What your Personal Trainer cannot fix…
The right diet and exercise program will certainly tone and shape your body. If you are working harder and notice less and less improvement, your trainer might urge you to fight through the “plateau.” Dr. Tracy Pfeifer has a message for you and your trainer.
Regarding post pregnancy “bulge”…how can you determine whether a tummy tuck, liposuction or exercise will fix it?
If a person is close to their ideal body weight, and one’s muscles are toned, then you have done all you can do in terms of reshaping your body. There are changes that occur in terms of skin and muscle stretch during pregnancy that cannot be changed by any amount of exercise. Pregnancy separates the muscle and stretches the skin; it is not usually just a weight gain with excess fat.
A majority of women experience diastasis recti, separation of the rectus (sit up) muscles after pregnancy. No amount of sit-ups will reposition the muscles. A quick exam during your consultation will reveal whether there is indeed muscle separation. It is best to repair this in conjunction with an abdominoplasty because it will really flatten the abdomen–think of it as an internal girdle. Without this surgery, the abdomen can appear curved and bulged even after the excess is removed.
Excess skin indicates a tummy tuck is necessary. An abbreviated tummy tuck (no scar around the belly button) works if there is little to no excess skin above the belly button. When there is excess skin above and below the belly button, a traditional abdominoplasty is the best option. If the skin has stretch marks, which indicate the elastic elements are damaged, liposuction alone is not a good idea because the skin will not contract after liposuction. If there is only excess thickness of the fat layer under the skin, then liposuction alone may suffice but this is rarely the case.
Patients should be very close to their ideal body weight before seeking body reshaping surgery. This insures the best possible result. If you are considering future pregnancies, it is a good idea to wait for this procedure until your family is complete.