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Does Mommy Belly Fat Really Go Away?

Having a baby plays havoc with the body and new mothers are often left with excess weight and a stomach that never seems to shrink back to its pre-birth appearance. The problem of mommy belly fat is common and almost inevitable, no matter what the celebrities seem to suggest. Does mommy belly fat ever really go away? The simple answer is yes, with the right approach and a little patience, there is no reason why new mums can’t regain their pre-baby shape.

During pregnancy, the muscles of the abdomen are stretched to capacity and pushed apart to make room for the growing foetus. The gap in the central stomach area that this creates doesn’t naturally close and knit together again after giving birth.

How to Remove Mommy Belly Fat

The most important thing to practice is patience and the ability to be kind to yourself. The changes that your body has undergone are actually quite violent ones and they won’t all revert overnight.

a.) Exercise to help you lose mommy belly fat

Finding time to exercise can be very difficult for new mums who are often tired and lacking energy but incorporating exercise within a daily routine will be the quickest route back to a flat stomach. The overstretched muscles will take time to respond and it may be many months before any results become obvious.

Your midwife, health visitor, doctor or post-natal clinic will be able to advise you of what exercise it is safe to start losing stomach fat after pregnancy and how soon you can start with them.

Anytime-Anywhere exercise - The best exercise of all can be started almost immediately after giving birth and is particularly beneficial because it can be done anywhere and any-time – bathing the baby, doing the dishes, driving, standing at the supermarket line, in the bath and so on. Pull the stomach in as far as it will go, as if you are trying to touch your navel to your spine. Clench the buttocks at the same time if possible and so tilting the pelvis forward slightly. Hold this for a count of a few seconds and repeat. If you had time for no other exercise, but repeated this several times a day, there would be positive results.

Crunches – lying flat on your back with your knees bent and hands placed on your thighs. This is a great way to lose stomach fat after pregnancy. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor whilst sliding your hands towards your knees. Hold for a few seconds and then lower the head and shoulders SLOWLY back to the floor. Repeat several times. Once this becomes easy then bend your arms and with the elbows out to the side, point your fingers at your ears. Repeat the exercise as detailed before. NOTE – crunches should NOT be done by linking your fingers behind your head. This places undue pressure on the neck and encourages use of the wrong muscles.

Front Support – place the whole of the lower arms flat on the floor from hand to elbow. Tuck your toes under and raise all of your body off the floor, with the weight on the forearms. Your body should be in a straight line and your bottom shouldn’t be sticking up in the air. Hold this position whilst sucking in your tummy and clenching your buttocks as explained in the anytime-anywhere exercise. If you find this position too difficult to hold then you can do it with your knees rested on the floor.

b.) Abdominal Binder to reduce mommy belly

Belly wraps or abdominal binders are not a new idea but seem to have become increasingly popular with mums who have recently given birth. Many new mums swear by their ability to help them lose their post pregnancy belly.

They come in different types and forms but basically all work on the same principle. They can be worn very soon after giving birth and can normally be discarded after six to eight weeks.

As previously mentioned, the most important thing to keep in mind is that no matter what course you decide to follow it will take time to have any effect. Mommy belly fat does go away with a little help and plenty of patience.

Article by expert author ‘Deneice Arthurton‘.