Crepey skin/flab over tummy

[supergolden88]

I am very half heartedly trying to keep fit and eat sensibly in order to lose some weight (going on holiday in a month - yikes).

I am currently a size 14 and could stand to lose about a stone but the real issue is getting more toned all over. My legs have always been a problem even before the babies, plus I am petite and curvy, but once upon a time I had a really toned flat tummy.

Looking at my belly it is not so big and there seems to be some muscles under a layer of flabby crepey skin. This makes me rather sad but the question is if I lose the weight will this flab go? Do you ever regain skin tightness after 2 or more pregnancies?

Any lotions and potions that work (you can tell I am looking for the easy way out!).

[supergolden88]

Clearly I must be the only mum who a/ has a flabby tummy b/ worries about it.

I guess a swimsuit with control panel is the way to go!

[Helen GV]

No not the only one who has it or worries about it but perhaps aside from surgery there is no easy way of getting rid of it! Mine is covered all the time so I just ignore it!

Every now and then I catch a glimpse and remember when it was not so, but then I console myself with the fact that it came with two gorgeous little people.

I focus on the fact that I now have better arms than ever before due to pushing a massive buggy around!

I would go with the control-panel-in-the-swimsuit option.

[Lochie]

my sister is super thin but has this so i don't think its dependent on dress size. She said its easy to regain the stomach after one but almost impossible after 2 kids - however I am sure there is a way but perhaps requires a lot of time and dedication!

I would go and splash out on some really good underwear as the good stuff can knock a dress size or two off almost instantly (rigby and pellar good for this kind of thing)

[The Nappy Lady]

Mine is improving very slowly with a lot of exercise & a very low fat diet. However I don't think it ever goes completely unless you are very, very lucky (& maybe have your babies young).

A surgeon told a friend of mine, once the skin has stretched nothing but surgery will get rid of it totally.

:-(

But agree kids make it all worth it!

I still wear a bikini on holiday & show my 'marks of motherhood' with pride!!

[babyboxfit]

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[QueenMab]

I've heard great reports about Bio Oil... can't confirm via personal experience yet though :)

[Kes]

I have this after just one baby (it was a bloomin big one though), skin held out right up to the end and then the stretch mark fairy hit me, been rubbing in the bio oil for 2 years but it hasn't helped I'm afraid. I had a massage a while ago and the girl asked me if I'd had a gastric band and lost loads of weight because of all the excess skin :o( if you find any solution other than surgery please post it! I don't mind that I'll never wear a bikini again but I'm 6 foot tall and now have to be really careful to find tops long enough that there is no chance of my belly skin popping out. eurgh

[supergolden88]

Luckily I managed to avoid stretch marks but the skin right above the belly button is a sorry sight!

The crepey skin is not going away yet though. It looks like a balloon that has been deflated (which it was I guess).

I think I would have to have almost zero body fat for the flab to completely go away. And at 38 that is not going to happen unless I go on a very drastic diet/exercise regime and I have no plans to.

[Saffron]

Stretching of the skin in pregnancy causes scarring in the skin. There are very few topical treatments with any proven effect either as prophylactics or as post-treatment. Even when the muscle is toned and fat reduced by exercise, the skin, ligaments and tendons still need a long time to recover.

Exercises like yoga and pilates do seem to encourage repair in the ligaments and tendons if you are persistent. Anecdotally, my friend who is in her mid 40s (had her 2 babies mid 20s) and does lots of yoga says she has a better stomach now than she did at 20! (She also recently tried to have an IUD fitted, and the nurse couldn't place it b/c her cervix is too tight. The nurse said my friend now has a pelvic floor like someone who never had kids!!)

Laser or IPL treatment can improve skin but are very expensive. Recently I was reading about 'derma roller'. I read that this is useful for treating scars including stretch marks. It is also cheaper than laser/IPL treatment. I haven't tried it yet, but a beauty therapist friend of mine says results are good. She says start treating stretch marks as soon as they have settled down a bit, i.e. not red and angry-looking anymore. I would guess this type of treatment might be helpful for loose or crepey looking skin too.

xx