I haven't posted to this site in a while. In the last eight months, I've reached my weight goal, going from 165 to now 119. 125 was my weight goal but for some reason, without trying, I dropped another 6 pounds.

Yet I'm still disgusted by all the pudginess going on around my belly area, plus my butt could use some toning as well. When I'm standing up, I can still pinch a good 2 inches worth of belly. And when I sit down, I can feel and see the rolls. I'm not sure if this is skin, fat, or what. My current ab measurement is 28.5 and my waist measurement is 26.5. You can see my progress on my body comp chart. I started keeping records after about a month into low carb eating. http://www.onewomanslife.com/bodycomp.html

I'm almost 31 and have three children, the last two (now ages almost 5 and almost 4) being born 15 months apart. I'm sure this has somewhat contributed to my sagging tummy So I'm not sure what I can do to help regain the muscles in my abdominal area. Up until the last 3 weeks or so, I worked out fairly regularly (a lot of events going on lately, plus sickness) but I'm not sure if I had a good routine. I can honestly tell you that abdominal exercises were very rare, mainly because I didn't know what to do or how to do them. So maybe if I had been doing them all along, my belly wouldn't seem so out of proportion now.

So is there any hope for this third time mommy to have a flatter, more toned tummy? If so, what can I do? And what goal in inches should I set for my abdomen and waist?

Thank you so much!

Bodyflex. There's another, I'll try to find the trainer.

Spot reducing doesn't work. If there is too much fat somewhere, only losing more body fat will help. However, losing more fat to get that area slimmed down might cause you to look too thin in other areas if you are already past your goal weight. I have a slim waist (23) but my thighs are still pretty big and I have a bit of a lower tummy. However, my upper body is scrawny - you can see my ribs and collarbone junctures! So I'm living with the thighs for now. :P

I've heard tell that the fat might redistribute itself eventually - are you weight training at all?

By the way, even with a 23 inch waist and 32 inch hips I still have rolls. Not sure my skin will be tightening up any time soon at my age!

featherez is right....

You can't spot reduce.... BUT if you do start to workout you'll find that your body fat should re-distribute itself and you might see some of that middle go away...

It wouldn't hurt to do some abdominal exercises. You may find that toning the muscles underneath the fat layers will make your middle look slimmer.

Kiks

I have 3 children and similar problems [ altho' I'd love to be your weight!!! so any tips, toss them this way please!...the last 10 pounds are driving me nuts!]
However...to get to the point...WINSOR PILATES truly..2 weeks of doing pilates and i am amazed at how much my tummy has flattened..those poor old muscles have got anew lease of life and are slowly but surely being trained to work again...And wait..there's more!!!! I walk taller too as i am aware of the need to draw my "powerhouse" in!
Just wait till i get the next set of dvds for bun and thighs!!!
But you are doing a fabulous transformation girl...try the winsor from the library if you can and give it a go!!...Let me kow how it goes!

I've had four children and still have my *mommy pouch* as well.. All is fine when I'm standing up, but sitting down is another story... I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that unless I want to fight my body tooth and nail, it's going to stay that way.

One thing to consider though is all these exercises will only work if your muscles in your Abdomen are still intact. If they have been torn due to Pregnancy they only thing that will fix it is a tummy tuck with Muscle Repair.

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

At the gym, I do half and hour of cardio and about 45 minutes of weight resistance training. Again, my poor abs have pretty much been ignored during the last few months.

I will have to try pilates again. I LOVE pilates and even did a few video classes at the gym. I'm not sure why I quit...I think because I was confused as to what would work better for - pilates or weight resistance.

4beans, you look great. I would die to have your abs! What has worked for you?

Thanks again everyone. After this week (when I've over this dratted chest cold) I'm ready to hit the gym again.

How would a person know if her muscles are or aren't intact anymore?

Hey - I just saw this post.

You know, I just took a progressively more difficult yoga class for 4 months. The poses -- especially 'plank' and 'side plank' -- really built my strength and flexibility, even as I was gaining weight over the months.

I took the class at my local community college, from an instructor who is an exercise physiologist. It was actually a pretty cheap class, about $100 for 2 classes/weekly. If you can find something similar, it would really help you out in this area.

resistance and protein worked for me. I got down to my goal of 122 and was still jiggly. After about a year of body building I could see my abs. I'm 46 and had 1 kid when I was 40. I think that in dieting we may not get enough protein to support our muscles so some weight lifting (or power yoga or pilates) will bring your leam body mass back. just my 2cents.

You could tell if the muscles aren't intact if you have a hernia. When I lay down on the floor and do a cruch I get this BIG bulge in the middle of my bely. From the outside (with a shirt covering) it looks as if someone is blowing a bubble thru the middle of my belly. Gross I know. I had dh 3 years ago and this was the result. Good luck