Why DOES this happen?

[L Sass]

Why does your waist get - and stay - thicker after having babies? I'm at my lowest weight since high school, and there is no way that my waist is even close. I asked DH if he thought I could lose 4 more inches off my waist and he said not unless I wanted to be totally emaciated. I finally resigned myself to donating all of my pre-pregnancy suit skirts (kept the jackets) because even though they are loose in the butt and legs, they're tight in the waist. But even on a thread in the Ask Cathe board about breastfeeding, Cathe said that her waist is now thicker than before she had her babies. I know it doesn't happen to everyone, but when it does happen, does any one know why? TIA

Lorrie

Pain is temporary - quitting lasts forever
Candace Grasso, CC-V-6

 

[Cole7626]

I would venture to guess it has something to do with your bones spreading to accomodate the enlarged birth canal. More room for the baby to come out (for the rest of your life

Nicole

Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.
-Earl of Derby-

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?uid=7738930

 

[usamarsha]

I would love to know the answer to that one too! I have the same problem, I used to have a tiny waist, but not anymore since having my kids. I am actually smaller in the hips and thighs (and pounds) then I was before having children, but my waist is bigger by several inches. So I can sympathize! x( My youngest is almost 2, so I kept thinking give it time, but my body is not the same shape. I'm so envious of people who say they look the same or better after having kids! Oh well, I still would rather have the kiddos then my previously very nice looking waist.

 

[delfin]

I have kids, and my middle has definitely gotten bigger, even though I'm more fit than ever. I don't know if it's actually having babies, or a byproduct of aging. I've tried to lose it, but when I get really close to getting skinny in the middle, my upper body, especially my chest area, starts to look too thin. I don't know how old you are, but I think hitting my forties had alot to do with my increasing middle.

 

[red_mct]

Isn't it also related to estrogen? I know one of the impacts of menopause is a definite tendency towards a paunch. In my family, you can VISUALLY SEE who has reached menopause, which absolutely gives me pause, lol.

 

[pepnchar]

I had a baby 2.5 yrs ago, and I have the muscle tone back -- there is a 6 pack under there -- I just have a little extra saggy skin. I notice it sagging down when I'm in a plank. Yuk! It's gotten better over the months - I can only imagine what it will be like if I have another baby.

But those little ones are worth it, arent they??? Let's not forget that.

Charlene

 

[mogambo]

My daughter will be 22 this week, and I lost all my weight about a month after her birth. Six pack, etc. But it's like the width of the frame of muscle is bigger. It isn't my hips. It's my waist. I have no paunch (I'm a pear), but the muscular "tube" between my ribs and hips is bigger. Maybe it's all those planks and oblique work!!

I'm hoping.