Are you a mom who has felt as though you have lost your flat stomach?
Do you struggle to zip up your jeans?
Do you wish you could just get rid of your muffin top or “pooch”?
Have you heard that if your “shelf” isn’t gone after 12 months, you’re stuck with it?
Do you struggle to shrink your midsection even while eating great and working out?
Did you know that the “shelf”, your mummy tummy or “pooch”, lower back pain, poor posture and leaking a little when you jump or sneeze can be due to a weak core after having a baby?
These are all the symptoms of diastasis recti and a weak core. What is diastasis recti? Diastasis recti usually occurs later in pregnancy and about 2 in 3 women will get this. It means that your belly sticks out because the space between your left and right belly muscles has widened. It’s caused from many contributing factors such pregnancy, hormonal changes, weight gain, abdominal weakness, and poor posture.
It isn’t just pregnancies that can cause this, however mom’s who have had c-sections have a higher chance of developing diastasis recti. Having more than one child can make this condition worse and without proper training can wreak havoc on your body. A sure sign of diastasis recti is when you look in the mirror and still have a lower belly (or you look pregnant whether you have been or not). It does not matter if you have ever had a baby or your age. Diastasis recti can affect men and women who have struggled with yo-yo dieting, quick weight gain, doing too many sit-ups or weight lifting the wrong way. This is a very common condition, yet it is rarely diagnosed. My very own doctor had never heard of it and neither had I and my bachelor’s in exercise science.
All of the women that I have trained had come to accept that having a “pooch” or a mummy tummy was just part of the gig of being a mom. They felt that their lack of discipline with food and less than desired intensity of their workouts was the main contributor to still having a mummy tummy years after having a baby. Food and intensity are important, however if you have not learned to properly activate and retrain your core you may always be unhappy with how your midsection looks.
You’re not doomed!
If you have tried planks, crunches, sit-ups and cardio to shrink your core to no success than you are not doomed nor are you failing. You are simply not activating the proper core muscles associated with flattening the belly. I have a 3 Phase Core Workshop that teaches moms to do just that.
Check to see if you have diastasis recti. Learn how here. (If not sure you can have your healthcare provider check for you.)
If you have diastasis recti you will want to avoid (even if cleared to exercise) planks, sit-ups, crunches and any exercises on your hands and knees until you have retrained your transverse abdominis. Crunches and sit-ups are working your rectus abdominis which is responsible for your “six-pack” but not flattening your belly. This is why so many women grow frustrated that the appearance of their stomach isn’t changing after performing core exercises. Many articles and websites suggest this is the quickest way to get your core back but it is really misleading especially for someone who has diastasis recti.
You can learn more on how to activate your transverse abdomens and flatten your belly with my 3 Phase Core Workshop.
It is too late?
It is never too late to strengthen your core. I have had a 75 year old man lose 6” off his waist and a mom of a 20 year old drop 2 pant sizes and lose her mummy tummy. Learning how to activate and retrain your core is something you can do at any age and at any stage postpartum.
“The classic mummy tummy is something I’ve had for many years and have been bothered by but not willing to have surgery. I figured I just needed to accept the “pooch”. I honestly didn’t think it would work and after this class my mummy tummy is almost gone, I lost 5” off my waist and my diastasis recti is now within normal range. I even have core strength now!”
So many women want to flatten their stomach but just don’t know how. That is why I have come up with a 3 Phase Core Workshop to help fix these problems. You will learn to strengthen your entire body without a gym membership, hours of cardio, or restricting and counting calories. This easy to follow plan you can do from the comfort of your home while reclaiming your body, mind and sanity.
