Mummy Tummy: Exercises To Get Rid Of The Stubborn Belly Fat

The term "mummy tummy" refers to the squishy pooch that appears below a woman's belly button after giving birth. Following certain life events, like pregnancy or a sudden weight reduction, women can get a paunch of extra skin that drops down from their stomachs.

It is a fairly common condition in pregnant and postpartum individuals. Many new mothers experience cravings for food and sugar, which can lead to excessive belly fat if overindulged.

Returning to alcohol consumption after refraining during pregnancy is a natural desire, but alcohol is also abundant in calories and may contribute to the belly fat stores that cause overhang. There are several potential reasons for mummy-tummy overhang, so recognizing those that impact you will help you determine the best treatment option.

Tips To Get Rid Of The Mummy Tummy

It is tough to eliminate a mummy tummy without surgery, especially when it is caused by skin laxity, but there are several basic practices that may be good for fat-related overhang.

1) Improving your diet

Along with sticking to regular physical activity, you should attempt to maintain a balanced diet in order to maintain a caloric deficit—that is, to burn more calories than you consume and lower your level of subcutaneous and visceral fats.

2) Boost Your Aerobic Activity

Exercise on a regular basis can help to lessen the look of your 'mummy belly' overhang. Yoga, pilates, and running can all help you burn off the fat that is causing your tummy to droop.

Boost Your Aerobic Activity to get rid of the mummy tummy (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by Anil)

Mummy Tummy Workouts To Get Rid Of The Extra Fat

During pregnancy, a space between the muscles forms directly over the belly button. Sometimes, this space closes by itself, but in other cases, it remains open.

This leaves a 1 to 2-inch wide gap in the belly where there is barely any muscle to keep in the gastrointestinal tract and other organs. This allows the organs and surrounding tissue to protrude, resulting in a 'mommy pooch'.

Exercises to lose the mummy tummy (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by Elina)

Women must realign their abdominal muscles in order to flatten the area. This is where the workouts come in handy. You may lessen abdominal separation and develop your core muscles with scheduled exercise, consistency, and focus.

The exercises listed below are the most effective way to begin healing diastasis recti:

1) Warm up with pelvic tilts

Pelvic tilt works on your "deep abdominal" muscle, and you must learn how to activate it. This engagement will serve as the foundation for many of the diastasis recti workouts you will perform.

Workouts for reducing the mummy tummy (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by Valeria)

2) Heel slides

Once you're done with your warm-up, it's time to move on to more engaging exercises.

This postpartum core workout is an excellent method to combine previously acquired exercises and put them into action with movement. It's still low-impact, can be done anywhere, and helps fine-tune the core-pelvic-floor link.

Different exercises to get rid of the mummy tummy (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by Rdne)

3) The Dia Method

Leah Keller, an American fitness instructor and mother, developed The Dia Method, which promises to fix the diastasis recti in a span of twelve weeks by performing a single exercise for 10 minutes every day.

Benefits of working out to reduce the mummy tummy (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by Pavel) mommy tummy workout (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by Tima)

It's been medically proven to work regardless of whether you had your children decades ago. It's no surprise that women adore this simple but powerful strategy.

4) V- Ups

The V-up is a full-body workout that strengthens your core, legs, back, and shoulders. V-ups are known as the ultimate belly fat burner, and what makes them even more effective is that they combine the benefits of two exercises: leg raises and crunches. This will be the ideal exercise if you want to burn off the baby weight after your pregnancy.

Attempting V-ups for reducing mummy tummy (image sourced via pexels / Photo by Alexy)

5) Plank

Plank is the most useful workout if you want to attain a flat stomach. It is one of the most effective calorie-burning workouts since it activates numerous muscles at once, enhancing your body's core strength.

While doing a plank, the elbow, forearm, and toes should be the only parts of your body that should touch the floor. The elbows should be aligned directly under your shoulders

Exercises to help you lose weight after pregnancy (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by Tima)

This exercise burns the fat around your stomach. Certain plank modifications can be used to involve a greater number of muscles in order to burn more calories. Here are three such variations:

Typical plank
Plank with straight arms
The side plank

You are not alone if you feel dissatisfied with the way you look and dismayed that you did not "bounce back" after pregnancy. Fixing diastasis recti and removing the 'mummy tummy' could be done at any time after childbirth (even years later!).

With a balanced diet and an appropriate workout routine, you can get rid of the unpleasant 'mummy pooch' in a short span of time, bringing you closer to your fitness goals.