Mom of 2 under 2 struggling to stay consistent

jordyndhunt

I just recently had my 2nd baby 3 months ago and now im severely struggling with my self image. I’m 21 years old, 5’9 & 240 pounds, the same I was at 9 months pregnant. The heaviest I’ve ever been and can’t seem to get rid of the baby weight. Just a year ago I had just lost 60 pounds before finding out I was pregnant again. I feel so unhealthy and uncomfortable in my own body now and need to focus on the motivation to keep going! Goal weight being back down to at least 180, if not 160. Please let me know if any other moms can relate & what helped you shed all the baby weight .

Corina1143

I had 2 babies 21 months apart over 50 years ago. Your story still hits me hard. Been there, done that. Lived through it. You will too. Take care of yourself first so you can take care of them. Eat healthy.
Wishing you the very best!

ddsb1111

jordyndhunt wrote: »

I just recently had my 2nd baby 3 months ago and now im severely struggling with my self image. I’m 21 years old, 5’9 & 240 pounds, the same I was at 9 months pregnant. The heaviest I’ve ever been and can’t seem to get rid of the baby weight. Just a year ago I had just lost 60 pounds before finding out I was pregnant again. I feel so unhealthy and uncomfortable in my own body now and need to focus on the motivation to keep going! Goal weight being back down to at least 180, if not 160. Please let me know if any other moms can relate & what helped you shed all the baby weight .

Congrats on your new baby. You must be elated and exhausted. I see you have a goal weight (or weights) in mind. What are your goals for yourself and for your family currently? Let’s see if we can work in something that you love with where you are and where you’re going. Will you be home for a while? Making a routine of nice long walks outside could be extremely beneficial. Another tip is making sure you have enough protein in your diet while you recover. Remember that your body is not aware of your timelines and expectations. You’re going through more than recovering from labor, but a myriad of other things that can take from 10 months to 2 years. At 21 I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of posts where it looks like the new mom lost her baby weight immediately. I’m here to tell you, this is not normal and often times not safe. This is your life, your body, and your family. You need to do what is best and healthiest for you. I also highly recommend yoga and meditation. The benefits of meditation can be felt in as little as 5 minutes and done anywhere. And yoga is as much physical as it is mental. I hope this helps. It’s the little things we do consistently that make the biggest changes in our lives.

frhaberl

I agree with @ddsb1111 that it's great to have weight goals, but more important to set goals around the actions that will get you to that goal weight. One thing I've learned is that I do not have a whole lot of control over what the scale reads from day to day, or even week to week, but by being consistent in my healthy habits I can definitely impact the month to month weight. So I put the majority of my focus on the day to day health goals and trust that the weight loss will follow.

Here are a few goals that might be helpful in your journey:
-Sleep. I know this is a really hard one for where you're at with two kids under two, but trust me when I say that it's a great idea to make sleep a priority. It's a million times harder to eat mindfully when your body is screaming for an energy source because you're so sleep deprived. And its hard to make good food choices when you're in a brain fog. So don't feel guilty for grabbing a nap rather than going to the gym. The nap may help more in the long term.
-Exercise. Walking is a great exercise, especially outdoors. And it's likely something you can do with your kiddos while they are awake. I was a working mom, so I did my walks on my lunch time, but either works. Weather can make outdoor walks more difficult at times, so it's also good to have a local mall you can walk at, or have some indoor workouts that you can fall back on. Just remember that you don't have to walk for an hour a day to get the benefit. Start where you're at in terms of intensity and duration and work your way to the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, or whatever you feel is a good lifestyle goal.
-Calorie tracking. Routine and meal prepping can be helpful here. I keep my kitchen scale on the counter and meal plan a rotation of meals that I have logged in MFP. I had to break the habit of snacking off my toddler's plate. I also found it helpful to figure out what foods kept me satisfied and energized, but overall I consider it a win if I have tracked my food intake honestly and as accurately as I can, even if the number isn't what I aimed for.
-Calorie deficit. With the rule of thumb that you can target 0.5-1% of your body weight loss per week, you could technically aim for 2 lbs/week, but I would advise against that since you're body is still recovering. If you're breastfeeding, even more reason to moderate your weight loss goal and protect your milk supply. A 500 calorie/day deficit is probably a good place to start and I personally give myself a +/- 250 calorie range around that.
-Start to make friends with the body you're in. I can 100% relate to the feeling of not being comfortable in the body I'm living in. I would even use the word "disgusted" to describe my feelings about my body at times. What I have learned is that those feelings are not helpful. I've been on this latest weight loss journey for 10 months and have lost 65+ lbs and I can tell you that my body still doesn't fully reflect how I see myself. It probably never will, since I've now got kids older than you. A gift you can give yourself and pass on to your children is to appreciate your body where it's at rather than waiting for that elusive day when it looks the way you want it to look. I am getting to the point of starting to experience some "thin privilege" but I can tell you that I am not a better person than I was 10 months ago, nor am I any more worthy of love and respect. I think that perspective has been tremendously helpful in maintaining mental health as I work on improving my physical health.