[siggy]

I am 28, 5'5" and 125 lbs, 36 inch waist. (which is the same measurement for my bust and hips)

I gained some weight from my pregnancy. It's been 14 months, and I have lost the weight, but I still have a big flabby stomach. That hangs over the waistband of whatever Im wearing making it look even bigger. I can grab a handful in both hands quite easily.

I have lost 20 lbs since I had the baby but it does not show on my stomach at all. It's still the same size it was after the swelling went down. And I'm at a loss of what to do about it. I do cardio 3-5 times a week, strength train 3-4 times a week, stretching daily. I don't eat the best but I don't eat a lot of junk food. Between my 2 kids they got 4 large buckets of candy and 4 days later I've only had 1 piece. I've done a lot of cardio and a lot of crunches and ab exercises. I can feel good muscle tone under the gut, but the layer of flab hasn't decreased even 1/2 inch.

I've never had a weight problem before, so I just did a lot of guessing on losing it like adding more cardio and ab excerses. Im only wanting to lose a few inches. 4 is ideal, but I could live with 3. What am I doing wrong?

Is it possible that my belly flab is excess skin that won't go away? I don't remember exactly how much weight that I gained for my 2nd pregnancy, but the first one I got up to 150-160ish maybe. I have a short torso so my stomach got very big and the tight all the time towards the end of both pregnancies.

[mnaznguy]

Eating healthy could be the thing holding you back from your goals. I know people who cut out soda from their diet, and lose 5-10 lbs. It's amazing how much your diet can affect your weight. I would really suggest jogging also. I don't know what kind of cardio you do, but make sure you work out hard. ( I know many people who "work out" at a gym, but they don't get a work out) . Also, with cardio, if you don't push yourself, your body gets used to the amount of exercise and you need to do more or work harder to keep getting results.

[BabyBruchie]

If its skin and it sagged it would be that way unless you do some medical intervention to the situation. Exercise and firming creams may help but it won't do that much to bring it back to where it was before. :(

[BartsDiamond]

I know everyone is probably getting tired of me saying this but you may have a DIASTASIS RECTI. This is a separation of the front abdominal muscles that happen during pregnancy and in up to 98% of patients the diastasis does not close. You have to do special exercises to decrease the diastasis and in severe cases you can only get rid of it by having a tummy tuck (cringe). I have one (I am currently Pregnant) from before and the doctor said she will try to close it somewhat when I have my C-Section but then there are still no guarantees. Look up "The Tupler Technique" and you should get some answers. I have been doing research on this condition for MONTHS. There is also another exercise that can reduce this called the "stomach vacuum". Good Luck.