I never thought I would reach the stage in my life when I was sitting at my computer desk wishing that I had taken a photograph of my navel this time last week, but, here I am with that very thought!

Life is full of surprises, ain’t it?

So, why on earth would I need photographs of my belly button? Good question!
Let me rewind to a fortnight ago, so it makes more sense.

Hubbster and I were at the shops. I had wandered off to pick something up from a shop around the corner and left Hubbster chatting to a neighbor we had bumped into. When I returned, Hubbster smirked and said “Oh, you are NOT going to be happy!”

“Huh? About what?” I asked already feeling my heckles rise. Really, is there anything more annoying than somebody telling you they know something that will piss you off, and then taking forever to spit it out?
“She asked if you were pregnant. When I told her you weren’t she begged me not to tell you she’d said it.”
Men, or more specifically, my husband never ceases to amaze me with his insensitivity or lack of common sense.
“But you thought you’d tell me anyway?” I said shooting daggers at him and huffing off. “Dick.”

You see, after giving birth to three children in the short space of three years, my abdominal muscles, to put it bluntly are shot to shit. I can remember after my youngest, Bubble was born the midwife felt my tummy and said “You’ve got a separation of your tummy muscles.”

I looked at her blankly.

“You’ll just have to tuck in your bottom and hope they come back together.”

Three years on, and they haven’t come back together. When I sit up from a lying down position I get a bulge like a football in my tummy. No matter how much exercise I do, I just can’t seem to get my waist back, and my abdomen is soft and sqishy to the touch…kind of like a fleshy trampoline! And don’t even get me started on the backache! Short of having an expensive operation to fix it, I didn’t think there was much I could do.

But, fuelled by this latest humiliation I went back to my trusty old friend Google, and stumbled upon The Tupler Technique. It seems that what I have is called a Diastasis Recti, (doesn’t that sound posh?) and is very common in women who have had children.

Anyway…long story short, I whipped out my credit card and bought the Lose Your Mummy Tummy package quicker than you could say “muffin top” (which includes a really easy to follow DVD) and a splint that you wear around your tummy to help draw the muscles back together. The great thing is that the exercises are best performed in a seated position during the first three weeks while you build up the strength in your abdominal muscles again. They include a series of squeezing of the abdominals and pelvic floor, and can be done while you are watching TV, driving the car etc. Nobody even knows you are doing them, so finding time to do them is not an issue.

I’m only 1 week into the program, and I can already see a difference. My waist is 8cm smaller (which is fantastic) and my belly button already looks tighter and deeper. Thanks to the splint, I am also more aware of my posture, and how to get up and down correctly, and the DVD has taught me which exercises will make it worse.

I’m really excited because I can already see results, and I am confident that this is really going to get rid of my mummy tummy. And I’m excited that I am in a position to share this new find with other women who may have just thought they were lumbered with their tummy the way it is. Apparently, it doesn’t matter if you had a baby 30 days or thirty years ago, you can use the Tupler Technique and get real results!  You can even do it while you are pregnant to prevent it.  Why doesn’t ANYBODY tell pregnant women this?

Does anybody else have a Diastasis Recti? Have you tried anything to fix it?

This is NOT a sponsored post.  I am just sharing it because I think there are many women like me, who are unaware that they can do something to treat this condition.