How do I stop myself from looking PREGNANT??!!

I am so excited that I have lost almost 10 pounds!!  My clothes are looser and I have been able to slide easily into a pair of jeans that previously required a body girdle!! 

However, it seems that I am losing all my weight everywhere BUT my belly.  When I face the mirror I like what I see.  I finally have feminine curves and I don't look bad!  Then I turn to the side and BAM...six months pregnant!  I am NOT pregnant and it is so frustrating that as good as I feel it all goes in the gutter when I look at my profile.  I am not exagerrating either...one brave woman has already asked if I was expecting!!!!

HELP!  I need any advice to help me lose the preg-o belly FAST!!!

Well, of course losing weight at a moderate pace is the most healthy for your body, but I know what's it's like to want to lose weight more quickly.  How many calories are you consuming in a day?  And what type of exercise are you getting?  Cutting calories and a doing a ton of cardio will help start the process.  Try walking very quickly keeping your heart rate at around 50% of its max.  Then add some strength training and do a few ab routines a day.  I'll probably hear it for mentioning this, but the BEST way I have found to lose weight very quickly is through a program called medifast.  I believe you can find it through a search for...take-shape-for-life.  It's kind of costly, but extremely effective.  It's how I lost the majority of my weight after having babies! =)  The program really is hard for the first three days, then it's easy.  It's all about making your mind believe you can do it.  After you've conditioned yourself with walking, add some jogging in there and then eventually start running.  That has been the most effective form of exercise in losing "fat" for me of all.  Good luck and let me know what the answers are to my questions if you get a second. =)

i agree w/stef on the cardio and

add in weight training-- by significantly increasing your muscle mass, you will burn fat more efficiently... we're talking full body work outs that challenge you at least 4x a week

i don't know how anyone could do medifast-- but if you can & you have the $ for it- try it-- i just have heard you typically gain back quick on programs such as medi-fast

try clean eating-- carb sensitive people tend to park fat in their abs-- it just means you are more insulin sensitive & tend to convert your carbs to sugar more quickly- and they tend to park as flub in the middle

by clean eating, you eat 6x a day- you spread your kcals evenly over those six meals- you eat no refined /simple carbs (no white stuff- bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, sugar) only complex carbs (vegs, whole grains, oats, etc)(fruit in AM only) and you eat protein w/your complex carbs at every meal... & eat fish to get your omega oils along with lean protein-- you're more than half way there...

if you can eat just 'real' food w/a mix of lean protein 6x a day & not the packaged crap like special k or white bread, or beer, or other junk- you will make a dent in ab flab...

losing body fat is 70% clean diet - 20% weight training - 10% cardio... at least for me it is!

As someone who has been faithfully exercising for 2 months now (mostly cardio) and not losing a lot of weight.  Is it possible for belly fat "to move"?  I've noticed that the pregnant belly look is gradually turning into this lower jello.  It's still just as big but flatter and lower.  My husband thinks that the fat is "melting" and getting ready to come off but that just sounds silly to me. 

Wait...no potatoes?!  Can I eat 'em in the morning?  Can I have sweet potatoes?  I can ditch the normal potatoes, but not the yams...

I will if it will help, of-course.

mrsdag- yep, i see weird melty pockets of fat on my body -- ick- i think it's just as it breaks down unevenly... who knows... as long as it goes!

yams/sweet potatoes are fine in the correct size - i personally don't eat any carby vegs after 3-- my two dinners are all protein & veg only-- but like greens usually w/mushrooms or cauli--- i personally can't stomach yams- yuck!...

i would guess to venture that you probably could eat a smaller than tennis ball size potato in the AM only- potatoes are just very starchy & that's not clean eating really!- i wouldn't do it after 3pm- just like fruit-- bc you tend to convert the natural sugars in fruits to energy during the day/before your workouts-- but fruits are higher in natural sugars & eating them at night when you are less likely to be active is insulin production=fat storage--

but that's me & i'm an OCD clean diet person-- i get guilty eating freakin oatmeal- i rarely, if ever eat brown rice- i don't even remember what pasta tastes like anymore - but again, but that's me & my carb fears - the real complex carb stuff is great for you-- i mean, carbs are in veggies too- carbs are everywhere- it's just even the whole grains scare me! i only eat oats/whole grains before 12pm! i don't eat beans/legumes very often either & they are on a clean diet-- i just am scared of them bc they are carb loaded- albeit good carbs-- but it's bc i carry so much fat in my legs-- clean eating has made a dent in it for me-- and i've seen amazing ab results on myself & others... 

look up clean eating-- it varies in rules, but the above are the basics... i think someone named Tosca just put out a book on clean diets for women-- haven't read it & don't know quality of it-- but it could be a good place to start!

