How to Get a Flat Belly After a C-Section (7 Steps)

Achieving a flat belly after a C-section -- particularly after several -- can be challenging but is not impossible. Before you start any exercise program, you must first consult with your doctor to make sure that your body is ready for exercise. Typically, doctors recommend that women wait between six and eight weeks after a C-section before they start light aerobic exercise aimed at gradual weight loss, followed by gentle abdominal exercise to tone the stomach. Remember that you just underwent major surgery. Your scar should be fully healed before you begin any exercise to flatten your belly.

Tips

1. Start practicing moving your belly button toward your spine as soon as your baby is born. This will help you to activate your stomach muscles. Also do Kegel exercises -- squeezing your pelvic floor muscles as if trying to stop urinating mid-stream -- several times daily. Practice always keeping your stomach in. Because these exercises are so mild, they do not count toward your regular exercise routine that will start several weeks later.

2. Do aerobic exercise to burn fat. Good choices include brisk walking, jogging, biking swimming and using the elliptical machine. The more weight you gained during your pregnancy, the longer it will take before your belly flattens.

3. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. In addition to burning fat through aerobic exercise, you must also make sure you eat fewer calories than your body needs to create a calorie deficit. Stomach-tightening exercises do not remove the fat on top of your stomach; only weight loss does.

4. Add traditional stomach crunches to your routine. Make sure that you include exercises that target your abdominal muscles from every angle. Start with one set of eight to 12 repetitions of all stomach exercises, and increase to three sets when you get stronger.

5. Work the upper abs by doing modified crunches. Lie face-up on the floor, keep your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Press your lower back against the floor and inhale deeply. As you exhale, lift your head off the floor, tighten the muscles in your abdomen and pull your belly button in toward your backbone. Inhale as you lower yourself back to the starting position. Lift your upper body off the floor as you get stronger.

6. Work your lower abdominals by doing reverse crunches. Bring your legs in a position so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor and your lower legs parallel to the floor. Keep your arms extended at your sides and inhale deeply. As you exhale, try to lift the bottom part of your body off the floor and bring your pelvis towards your chest. Repeat.

7. Do scissor abs to work your obliques -- your waist. Still lying face-up on the floor, keep your hands by your ears and your elbows out to the sides. Your knees should be in the same position as in the reverse crunch. Bring one knee toward your chest, while you at the same time twist your upper body so your opposite elbow meets the knee. Extend the other leg and repeat on the other side.