- Why the abdomen remains large after childbirth
- Why does pregnancy fat accumulate on the abdomen
- Why the abdomen can not recover for a long time
- Diastasis as a cause of a large abdomen
- When can you start abdominal exercises?
- Ways to reshape the abdomen
- Proper nutrition
- Organization of food
- Physical activity – what will benefit
- Recommendations for training
- Cosmetic remedies
- Folk methods
- Special Procedures
- How to remove the abdomen after caesarean section
- Psychological aspects of getting back in shape
The question of how to restore the figure after childbirth, begins to seriously concern women as soon as left behind the euphoria of the first days after finally joyful event, the expectation of which the woman lived for the past nine months, happened, and she became a mother. Looking at herself in the mirror rarely gives any of them a feeling of satisfaction and self-satisfaction. Only an equally happy and confident mother can raise a happy and confident person.
To achieve this, you need to return to at least the same physical and emotional shape. The work to be serious, painstaking and complex, but the results, subject to all the requirements and recommendations will not take long to achieve. The reward for the work will be getting rid of the sagging belly and getting back the lost shape.
Why the abdomen remains large after childbirth
Most women try to start working on their bodies almost immediately after returning from the hospital, believing that if immediately after the birth of a child the abdomen recovery did not occur naturally, it is necessary to take immediate action. However, before taking them, you need to understand the reasons that prevent you from removing the belly after childbirth.
Among them are:
- Avoidance of all fats, including monounsaturated fats;
- Excluding cardio exercises;
- poor diet;
- lack of fluid intake.
Immediately after childbirth, the uterus, which increased the most during pregnancy and influenced the growth of the abdomen, begins to shrink. However, even after its complete reduction, the restoration of abdominal skin can not happen instantly, as well as the muscles stretched during this period. Requires a set of exercises that remove the fat layer formed during pregnancy, and to return the lost form will help massage.
Why does pregnancy fat accumulate on the abdomen
Entering the struggle with extra pounds and, first of all, trying to remove the abdomen after childbirth, women with frustration ask themselves the question of why and where did fat on the belly and other parts of the body and why fight with it so hard. The explanation is simple. Acquisition of fat during pregnancy is a quite natural and even necessary process. The body increases its reserves in case of force majeure, to ensure the baby conditions for survival, even when the mother has to be malnourished.
This is how an ancient mechanism works to protect the offspring from starvation. The vast majority of women accumulate fat on the abdomen, which is why it is so difficult to lose belly fat after childbirth. Scientists explain this by the fact that fat deposits, along with amniotic fluid create a kind of cushion protecting the future baby from shocks and possible intrauterine injuries.
Why the abdomen can not recover for a long time
There are, of course, cases where you do not need to remove the abdomen after childbirth – it disappears by itself. But often the problem will have to work hard, because after pregnancy the muscles without training have lost the tone needed to keep the abs in their normal state, and the tissues are greatly stretched. It happens that a woman for several months to no avail tries to remove a large belly, following all the advice of experts. In addition performs the recommended physical exercises, but even such a comprehensive approach turns out to be useless.
In such a situation it is necessary to exclude the development of diastasis, which, unfortunately, is a fairly common problem, often occurring just after childbirth. Diastasis is an extension of the “white line” of the abdomen, formed during pregnancy, due to the pressure of the baby on the muscles, which diverge by more than 3 cm.
Diastasis as a cause of a large abdomen
Pathology, fraught with many troubles, including the inability to tighten the abdomen after childbirth, begins to develop in the middle of the second trimester. It is during this period, under the influence of increasing abdominal pressure, the muscles stretch, and after childbirth never come back to normal, leaving the abdomen sagging. The normal course of events assumes postpartum recovery of the uterus to its former size and “white line” width of up to 2 cm.
But the recovery process can be complicated by concomitant factors that prevent the tissues and skin from returning to their former state. The list of factors due to diastasis preventing rapid belly loss after childbirth includes:
- An overly large fetus;
- mature age of the pregnant woman;
- the presence of excess weight;
- The number of previous pregnancies and births;
- multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets);
- complications during childbirth;
- Starting physical activity too soon after childbirth.
