how to get rid of c section overhang

Has anyone had a c-section overhang and got rid of it completely with diet and exercise?

(56 Posts)

SloanyPony Sun 11-Jul-10 08:52:57

If so, what diet and what exercise? How much do you weigh and how tall are you? (ideally you'd tell me your body fat percentage but not many people know that)

They say if a woman can get to under 20% body fat then things like loose skin and overhangs etc will go - as they are really fat, not skin, if it was just skin, it woud be paper thin not a grab a handful situation but I'm not sure to what extent I am convinced!

Can you ever truly get rid of it without surgery?

Tell me what works!! Am willing to have tummy tuck if I can't get rid by other means...

Looks like a cornish pasty!

ArthurPewty Sun 11-Jul-10 08:56:35

nickschick Sun 11-Jul-10 08:58:00

marking my seat with interest grin .

chibi Sun 11-Jul-10 09:01:14

Is it your first baby?

I had a cs with dd and once I lost the baby weight the overhang was pretty much gone, if I'd been exercising it would have gone better and prob also faster

after ds (natural birth) my abdomen is a lot more shot to hell and I am having to work harder to get myself back to normal

think this is a combination of age weight prev cs and effects of 2pregnancies though

anyway after dd I lost the weight by just walking lots and not eating crap

after ds I started running, much more effective, doesn't need a lot of kit, and you get better at it v v quickly

again, I watch portion size and avoid crap food

SloanyPony Sun 11-Jul-10 09:52:08

I've had 2 children and 2 sections. Was very large with both children (both large children and significant weight gains). Dont have trouble losing weight and am doing all the right things and its coming down, I guess I'm just anticipating how it will ultimately look as I never quite got right down again before getting pregnant with number 2...ah well lets see how it goes!

Can't live with it forever, in this weather you really notice it, feels very sweaty down there, I just want to lift it up and stand in front of a fan!

ArthurPewty Sun 11-Jul-10 09:53:03

ohmeohmy Sun 11-Jul-10 10:14:58

No expert as my belly attests to but Tupler Technique is supposed to work (need to strengthen transverse abs not just ones at fron so doing lots of crunches esp oblique ones can actually make things worse in some cases) She has a book though there have been lots of threads about it before.

Diet wise think low GL is way to go. Eat well, feel full blood sugar stabilised.

ArthurPewty Sun 11-Jul-10 11:33:38

SloanyPony Sun 11-Jul-10 11:53:19

I think she's good for a diastasis (where the muscles have separated) - but c-sec overhang is caused by the fact the fat was cut and no longer has an internal structure to keep it upright, sort of thing. Your abdominal muscles dont really go down that far...and if they did, they wouldn't be able to hold up the fat...you gotta get rid of the fat! But ALL or (nearly all) of the fat, it seems.

Whereas pre section you could have some fat on your tummy - probably a fair bit really - but it wouldn't overhang as it hadn't been cut...

Boo. <<rings surgeon>>

ArthurPewty Sun 11-Jul-10 12:01:21

fruitstick Sun 11-Jul-10 12:07:49

This is making me feel better.

I have teribble overhang which looks like you should be able to lift it off and put in it's own carry case.

I thought it was just because I was fat but now I realise it' a direct result of my section I feel a little better.

So am I right in thinking it is losing ALL of your fat or surgery?

chibi Sun 11-Jul-10 13:34:12

try not to think of it as losing all of your fat - this makes it seem like you will need to become stick thin, and helps to make surgery seem more attractive

i'm not anti-surgery (i did have a section after all lol) but it shouldn't be entered into lightly

i was a size 12, 10 stone, 5ft6 woman prekids, when i got back to 10ish stone, the overhang was pretty much gone

by no means was i some superfit hardbody

even now, after 2 kids, i am nearly back to prepreg weight + overhang is no longer noticeable in clothes - you'd only know if you saw me in a bikini iyswim

ArthurPewty Sun 11-Jul-10 13:38:36

WhatsWrongWithYou Sun 11-Jul-10 13:54:30

Just a thought - if you can't get to the gym, there's a DVD called '30 Day Shred' that lots of posters here rave about.
Takes 20 mins and is not too horrendous (says she after doing level 1 three times!
Have a look at the thread for inspiration.

