Tips For a Flat Tummy After Pregnancy: 10 Ways To Tone and Trim

If you've recently had a baby and a flat tummy after pregnancy is your goal, following a few simple tips can go a long way!

While childbirth often leaves you with a temporary bulging midsection, over time, you can achieve the trim figure you long for.

Don't get discouraged if your body doesn't bounce back immediately.

This is to be expected and a normal part of having a baby.

Forgo fad diets that drain your energy and affect breastmilk production in favor of healthier alternatives that make you look and feel your best!

Keep reading for 10 tips for a flat tummy after pregnancy that will help you tone and tighten your midsection and still have plenty of time for the baby!

Check out this video for more ways to lose belly fat fast!

Tips For a Flat Tummy After Pregnancy: 10 Ways To Tone and Trim

Have Realistic Expectations

While celebrity crash dieting after giving birth may be tempting for a quick flat tummy fix after pregnancy, reconsider dramatic weight loss after your new addition arrives.

Realistically, it can take many months, even up to a year, before you achieve a pre-pregnancy weight and the trim figure of your dreams.

Having realistic expectations is the best way to get in the right headspace before you begin the journey toward a flat tummy after pregnancy.

Take Time to Enjoy Your New Baby

While getting your body back after pregnancy might seem like a top priority, it's important to first get into a routine and bond with your family and new baby before focusing on achieving a slim midsection.

Take time after childbirth to rest and allow your body to heal.

Focus on the health and wellness of your new baby before you create a post-pregnancy weight loss routine.

Create a Sustainable Diet and Exercise Plan

When you settle into a routine after having a baby, create a plan to achieve a flat tummy post-pregnancy.

Keep a calendar and to-do list, make grocery shopping lists, and set aside time in your busy schedule to be physically active daily and eat nutritious foods.

Limit dining out to make it easier (and cheaper) to eat healthily.

Making nutritious food choices is one of the most important things you can do to achieve a flat tummy after pregnancy and beyond.

Write down your weight loss plan in a journal. Track your food and exercise intake before, during, and even after your fat-loss journey.

Make Simple Diet Changes

Examples of small dietary changes you can make to slim your midsection include:

• Drink water (aim for 2 cups) before meals to increase satiety.
• Eat fruits (fresh, frozen, or freeze-dried), non-starchy vegetables, or both during each meal.
• Consider protein smoothies made with protein powder, milk or plant milk, ice, and fruit or nut butter.
• Fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables at lunch and dinner.
• Fill one-fourth of your plate with nutritious starches, such as brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, whole-grain cereals, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, or dried beans.
• Fill one-fourth of your plate with grilled chicken, turkey, very lean red meat, fish, shrimp, tofu, eggs, or other protein-rich options.
• Add three servings of calcium-rich foods like milk, plant-based milk, Greek yogurt, reduced-fat cheese, cottage cheese, or plain kefir.
• Eat healthy, satiating fats at each meal. Choose olive oil, avocado oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, nut butter, and other heart-healthy fats.
• Supplement your diet with omega-3 and multivitamin supplements as directed by your doctor.
• Choose healthy drinks: water, water flavored with fresh fruit, coffee (decaf if you're breastfeeding or as instructed by your doctor), tea, protein shakes, milk, plant milk, vegetable juice, or 100% fruit juice.
• Pick condiments wisely. Choose mustard, smashed avocados, dill pickle slices, oil with vinegar, or oil-based dressings without added sugar. Limit or avoid barbeque sauce, ketchup, honey mustard, high-sugar salad dressings, and other dressing containing added sugar.
• Go for walks after dinner and keep your body moving all throughout the day.

When portioning your plates in a healthy way, you provide your body with all of the nutrients needed to boost satiety and your overall health, all while flattening your tummy after pregnancy.

Steer clear of soda, sugar-sweetened juice drinks, sweet tea, sugar-sweetened coffee, and regular lemonade whenever possible.

Try foods and drinks containing healthier stevia, erythritol, or monk fruit instead.

Avoid artificial sweeteners that can increase sugar cravings, harm gut bacteria, and negatively affect your insulin levels.

Other foods to limit or avoid include alcoholic drinks, high-fat meats, highly processed meats (ham, deli meats, hot dogs, etc.), sweet treats, highly processed snack foods, white bread, and other refined grains.

Make Time for Cardio

Make time in your busy day for cardio, even if you only have time to walk or do a 30-minute at-home workout.

