How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

mcglory13 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:06:20 GMT

Fit does not equal Brooke Burke. Who, by the way, is primarily famous for being extremely slender and making calenders of her in her bikini. If she looked like an average woman, why would people want a calender of her? Fit does not equal skinny. This is where you and I diverge, Treespeed. There are many celebrities who look "fit" to us, who are actually at an unhealthy BMI. Fit is being a healthy body weight for your frame, eating a good diet, and getting regular exercise. Which I'm pretty sure Jen labelled "no duh" in her original post and no one argues with. Fit does not equal six pack abs. Fit does not equal no cellulite. Healthy does not equal skinny, no matter how much our culture merges the two. Perhaps I misunderstood your posts, but labelling mine and other's comments "sour grapes" "catty" or saying that we think she's "less of a mom" seems to imply you think I have something to be jealous of. Let's make this clear, I don't. I have a fabulous husband, a beautiful son, and while I may never have a career based on my boobies, many people respect my brain and my thoughts (I gather Treespeed is an exception). I get that you don't separate extremely skinny from fit, but that is where you and I part ways.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

giggleup — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:37:42 GMT

I'm here to say that no, not everyone can get thin, even if they WANT (cosmetic surgery aside). Some can, but many cannot. Moms, this applies to us, too.

Is that really a controversial thing to say anymore, given what we know about the genetic determinants of body size and fat distribution? Is anyone really going to get up in arms over that comment?

Treespeed, your life sounds awesome, and I say that without irony. I am really happy for you and your active family. I'll bet your kids have some friends who are less healthy, and I hope you'll think about reaching out to them so they can be exposed to more fun ways of staying fit and active. I'm a public health professional, so forgive me if that sounds too "activisty."

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

Treespeed — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:05:31 GMT

I'm sorry if I came across as judgemental and I don't imagine that anyone SHOULD be svelte, nowhere did I say SHOULD.

And where on earth McGlory did I say you were Fat and Lazy, sounds like the only judgements you have are internal and certainly not coming from me.

Let me see if I can be clear and non-judgemental enough.

I don't see the problem with a message of activity and a good diet to get thin, IF YOU WANT TO. Everyone seems to have a problem with the fact the messenger of this one is a celebrity.

Mcglory, you seem to have this idea that people want to be thin only because society tells them to be. Some people want to be thin for their own selfish reasons, most of all to be fitter. It is not a svelte ideal, but a fit ideal. It's just simpley more enjoyable to Climb, hike, and swim if you are fit. What is so awful about that? This blog is filled with advice for healthy food and good medicine, but god forbid we talk about the benefits of being thin. I would love to see the study that McGlory cited about all the unhappy skinny people. I'll tell you when I'm out on a run or on a long hike, it's certainly the skinnier people that look happier to me. When my wife and her friends talk about staying fit it's not to impress their friends, my wife says it's so she can kick my ass the next time we go running. If people are happy in their bodies and their own level of fitness I am very happy for them. I do not believe that a person's worth or value is in any way related to their size.

My only beef is all of the cattiness directed at a celebrity who says it's possible to get thin if you want. You all would be pretty pissed and up in arms if someone came on here and said Moms can't get thin if they WANT. You'd post links to rocking Triathlete Moms and Marathon runners. I want to be clear that the Mcglory is the only person on here who's said anything about mothers being worthless if they aren't skinny, not me.

Apparently it only counts as being supportive if you tow the party line. For me being supportive is cooking healthy food for my family and making time for the whole family to be active together and I'll applaud anyone sending that message. I'll leave the blame society conspiracy theories to Mcglory.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

mcglory13 — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:32:42 GMT

I shouldn't even bother, but I can't see where I said anything bitter or catty about Burke. I have no issue with Burke, other than it is silly to think that if I follow her diet, I will ever look like her. And, guess what, I also have a healthy BMI, eat a well balanced vegetarian diet, work out with a trainer and play soccer twice a week. So, really, I don't fit that stereotype you've made up of me where I am a fat lazy mom (I actually don't know too many new moms who get to be very lazy) jealous of Burke and pissed off that someone is suggesting I get off my large butt. I don't really need to try her diet, since I don't really need to diet at all. What I have a problem with is a society that tells women that they are worthless if they are not physically beautiful and incredibly skinny, even if they have just given birth to a child. I have a problem with a society where obesity and anorexia rates are both skyrocketing because our relationship to food is so fundamentally screwed up. I have a problem with products being pushed on women that promise them that if they look different they will be happier, people will like them more, and they will be better people. Because actually studies have shown that that's not the case, skinny people are not happier, and fat people are not the toll on the health care system we've been led to believe. No one here was judging Burke, but Treespeed seems to have a lot of judgments to hand out to people commenting, people he doesn't even know.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

lovedannygansle — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:51:58 GMT

Treespeed,

This is a light-hearted blog to discuss (generally) lighthearted topics. I didn't read Cheney's post as you did. While I think that debates are often a healthy mode of discussion and disagreement, I found the tone of your comments to be, well, unnecessarily aggressive. No one wants to post a comment that is going to be attacked the way you done. Hey, we're supposed to be a group of supportive parents!

I believe there is some universal truth to the envy that most mortals experience when we see celebrities shed the weight post-baby by adopting healthy habits. Most of us, unfortunately, don't have the raw materials (spectacular body to begin with), nor the financial resources (personal trainers/chefs are expensive), despite our faithful attempts to get a flat tummy via diet and exercise.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

giggleup — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:53:05 GMT

Yikes! Gotta get my 2 cents in here.

