moms with muscle.. question?

[ladybottorff]

I am new here, but not new to clean eating and working out. Before, I really didn't lift as heavy as I should and didnt really eat as clean in the past either, but ive been trying to lift heavier and take what I put into my mouth more seriously!
Before I started eating cleaner and training, I was pregnant with my daughter (now 4). With her I gained close to 100 lbs. I was all belly... unfortunately, my skin didn't like that! I have stretch marks and loose skin that is not terrible, but not very forgiving (especially when bending or sitting down :/). I was just curious if there were other moms on here that had the same issues and how they trained their abs differently (if at all) and some foods or vitamins/supps to include in your nutrition plan to help aid your skin? I was told I needed a tummy tuck probably, and I would love to try to achieve my goals without surgery! So, any advice towards those issues and things would be VERY appreciated!! Thank you so much for the support!

[sonti]

I have a 10 month old so it's still pretty recent for me. I have a lot of loose skin and stretch marks because he was almost 10lbs and I was very lean before, poor genetics, and I ate like a pig (true, gained way too much). Once you are cleared post-partum, you can generally train the same (except if you have abdominal separation - see your doctor). My workouts are in my journal - generally compound lifts only and only very minimal ab training. Nutrition- nothing fancy. Only time and surgery generally helps - giving yourself time to build muscle back up in the abdominals too. No miracles here

[nakedbabytoes]

Hard work gets rid of the excess fat around your middle. Stretch marks, you deal. Excess skin, you deal. I have worked my butt and made the time to put myself first sometimes. If it's important enough to you, you'll make it happen.
I was 180lbs when my now 3yo youngest was born. I have roadmaps on my belly from both of my kiddos. I have excess skin now that I'm 115lbs and have been for more than a year. Will it go away? I dunno. But the way I see it, give someone else something to look at that makes the skin & stretch marks less noticeable.....abs!
I did P90X to start mine. I have a 6 pack now(12 weeks later, but I haven't updated my body space yet as I have 1 more week until I'm DONE!). And I plan on this being just the beginning.....
Hard work. Nothing revolutionary. Hard work on your midsection.

[swindled]

Nice job nakedbabytoes, you look great!

To the OP, with excess skin itself you can't do much. You can add muscle to your core, which may make the loose skin seem more firm. Definitely watch what you are eating, and workout hard! I do weights and have added P90X in for the days I can't make it to the gym, or if I want to add more stuff in. My skin is still loose at 6 weeks post partum, but definitely working out has made it seem less jiggly.

[nakedbabytoes]

Thanks!! I remember every rep & mile ran that got me here, that's for sure!
You ladies all rock! Keep it up!

[born2dothis]

ive got 8 kids....and no im not kidding

diet is HUGE when it comes to abs....that being said, in my case it wont matter as ive had some very big babies that have stretched my skin beyond normal shrinkage...im looking at a mini TT in the near future if I ever wanna see the last 2 of my 6.

Not everyone is like that though, and my suggestion is get down to a normal weight first, really work HARD on core exercises and training that midsection with heavy weights. You can train your core almost everyday you workout. Also there is a book out there by buffmother.com that is ab specific, i reccomend it, great book for mommies getting back into shape, good luck!

[Hannah73Louise]

Depends how bad the skin is. I had no normal skin on my lower tummy, it was totally stretch marked. I've got six kids, and lost 100lbs two years ago. I worked extremely hard in the gym and got my body fat as low as 15% but never got rid of the loose skin so I eventually ended up going for the full tummy tuck....

[Amanda76]

It definitely depends on how bad the skin is but a change in body composition will definitely help. Part of what keeps skin from shrinking back up is underlying fat keeping it from shrinking back up and based on my results it's never too late to see improvement. My daughter is 16 and 5-6 years ago, I wouldn't have said the same thing, but my pouch improved the most dramatically in recent years as my overall bodycomposition has improved. There is still some obvious looser skin there but it's only weird looking when I lay on my side now. I think if I got leaner and stayed that way long enough it would give it the opportunity to shrink up even more. I may need surgery to reach "perfection" but I'm not yet convinced that it's as good as it's gonna get through hard work.

