I know everyone says you cannot spot reduce but my body seems to do the opposite - I lose everywhere except the one place I really want to - my waist!! It's always been big compared to my other measurements but over a year after baby I am still wearing maternity pants. WHAT?!!

I am now 153 lbs and I cannot fit my waist into any of my size 12 pants. My butt, hips, and legs have plenty of room but I can't zip up the waist! This is why I have been wearing maternity pants for almost 2 years at this point (including the actual pregnancy). This is depressing. By the time I can get my waist into any of my normal pants I'll have no butt at all!

I hear ya girl! Best advice I can give is to try some Silver jeans, Frances cut. They fit skinny legged, flat butt gals with more room in the waist. And they are cute. Pretty expensive though- about $80. If you can, try some on at the store, then buy some on ebay after you know they fit. I still had a thick waist at 120 pounds. Sad times, but with the right jeans you can still look good!

Thanks, that might cheer me up! I don't really have a problem with casual clothes, because I can always wear yoga pants or whatever on weekends. It's work clothes where I have the problem.

I feel your pain!! After two kids (and now our third is almost here) but anyway after two I got down to 145 lbs and my waist was still...umm...well let just say I'm not getting my hopes up for after baby #3...

I have made some good progress on my weight loss after baby #2, but my waist/ stomach seems to be the biggest holdout. I used to be much more hourglass shaped, but I am losing everywhere but from there. I know it will come more with time, and I'm happy to weigh less regardless! Just wanted to say I can commiserate.

I'm in my first pregnancy, but looked pregnant long before . . . I've got relatively small legs and wrists, my collarbones are starting to show, but I still have a 45" waist and often describe myself as a marshmallow on toothpicks. I'm an apple, and it seems my belly is the very last thing on me to go. I have the same issues as you about finding pants that fit properly; if they're big enough for my waist, my butt and legs are swimming. If they fit my butt and legs, there's no way I'm going to be able to fasten them over my waist. I'm vaguely concerned it's going to be an even bigger issue once I have the baby, but for now I'm enjoying yoga pants and flowy tops . . . and am wondering how long I'll be continuing to wear them next year.

Have you ladies heard of a Squeem? It's more comfortable than a corset or girdle and when worn daily for at least 8 hours a day (you can wear it while you sleep if you don't want to wear it during the day), it trains your waist to become more of an hour glass shape. When you wear it, it take off a couple inches on your waist instantly and gives you really nice curves. Check it out on amazon.

It's really hard when you are apple shaped, plus going through menopause like I am. That extra weight really gravitates to the abs. But sometimes all the cardio, waist/ab workouts in the world can only do so much and lipo or a tummy tuck is not in my budget. Wearing a squeem helps give me the curves I crave while I get my weight down. I'm hoping by the time I reach goal weight my waist will be trained to stay down.

Oh yes, the baby jelly belly.

It is going to come down to overall fat loss, but do you have stretched abdominal muscles too? That will exaggerate the look. I went from 5 finger gap to under 2 fingers and it made a big difference, despite the same weight.

Glad to hear I am not the only one out here with this problem!! I have even considered plastic surgery after I am done having kids. But I am afraid of surgery! And I did look like this pre-pregnancy, it's just a bit worse now. I have always been an apple on a stick.

Often I wear some kind of tight camisole/shapewear to suck everything in at work, but it's not comfortable. I think when I have tried something like the Squeem that does not cover the whole torso, the fat just gets pushed up and bulges over the top.

How do I tell if I have stretched abdominal muscles? I can't tell if I have ANY abdominal muscles! All I feel is squishy!

Here is a video to show you how.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvybTZiLqRE

If you had a baby and you don't know if you have it or not... you probably have it. Apparently 98% (!) of women get it after a baby - to varying degrees, of course.

Girl, I'm in the same boat! My legs are lean-ish, my wrists are bony, but my belly sticks out. I hate my waist - I might be "okay" with the rest of my body if my belly wasn't so awkwardly shaped.

I tried this today. It was so hard! But I feel so good now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ8Zdj0OPMI

Jillian Michaels is my favourite trainer. She's hot, she's fiesty, and she knows how to get reactions out of people. AND she knows how to make you sting in the best way. I thought I was going to puke and/or die.

If you'd like, we can do the full six weeks together? Heck, we can make a group challenge to keep everyone accountable! Y'all can even have my skype name, and we can push each other in real time.

I lost over 100 pounds and 5 top sizes.... and I'm only down two pant sizes because of my waist.

I've found that yoga is "pulling up" my belly, which just basically means I'm strengthening the muscles beneath the fat, so when the fat finally goes, I'll have a better waist.

You'll get there.

I have the same problem! No matter how much weight I lose I still have a belly! It's so frustrating! If you mind the secret to losing it, please share! lol

I don't mean to nitpick but if the OP has diastasis (she's a year postpartum) then doing Jillian's ab workout will actually make her stomach stick out further. It is a postpartum condition that must be corrected first. She should evaluate that first.

there's nothing wrong with a big waist! especially after you've had a baby. your ab muscles can't tighten as much, so your tummy doesn't look as flat. tummies are really womanly anyhow.