Post partum weight loss

[farfalla2011]

First, hi ladies! It's been a while since I was a regular over here. I had a good 1.5-2 years of life happening which definitely got me off track with all things health and fitness. Although, with the most recent chapter being my little guy, I wouldn't change it for the world!

For those with kids and who breastfed, at what point did you start trying to lose weight? And any tips on how you accomplished it without killing your supply? I'm only 2.5 months out, but I'd love to be able to fit into my clothes again well and feel like a normal person. I'm only looking to lose 10 or so pounds at least for now. And ideally before I go back to work at the beginning of February.

I know I need to cut sugar which I never really ate before, thank you pregnancy cravings. But beyond that I need some inspiration for meals that are easy to make while caring for a baby who is still fairly clingy all day long. Bonus would be something I can help encourage H with as well since he's needing to lose about 20 pounds and I'm primarily in charge of meals.

[chocolatelove]

Thanks for posting this, and congrats on your little one! I don’t have a lot of insight for you as I am 21 days for induction but am already wondering this myself. My plan is to try to cut sugar also and start walking every day as much as my body (and weather) will allow. I look forward to hearing other people’s suggestions.

[Wines Not Whines]

Honestly, I didn’t really try to lose weight immediately post partum. I gained about 30 pounds during my pregnancy, I lost about 20 pounds within 6 weeks, and I hung onto the last 10 pounds for a while. I finally put some effort into losing that weight when my son was 18 months old. I think I was too exhausted and overwhelmed to do anything about it before then.

[farfalla2011]

I guess I should probably clarify that I'm looking for ideas to get my diet back on track. Exercise wasn't happening even before I got pregnant and it sure isn't going to happen any time soon. I've pretty much always just eaten whatever I feel like, but that's definitely not going to help me lose weight, although I'm thankful I'm not gaining.

I have lost most of what I gained while pregnant. Gained 30, lost 25. I guess I'm mostly struggling emotionally about it because I got pregnant almost 10 above my happy weight and was already struggling to fit in most of my clothes. End of December/early January I was on a mission to get back on track and found out January 11th that I was pregnant 😂

[goodygumdrop]

I am 5.5 months postpartum and still exclusively breastfeeding. I lost all but 10 lbs through no real effort of my own, but I don't think I will be able to lose any more weight until I stop breastfeeding. I have been working out sporadically and walking almost daily but my diet is less than perfect and I am ok with hanging onto this weight until he is weaned. I am positive if I cleaned up my diet and did workout more consistently that I would have no issue dropping the excess weight. I don't really want to mess with my supply so am not more motivated to be serious about the weight loss just yet.

So sorry, no real advice from me. I think this is just such a short blip of time and I am already exhausted on the daily why push myself to do more when it isn't super important to me at this time. 

[goodygumdrop]

Dec 1, 2019 17:19:02 GMT -5 farfalla2011 said:

I guess I should probably clarify that I'm looking for ideas to get my diet back on track. Exercise wasn't happening even before I got pregnant and it sure isn't going to happen any time soon. I've pretty much always just eaten whatever I feel like, but that's definitely not going to help me lose weight, although I'm thankful I'm not gaining.

I definitely eat more sweets now than ever before, but my excuse is I can cause I am burning extra calories from breastfeeding and I am always hungry. I bet if I stopped having dessert and snacking every night after dinner on junk it would help a bit, I am probably going to do this after the holidays anyway as it's a terrible habit to be in and I would probably benefit from eating more nutrient dense foods instead of sweets when I am actually hungry.

[sassystace]

Substituting your junk food snacks and sweets with healthier alternatives is a good way to make a change without being restrictive. I lost 15lbs on Weight Watchers by tracking and learning to eat more from their zero points list of things like fruit (I learned I really love raspberries, cantaloupe, apples, etc.), veggies, unsweetened applesauce, and hard-boiled eggs. I also think you are only a few months from giving birth so there is no rush either.

[wawa]

More nutrient dense food is good for your milk too, so Def switch out some junk for fruits and veggies and hard boiled eggs and string cheese and such. But also don't put toooo much on yourself.

Oatmeal is supposed to be good for supply too and is a healthy breakfast option.

[brooke77]

Fitting in my clothes again and feeling like a normal person took 18 months PP. (Also when DS stopped nursing).

I am normally a tiny bit underweight, but gained a lot during pregnancy (50 lbs). My body clung to the last 10 lbs until I stopped BFing. I ate healthy and ran a marathon during that timeframe. My doctor said it was “maternal fat” for BFing =)

So, I guess my best advice is to be kind and patient to yourself. I HATED my PP body and it is so sad. Keep hydrated and eat healthy foods. The weight will eventually come off.

[farfalla2011]

Thanks ladies for the reality check. I have a lot of room to start making healthier choices, so I'll definitely work on that. And try to walk away from all the yummy holiday lattes that get me every holiday season.

Beyond that, I guess I need to embrace the next couple months where I dont have to wear "real" clothes and wear yoga pants, pj bottoms, etc while I can. And, just get a few pairs of pants before heading back to work. I just really didn't want to spend more money on short term clothes if I don't have to if that makes any sense.

[Susie]

Everyone's body is different, but my experience is that I am not able to get back to pre-pregnancy weight until I wean.  

With DD, I was running again between 6-12 months pp, and ran a 15k right around her 1st birthday still carrying a solid 10+ lbs. of baby weight.  She weaned between 13-14 months, and I was back to pre-pregnancy weight by around 18m.  I'm not saying it came easy, because I had to work for it then like I've worked for any weight loss I've ever had, but it was do-able.

With DS, I am closer to 15 lbs. above pre-pregnancy weight now at 6m pp.  My pre-pregnancy weight was about the same with both kids, but I gained a little more with DS.  The scale has very slowly moved a teeny bit, like a pound or so a month in the last couple months, but the progress is hardly perceptible.  I'm comfortable limiting carbs, but not protein and fat while EBFing, and that makes weight loss really hard to achieve.  Add in two kids, a full time job, the holidays, and general struggles to manage working out + BFing, and it's just not currently realistic.  I'm dying to get back to my normal wardrobe -- even my postpartum wardrobe from last time doesn't quite fit -- but it's just no dice at this point.  I've bought enough clothes to get by for now, and have mostly accepted that until I wean, it is what it is.

My self esteem has taken a major hit, but I keep reminding myself that this is temporary.  I am avoiding buying investment piece type clothing, and just trying to get through it with minimal self-flagellation.  I went back to work at 8 weeks both times, so a work wardrobe in a new size was a must.  I will be fit again someday.