When can you start abdominal exercises?
Striving to restore the figure as soon as possible after the birth of a child, the main point to take into account is the way in which the child came into the world. If a woman gave birth naturally, without perineal trauma or other complications, you can begin light exercises after 6-8 weeks. If, however, a cesarean section was used for childbirth, you can start putting on a figure no earlier than after 3-4 months. This is necessary to allow the body to fully recover, and the stitches – to heal.
It is worth remembering that in this case we can talk only about simple exercises without weights. Sports with heavy loads can be engaged in no earlier than 5-6 months after childbirth. To lose weight after childbirth from the first weeks you can start any ways of fighting the imperfect figure, excluding a strong impact on the abdomen and vigorous exercise.
Ways to reshape the abdomen
As a rule, women are willing to do almost anything to restore their former slimness and remove the abdomen after childbirth. Flat belly, nice abs and trim figure – it is achievable goal for women who have recently become mothers, if a large and sagging belly is not the consequence of causes that require radical measures to eliminate it. For example, diastasis stage 3, when pronounced muscle divergence is more than 8 cm.
In all other cases, to achieve the goal and restore the figure after the birth of a child is possible for the vast majority of those who set it for themselves. The arsenal of means that women use to lose weight after childbirth includes all means known to specialists. And, of course, to achieve faster and more consistent results, it is better to approach the problem of tightening the stomach in a comprehensive manner – eat right, do the right exercises, undergo reconstructive procedures.
Proper nutrition
Deciding to get rid of sagging belly, a woman, first of all, you need to eat right and balanced diet, not even a diet, and adhering to the principles of a healthy diet. Breastfeeding mother’s diet should be varied, so that she and the baby through the breast milk to get all the necessary vitamins and nutrients. Strict diets and especially starvation – for a nursing mother is an absolute taboo. It is enough to exclude from your menu all harmful products, which include sweets, sausages, pasta, convenience foods, fried, fatty foods, smoked meats.
You should not eat whole milk, because it contains a large percentage of fat. But from meat you can not give up, you only need to choose lean types – turkey, rabbit or chicken, which should be boiled or steamed. On the table should be fish, cereals, dairy products, greens, fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs.
Organization of food
To remove the abdomen after childbirth will help not only a rational and balanced filling of the woman’s menu, but also the correct organization of food. In order to quickly get into the desired shape at home, experts advise:
- combine complex carbohydrates with proteins during the main meals, ensuring that the body receives more energy;
- Take food in small portions 5-6 times a day, so as not to form a strong feeling of hunger;
- try not to eat on the go and chew food as thoroughly as possible, taking advantage of the moments when the child is asleep;
- make it a rule to drink 1.5-2 liters of water a day, which helps to lose weight after childbirth and is good for milk production when breastfeeding;
- Always have a supply of fresh fruit at home for a quick snack, which can be used instead of unhealthy sweets.
Physical activity – what will benefit
Moms need exercises that will work the muscles of the pelvic floor and back, deep abdominal muscles, which will ensure a quality recovery of the body and allow you to remove the abdomen after childbirth. As a result it will become flat, there will be a beautiful posture and stop back pain. In addition to the purely aesthetic effect and the possibility to restore the figure will return fullness of intimate life, will disappear possible problems of the genitourinary system.
Good results can be achieved by the following exercises:
- having retracted the abdomen and having held for 20 seconds in this position, relax – the exercise can be done without distracting from home affairs;
- lying on the back, lean on the bent knees, raise the pelvis and stay in this position for 20 seconds, then return to the starting position;
- Lift up straight legs while lying on your back;
- lying on each side, lift your leg up.
The workout routine can be found here.
