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Body after baby
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Hi... been around a while, but have taken some time off..to have the most amazing gift in the entire world, my son. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. However, my body just reacts so differently. Which I knew, and accepted and he is SO totally worth it, but as I was on the trainer last night and caught a glimpse of myself in aero, I blurted out to myself: will my midsection EVER be the same? My precious one is 18 months old and I had a C-section. Got fit quickly - well, got my running back in order quickly, as the swimming and biking take a lot of time. Ran a few 1:30 half marathons in winter 2013. We've moved across the country to an area that running outside 12 months out of the year is tough, let alone biking (read, mountains and snow/ice pack since November 30).

But my question is... were y'all able to get a leaner core back and what on earth did you do (all tips appreciated!) I realize I'm older now (36, gulp, in March), but I'm an athlete and dang it..I want my core back!

rant over :) time to scroll through photos of my wonderful little guy (JE) whom I adore more than I want my core back... but thought I'd ask!



Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

Last edited by: KT-tri: Feb 4, 14 8:03
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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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I'm in a similar boat (and age - I just turned 36). My son is 26 months old & my midsection is flat-ish, but with a stubborn layer of fat over top that was never there before. :( I don't really like it, but I haven't been hardcore trying to get rid of it either (my excuse was potentially having another kid - if that doesn't happen by this summer I'm getting my body back once & for all!!).

I think some of it has to do with fitness (obviously not the issue for you) and some sadly is just genetics.

Sorry I have no magic cure.
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Re: Body after baby [edbikebabe] [ In reply to ]
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exactly! I've actually done a lot of core strengthening work b/c I lost so much while pregnant with JE and then the cut through everything! But the stubborn layer of fat on my tummy and then I noticed that I am thicker on my back (ighk) than I used to be! Aging stinks! I realized not long ago that my next age up is into Master's! I so feel like I oughta still be in 25-29...then I look in the mirror and see......wrinkles! My husband has rocked master's..maybe it'll rub off on me :)



Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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I realized the other day that if I'm rounding it's up to 40. That is not okay.

I didn't have a c-section either, so I'm sure that plays a part as well.
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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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It will get better.

Are you back to your pre pregnancy weight? Do you think you have the same body fat %? Or is that the piece that hasn't returned to normal? Are you nursing?

I had two babies. The second was a big one, close to nine pounds. My weight returned to normal pretty quickly, like in six months, but it took a full year before I felt like my insides had gone back to normal. I was 34.5 when he was born.

I continue to feel like I have this layer of looser skin around my middle where he stretched me out even though my weight and body fat are as low or lower than they were pre baby. My baby is now in his late teens.

Okay, before you get discouraged, know that OTHER people see my bare stomach and comment on my six pack. To them I look very lean. They aren't as critical and they don't remember what I used to look like.

The only cure is time and sticking with your good diet and hard workouts. If you think the C section is an added factor, consider Pilates and do some extra core work.
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Re: Body after baby [lreichman] [ In reply to ]
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Been doing a lot of Barre work and really like it. It's made a difference. Unfortunately I had to stop nursing when he was 9 months old. I'm not that far off my pre-try to get pregnant weight..I had to gain 10lbs to get pregnant. Working on it. I was there and then we moved from the South to the mountains so my training has obviously changed dramatically due to weather and location changes. Little man is 18 months old now. LOVE OF MY LIFE :) Adding more resistance/weight training when I can(lunch hour a few times a week) and hoping that will make some difference :) Not to total discouragement yet.. :)



Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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I had babies at 36 and 38, both by emergency c-section. After the first, my body snapped back to look better than before. Like a fitness model. I ate well and exercised throughout the pregnancy. With the second, I finished entire bags of chips to fend off the nausea. I didn't exercise as much. After the second, I have a layer of loose skin and fat. Who knows if the diet or exercise had anything to do with it or whether my poor skin had it with being blown out to four times its regular surface area. Twice.

Here are some possible solutions.

Breastfeed as long as possible, although this may be too late for you to do? It is amazing for helping you to lose body fat. That is all I did with my first child to get thin, and at the end, I threw away 30 pounds of milk from the freezer. Producing milk eats away at your body fat.

High intensity intervals can shake things up. Try something you have never done. When I joined a tri club, I did lots of sprinting and intense intervals and this had the amazing effect of sculpting my body so I had more muscle and more definition, particularly in my arms.

Weight training. You can reduce body fat percentage this way. I am not suggesting that spot reducing is possible. It is not. But gaining more muscle leads to more calorie burning.

While I managed to shed the excess fat, I cannot rid myself of the excess skin. Unfortunately, an abdominoplasty is the way to go. I never wear a bikini so I'll never have one, but I joke with my girlfriends that we should all get one together to get a discount. So far I have ten on my list! I was so surprised to find this--these girls I am referring to look thin, and they still have the loose skin problem. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but without surgery, many of us (older moms) have lost weight through exercise or diet but cannot lose the loose skin. I think of the loose skin as not a bad trade to get beautiful children. It is probably genetic in origin, perhaps some women have nice elastic skin, but you are in good company if you are having difficulty with this.
Last edited by: karencoutts: Feb 6, 14 14:29
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Re: Body after baby [karencoutts] [ In reply to ]
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Ya, while I was nursing it just fell off.. but I got laid off (boo, still sad, great wonderful place) and ended up with a boss who was well........... shall we say.... um. Let's just say he did not make it doable for very long. TOTALLY WRONG. At any rate, I had to stop when he was about 9 months old. I swear if he needed it now (at 18 months) and I could do it, I'd be pumpin' away! Thankfully had enough stored to get him to 10 months.

Doing some more resistance work and weight training and love me some intervals, and have been doing them on the treadmill since the ground is covered in snow and ice right now. Doing pool intervals of course and on the trainer.

