In my case my abdominal muscles WERE cut according to my OBs...I am so narrow hip-to-hip and pubis-to-sacrum they didn't have enough room to only push the muscles aside. Needless to say, a very painful way to have a baby and I had the same cutting with the rest of my kids. I am an ex-level 10 gymnast and I was very fortunate in literally sinking in stomach-wise on the delivery tables. My babies were 7' 8, 7' 5, 5' 9, 6' 10 so they weren't huge but too big for me. My advice is to go slowly, eat small hi-protein meals several times a day to stimulate your metabolism, cut out fats and sugars and eat plenty of fruit and veggies. Get rid of the sugar sodas if you drink them and substitute water. If you knock off 200 cals a day of junk (you'll hardly miss that) and do NOTHING else you will lose 2 lbs. in 35 days, and that's doing nothing else...imagine if you put your mind to it. When your doctor says it's okay try crunches instead of full sit-ups, sit-ups just give you a hard pot-belly. You ladies who carried two babies are to be especially admired! ↑
I had my aby 5 months ago. I gained 60 pounds. I am now at 148, and was at 183 when I gave birth by c-section.
I hate how I look. Fat! I have always been a small frame gal, but not anymore. I was at about 120 when I got pregnant. I do walk about 3 times a week for 2 hours, but they are slow walks. I have had such awful back pain, and foot pain since my c-section, working out hard, I haven't yet.
I feel like I will never be back to normal again. I have felt very down about myself. Like I should have been more careful when I was pregnant, and watched my weight gain? My tummy was very extended and huge. They said it was due to my fiberiods. It looked as if I was having twins. I never saw my butt, but if I did. I would have freaked out. I reallly didn't realize how big I was, until after the fact. Please if anyone has any good tips? Will I ever have my body back? Will this depressed feeling go away. I have always been thin, now it's freaking me out to be heavy. I am also almost 40, so I'm scared I will never lose it. Help! I need a good diet plan. ↑
To Kat-What kind of depression are you having? Weird thoughts? Afraid you will hurt yourself or your baby? If so, get to your doctor immediately, ok? If you are just depressed because you are heavier than you have ever been...then we can help you a bit. I recently had a hysterectomy due to adverse conditions related to c-sections and I had some firbroids as well. The fibroids do account for abdominal bloat and if they are large enough can weigh many pounds. Have they ultrasounded the fibroids to see if they have continued to grow? I suggest you have a vaginal ultrasound to monitor their gowth for if they are getting larger, you won't be able to lose your stomach and the pounds. Try finding areas of you diet that you can immediately cut out or switch to sugar-free or diet...no matter how much we hate it, if we take in more calories than we burn, we will keep or gain weight...(a few medical conditions aside) You really MUST try Pilates!!!! It is the greatest at-home work-out and any mom can do it while her baby takes a nap...in 30 minutes or less. Get a DVD and get started with your doctors ok. Good Luck, and write again if you are still depressed, people care here. ↑
To djh. Thanks for the advise. You are very kind. It feels good to be able to write about what I am feeling, and to read how everyone else feels. I wished I found this site sooner.
I am depressed, but I do not want to hurt myself or my baby. I just want to be thin again, and look like me.
Today was a good day. My housekeeper who hasn't seem me in 2 months said I looked good, she never lies. When I was pregnant she kept reminding me how large I was getting, everywhere. This month I go in for another ultrasound to see what's going on? I keep you posted. Thank you for the workout tips. My back hurts a lot, so I will take it slow. I'm not sure if it is the weight gain, or the fiberiods?
Thank you again, you are very sweet.
You have really made me feel better. ↑
I was wondering how long would it take to lose the weight after an c section? My baby is now an toddler and my stomach is there. I really don't know how much i weigh now, but I was an double zero. Is there anything that I can do? ↑
Hi I had my second C-section 9-1-05 and I lost a LOT of weight this time out. It just melted off, no clue as to why this time and not the first time. The first time (12 yrs ago) it was months and months and I never totally lost all the weight I gained w/ that pregnancy. I had about 11 extra lbs on and never went away. I lost that about 4 yrs ago by walking 3.9 miles every morning and cutting out the occasional cookie snacks. But with that said, I still never got back into a size five jeans. My hips were wider from childbirth and there's no way to change THAT.
