well with all due respect, I would like to be like let say Salma Hayek, but my body wont go that way. If i loose weight, the first thing I loose is my breast tissue; not because I want too but because my body goes that way and then I will loose my hips. I never have a butt. So It wont grow if I gain weight. And it does not look that thin if i looked at my previous low weight pictures but sometimes what you want and what you get it is not the same.

Claudia-how long ago did you have your baby? What kind of exercise are you doing currently?

I have found that some parts of my shape did change permanently after having babies-but a lot of it can bounce back. You also have to think about the abs area, and whether it is extra fat in that area (cardio and general weight loss), atrophied muscle (from the muscle strain during pregnancy-in which you need intensive abdominal training), or if you might even have some extra skin in the area as well, from it stretching during pregnancy. (Of which only a tummy tuck will remove-not lipo.)

I can probably help you a bit in that area-since this is my third time around, and I HAVE to get my abdominal muscles back each time for my profession. I just need to know exactly what you are doing, and how long you have been working at them, etc.

Also-what areas of the belly are you having the most issues? Descirbe it to me-upper abs, love handles, poochy lower belly-be as specific as you can so I know what to advise.

I love Kate Winslet. She has a real body. Curves in the right places. I think she is a very healthy weight for her frame and height.

aphil, i know i have some meat on my upper abs but I worry most about my lower abs. I feel like i have this fat apron hanging around my waist that sits in my lap when i sit down. I don't dare wear shirts that don't come down to my hips because then everyone would see my pot belly. I fear i am going to need a tummy tuck, that this is extra skin (with some fat still attached) that will need to be removed. Do you have any advice for me on that?? (I too have had 3 kids in the past few years. I have a 7 year old and a 5 year old, and for the first 3 1/2 years after my last child, i really started packing on the pounds) Thanks for any advice you may have. :-)

ps...I am very curious. What is your line of work?? Are you a belly dancer?? If so, that is soooo cool!!! If you don't want to answer, that's cool too. I was just wondering because I love your pic in the avatar. Is that you???

Hey Aphil, I really appreciate the advice as I really dont know what's going on.

I did have a really big belly when I was pregnant so I do think the skin is a bit stretched, but it does seem to be coming back in a way. Its not too bad, but when I hold in my stomach and it goes flat, the skin does look loose.

As far as the abs, I used to have a very strong stomach and now the middle is definitely stretched out with that space in the middle from pregnancy. I was doing a lot of ab exercises (mainly crunches in the middle and sides with legs in the air and also moving a weight from side to side while seated leaning back a little, plus for my lower stomach getting on that equipment where you lean on your elbows and raise your legs up, and planks once in a while) but I stopped when I read that I could be making that space in my abs worse so I didn't know what to do.

There's a lot of soft fat that I've never had and its all over, but the stomach also feels rather hard like I'm pregnant but of course am not LOL. I'm just not sure if that's my stretched out abs or that hard type of fat. I really don't know. The rest of my body looks in pretty much the same proportion as before, but just a bit bigger.

I'm thinking either lipo or a mini tummy tuck, or I even read of these endoscopic tummy tucks where they go in to a tiny hole with a camera and just repair your stretched out abs, and I guess they can do lipo too; this is if the skin is not that stretched. Would love to hear your opinions.

I come from good German farmer stock, so I can relate to Cheryl about the watch thing (they make my arms look stubby!) I'm not nearly as big boned as the rest of the family though (I think my sister qualifies in the Clydesdale department even though she is thin for her body type.)

I remember being 155 in HS and thinking I was fat. It's funny how perception can change over the years. I also remember being 130 and everyone telling me I needed to eat (I had bobble head syndrome.) I remember being 145 in there somewhere and feeling "light and healthy." So my goal is somewhere between that and my HS weight.

The thing is though, I've always had a little belly (lower abs) even when really thin. I don't think I can get rid of that (I don't have children yet.) My abs are strong though (at least according to my GYN~ TMI moment.)

I think my ideal body type is me, but a bit smaller. I'm an hourglass and my problem areas are hidden well with the right clothing anyway. So, I'm happy to be me. Yes, it would be nice to be rid of the belly fat and the chunky thighs, but I guess I'm just glad to be proportioned well.