Looks like I'm doing what I can... it's nice to know however, that I'm not alone in the "where did my lean midsection go"...I'm strong in my core but there is this skin...

He's worth it. Love him so very very very much! "My mama"... okay, going to have to go snag him from school now b/c I want some snuggles:)



Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

Last edited by: KT-tri: Feb 5, 14 9:49
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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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Unfortunately the skin cannot shrink itself. The muscles can be toned, and you can lose the fat - beware though, the latter will make the skin look even more wrinkly. Time helps however and it could take years for your body to rebound more or less. Being in aero makes you bend at the waist, which exaggerates the wrinkliness of the skin. My choice is to just cover it up, or not worry about what other people think. I like shorts that are higher a bit in the front, then I can tuck some of the extra skin in there. :-)

Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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In short, I never got my pre-baby body back again. My kids are now young adults. Some of it was body fat (can't blame the kids for that 20 years later :) ) but some of it is the changes that you midsection and pelvis go through when you give birth. Try not to worry too much. As you have already said, the trade-off is SO worth it. Trust me when I say those young years are so fleeting...you wake up one day and your kids have moved out and you are left wondering what has happened to all those years. :)
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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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Two babies, at 34 and 36, vaginal not C-section, and I did get my core back, just the same as it was. Not at 18 months - I have photos on holiday when my younger son was about that age, and I still look soft, maternal, curvy. But sometime, before I was 40, my body went back to the way it was before. During my 40s, up to now (I'm 47), it's been as lean and toned as it ever was. Really. Everyone's different and I've always stored fat on my thighs and arse, not belly.

Having said that, now, at my age, I would NEVER lean over with a straight back in a bikini/underwear. The skin literally hangs down ... What can you do?

Tips? None. It just takes time for your body to go back. It may not seem like it, but (and I wish I'd know this) at 36 you've still got a lot of time to be lean and hot.
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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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Short answer: no.

I had a small waist (relative to hip size) for ever - it was hard to find pants that fit my ample booty and my tiny waist. Then came baby. Even at my leanest (which was pretty lean) the waist never got back to that original size/ratio.

Your body is different - now - and forever - and it will be constantly changing. Learn to love your new shape and remember you earned it :-)

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: Body after baby [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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I am probably in better shape than before having kids - I am now 51 my kids are teenagers - muscles are there, stomach flat BUT as others have pointed out having grown a human being inside me the skin stretched way out.

The book I am eventually going to write will be called :" Why is my belly button a frown and other things about aging and parenthood that no one ever told me"

having breastfed for a total of 30 months my breasts look like the deflated version of themselves these sort of flaps of skin

but oh so worth it.

I look at it that my body did what it was supposed to do.

I look at my athletic performance as the reward for the training
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Re: Body after baby [meuf] [ In reply to ]
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meuf wrote:
I am probably in better shape than before having kids - I am now 51 my kids are teenagers - muscles are there, stomach flat BUT as others have pointed out having grown a human being inside me the skin stretched way out.

The book I am eventually going to write will be called :" Why is my belly button a frown and other things about aging and parenthood that no one ever told me"

having breastfed for a total of 30 months my breasts look like the deflated version of themselves these sort of flaps of skin

but oh so worth it.

I look at it that my body did what it was supposed to do.

I look at my athletic performance as the reward for the training

I like that.. 'Sock puppets' is what a mate of mine refers to post breast feeding athletic breasts as. I never had much to start with and after 2 and a bit years of feeding and many years of training I'd be lucky to scrape in with 'footlets'! But I'm proud of those two little scraps of flesh - they did exactly what they were designed to do and my kid is almost bomb proof.

I've had a similar experience. One kid at 39 via C-section and after a few of years of IM training I'm in the best shape of my life. Everything's tight & trim & luckily my tummy skin bounced back so I was able to rock some 'check out my abs' shots when I went off to get some boast photos done to celebrate my impending 50th:-)
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Re: Body after baby [blackthugcat] [ In reply to ]
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It's having the second child that prevents you from going back to pre-baby shape. After my first the skin went back, but the second time... just too much to ask for all that skin to stretch out a second time and shrink back.

So, stick with one kid if you don't want to have surgery to get back to pre-baby. That being said, I will never regret having two and sacrificing my body for it. I never wore bikinis to begin with, so I wouldn't miss being able to wear them again, which I see as the only downside of having the extra skin. Uh, that and the slightly larger waistline.
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Re: Body after baby [karencoutts] [ In reply to ]
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see I want to change that. I want to create a movement where we wear those saggy skinned bellies with pride - it means I grew human beings inside!!!! Last summer was the first time I bared my midriff in public - I was a guide for a blind runner in the underwear run for the NYC tri (else no way was I doing it). The world did not notice. I did not get swallowed up. no one pointed and stared or ran away in horror.

I have been pregnant 6 times. 2 full term, 4 losses - one quite late so got all the stretching, milk came in etc. yet my body still can swim bike and run. My plan for my 52nd birthday is to be in the best shape of my life - not the skinniest - I grew up a ballerina - but fittest.
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Re: Body after baby [meuf] [ In reply to ]
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My little man is worth every stretch, I know. And I wouldn't take the fittest, leanest, most toned body if it meant I didn't have him. He is the love of my life. Thank y'all for the honest answers. muef... I agree.. we do need to be able to be considered beautiful bearing the marks of carrying our children. AMEN to that girl!

We are sticking with one little guy I believe, not for my body's sake but health. We had some unforeseen complications and actually didn't know about them until after he was born and we were apparently close to losing him. Doc said chances of similar occurrences go up with age and add'l pregnancies. He is enough. Hearing "mama" is the best thing ever.

Okay... now I want to go get him from preschool. Now.



Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

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