And I had a flat tummy by working my a** for it. HOWEVER, that being said, I always had a little bulge above the incision scar that just never went away no matter what I did. And ↑
Well I have the same problem, except I had my daughter 2 1/5 years ago!! It took me about a year to lose most of the weight that i had gained with her, probably about 42lbs. But my problem now is my belly, I am guessing most of it is fat, but some may be extra skin I don't know? I am 115lbs but my belly protrudes and I am a stick everywhere else! I don't know what to do. I heard nothing but sit-ups will get rid of it but I have a feeling I am stuck with my three rolls of belly now:( ↑
I do not think it is harder to loose weight after a c-section,I'm not sure mind,all I can say is when my mother had my older brother,naturally,she said she ended up lighter than when she got married,when she had me,again naturally,she could not get rid of the weight.With my two,I had such a tough time naturally,I found it hard to loose the weight,mind you that was the least of my worries!My 2nd by section was easier all round,although I accept that I will never be as I was,part of it to do with age,the other because either way I accept your boby stretches so much,that it generally is harder,but you get there.I have a sister-in-law,who is very tiny,but she told me that even though she is small,after 4 children she is not like she was,they were all born naturally,also when she got pregnant the last couple of times it showed very early,she told me it was because her muscles has been stretched,and weakened that it shows earlier. ↑
I delivered October 21st and have lost all of my weight (I gained 24 lbs). I still look pregnant. I have no stomach muscles. I cannot even suck in my stomach. I go for my 6 week check this week. After that I am going to have to excercise my ass off (literally). I cannot fit into any of my clothes except sweats. So depressing! ↑
I must counter what a poster said a while back, sometimes the abdominal muscles are indeed cut, if the surgeon needs more room, if the position of the baby is off, if the mother is very narrow hip-to-hip, etc. the muscles sometimes require actual cutting. I know as this happened to me and I work in labor and delivery. So if you did have your muscles cut, it WILL be harder to get them back and if your scar adheres to the underlying fascia (gets stuck to it) you will quite possibly have an overhang of the tissue above it permanently. Even a pound or two of extra belly weight can cause this lip to form. If you had twins (God Bless you!) Your abdominal muscles were stretched beyond what the human tummy was meant to go to and sometimes the muscles can't recover. If that is the case they must be tightened surgically. Hope this helps some. I had my ab muscles cut due to my hip width and a total lack of room in my pelvic area and I got my flat tummy back within a couple weeks...just lucky with good genes. Don't despair, you will recover some! ↑
It just takes time due to those muscles being cut. Just keep up with what you are doing, also you may want to add wieghts to your routine, this helps strengthen quicker than just cardio alone. I have notice a quick improvement with pilates. You may want to try that to. Good luck. Oh yeah, & a lot of water :) ↑
I dont think it's harder to lose weight after a c-section but I do think it is harder to get your stomach back for sure. I am lighter than I was before the C-section but my stomach isn't the same - Will wait for baby #2 then decide what to do with the stomach! ↑
Hey Kat...you out there? I hope things are going well for you. I bet you are on track to losing all your weight and I bet you look beautiful by now. Write back and let us know how the fibroids are, they are awful and can cause all kinds of referred pain. I know, I had them too, and due to scar tissue from c's and those buggers I had a hysterectomy while still young. My lower back pain was partially due to the fibroids, the other stuff was due to c-sections. Hope all you ladies are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. ↑
There's a book called "Mummy Tummy" or something like that. It talks about the muscle separation during pregnancy. See if your library has it.
Also, you might want to see if your thyroid is out of wack because that could also be the problem. It's a simple blood test. Sometimes it happens during pregnancy. ↑
I have had two c-sections. My baby is only 10 months and the weight is starting to melt away..My trick was to just relax, not stress it so much. Be comfortable how you are and when you're body is ready you will start to see the pounds fly off. Stay on the treadmill and continue to watch what you eat. It will happen trust me. After my first c-section I trimmed down to a size 6 my stomach was awesome and I will do the same thing again. Hang in there and be patient , you just had a baby and trust me you are still beautiful and sexy to your spouse. Take care..Sue ↑
Well, I gained 50 pounds during my pregnancy and it took about 14 months to loose it all. The first 30 came off within two months but the last 20 took a long time! I had a c-section and found it really hard to get up and moving once I was given the ok to exercise. My doctor told me that the belly bulge has nothing to do with having a c-section and everything to do with fat. Some women store fat around the middle and she suggested that I do cardio to burn fat. My doctor told me that I could do all of the crunches in the world and it wouldn't matter because cardio is the only thing that will help----crunches do help to tone but only after the fat is burned. I also wore a girdle right away and with all of the cardio I have done, I still have a slight bulge. I bought the firm workout at Target and once I started doing that about four times a week, the last twenty began to fall off!! Good luck to you! ↑
if this is your first child you have a least one year to get your self back in tack so continue to walk and watch what you eat,as far as the buldge i had my son almost six years ago and my stomach isn't bad but it could be better i guess i need to work out more ↑
i had my 2nd c-section about four months ago. i gained only 13 pounds and lost it very quickly. however, my belly is still protruding, and it makes me very depressed. i'm in very good shape and work out almost all the time. but this belly (fully of saggy skin) just won't go away no mater what i do! i know it's just skin and not fat, but i really do feel fat!! i guess i'll just keep working out and look forward to the day that my pot belly disappears! i enjoyed reading all the posts...thanks, ladies, for all your tips! :) ↑
I had a c-section back in August (7 months ago) and gained 40 pounds. Since the doctor cleared me for exercise, I have been working out non-stop. When my son goes down for his 2 hour morning nap, I run on the treadmill for 20 minutes and alternate between an hour-long pilates video and tae-bo video. I excercise 6 times a week, religiously. I also eat half-portions of all of my meals. I have lost a ton of weight in my legs, arms and butt, but still have that tummy. Nothing I do helps. I have lost all of my pregnancy weight but still have this tummy that makes me look like I am about 4 months pregnant. I look silly in my clothing because the pants hang on me because they are too big but I can't get a smaller size over my large abdomen. I know that there are muscles under there, I can feel them. What can I do now?? HELP! ↑
Hi, I just had a C-section 2 weeks ago and the weight is coming off quite well. I haven`t been wearing a girddle and nobody ahs told me what to do or not do. The pain that goes with the c-section.. what pain!! I have no pain what so ever and I haven`t been taking any medications or any other pain medecine. I agree that the cut is a little bulky but it has come down a whole lot!