[ilovethe80s]

A tummy tuck is in my future

For the skin, I think it really depends on the situation. For a lot of people it shrinks as they lose bodyfat (because the fat was filling it out). This was my mom, she had really bad loose skin or so we thought, lost a little weight and it was pretty much gone! But others might find the skin just hangs even worse years later so it looks worse. Mine bounced back in like a week after my first without doing anything major, I don't know what the heck happened after my second but it just did not contract at all (and I only gain 30 lbs with each). You could literally tie it in a knot, like loose drapes hanging. I had to have stomach surgery (for hernias/ intestinal issues, not the skin) and the surgeon sat me down to let me know he was going to have to chop off some of that skin to get to where he needed to fix as it was in the way - like I was attached and going to be upset about losing it or something lol!

Yeah so the surgeon chopped off a bunch, I am pregnant now and not even going to look at my stomach again after this one - waiting till kids are old enough and then doing a tummy tuck along with the next round of hernia repairs. If I need to get sliced open again I am coming away at least looking good this time haha.

[JoyP]

Mine has virtually gone, until recently I thought I'd always be stuck with my baby pouch, but since dieting for my first comp my BF is lower than it's ever been and I realise it was a fat pouch not a baby pouch

[hurricane211]

Im glad to hear your taking things more seriously. Unfortunatly i think that stretch marks are there, and as for the lose skin, my aunt lost way over 100lbs and she has a lot of excess skin. Doctors and nutritionist all told here that the only way to get rid of it would be surgery. I'm not for sure though but i just wanted to throw my 2cents in and say nothing is certain. Keep your head up, train like hell, and don't give up.

[born2dothis]

wanted to add too that I think there is a big difference between skin that has been overly stretched and a baby pooch....baby pooch is the fat in that lower ab area, where as skin that has been racked with stretch marks IMHO can never look the way it was diet or otherwise. Mine is at times very close to being a full 6 pack, I still have a tiny bit of fat in my belly pooch, and its less when im super strict on my diet, but like I mentioned above ive had a lot of kids and 4 of my kids were huge babies, that skin is never going back no matter how hard I train/diet and well im not out to win any competitions, just be a good healthy mama who feels good about herself, kwim? Good luck! I would get a few different surgeons advice and think long and hard before you make that step, thats what ive done and i think it helps.

[ladybottorff]

Thank you soo much, every one of you, for adding your imput! I have recently been training my butt off... literally! I started lifting a lot heavier. I am 5'2 115-120 lbs and am quite lean, a "skinny fat" if you will. There is no pooch... just skin. Looks alright when I stand up, obviously loose in comparison, but, like I said, i lay down, I bend and it is very VERY noticable.
I started training harder about 2 months ago. I appreciate all of your encouragement and honesty! If i do go under the knife, it is last resort!

[sonti]

Thank you soo much, every one of you, for adding your imput! I have recently been training my butt off... literally! I started lifting a lot heavier. I am 5'2 115-120 lbs and am quite lean, a "skinny fat" if you will. There is no pooch... just skin. Looks alright when I stand up, obviously loose in comparison, but, like I said, i lay down, I bend and it is very VERY noticable.
I started training harder about 2 months ago. I appreciate all of your encouragement and honesty! If i do go under the knife, it is last resort!

In that case I would recommend eating above maintenance calories and lifting heavy, consistently, for many months & years You will be surprised - you might just end up with a nicer midsection than before. Building abdominal muscle (rather than trying to lose even more fat off of a small amount of muscle) will be your goal here.

[ladybottorff]

In that case I would recommend eating above maintenance calories and lifting heavy, consistently, for many months & years You will be surprised - you might just end up with a nicer midsection than before. Building abdominal muscle (rather than trying to lose even more fat off of a small amount of muscle) will be your goal here.

Thanks for your suggestions! I've been trying to steer more toward that direction and I am already seeing improvements. I think I just need time and patience, body has come a long way! lol Nice to see some ladies who are or have been there! Thanks!