How to Lose Belly Fat After a C-Section:
First–please make sure that you have clearance from your doctor to workout again. I had to wait 6 weeks to really begin strenuous activity again. This advice is assuming you have clearance from your doctor. Have your doctor check to see if you have a separation between the ab muscles–if it is greater than 2 1/2 finger’s width you must be careful or you could make the belly bulge worse. If this is the case, you would need to avoid exercises that cause you to strain such as oblique twists as you could make things worse.
If you have a saggy belly after a C-section, there are three concerns:
1. The skin has been stretched out
2. Excess body weight
3. Weakened or separated abdominal muscles
If the concern is number two, you need to focus on your caloric intake (tracking using myfitnesspal.com) and working out. Fat loss is more important than weight loss–you must focus on your diet. Drink a lot of water, eat clean, unprocessed foods, and lots of fruits and veggies. Move your body and do a combination of cardio and strength training. If you don’t have a Beachbody program yet–I highly recommend you get one. It will tell you what you need to eat, how much, what workout to do on what day…all you have to do is follow the program and push play. It will make life MUCH easier for you!
Some regular exercises that you have done before may not work with your postpartum body. Crunches, which target the rectus abdominus, may make your belly bulge even more.
Before you begin targeting your abs, you need to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles (doing Kegel’s). You also need to strengthen your transverse abdominus muscles–which are the muscles you use when you draw in your belly button towards your spine, flattening your stomach while you exhale.
Then you can begin gentle leg slides while engaging your transversus abdominus muscles. This video should help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKQ94vq_S8g
If you are able to strengthen your core enough to pull things in, and your diet is clean, you should start to see a difference.
If the concern is the skin has been stretched, the only way to fix that is through surgery.
I hope this helps–and please remember to be patient. It took you 9 months to grow a precious baby inside of you–it will take time for your body to go back to the way it was!
Source: fitness.stackexchange.com
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Rachel Ngom’s Blog
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