 

well, my guess is that your belly will be one of the last places to get smaller but thats ok! its exciting that you've lost everywhere else. theres really no way to make fat go away in certain areas, you need to just keep doing what your doing to burn fat, maintain muscle and eventually the fat will melt off as it should.

 

my advice is to be patient and perhaps dress to mask the "pregnancy" look (i know a girl with the same issue- she is VERY thin but has a belly that people mistake as pregnancy all the time!)  my suggestions would be to wear some cute, fitted jeans (show off your legs and booty!) and then avoid wearing any tops that are too tight/clingy.  my friend with the "big" belly looks pregnant because she wears very tight shirts that arent long enough and her belly peeks out from underneath.   here is a great article i found online...

http://www.oprah.com/beauty/fashion/adam/adam _omag_200804_tummy.jhtml

 

gotta love that oprah!

I just wanted to follow up...I know medifast isn't for everyone, but it worked for me.  After I had the kids I got to 174 pounds.  I tried medifast, was faithful to it, and got down to 144 pounds.  I'm at 120 now because of running and strength training.  Medifast, again may not be for everyone, but it totally worked for me.  I couldn't stand the thought of losing 1-2 pounds a week, so medifast kept me in the game by helping me loose it much faster.  Also, I have NEVER gained back any of the weight...just had to rebutle.  =)  Keep with a sensible program that works for you and you will be one hot momma in New York!  =)

stefi- sorry if you felt i jabbed at medi-fast-- if i could stick with something like that & pay for it, i might try it- but i couldn't... that's just me--

i think you have to do whatever works for you as an individual-- as long as it's healthy!~!!

please don't take it the wrong way! didn't mean it that way!

~Stefiann~

I try to consume between 1500 - 1750 (the goal C.C. gave me).  My exercise is limited due to me working nights, have 3 kids and no membership to a gym.  I have upped the amount of ab work I do in the morning from 8 sets of 20 to 8 of 25 and added 5 extra push-ups (I do reall ones and girly ones).  My cardio comes from whatever I can do while taking care of the kids and then taking walks at work and running up & down the stairs at work.  I know I need more work out but I can't figure out how to get it.  I was thinking of checking out a used sports/exercise equipment store for a treadmill or something.

Thank you all for answering my post!!!   Any other suggestions???!

hey lookingfly-- (and stef! sorry again! my bad on medi!)

if you are taxing your abs well enough, you can lighten up on the ab exercises-- -- if you're only doing crunches that is! doing that many sets of 25 will actually be counterproductive - doing at most 3 sets of 15-20-3x a week- where you feel a burn is fine... again, overdoing it will result in endurance for one, and overdevelopment if you're doing them correctly!

look up multiple ab work & do different sets on different days to hit your entire core! with challenging your obliques & upper & lower abs-- you will have better results! try standing ab work along with leg lifts etc-- i see people all the time only hitting the upper 6 pack area & not working the entire core group! your lower back muscles should be worked in addition to your front abs-- this will tighten up your entire core & give you excellent posture which adds to the view of a healthy core and the six pack abs when you bring them out after losing abdominal flub!

just realize, if you are doing an exercise effectively, overkill will not produce faster/better results or whittle fat off! you're better off diversifying your ab work & ensuring you're hitting all core areas... you can overdevelop abs and bow your belly out more! that's extreme, but true!

 

I find doing turbo jam ab jam workout  along with weights and cardio
exercise Ive noticed a big difference in my stomach its alot smaller than it was 2.5 months ago Ive went from size 14 jeans to size 10

Gosh !!!! i know EXACTLY how you feel, i just joined this site for exactly this reason.

Im a 30 year old mother of 2 and im very athletic my bmi / weight etc are all fine, im exactly where i need to be weight wise. with a bmi of only 22 ...

BUT !!... the instant i stand side ways my gut hits you ... i don't want/need to diet and spend 4 days a week in the gym and im a proffessional dancer however the belly is starting to lose me work, no-one wants a pregant looking dancer.

If i diet / work out i seem to lose wieght everywhere bar my tummy and ive got to the point where im concidering surgey ... its all so stupid im not overwieght im not unfit ... but the belly wont move.

