Losing weight after baby-for moms.

nicolemviolette

Has anyone had any luck losing their weight fairly quickly after the baby comes? And how long did it take? What was your calorie goal during AND after the pregnancy??

Right now, I'm at 2,000-2,5000 a day, but I plan to cut it back to no more than 1,200 a day once my little guy is here, and I would like to work out ASAP.

Just getting anxious to get my body back now that I'm a couple days past 36 weeks! )

lisapr123

Between nursing and inadvertently skipping meals, I lost ALL the weight (about 25 lbs) within about 3 weeks. Problem is...as life got normal it crept back up. Yes, I was eating right. But, no, I wasn't exercising as much. I blame a long, cold winter and the fact that I'm a SAHM. If I were working I have no doubt I would've worked out on my lunch break or on my way to/from work.

She's 5 months old now and I'm up about 6 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. It's spring now, though, so I normally walk several miles a day and I'm starting to run at night after she's in bed. And at 18 lbs I find she's the perfect weight to bench press, toss in the air, etc... so that helps.

If you choose to nurse, 1200 probably won't be enough calories. I think I was eating about 1600 and it wasn't enough to keep supply up. I didn't count calories during (the last half of) my pregnancy. I was active (shoveling snow) about 5 days after she was born via C-section and I started exercising when she was just a couple weeks old.

Good luck & congrats!

tiggerhammon

Not sure how it will work out with this little guy but with my daughter I was back to prepregnancy weight in 6 weeks and a few months after birth I was at the lowest weight of my adult life. I was actually at an ideal weight, then I put on 56lbs over the course of the next 7 years - nobody to blame for being fat but me.
I am pretty confident that the weight will just fall off again this time but breastfeeding helps with that a lot.
1200 is way too low for just having a baby, breastfeeding or not! You need plenty of nutrients for your healing body, protein especially. And, iron for blood loss.

meggwyn

I always give myself a year to lose the baby weight. I breastfeed and work out, (plus I'm in my 30's) so I keep my calories at 2000 minimum! My last pregnancy, I gained 45lbs and dropped 20 within the first two weeks, and another 15 over the next few months with LOTS of exercise. I got stalled by the holidays and ended up hitting the pre-preg mark right around a year. I was fine with that though b/c I was building up my running and doing lots of Jillian Michaels videos, so I was in great shape by the time I hit my goal. I had better muscle definition than BEFORE I got pregnant! Yay!

I discovered weight lifting before this current pregnancy, so I'm curious to see how that will play out when I get into a good lifting routine! I can't wait!

Also, things shift during the post partum period, which you might find surprising. So don't be too hard on yourself and keep your expectations realistic. You want to be healthy above all. No sense in losing weight really fast and lose your good muscle along with it! Building strong muscles will look better and will rev up your metabolism even more! I'm sure you'll do great!

spunkychelsea

With my first I didn't count calories. I was 22 lbs overweight, I had gestational diabetes in 3rd tri and lost 6 lbs in 1st tri. On my GD diet I ended up only gaining 23 lbs going overdue (the last 6 lbs were weeks 39-41). By 8 days post partum I'd lost the 23 lbs. When my son was 6 months old I joined a gym and lost another 10 lbs before getting pregnant again at 9 months. Still not counting calories. I ate EVERYTHING. He didn't really eat solid food until he was 9/10 months old, much preferred nursing.

My second I was convinced I'd have GD again, so ate everything thinking I would need to diet again 3rd tri. Didn't get diabetes, but I did pack on 46 lbs. By the time I weighed myself 2 months post partum I'd lost 22 lbs. For the next 5 months I counted calories - usually 1600-1800 as I was nursing and HUNGRY. Lost the other 24 lbs and another 12 lbs and then got pregnant again! (Planned, we wanted them close together, didn't realize they'd be THAT close together though). So by 7 months post partum (and 1 month pregnant) I was down 58 lbs.

Started this pregnancy at a NORMAL/HEALTHY weight! Woo! Been eating 1800ish calories (I'm only 5'2"/5'3") but definitely more on days I want it. I've gained 20-22lbs so far (I've lost 2 lbs this week?! - hopefully that means birth is close, either way it's weird for me as I normally gain 1-4 lbs a week at this point being 38 weeks!). I'm HOPING most of it will come off relatively easy/quickly since I seem to lose about 22-23 lbs from birth (but I was more overweight to start with then so it was probably easier).

I'll eat more calories breastfeeding than pregnant (looking forward to it!!!) as you burn like 500 calories BFing vs needing an extra 200-300 pregnant. MORE FOOD. Do not cut your calories too much, your baby may get unhappy! You're supposed to be extra careful the first two months to establish a good supply.

Edited to add with my second to lose the weight all I did was eat reasonable and walk. I threw both kids in a double stroller (or when the youngest was little a pack and the older one in a stroller) and walked to the park and back (1.5 miles if I took the long route). So it might have come off even faster if I had worked out for real instead of walking.

fava87

When nursing you burn an average of 500-700 calories extra so eattimg those extra calories to keep up your milk supply is best. You don't really want to mess around with that. But eatting those calories in evoo and avacados and whole grains is key.

kalyrra

Has anyone had any luck losing their weight fairly quickly after the baby comes? And how long did it take? What was your calorie goal during AND after the pregnancy??

Right now, I'm at 2,000-2,5000 a day, but I plan to cut it back to no more than 1,200 a day once my little guy is here, and I would like to work out ASAP.

Just getting anxious to get my body back now that I'm a couple days past 36 weeks! )

A lot of it falls off in the weeks after pregnancy. I agree with the others, 1200 is too low right off the bat. Your body needs a chance to heal from everything it's been through in the last 9 months! It takes you almost a year to put it on, give yourself a year to take it off.

If you're breastfeeding, that will help as long as you're eating healthy. I lost a lot of my weight while nursing... but once my son started sleeping through the night and cut out about half his nursing sessions simultaneously, I didn't adjust my calorie intake down... and I gained a lot of it back. So keep that in mind as well. I never had an issue with my milk supply dropping when I cut back calories, but I had a major issue with it when I didn't drink enough water! So if you do plan to nurse, every time you sit down to feed the baby plan to drink at least 8 oz of water (or more, if you can).

But above all, think about the amazing things your body accomplished over the last 9 months... you grew a human being! Allow yourself some time to heal and adjust. I'm assuming this is your first? Your first couple months, don't even try to focus on losing the weight. A lot will come off naturally, especially if you eat healthy. Your biggest focus is going to be adjusting to a new life with the baby! After a few months and you've settled into a routine it'll be easier!