post-partum help?

TxYonker
TxYonker Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm getting pretty frustrated and am hoping someone may be able to give me some weight loss advice...

I gained 35-40 pounds during pregnancy, lost about 25 right after birth, and am now about +5 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight at 4 months postpartum. The only problem is, I've been at that point for a month now. On top of that, my weight when I got pregnant was higher than I've ever been in my life, so I really have an additional 20 pounds to lose once those last pregnancy pounds come off. I started doing Weight Watchers, but switched to MFP about a month ago.

I work out 5 days a week with Stroller Strides (a workout group that mixes cardio and strength training) and my heart rate monitor indicates I burn between 250 (on heavy strength training days) to 450 calories per class. I'm eating 1,200 calories and don't usually eat all of my workout calories. I was having one "cheat meal" per week, but I stopped that since I feel like it's hurting me.

I was breastfeeding, but stopped a month ago due to supply issues. I do measure my food with measuring cups, cook most dinners at home, and don't know what I could be doing different. Any ideas??

Replies

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    You're eating too little, up your calories. 1200 calories is the bare minimum a woman should eat. When you exercise, you need to eat those calories back or you're creating too large of a deficit and you're slowing your metabolism down. Also, how long have you been doing the 1200 calories? You were probably having supply issues because you weren't eating enough to even make milk. When you're breastfeeding, you're supposed to increase your calories, not decrease them.

    So here's an extreme math equation to better help you understand why you increase/eat back your calories. This is just an example, mind you.

    Your goal is 1200 calories.
    You decide to go hiking for 3 hours and you burn 1000 calories.

    1200-1000=200

    After your exercise, your body has 200 calories to do all of it's daily functions - breathing, keeping your heart beating, digestion, thinking, moving blood, EVERYTHING. Does it sound like 200 calories is enough for your body to do all of that? The answer is NO. Therefor, you need to eat more to bring your calories back up to 1200 NET.

    1200-1000=200
    200 +1000 extra calories = 1200 NET.

    Eat the calories, don't be afraid of them.
    Also, once your body figures out it's getting the energy and nutrients it needs, you'll begin dropping weight.

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