Take your baby with you in a stroller on a walk or jog.

Or complete this home-based workout while your baby naps.

An addition to walking or jogging outdoors or on a treadmill, add in cycling, rope jumping, using an elliptical or rowing machine, high knees, jumping jacks, or jogging in place.

Make time for cardio once or twice a day, most days of the week.

Alternate between continuous cardiovascular workouts and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) cardiovascular exercises to achieve a flat belly after pregnancy.

Don't Forgo Strength Training

Strength training is vital for getting a flat tummy after pregnancy.

However, you don't have to spend hours in the gym or even go to the gym at all.

Simply purchase dumbbell weights, resistance bands, a medicine ball, or an ab roller to complete strength workouts from home.

This makes exercise as convenient as possible after having a baby.

Strength workouts (aim for at least three sets of 10-20 repetitions) to consider include:

Monday: leg workout (choose from squats, lunges, leg extensions, hamstring curls, standing leg raises, calf raises, etc.), ab workouts, and at least 20-30 minutes of cardio.

Tuesday: shoulder and back workout (pick standing shoulder press, incline shoulder press, upright rows, plank rows, deadlifts, back extensions, front raises, lateral raises, bent-over reverse flys, bent-over rows, etc.), ab workouts, plus at least 20-30 minutes of cardio.

Wednesday: full body circuit training: burpees, mountain climbers, rope jumping, alternating jumping lunges, and ab exercises.

Thursday: leg workout (choose squats, lunges, leg extensions, hamstring curls, standing leg raises, calf raises, etc.), ab workouts, plus at least 20-30 minutes of cardio.

Friday: arm workout (biceps curls, triceps extensions, triceps kickbacks, triceps pull-downs, triceps dips, etc.), chest workout (pushups, chest press, incline chest press, flys, etc.), ab exercises, and at least 20-30 minutes of cardio.

Saturday: full body circuit training: box jumps, high knees, jumping jacks with light weights, jump squats, and plank jacks or other and ab exercises.

Sunday: rest or do light to moderate cardio.

Choose a Variety of Ab Exercises Daily

While it's often beneficial to take a day of rest from intense exercise each week, you can typically work your abs nearly every day to obtain a flat tummy after pregnancy.

Consider mixing and matching the following ab exercises:

• Traditional planks (hold at least 30 seconds)
• Shoulder touch planks
• Plank jacks
• Side planks
• Mountain climbers
• Bicycle crunches
• Lying leg raises
• Leg raises with a stability ball
• Ab roller exercises
• V holds
• Scissor kicks
• High knees
• Burpees
• Kickboxing
• Rope jumping

Just about any exercise that engages your core helps flatten your tummy after having a baby.

Flex your abdominal muscles during any workout, or even while sitting at your desk, to tighten and tone your midsection.

If you have diastasis recti, abdominal muscle separation that commonly occurs after pregnancy, see a physical therapist to learn specific ab exercises you can complete to correct the diastasis.

Lose Baby Weight at a Gradual, Steady Pace

Don't worry about losing your baby weight quickly.

In fact, dropping excess weight at a slower, steady pace is often the best way to maintain your new figure long-term.

A good goal is to lose 1-2 pounds of baby weight each week, but don't worry if you shed pounds at a slower pace.

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you're increasing strength training to get a flat tummy after pregnancy, track inches lost in addition to the number on your scale.

Ask For Help When You Need It

Don't feel bad about asking for help after you have a baby.

Social and emotional support is vital to maintaining optimal mental health and having time for regular workouts, stress reduction, and the amount of sleep needed to achieve a flat tummy after pregnancy.

Postpartum depression and anxiety are common in women after having a baby, so don't feel bad about seeking medical help for the mental health challenges you might be facing.

Many mental health providers offer virtual telehealth options, so you can meet with a specialist for medication management or psychotherapy from the comfort of your home or office.

Stay in Contact with Your Doctor

Sometimes there are underlying reasons you're unable to achieve a flat tummy after pregnancy.

Examples include hormone imbalances, mental health challenges, sagging abdominal skin, or severe diastasis recti, a condition that causes muscle separation and may require physical therapy or even surgery in severe cases.

Don't hesitate to contact a doctor, as simple treatments can make your journey toward a trim midsection much more effective.

A flat tummy after pregnancy is entirely possible and sustainable by adopting simple lifestyle changes, one at a time.

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on tips for a flat tummy after pregnancy.