ArthurPewty Sun 11-Jul-10 14:28:25

Ceebee74 Sun 11-Jul-10 14:36:24

I have had 2 c-sections with the last one being 20 months ago. Since Jan 09, I have lost nearly 4 stone and I still have a horrible overhang and I am now convinced that it is not going to go away, however slim I get or whatever I do!

I go to the gym 4-5 times a week, am a bit of an exercise addict....and I still have it so diet and exercise has not got rid of mine. I am a bit gutted as I am reasonably happy with the rest of my body now apart from my tummy.

Sorry, that is not very reassuring is it?? blush

traceybath Sun 11-Jul-10 14:45:37

I've had 3 c-sections - last one nearly a year ago.

I'm 5ft and just over 7stone. My tummy is not quite flat but getting there but I have loose/crepey skin.

However the overhang has pretty much gone but if I gain even a couple of pounds thats where my weight goes and the overhang is back.

So for me - losing the weight has pretty much got rid of the overhang and hopefully over time the skin will start looking better.

bamboobutton Sun 11-Jul-10 14:45:45

i'm hoping like hell that my overhang will go away eventually.
i'm currently wandering around the house with a lovely micropore 'corset' holding the overhang up to let the air get to the scar as it is gaping and still not healed after a month and i can foresee years of problems if it doesn't shrink.

i'm going to start a tummytuck savings account.

SloanyPony Sun 11-Jul-10 14:50:14

Transform and Hospital Group do them with interest free so you can pay over 5 years grin

colie Sun 11-Jul-10 15:28:55

I have now had 4 c sections (last one over 3 weeks ago). I am now 9 stone 10 pounds with noticeable baby hang.

After each section, I have usually been about 9 stone (5ft 7inch) and have not had noticeable baby hang in clothes. Looked okish in swim costume (usually ones with support in them). I did put on loads of weight with each pregnancy and was 12 and a half stone with 3rd pregnancy.

Ronaldinhio Sun 11-Jul-10 15:38:04

nope i have a shelf over a ridge of scar tissue
about to have another cs in 10 days
even when i get down to scrawny face and chest bone i still have the belly shelf
argggghhh

moragbellingham Mon 12-Jul-10 14:00:29

I asked the surgeon to remove a little bit extra with second CS and guess what.....he laughed.
I was completely serious.

Is a tummy tuck as painful recovery-wise as I CS?
I think I'd try the exercise route first.

moragbellingham Mon 12-Jul-10 14:02:50

Are we talking Posh diet to achieve a similar look (for tummy)?

otchayaniye Tue 13-Jul-10 07:53:18

Hi, I have more or less the same stomach as I did before I had my daughter. But it took time (she's 20 months now) and I made it worse by putting on a whopping 20kg. My doctor just cackled/cajoled/lectured me at every week's weigh in.

I lost a lot quite quickly, but still had a little pooch. When I weaned my daughter I started low-carbing (not the strict Atkins, but little bursts of Atkins-lite, as I am still bfeeding) and also did some Pilates stomach exercises. These ones www.youtube.com/watch?v=huP9ZWUTEUQ

It was slow, partly because I was feeding through the night and feeling a bit frazzled and knackered and had no time really to myself. Any time I did have would be spent sitting down with a glass of wine. If you determined you could do it in a couple of months, but you need to lose bodyfat too.

I'm still bfeeding and I think that's keeping my appetite buoyant so I'm finding the last few pounds really hard. I've started running home (well as far as I can get, then a bus) on the three days I work and I'm beginning to see results cutting down bodyfat.

I weigh just over 9 stone and am a size 12 and am 5'4", if that helps.

It helped I had a planned section in SE Asia. My Doctor evened out my scar from a previous op and stitched/stapeled it like a plastic surgeon would) so the incision was only 4 inches long (you cannot see it now) and it also helped I had my daughter at 8 months so missed out on the last month's

otchayaniye Tue 13-Jul-10 08:02:59

Sorry, just reread that and I sound quite smug (hadn't read the whole thread about multiple sections and scar tissue)

I was really disheartened about how I looked, how much weight I had put on and how I didn't spring back to shape. But I was also frazzled for so long with a baby who would wake every 2-3 hours so getting anything done about it seriously and quickly was off the agenda.

But wanted to say it's falling into place now. And yes, I would and do wear a bikini (it's my plump thighs I can't stand, not my tummy)

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