I had 21 staples to close the cut and they came off 4 days after the surgery. As for the muscles well i have no pain as it is for that. It is almost like as if i haden`t had anything donme to me at all. So it is not thast bad after all. Well good luck to all and remember its all worth it once yopui have that little bundle of joy in your arms!!
I had a csection on the 21st of april and think I lost pretty much all the weight (maybe have another five lbs. to go) I do have the buldge on the tummy but this is due to swelling I would imagine and I have no doubt this part of my body will be back to normal soon. We've been through major abdonimal surgery and need time to recover. ↑
This is to Heather: No, they do not cut through muscle with a c-section and yes, control top garments really do work in helping the skin to firm back up. It's called, "binding" and women have been doing it for centuries to help shape or reshape various parts of the body. I strongly recommend it if you're looking for results in shrinking your skin and flattening your abdominal area back to it's pre pregnancy condition. I even do it for my double chin by placing a stocking under my chin and then tying it up on top of my head at night when I sleep. Sounds kind of weird, but it works! Good luck! ↑
I had twin boys 15 months ago by C-Section. During my pregnancy I gained 55 lbs, about 5 months post pardum I had lost all but 5 lbs. Despite all the walking, yoga, sit-ups and pilates I do, I never stopped looking pregnant. Another problem I have is that my belly button is still protruding. I recently found out I have an umbilical hernia, which is quite common with pregnancy. The hernia is preventiing my muscles from coming back together (a condition called Diastasis Recti). What upset me the most was when my doctor told me the muscles will not repair themselves. WIth much deliberation I decided to have a tummy tuck at the same time I have my hernia surgery. The decision wasn't an easy one to make, but for me it will be harder to be stuck with this belly for the rest of my life. ↑
I had my son 10 days ago, and already I lost most of my pregnancy weight - the pounds seem to keep dropping, even though I'm eating loads of cake, chocolate, ice cream, however much I fancy..I think it's breast feeding though, it just seems to eat up a load of calories (even though I'm not exercising at all right now). ↑
The issue for me wasn't the weight loss at all, the weight came off quickly. But the problem was at 5'2" weighing 125 lbs I still looked pregnant. I've studied dance most of my life so I was in top physical shape before my pregnancy. The problem was diastasis recti, the seperation of the muscles. The twin pregnancy left me with a torn "inner girdle", so no matter how much weight I lost, my belly would still protude and I would look pregnant. Unfortunately, the only thing I could do was have the muscles stitched back together (aka....tummy tuck). I just think more people should become educated with diastasis recti. I think it's a horrible thing for women to beat themselves up if they can't lose the weight on their stomach when it may be caused by diastasis recti. ↑
I had a emergency c-section November 2003. I was a size 8 before pregnancy and lost 30 lbs during the first 5 months of pregnancy, I didn't start showing until I was 7 months, but as soon as I turned 9 months my stomach and weight just shot up out of nowhere. I gained 65 lbs and my daughter weighed 10lbs 12oz and was 22 1/4 inches long. (the nerve of her). I didn't know about the girdles and binding to help your stomach shrink. I had 2 abdominal surgeries due to hernias caused by the massive weight gain during the pregnancy. My stomach seems to deflate and all of a sudden puff back up again. Its been a real headache trying to get the weight off, but this is the first year I havent had a surgery since having my daughter, also I was banned from the gym by my pcp and gyn until this year. I must say I don't mind the weight because of the beautiful reason it's here, but what makes it more helpful is a boyfriend who still thinks I'm sexy. I commend every women for the power we have to go through child birth, but more for us who had c-sections, so much mental preparation and physical preparation. ↑
I had a little girl via c-section and she's 6 months on the 1st, I too am in the same situation of needing to lose the weight. I was reading though other people's answers, what is this undergarment that will help? ↑
