can get from Amazon.com.

If you prefer a group or personal instruction, I am a certified Personal Trainer and Tupler Technique/Diastasis Rehab specialist. (www.diastasisrehab.com)
I teach classes in 2 locations and can do personal or group sessions in the home - including Oswego and Orland Park.

One last thing I tell my clients for great abs - AVOID THE FIVE WHITES!!!
White Flour
White Sugar
White Potatoes
White Pasta
White Rice

You can read my blog about this:

www.beautifulafterthebelly.blogspot.com
to read about some of the results!!
PS Within 12 weeks of having my 3rd baby, I have been able to go from a 32 inch waist to a 25 waist after birth with all 3 kids thanks to the The Tupler Technique + good nutrition for this mom's mommy tummy :)
Feel free to call me with any questions. My cell is ###-###-####

B. Wayne

here in the Philippines,we put a band around our waist on the first few weeks after giving birth to help our tummy go back to it's normal shape and it is also said that breastfeeding helps a lot.

pilates is great! You will get your tummy back in no time if you really stick to it.

Good luck!

Your body has just gone through a major traumatic experience getting pregnant and having baby. Unfortunately, most of us will never get back to that pre-baby body without a LOT of work.

I'd either start working with a trainer or using a program that really focuses on your abdominal core to help retrain and strengthen those muscles.

I'm below pre-baby weight, but my body is certainly not the same. Don't love what I see when I look in the mirror, but I couldn't love those babies any more than I do.

I think a lot will depend on your age. I'm almost 40 and had our last child just about four years ago. I work out 3-4 times a week and eat healthy, but the baby belly fat will not go away. I could do crunches 24/7 and I'm convinced it's going nowhere. I suspect if you're a younger mom you can regain your pre-pregnancy body (things are a whole lot easier when you're in your 20s).

Remember you just stretched those muscles out! You need to exercise to bring them back to where they were. Working out will help you regain your figure! Congrats on losing the weight though!

After my youngest daughter was born I did weight watchers, breastfed and walked, alot! I lost all the baby weight plus more( I was about 20 pounds over weight when I got pregnant) I didnt do any other kinds of exercise and I lost my tummy! I had always heard one of the best ways to lose excess fat is cardio! I had a 2yr old at the time to so the only reason I even had time to walk was because I could do it with my kids! Im prego for my 3rd child now and am already getting everything together for weight watchers and exercise and getting off this baby fat! Good luck!

I have had two kids and this is what I have found. With my first I got down to like 113 pounds (I'm 5'3) at the 6 month mark and I felt great! With my second it was totally different. I think it might be because your stomach has gone through all that twice or something but when I got down to 113 I still had a small tummy :( so I lost more weight and did an ab video every day. Now I'm 108, have a tight tummy and I feel great! I really felt like to look nice and thin again I had to loose more weight because my stomach just wasn't the same after having two babies. So that might be the case with you too. Also your baby is still pretty young I bet as time goes on your tummy will get tighter again.

DIASTASIS RECTI!!! I have the same thing - took me months and months of research and countless posts to various boards to give me something to go on... Finally, my GYN and then my family physician confirmed it was diastasis recti. I have found out so much info on it and would share it with you, but Bonnie already has! She is right on... actually I just called and left her a message because I have been putting off getting it taken care of and really, I just can't wait anymore.... It amazes me how doctors don't really talk about it much when it is actually very common. Moms should all be checked for this after going through such a physical experience of carrying a child.

Sara, what town do you live in? I am far from Orland (I live in Bartlett) - maybe we could do it together with Bonnie?

the only thing is abs and working a lot in your tummy section