Been over a year, still hard to get Weight off...

Lisa_Rhodes

Hello everyone!

I've been a member since I gave birth to my baby boy in March 2014, but never really posted anything. However, while I'm thinking about it, I wanted to express my frustrations and see if anyone has any tips or advice that I can use. Sorry this is so long - I felt if I put as much detail as possible, I could get the best responses.

I lost 60lbs prior to my pregnancy (in fact, that's how I got pregnant.. losing the weight!). While pregnant, I didn't gain a lot while working, but it seemed as soon as I was put on bed rest for hypertension, that's when it started to pack on. I was a bit of a bored/emotional eater and being in the house while pregnant didn't help it.

I gained the weight back while pregnant, however, all but 27 lbs were lost instantly and I was happy with that. I was desperately trying to breastfeed my baby boy and I wasn't eating much bc all I wanted to do was sleep when he slept. When I read I should eat more to get my milk up, I started to consume more (probably more than I should've) and while my weight came up, my milk didn't. In the blur of several months of being upset of not being able to breastfeed exclusively, I'm back to where I started, weight wise.

I went back to work when DS was almost 6 months and got a gym membership, hoping to get back into a routine. Between working retail hours and a baby that decided to not sleep through the night anymore, I was a zombie and felt worse when I worked out, so I tried to just keep my food in line, which seemed to work for a while, but the weight wouldn't budge.

Although I'm not working now (I quit bc the job wasn't worth working and having to worry about daycare and schedule conflicts with my hubby..trying to find one now), I'm going back to the gym and trying to get my food in order again. Over the past several months I've been trying to figure out why it wasn't dropping when I was doing well and it hit me that I don't sleep well at all. I stay up to 12-1 bc DS will wake up and he wakes up 1-2 times a night. I've done everything under the sun I could to get him to sleep all night (still on routine) and he won't. Just what I have to deal with ATM.

My question is, how do some of you do it? Able to lose it or keep it off when dealing with broken sleep? Is there anything I can do to help myself feel more 'rested'?

monica_delarosa

I'm not a pro at the weight loss thing but when my kids were a little over one and they could walk around at night and wake me, I put a little mat next to my bed for them. I told them that if they wanted to be with me at night they could sleep next to my bed in the little mat, but not to wake me.

DawnieB1977

I have 3 kids and none have been good sleepers, so that's just something I've learned to deal with. The way I feel more rested is to get some time to myself, so I do that by going to the gym and sometimes I meet a friend for coffee sans enfants! My husband works shifts which can be hard work, but sometimes it works to my advantage. Perhaps you could use the gym crèche and sit and have a coffee after your workout so you get some time to yourself.

My third baby was born May 1st 2014 and I'm still above pre-pregnancy weight. I have a similar story to you in that i desperately tried to breastfeed but she lost too much weight, so I took fenugreek, nursing tea etc and I swear that made me gain weight, I took domperidone after my 2nd and I piled on weight so fast it was scary. I was also very depressed about it, crying every day.

I went back to work in April, and I work 3 days a week as a secondary school teacher. This week my husband is on early shift so leaves at 5am. I get up at 5:30 and get myself and 3 kids ready. We leave at 7:20 and drop my 2 girls (1 and 4) at nursery then drop my son (6 next week) at his school's breakfast club. Then I get to work just before 8 and I'm there until 5ish on Tues and Wed as we have meetings. Then I collect my girls. My husband finishes at 2 so he collects our son from school at 3. When he's on late shift he takes our son to school, and I collect them all and we get home around 5:45 and then I'm on my own doing everything. Our baby still wakes up at least twice a night.

So, yep, I am totally exhausted, and at the weekend I have to concentrate on my planning and marking load too.

Exercise wise I usually do PT on a Monday straight after work, 4-5, circuits on a Wed on hubby's earlies week, PT or spinning on a Thurs, a HIIT class or step on a Fri, bootcamp on a Sat and circuits on a Sun.

I lost 66lbs after my 2nd baby, but it took about 18-20 months. I think it'll take about the same time frame for me this time, so I'm hoping by Oct/Nov time I'll be back to where I was, but it is a slow process. I'm sure lack of sleep does affect weight loss.

marieamethyst

I have a good sleeper, but have a husband that is gone for months at a time, and am usually exhausted from chasing after a toddler by myself all day, every day with no break. I try to combine exercise with modes of relaxing, like I'll jog in place while catching up on my shows on Netflix. (I know I'd never have the energy to drive to a gym to work out, so finding ways to work out at home has helped) And I find that once I start exercising my energy level goes up and I feel better. Other than that, I just try to stick to my calorie goal most days.

Can your husband take over the night wakings on his days off so you can recharge? If he's still taking naps, have you tried taking a nap with him?

Car_vajal

Are you still breastfeeding?

Lisa_Rhodes

Sorry took so long to respond. Thank you for everyone for responding. I feel a bit more relieved that I don't feel so alone. I stopped breastfeeding when I returned to work bc with it so low anyway, it was harder to keep up after long periods without pumping. My hubby does take over on nights that he's home, but being a mom, I still wake up, lol. I do take naps as well when he sleeps (not everyday, but often). I might have to be on a better cycle to get this rested feeling. Especially when I go back to work. I commend you mothers who work and deal with middle of the night wakes. It was rough while I worked. I would fix coffee, get distracted, and realize I left my coffee in the same spot for six hours, lol.

Zombella

I have two children, a toddler and an almost toddler. My son still wakes up at least twice most nights. If I am really tired and haven't had much sleep, I won't work out that day because I know that will be too much for my body and I'll end up feeling sick. I also try not to grab for a ton of food if I am tired because I know that'll screw up my progress.