Treespeed, your comments sound smug and insensitive. And ladies, how about we give ourselves credit for doing the best we can? There is a lot more to life than worshipping the "svelte" ideal Treespeed is obsessed with.

Of course new moms are going to feel a certain amount of bitterness when they find they lack the time, money, or whatever to control how their body looks. Never mind the genetic endowment. Heck, I've been a little bitter about my genetics all my life... why should that change now?

Despite that, I DO LOVE to see any person succeed in adopting healthy habits. Eating well and excercising regularly takes a ton of discipline for anyone, especially for stressed out moms.

Tiny celebs like Burke ARE in a different world from the rest of us: they are priviledged both financially and genetically. I would much rather see the same health-promoting advice come from a more normal-sized celeb.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

Maureen — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:52:32 GMT

What a bunch of b.s. Don't read the trash about celeb moms and how they got back in shape. This woman was itty bitty before she had kids and that is how her body will stay, even if she indulges or doesn't work out.

You can't do much about the hand that genetics dealt you, but you can feel good about yourself for being a mom -- we all rock and should give each other high fives instead of reading junk like this. I may way less than a buck ten, but I'd bet money that if you are eating healthy and getting some exercise (a.k.a. chasing your kids around) you feel about 100x's better than my tired ass does.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

Treespeed — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:53:40 GMT

How do you know it's a load of crap if you haven't tried it?

And what do you mean, I showed up? Or is the party line that women who've had babies can't be fit unless they have a trainer or magical genetics? The only thing I've shown up and said is that women like Mcglory sure seem pretty bitter and catty about someone being fit and being proud of it. And for the record, I never said anything about the Moms in my neighborhood being "hot", I said they were fit. If a woman's happy with her body that's fine, but she shouldn't have to deal with people telling her, "it's a load of crap" if she wants to change it either.

The amount of vitriol from some of the women making comments is pretty telling.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

mcglory13 — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:43:38 GMT

Yeah, who's projecting? I didn't see anybody saying Burke was less of a mom. Just that her book and the idea that if you follow it you'll look like her are more or less a load of crap. You're the one who showed up and said if we really wanted to we could be (and should be) hot moms like the one's you're surrounded with.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

Treespeed — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:33:25 GMT

I never said I expected any woman to be a size zero, can you say projecting? But god forbid anyone come out and say that it's a possibility and make someone feel bad. It doesn't make anyone less of a real mom if they kick ass and get back to their fighting weight and then share with others how they acheived it. It goes both ways.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

leahsmom — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:52:38 GMT

I'm happy for Brooke - and others! - that they can achieve the fabulous frames they want. But I share some of the cynicism - and also, I wonder - why does anyone care how my belly looks, and why should I be shamed or thought of as lazy and disgusting if it's not flat? Jeez, I grew a human inside me, carried it for nine long months, pushed it out, and am in the process of raising it. I also work full time and do what my employer seems to think is a great job. Why is the only thing I'd ever get credit for, a flat tum?

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

mcglory13 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:48:10 GMT

Call it sour grapes if you want Treespeed. But it's unreasonable to expect any woman to be a size zero like Burke is, and particularly a new mom. That's not diet and exercise and being healthy. That's an unreasonable aesthetic. If the message is that a woman is more valuable the less space she takes up, and that size zero is what we should all strive to be, and you're the messenger? Then yeah, I blame you.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

Mom2Two — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:36:43 GMT

Ditto to what DMD and McGlory already said.

But...belly banding can help keep a diastasis from getting bigger and that makes a huge difference in how much the belly pooches. I had a sizable diastasis after the birth of my first and the book "Lose Your Mummy Tummy" by Julie Tupler taught me some exercises to close the gap.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

Treespeed — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:32:46 GMT

I've seen a lot of these Moms at the pool and out running. I never said there was a problem with stretch marks or soft bits, but way to go on the Sour Grapes defense mcglory. It's just kind of funny how catty the Moms get when someone does well for themselves. I mean how horrible, someone promoting exercise and a healthy diet and then living the results. I guess it's just easier to blame the messenger.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

mcglory13 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:02:56 GMT

Do you see all those moms with their clothes off Treespeed? Because pregnancy does shit to a woman's body. And thanks to the luck of the draw and genetics it hits some women harder than others. Even if they look awesome in their clothes, they probably have bulges and soft bits they didn't have before. Or they have awesome surgeons. Or perhaps you just live in the neighborhood of the genetically awesome. You and your neighbors are just way cooler than the moms that got the stretch marks, the belly wrinkles, and the other bits that no amount of banding is going to make go away.

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

Don Mills Diva — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:09:46 GMT

It's hard not to be bitter when celebrity moms promote silly, expensive and time-consuming ways to stay svelte as if they were somehow pratical for 99% of women out there. And for the record - I'm skinnier now than I was when I got pregnant - mostly thanks to uck and genetics - too bad I can't make a buck hyping that...

re: How to Get a Flat Tummy Post-Pregnancy

Treespeed — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:42:45 GMT

Bitter much? This Mom has four kids and is able to keep her figure and all she gets is catty from Chaney. Nice. Just because you can't make it happen doesn't mean it can't be done. I hear the "I had a baby" excuse all the time yet somehow all the Moms in our neighborhood are svelte and active.