Can't Get Rid of Belly Fat!

I used a program called Isagenix to get back to my pre-baby weight within 1 month of each of my kids being born and I COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT IT!!!! if you want more specific info you can contact me as I am happy to share...don't want to bore without interest.

I read your responses and you have some good ones. I think mine would be a balance between some of them. While I would not agree that you will never lose the belly (I have had 2 C-sections and I did lose it mostly after the first without even realizing the anatomy involved and the exercises needed), I would still say that you need to feel comfortable in the "mommyness" of your body. It will actually help you regain the bod you want, I think, by making you happier all day every day.

I would agree that you need to eat and eat plenty to lose the fat, but it needs to be the right foods. (I am presently quite addicted to my coffee and sugared treats and am not at all surprised that I can't get that belly off. I also know that spring will completely change my life and I will be able to throw my addiction and trade it for fun in the sun.) And I would recognize what happened to your abdominal muscles in that birth and find the best exercises to compensate. You can get those two muscles to come back together with ab exercises, but I think you have to be careful to make sure that you are not doing an ab workout that encourages their separation. I do crunches (making sure to always press the small of the back to the floor) for lack of knowledge of others that may work even better. The crunches will work, I'm sure.

Also, never underestimate the power of time. I used to HATE those people who said "it took your body nearly a year to get this way, so you need to give it a year to go back." I would say a YEAR, MY BUTT! and get to work on making it go back on MY time. It worked (mostly) some of the time, but waiting a year without all of the craziness worked the other times. Above all, I wish you a peaceful battle--you WILL win this one. Enjoy the journey. And remember, spring is almost here!

You've gotten a lot of good answers already, but I will also agree with many of the other ladies comments about "starvation mode". If you're body thinks it's starving, most of your calorie intake will go straight to fat and your metabolism will go down, no matter how little you eat or how much you work out. Just making healthy food choices and eating smaller meals more times in a day is the best thing for your body and health.

Also, lots of "diet" drinks and foods have strange chemicals and fake sugars in them that actually tell your body to keep fat at a cellular level. Real sugars and fats are proving to be better for us. So if you have a diet soda addiction, for example, that could be strongly affecting your lack of weight loss.

All that being said, you've obviously worked hard to lose so much already. Be proud of yourself! That last 10-15 lbs is always the hardest! And check out the book "Master Your Metabolism" by Jillian Michaels (trainer from "The Biggest Loser") to find out lots more about all the chemicals in our diet and environment that throw off our natural hormones and prevent weight loss and healthy bodies. It's a great book!

HI,
First, stop starving yourself and cutting calories. this puts your body in "starvation mode" and will store fat. Then look into the glycemic index of foods..those that will spike your blood sugar and insulin and put you in "fat storage mode" the obvious ones are the white foods...potatoes, white bread , white rice....stay away from sweets.
I have done and taught a system called Transitions. It's science based and the only thing that worked for me (a carb addict) after my baby. It teaches you to lose fat not muscle like many diets. We do have supplements available to, but for now while you are breast feeding, you can follow a low gylcemic index eating way of life. Our 1 supplement that targets belly fat is called CLA. There may be books and such out there. You can find more info on our products at my web portal. www.marketamerica.com/livewellvet
If you search Transitions you can find all our support tools....even if you buy the book and journal that will help you get on track...also available is a dvd series , supplements and food to help. We don't say..eat this food and lose weight. our food supplements are there for healthy snacks when you are in a hurry or on the road. Ok so much info .sorry for the long response, any further questions please contact me.

When you had the C-section, they cut through muscle. That takes a long time to heal. Two things helped me with the "belly fat", pilates and herbal colon cleanse by Robin Anthony. Check out this website, try the products and see how they work while you invest in a pilates class or DVD: www.looseweightwithrobin.com

Good for you for already losing 55 pounds! That's a fantastic achievement! Midsection fat can be difficult to get rid of. I'd suggest you visit www.cinchplan.com/K. to see how to lose only fluffy fat, and not lose dense muscle, which is metabolism. This plan also teaches you that if you cut your calories too low, your metabolism drops and your weight goes up again (yoyo). Let me know if you have any questions about it.
Best wishes to you!
K.

S.-
Take a look at your baby and remember all that your body went through to bring that life into the world, then do your best to accept your body for what it is. I'm not saying to give up, but rather to remember that your body and life will never be exactly the same after childbirth...and who would want it to be? :-)
Good luck!
H. :-)

cardio, cardio, cardio. lots and lots of it. It is the only way to get rid of belly fat. I am doing p90x and it has helped alot so far.

Sadly it may never go away. I had a classical c-section 11 years ago and even when I dropped down to 90 lbs (5' even) I had a belly. Just had another c-section 6 months ago and at my age (42) don't even dream about it being back! Breastfeeding does help with that (with I did with my first til almost a year and still going strong with this one). That's one of the trophies of bearing children!

Congratulations on what you've accomplished already, S.! Part of the issue may be that, even with the best exercise, weight loss typically results is the loss of muscle mass as well. There are some weight management products you can use while breastfeeding that specifically target the retention of muscle mass (and others you can add once you're done breastfeeding). You can check them out at http://www.cinchplan.com/solutionsforhealthylives and/or send me a private message for more info.
Blessings,
A.

Breastfeeding and taking a natural tea mummy magic tea, I lost all my post-baby weight and tummy bulge in a couple of months.

S. - I think the responder below who talked about starvation mode is right! Check your BMI, http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ , from what you poasted, you area at a healthy//normal weight for your height. Remember, your body went through alot to bring this baby into your life, and it will never be exactly the same as it was before baby, even if you do get down to the same weight, the changes are in hip width, and structure down there, and the C-Section ( I have had 2) will make it harder to not have a poochy thing. Also, your skin will take some time to tighten back up...make sure you are drinking enough water to help with elasticity.

Especially if you are nursing still, cutting your calories in half is going to throw your body into survival mode, it is conserving fat stores to make enough to feed the baby before losing it for you! Here is an article on La Leche Leage website about caloric intake for nursing:http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVOctNov97p115.html
Children's Hospital of Boston says this:
"sufficient caloric intake - Eat many different foods to get the calories, vitamins, and minerals you need to remain healthy. A minimal caloric intake of at least 2000 calories per day, with an optimal intake of 500 calories above a non-pregnant caloric intake of 1800 to 2200 calories is recommended. (This is the equivalent of a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk.) Foods from the following food categories offer the most nutritional value:
meats
beans
vegetables (especially leafy green vegetables)
fruits or 100 percent fruit juice (not fruit drinks)
breads, cereals, and grains
milk, cheese, and eggs "

Try to eat 5-6 mini-meals a day, with a combination of some protien, veggie and carb (fruit or whole grains) in each one, eating smaller portions, more often will stoke up your metabolism, and you will probably burn more than just 1-3 meals a day. It gives your body reassurance that more food will be coming ina few hours, so it doesn't think you are starving and hold on to everything!

I have also recently heard about dry brushing your body to tighten skin and improve appearance of cellulite - t encourages blood flow, lymphati flow, and exfoliates. That might be something you want to look into doing to help tighten things back up. Also, there is a great exercise system called T-Tapp tha is all about usin all your layers of muscle and forming an internal muscle "girdle" around you abdomen to achieve that flat stomach look again, you might look into that : http://www.t-tapp.com/

Good Luck!

Jessie

Try Fit Yummy Mummy. The program really only costs $40 but if you feel you could benefit from additional support from other Moms you can join Club FYM for $10 a month. I find it works wonders. All you have to do is follow it consistently and the pounds melt away or rather become muscle :)