oh my midsection

[LisaMarie]

I've been kind of MIA on the boards lately, as I recently started back to work full-time , but I finally have a minute to ask my burning question...and I'm sure one that comes up often.

How in the world am I going to get my mid-section back? I had my baby 3 months ago, and all things considered, my abs aren't in that bad of shape. I can even see some muscle toward the top. However, I still have someextra fluff on them, and they just seem to stick out a lot more(almost like something is pushing out from the inside). Will this ever go away?? I don't want to lose any more weight, as everywhere else on me is small enough. What course of action should I take?? My workouts have been awful--maybe only an hour or two TOTAL all week. I'm just really having a hard time fitting it in because Caden is still a very "high needs" baby and doesn't sleep well yet (so AM workouts are out of the question at this point). So..for my precious precious 4 day/week goal (30-40min each time) of workouts, how should I divide it up?

Am I stuck with these abs? I know we plan on trying for baby #2 by late winter (for health reasons we need to complete our family within a few years--I'm not having my babies that close together just to make myself crazier ). Is it a waste to focus on reducing my waistline before I'm finished with my babies, given how close together they will be...just keep up my core strength?

lisa
ps....I know I need to get rid of some of my carbs (i have an obsession every Christmas with almond bark covered pretzels)! Other than that, my eating is pretty good...

 

[chefkate]

lisa, wish i had a better answer but its truly just clean eating and core work. planks would be great. do you have tracey staehle's core blast? it is aweome! and half off this week at fitbytracey.com. code is "halfoff"

just keep up w/ the wo's and you'll get your abs back. i feel the same way you do but i got them back before and i know/hope i can do it again!

i carried julia so low - seriously from my belly button down. my low abs took a BEATIN'! we can do this!!

 

[melimcn]

Hi Lisa,
PLANKS PLANKS PLANKS!!!!
When we have babies, the transverse is what sees the most damage. That's why your tummy is still sticking out. Planks work the transverse VERY well. Anytime you pull your belly button towards your spine, you're working.
So the good news is that you don't need to set aside time to do it!

**While you're playing with the baby, do a plank over him and hold it as long as you can - talk to him while you're doing it - it'll pass the time! (Depending on how you've recovered, you may need to start these on your knees and work your way up.)

**While you're feeding Caden, do deep breathing. Deep breath in, and when you exhale, pull that belly button in. Do that through his whole bottle/nursing session. That's GREAT ab work!

**Check your posture! While you're standing, pull up on those abs, again, belly button to spine. This is especially effective if you're holding him!

Of course, getting in those workouts anytime you can will be the ultimate ticket to getting everything back. But you can certainly help things along by starting with the above. The above pieces are how I started back when Mason was only 4 days old.
And I absolutely think you should try to get it back before starting on #2. If you don't, it will make things all that much harder to get back after that baby.

Good luck!

 

[LisaMarie]

Thanks for your thoughts. Kate, I really wanted to buy core blast back when I was pregnant, but I just couldn't justify buying yet another workout! Right now, my ab work is very random..whenever I can fit in a few minutes. When I get back to being able to do more videos, I may consider buying core blast. I'm going to pretend I didn't read that it is half off this week .

I love doing planks, so I'm happy to know they're great for post-baby abs. I'm going to start off every morning with a 5 minute pick-me up---planks and pushups. I worked out a plan to fit in my workouts when DH gets home from work. Now I just need to stick to it! It's so hard when I'm so tired from the previous night and want to spend time with Caden. The plan makes it so that our evenings are completely scheduled, and without much time together, but at this point, it's what we need to do in order for DH and I both to have some time to do things and still have one of us get to bed early. I can't wait for the night that Caden consistently sleeps more than 3 hours in a row...I'm tired of going to bed at 8:30!

Oh, and I know I need to stop making those darn pretzels!

 

[mabdoo]

When I drive I try and hold my abs tight between stops. At stop signs and lights I do kegels. This worked well while my daughter was in the hospital and I had to drive back and forth. I just try and hold my abs tight whenever I remember.