Post Pregnancy Belly

It has been close to three years since I gave birth to my son but still my tummy is still high.  I look at other women who were pregnant around the same time as I was and their tummies are flat.  You never would guess that they had babies.  I have been trying to get my tummy down but not having much success.  I heard that breastfeeding helped but I breastfed too.  Walking and drinking lots of water helped some women.  I don’t walk as often as I used to or drink as much water as I should.  Of course, a healthy diet helps so I have been watching what I eat.

I asked a few women how they managed to get their stomachs down.  One said going for walks, pushing the stroller and another said sit-ups.  I pushed my son in his stroller once or twice because he preferred to walk.  I have started and stopped doing sit-ups.  I read that crunches don’t work.  They may do more harm than good. 

“Crunches put pressure on the tissue that connects the outermost abdominal muscles, which can further separate them,” says Julie Tupler, a nurse and coauthor of Lose Your Mummy Tummy. The key to toning up your tummy: Brace your stomach and focus on engaging the innermost ab muscle, the transverse abdominus, since this is the muscle that really supports the uterus and gut and keeps your belly sucked in. This also helps prevent back pain.

You can engage and tone your transverse ab muscle while you do almost any activity – or when you’re just sitting around. How? Sit up straight, shoulders down, and draw your belly button in toward your spine. “Imagine you’re wearing a corset and you’re pulling its strings tight,” says Lisa Druxman, a fitness trainer and author of Lean Mommy. Believe it or not, sitting this way (say, while you’re reading to your child) or standing this way (maybe while you’re waiting in line at the store or changing a diaper) will make your abs firmer and flatter. It’ll instantly elongate your torso and strengthen your abs and back. If you think you’ll forget to do this, tie a piece of string around your waist while your ab muscles are drawn in, and leave it there. Every time you expand your stomach, you’ll feel the string pull and remember to keep your abs taut (http://www.parenting.com/article/ways-to-lose-and-hide-baby-weight?page=0,0).

This exercise seems easy enough and can be done anywhere.  Even as I type this post I am holding in my tummy.   If this works, I will definitely recommend it.

If you are like me, tired of looking in the mirror and seeing your mummy tummy and you want to go back to wearing a smaller size in your pants and skirts, then act now.  Start sucking in your tummy!