I was at a wedding this past summer, and I was getting in on a group photo with some girl friends and as the photographer was counting down…
3…
2….
one of my friends yelled out, “suck in your belly NOW!”
Which made us all suck in and break out in a smile at the same time!!
The (not so) funny thing is most women probably suck in their belly for more than just photos and videos. In fact, in almost every Facebook-mom-group-post I see where a mom complains about her postpartum baby belly, there is always one mom who suggests the mom just suck her belly in. All. Day. Long. For the rest of her life.
Yeah, I’ll take a pass on that. Not because I don’t want a flatter looking belly (who doesn’t ) but sucking in sucks. Literally.
Who wants to do that all day?
Not me, and I’m sure not you either.
In this video I break down the not so niceties of what’s happening when you suck your belly in.
Then read below to see other non-sucking your belly in options to get a flatter belly.
So now you know you shouldn’t be sucking your belly in cause no one wants to look like my 90 year old granny at age 40, and no one wants their pelvic organs falling out of their vagina.
SO HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO INSTEAD
1. Breathe properly. Yes many people need to be taught how to breathe properly. Place your right hand on your left side ribcage, and the left hand on your right shoulder and take a deep breath. When you inhale you should feel your ribs expand out, belly expand out and shoulders stay still or move very minimally. If your belly comes inward, you need to retrain yourself to breath properly. And if your shoulders come up high, you’re breathing into your upper chest and neck – not where your breath should be going.
Why breathing properly is awesome: Every time you breath properly (with the proper rib & belly expansion) your pelvic floor and deep core muscles are working properly. Yea baby!! That means your pelvic floor and deep core is becoming strong every time you just sit there and breath properly!
2. Sit better, sit less often, and sit differently. Check my Instagram instructions about this.
3. Download the Flat Belly After Baby ebook to get 10 holistic ways to a flatter belly.
There is no quick and easy fix.
Just like it took time to grow your baby, it’s going to take time to get rid of your postpartum belly. You already know that, but I’m just re-iterating it. Give yourself time.
Breathing and the way you sit is just the beginning of having a flatter belly. Want to learn more? Come and join Strong Mom™ fitness class starting in November for 7 weeks.
In addition to learning how to breathe properly, sit properly, correct your posture, we’ll get our sweat on while strengthening our deep core and pelvic floor to get rid of mummy tummy- without sucking your belly in. Cause that sucks.
Get more details here, www.strongmom.ca
In Nutrition & Fitness