 

Iamme, No worries, girl!  Just wanted to explain my jouney with medifast.  No biggie, I promise! =)

New york bound hot momma, personally, I would probably stick to a little less for calories.  Maybe 1200-1500??  I'm not a doctor by any means, but that's what I would do.  Eat really good, low calorie food often throughout the day.  200-300 each mini-meal, and every 2-3 hours.  And stop eating early in the evening.  Drink lots of water too.  Also, for exercise, it's funny someone mentioned TurboJam; I'm a certified Turbo instructor =)...Turbo is a phenomenal and fun way to kill a bunch of calories.  In studies, participants burned an average of 800 calories per one hour session.  So, turbo would be great for you.  I teach it at the gym, but I know they have videos for home use.  You can do the videos during naptime or have the kiddos jump around with you while you do it.  And they'll sleep better at night! =) All you need is a t.v. and a little room to move around...But I would definitely recommend more cardio!  And don't forget about strength training.  Your body will become more effective in burning calories with the more muscle you build!  Keep at it and you're going to look great!!! 

could it be your posture? i've had a teacher whos extreamly skinny but i've knowticed that she has a hunch, so her stomach is in a bell shape thus looking like she had a pot/preggers belly.

~iamme~

I do 8 different kinds for side, top, bottom and overall ab work.  So I should do some on one day and switch off?  I am afraid to do that because I don't get any other kind of exercise.

just remember, while we all go for the gusto with ab work- it's how effectively you're doing the work...

if you're doing 8 different ranges- split it up to work obliques one day- upper next - lower next - hip flexors & low back other- they all make your entire core hot-- so mix up your work and give recovery time to the group you worked that day--

- i mean, you can work abs everyday- but why? they don't take a ton of work & they are not that large a muscle group-- and all the ab work in the world won't be unveiled until we figure out how to drop the flub off the mid-section!

so, split it up-

and, IMHO, if abs are the only muscle group you're working- well, you need to work the rest of your body too! try what stefi suggests - or find you're own nitch routine to give your entire body a challenge- glutes/legs are huge groups- work those at least 3x a week- challenge your upperbody/back/shoulders too-- work ALL your muscle groups! muscle does raise metabolism-- and you won't end up with a skinny fat look & ripped abs-

clean up your diet- and add in more exercise- ALL over-- there's NO spot reduction- only total body fat reduction- and if you happen to carry it in your midsection- it just means your going to have to lose the fat slowly but surely and work your whole body to reveal your goddess!

(lol, reminds me of that domino commercial where the guy says "guess what i did in 30 minutes while waiting for my pizza?"- and he's got these insanely out of proportion ripped 8 pack abs-- but the rest of him is very skinny/flabby-- and the dominos delivery girl says-- "uh, 30 min abs?")

~imme~

Thanks alot for the advice!  I am not a very motivated person for exercies so I think I will add one area at a time.  I WILL take your advice on the ab stuff.  It's all a mind trip...it seems like I won't be doing anything if I just do one section. 

It's funny you mentioned the Domino's commercial for two reasons.  1) My Dad runs a bunch of Dominos and 2) I get my ab excerices form my old 8 Minute Abs tape!!!  LMAO!

lookingfly- just keep it up! remember, you CAN & WILL do this!

if motivation is your issue- look at it closely & ask yourself daily "do i have 30 mins to contribute to exercise" - and the answer will be "yes" because I'm sure you could find 30 minutes to 'eat' something- so look at exercise as the same thing! I look at my working out as whatever I do that day is getting me closer to the image & athletic capabilty I have in my head-- i want to see how far I can push my body to perform & achieve!

the old take a walk when you got a craving truly works- and I don't mean go all ballistic and get yourself a case of the exercise bulimia ED- i just mean, all of us can seem to find time to eat but can't seem to find enough time to exercise! if we turn some of those eating minutes into exercise minutes, we all get that much closer to being healthful!!!

cheers! keep up the good work & if my dad owned a bunch of dominos, crud, i'd be HUGE! YOU CAN DO THIS!

Wow, I have the exact same problem (I work nights too!!).  I lost a bunch of weight thinking it was just the last place to come off, and it was, so now I only look three months pregnant. 

I do have a posture problem, and I think that is part of it.  I think the major thing, though, is that carbs and sugar seem to bloat me, and anything with dairy is totally out of the question.  My digestive system sucks.  In the morning when I wake up, my stomach looks great.  By the end of the day, I'm sometimes up a pants size. 

The most important thing with ab exercises is to make sure you are "sucking it in" as you exhale and crunch.  You want to feel as though you are touching your belly button through your body to your back at the peak of the crunch.  Pooching out your gut while crunching will do the OPPOsite of slimming you. 

 

Case in point: place a book on your stomach as you crunch.  If the book moves up a lot, or even falls off, you are doing it wrong.  Yes, your tummy will move and roll together, but it shouldn't make the book move more than an couple of inches (or a few more if you have a very large stomach)

Helpful hint from my 6pack abs instructor.  Hope this helps!