Hi lumifan-yes, I am a belly dancer (performer and instructor). It is me in the photo-it was taken last February. I was about 2 months pregnant. My profile photo (when you click on my profile) was taken about a month and a half later-I was about 3 1/2 months pregnant I'd guess in the photo.


For both of you-I would definitely recommend continuing the abwork-even if you have muscle separation. I have muscle separation from my pregnancies (my smallest baby was 9lbs3oz) and a firmer, fitter abdominal section looks much better IMHO, then one without it-even with the separation. I would love to have the muscle repair and a tummy tuck-but I am afraid that it would damage my career-because some tummy tuck-ees have muscle numbess and some loss of mobility there afterwards-and it isn't an option for me. I can't work no matter how great it would look afterwards-if I can't feel my abs, have total mobility, and be able to move them.

Before contemplating any sort of surgery, I would first recommend getting to your goal weight. Sometimes the last 5-10 pounds makes a huge difference! I would also make sure that you are doing strength training-including the abs-as well. If either of you like doing any dvds, there are some great abwork dvds out there. PM me if you want a list of titles that I have and like.

Work on the goal weight, and doing cardio to get rid of underlying body fat. Do the abwork 2-3 times a week to get the muscle tone and definition in the abdominals. In a few months, see how you are.

It is completely natural BTW, for you to be SOFTER all over after a pregnancy. When you are pregnant, your body goes through many, many changes-not just having a baby inside it. Organs shift, your hipbones move, your body fat naturally increases-it is a reaction that your body does to ensure that it will not only be able to sustain the pregnancy if there was a sudden famine (using your body fat to nourish you and the child) but to hold onto body fat to use when you are nursing afterwards for the same reason. Our bodies primary function for about 1-2 years, is to do support another life. Your muscle will return, and your body fat will go back down-but we have to work at it, and give it some time.

After you are at goal weight, with the proper exercise-if there is loose skin it will be a little more apparent at that time. For many women, it isn't bad at all. You can pinch a little skin where it used to lay very taut. For others, who had very large babies, or who have been very overweight, there will be more to deal with.

Work on it, give it some time, and things will improve.

This is who I want to look like. She is the same height and build as me. I'm just 50 lbs heavier than me.

Her name is Isabella Soprano. Don't look her up with kids around! She is in the adult industry. She's pretty much the only person I could find that even comes close to who I want to look like. She's short, curvy, and I'm very close to her build. (It probably sounds bad that I want to look like a porn star. :laugh

I just would like smaller arms, smaller thighs, and a flatter stomach. I'll be happy with those.

I'm shaped pretty wierd...I love it though! I have an hourglass figure, about as hourglass as you can get...I have a large chest (a full B, which is big for my body considering I'm 5'2"), really curvy hips. My bone structure..I'm pretty little, but I'm WIDE! Broad shoulders and hips. And I have a really small waist in ratio to the rest of my body.

I love my shape! I'll love it even more when there's less fat on it. I think that my body shape is incredibly sexy...it's my tummy that bothers me. And my big ol arms. I start to feel really good about my body around 160, high 150's, my stomach (before, I don't know about now.) is completely flat around 140, high 130's...I start looking waaaay too thin around 120. Like zenor said..it's wierd for my height! I don't know if it's my build or that I have really muscular legs from dancing (maybe that makes a lot of the weight??) or a combo of both. Wonder what it is exactly that makes one carry weight well or not so well...

It's so crazy how no two bodies are alike. How 120 on me looks way too thin and 120 on another girl my height might look chubby.

Mami - I'll just back up Aphil. An otherwise quite slender friend found that she had a case of "mummy tummy" after 2 C-sections. She finally resigned herself to it being permanent. Then she took up belly dancing, (not to lose her tummy, just because she thought she'd enjoy it) and got quite into it (she's instructing beginners now). Within a year, her mummy tummy got dramatically better.

I have heard that belly dancing is a great way to firm up the abdomen and was lots of fun. I was actually thinking about purchasing the dvd's.

PM me-
I can give you a heads up on the good ones vs the bad ones.

jgalias.jpg

jgalias2.jpg

I'd like to look like this and kick some serious butt!!

Jo

Your attachments came through in my email, but not when I logged on to the 3FC site.

BTW-for the others, they were Jennifer Garner in Alias and Elektra.

Jo-I am a costume maker-and I specialize in movie replica costumes. I did an Elektra about 2 years ago. Let me see if I can link a pic to it-it may or may not be too large.