So I have the infamous CF belly. It is probably the strangest part of CF which is saying a lot because there are a LOT of weird things that come with CF. The CF belly is greatly highlighted by the CFers tiny slender arms, our fat free legs and thighs (also known as chicken legs or as my husband lovingly calls them frog legs) and our slender frame. It is just so random to have a round belly among all these skinny little extremities. The other fascinating part of the CF belly is that it seems to come and go without rhyme nor reason. There may be a day that all seems right in the world with my CF body: no problems with my gut, nothing unusual eaten, and no forgotten enzymes and YET my CF belly will be full force. In fact this happened on Thursday. As each hour passed my belly seemed to pouch a little bit more. By the evening I was sitting on the couch and looking at my beer belly. I called hubster over and asked had him check it out. We both laughed at how huge my stomach looked. Today, flat as a pancake. Huh? With my new enzymes I never really have bad gut days and can't remember the last time I felt gassy or bloated and yet my CF belly still finds days when it is all too visible. And so I share with you, cysters, my not so dear friend: The CF belly.
BTW it was REALLY hard to find pics of
the belly. With digital cameras I just push delete if I look hugely pregnant. Also, usually when I am getting my picture taken I do the suck in :)
Here is a great example. Skinny arms and legs, but what is that little baby bump doing!? Thank god I am not a celebrity, I would be all over the tabloids as pregnant EVERY month.
Okay, here is a doozy! The worst CF belly pic I have. I am even embarrassed to post it, but hell here it is anyway!
I totally look like a have a giant beer belly or I am immensely pregnant! I just love how it starts all the way under my girls at my rib cage. Like how does that happen it isn't even considered the stomach area?! Luckily, my belly does not usually look like this, but on random off days when my belly decides to grow into an unsightly beast this is what I am left with.
I am pretty sure this is what my belly looked like on Thursday when my husband and I were laughing at my CF bump. It is actually worse when I sit down because it seems to sit on top of my pants making it appear even larger.
And I learned the hard way that you can't work out until the belly is gone because it has nothing to do with stomach muscles or body fat. Besides CFers have the strongest belly muscles around from our daily coughing workout. So for now I will simply have to enjoy my good belly days and on the bad belly days I will simply enjoy people going out of their way to help the pregnant lady.
Here are some beautiful cysters who are also willing to share their CF belly with the CF world! Seriously, we are all beautiful, belly and all!
- Colleen from *Live*Laugh*Love*Breath posted about hers here.
- Megan from Breathing Deeply, Laughing Loudly, and Living Fully posted about hers (and a great idea for buying pants with a CF belly) here
Feel free (if you are as crazy as me) to blog your CF belly and I will link you to my post.
I'm gonna have to look around for some CF belly pictures. I'm like you I just delete them!! After I eat a lot it's sooo bad sometimes. I swear I look like 5 months along. Once in high school I was asked if I was pregnant and once when I was due. So sad! I love the days that it decides to stay flat. If I can find one I'll blog about it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I'm not the only one with this problem, and mine is definitely bigger than yours! I feel your pain, lol. I'll have to do a post about this soon and I'll link it up with yours. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad I am not the only one cysters. Sometimes I wish I had some curves to even out the belly, but fat doesn't seem to go anywhere I want it to. If you post a CF belly blog let me know so I can add your link unless of course you don't want me to.
ReplyDeleteI have had three coworkers ask me if I am pregnant. I have gained almost 15 pounds since summer break, but come on when did it become acceptable to ask people if they are pregnant when it looks questionable. The funny thing is I was talking to one of my teacher friends at school and she told me she was actually pregnant....and looks nothing like it! My hubby just laughs and rubs my belly.
ReplyDeleteI will see if I can find a good belly pic to post.
People at work call it "Grinching Out" when they watch my belly grow by the minute....
ReplyDeleteJwags- I can't believe adults ask such questions, so rude! I am sure they are equally embarrassed when you say no. Or at least they should be! I have had kids ask me too, but they don;t really understand that it is a rude thing to ask so they get a free pass, but it still hurts my feelings.
ReplyDeleteLaura- I love that "grinching out" I am so going to use that!
So glad you're brave enough to post this. I'm going to have to take some pics (all my old ones are deleted) but just wait..last night I swore I was a good 5 months along. Your belly pics aren't bad at all - trust me! :)
ReplyDeleteI usually delete mine too! I do not need evidence, but I found a few. I hate the CF belly. I will sometimes catch a glimpse in the mirror and be horrified! Oh well!
ReplyDeleteI am the mother of a CF'er and I too have the weird belly thing....didn't know others had it too. Maybe?? Something to do do with being a carrier?? Now I am very curious...
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is a carrier thing! Interesting. I find it fascinating that carriers can have CF like symptoms. Too bad there aren't more studies of CF carriers and what CF traits they possess. How old is your CFer and how is he/she doing?
ReplyDeleteThanks for following my blog :)
I'm glad I'm not the only one! Sometimes I wonder what in the world I ate that makes my stomach look so big. It's usually back to normal the next morning, though.
ReplyDeleteEmily- It is funny how our belly can change so drastically from one day to the next! It seems CF and the CF belly go hand in hand so you are absolutely not the only one! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I Love meeting other cysters that work in schools too :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting. I have always struggled with that until I started reading that we all have it. I am not embarrassed by my cough so why be embarrassed about some other CF thing. Once I bought my maternity pants (jeans and cargo) life is great, thanks to Megan's post. Most days I am about 5 months pregnant by the end of the day. But I love my CF belly. It means I am healthy and actually eating. I am not uncomfortable anymore with my mat wear and no muffin top just a cute CF belly. Plus anyone who doesn't like it doesn't deserve my company! Show off your healthy CF belly.
ReplyDeleteI love our attitude about the CF belly. I have to say I am not sure I have been able to embrace it as much as you have, but I sure will try.
DeleteI am 52 yrs. old and I have a CF belly that makes it hard getting dressed. I go from weighing 99lbs. when I got married at 21 to 160 lbs. at age 52. I recently had a double lung transplant at Duke Medical that was very successful. However after the transplant I put on 30 pounds after the surgery. The physicians say it was the steroids but I have been weened down to 5 mg of Prednisone and a year later its still huge. The other thing is the surgeons removed my breast implants during the transplant due to possible infection so now I have a belly and no boobs. My husband just keeps tell me I to be happy I am alive and breathing great now. God is good I have to remind myself.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I had twins 17 years ago, perfect delivery and pregnancy, babies very healthy.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your lung transplant! I aspire to make it to 52+ someday! Also, I am amazed you had twins! I would love some tips for the teen years. ;)
DeleteI notice the older I get the more pronounced my CF belly and barrel chest become. Super sexy! I am sure having your look drastically change after transplant is hard! And steroids (Pred!) is pretty brutal!