Recommendations for training
Trying to lose the abdomen after childbirth and exercising, you need to observe the following recommendations:
- Conduct a warm-up before the main exercise, which consists of the usual exercise with the performance of the simplest exercises;
- Exclude from use any additional weights, as their purpose is to form muscle relief, and not at all to tighten the abdomen;
- While exercising keep your abs in tension;
- Approach training sensibly and do not burden yourself heavily from the first day – you can lose weight after childbirth by increasing the load as the body gets used to it gradually, in the beginning one approach will be enough, to increase to two can be in a week;
- Do not eat 60 minutes before and after training;
- Carefully monitor the breath, remembering that on exhalation there should be strain on the muscle tissues.
Cosmetic remedies
Get rid of a large belly at home will also help special creams, with a lifting effect. Their main components that provide the desired effect when used to remove the abdomen after childbirth, are vitamins, essential oils, hyaluronic acid, elastin, collagen. It is through their impact on the stretched and sagging skin manages to normalize blood circulation, tighten sagging tissue, prevent the appearance of stretch marks. Apply funds to be massaged movements.
Good results provide creams specifically designed to increase skin elasticity, improve elasticity, allow tissues to recover faster. At home you can do 15-20 minute wraps with chocolate, oils, honey, clay or special preparations. After applying them to the skin, wrap the food film, for a stronger effect on top of laying a warm cloth.
Folk methods
In order to remove the abdomen after childbirth, you can use folk remedies. These include compresses using herbal decoctions and natural oils. A good effect for the restoration of abdominal skin gives, for example, nettle decoction, which is used to make a compress. To prepare it you need to pour 2 tablespoons of dried plant with 2 cups of boiling water. Then warm the pot with the mixture for 10 minutes over low heat. Then leave the liquid to infuse and cool for 3 hours, after which – filter it.
To make a compress to remove the abdomen after childbirth, soak the cloth with the resulting decoction and put it on the stomach for 30 minutes. Another folk mask, which is applied to the abdominal area in the morning and evening, is also effective – aloe juice and olive oil are mixed in equal proportions, a couple of drops of vitamin E and A are added and evenly applied to the skin.
Special Procedures
In addition to ways to remove the abdomen after childbirth at home, women who have not succeeded in this struggle as quickly as expected, but for some reason to achieve to lose weight after childbirth they need, it makes sense to pay attention to professional ways. However, it is worth noting that these ways to remove the abdomen after childbirth require prior consultation with a specialist. Professional procedures that have a direct impact on fat deposits on the abdomen can help remove the abdomen after childbirth.
For example, mesotherapy, which consists of injections that destroy fat deposits, for example, injections with hyaluronic acid. Or cryolipolysis, which involves exposing layers of fat to low temperatures to thin them. You can apply electromyostimulation, when the burning of fat deposits occurs under the influence of low-frequency current.
How to remove the abdomen after caesarean section
All these tips on how to remove the abdomen after childbirth apply to a greater extent to women who gave birth naturally. For those whose delivery occurred by cesarean section, there are nuances in the recovery of shape after childbirth. This period during surgery lasts significantly longer – about 2-4 months – and intensive exercises to remove the abdomen after childbirth, for example, should be performed with greater caution because of the presence of external and internal stitches.
Before starting vigorous exercise, it is necessary to get advice from a specialist to choose safe loads. You can start with gentle massages with oils containing vitamins A and E, massaging clockwise once a day for 15 minutes for a month. It is good to go to the pool a couple of times a week.
Psychological aspects of getting back in shape
It is certainly worth considering the psychological component of the problem as well. Often women can not remove the abdomen after childbirth, not for physiological reasons, but because of a poor emotional and psychological state. Simply put, there is no positive attitude to bring your figure to the desired parameters. Because a newborn baby, especially a breastfed one, fills the whole life of a young mother with itself and its needs.
Although breastfeeding itself promotes rapid contraction of the uterus and serves as a great way to remove the abdomen after childbirth, as well as usual walks with the stroller during the day. To begin to seriously work on yourself, you need to set the right priorities, to get rid of self-doubt. And in this the best way to help advice from a psychologist.
By contacting us, you can get the whole course of psychology for young mothers.
Get constructive recommendations is simply necessary. Especially if they are given by those who have already successfully gone through the birth of a child. All questions will be covered in the course “Mom after childbirth”, in our trainings and seminars.
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