8 weeks postpartum - no weight loss. Help!

Pegsworld1

Hello! I am currently 8 weeks postpartum with baby number two - repeat section. I have been getting meals delivered since two weeks pp - a paleo diet with all meals being less than 350 calories. I've kept my calories under 1500 this entire time with most days being around 1200-1300. Started working out 3 weeks ago - running and HIIT workouts 3-4 xs week. Not only have I not lost a pound in 5 weeks but I've GAINED a pound. My doctor checked thyroid and it's fine. I'm at a loss. Anyone have any suggestions??!
TIA

penny0919

What was your prepregnancy weight and how tall are you? What is your current weight? Are you breastfeeding?

DrJenO

Are you nursing?

Holly_Roman_Empire

I hope you're not breastfeeding and eating that little...

Open up your food diary.

Are you eating your exercise calories? I'm betting on water retention masking any weight loss. How many pounds are you trying to lose? What are your stats?

CariS001

How much do you have to lose? Are you breastfeeding? Have you lost anything since your c-section?

It is possible that your body is holding on to it for breastfeeding, particularly if you don't have much to lose. I had that problem a lot post-partum, and didn't really drop the weight till after weaning.

VeryKatie

Are you breast feeding? Maybe it's breast and milk weight. On the plus side, breast feeding burns 300 - 500 calories a day...

morethenjustmum

How on earth are you doing all that exercise after a C-section? Your body needs energy to heal I would think. I have had three and my doctor never okayd working out until 6weeks min and even then they said gradual increase in intensity and start with walking. I would have died if I'd tried to do half what your doing. Are you nursing?

awolf2011

I think your body needs to heal itself before you do all the dieting and working out especially since you had a c-section. I had a vaginal birth (my 4th baby is 7 mo) and my doctor didn't clear me to do any kind of exercise except walking until I hit week 12. She said that the body needs a good 3 months to heal itself back up. I think you need to eat more calories cause your body is starving to hang onto what it has.

Pegsworld1

Hi all! Thanks for your comments. I should first say that I am NOT breast feeding any longer. Should've made that clear from beginning.

Age: 32
Height:5'6
Pre pregnancy : 130
Current: 173
Delivered at: 194

Yes I gained a lot! I did with first preg too but weight came off.

Most of my weight came off within the first couple weeks. Since then I've been stalled and today scale said gained a pound. I'm eating very clean with no dairy just protein and veggies with raw almonds as snack (only a handful). I should also add that I have been indulging in a SINGLE glass of wine a few nights a week. Could that cause a weight gain it stall??? It's only 150 calories and I factor that into my daily allowance.

As for exercise. I did get the go ahead from my doctor to start running and light exercise at 5 weeks and have worked myself up to HIIT Workouts.

My husband and I never had a wedding and have planned one for end of November hence the urgency. Should I try diet pills for a boost? Any safe natural options? Thanks again!!!

kdiamond

Just do what you're doing. Sometimes it takes some time. It took me a good few months to start really losing after the second one.

Don't push it, and definitely don't take diet pills! They're useless. Get out and walk with the little ones.

3dogsrunning

If most of your meals are being prepped by someone else and you are relying on them to be 350 calories I would be very suspect in that claim.

Pegsworld1

Thank you! I've heard it's harder the second time around to lose the weight - I just didn't imagine it being this hard. And I agree diet pills aren't the best option but I'm desperate and feel so stuck continuing on with diet and exercise for sure.

Pegsworld1

You know I started to think the same thing about the meals but they are being delivered by a local, reputable company that many friends have used while training for competitions and have lost a ton of weight

Mykaelous

How are you measuring the amount of wine(a measured cup is different than a glass)? What kind of wine is it(some wines can be very high in sugar)? When counting calories if you are having difficulty loosing weight it is because you either overestimated your calories burned or underestimated calories eaten. When I stopped guesstimating and started measuring everything not only did I improve my weightless by 50% but I was within 10% of my projected weightloss goal(I actually lost a bit more than I expected because I would intentionally over estimate portions).

DawnieB1977

Hi! I'm nearly 10 weeks post partum with baby no.3.

I haven't actually weighed myself, and I didn't weigh myself in pregnancy either, but judging by clothes and the mirror I reckon I have to lose about 30lbs now. I have measured though and I don't appear to have lost a lot, despite being back at the gym for 3 weeks and tracking calories on here for 7 weeks, and walking every day.

Everyone assures me that they noticed a big difference at about 12 weeks post partum, so I'm hoping that will be true!

I did lose a lot of weight after my 2nd, but she's 3 now and I don't remember when it first started to come off. I do remember being disappointed though. I had personal training sessions from 8 weeks post partum with her and got weighed and measured every 4 weeks, and after the first 4 weeks of 1200 calories and gym 5 times a week, I lost about 2lbs. I nearly cried! I did lose a Lot of inches though. Over about 18 months I lost 66lbs though and really changed my body, so it did happen in the end. I actually found increasing my calories helped.

Now I have a 3 and 5 year old too, and my eldest is at school so I do a lot of walking to and from school, plus I take my 3 year old out pretty much every day. I'm doing 5 gym sessions/classes (spinning, Zumba, aerobics, step) a week and eating 1660 calories a day. I'm still partially breastfeeding - unable to do it exclusively due to my baby losing too much weight (this has happened with all three).

I also asked my doctor about thyroid issues, firstly because of the breastfeeding, and secondly because I gained a lot in pregnancy and I don't know why. She said they check your thyroid when they do bloods at 12 and 28 weeks, so it would've been flagged up if I had an issue.

I think it just takes time for your hormones to sort themselves out, and we probably still retain some water too. I know from my previous two that the weight loss is possible, but it just takes time and patience.

kgeyser

Are you weighing all foods and measuring all liquids? I started MFP to lose the weight I gained from eating over my TDEE during my second pregnancy, and even with exercise, I lost 0 lbs for about 7 weeks. I didn't start to see a shift in weight until I started weighing/measuring my food and eating within my calorie goal (plus exercise, because MFP uses the NEAT method). Once I started doing that I lost 1-1.5 lbs per week, and our stats are similar (5'7", started at 180 lbs).

Pegsworld1

How are you measuring the amount of wine(a measured cup is different than a glass)? What kind of wine is it(some wines can be very high in sugar)? When counting calories if you are having difficulty loosing weight it is because you either overestimated your calories burned or underestimated calories eaten. When I stopped guesstimating and started measuring everything not only did I improve my weightless by 50% but I was within 10% of my projected weightloss goal(I actually lost a bit more than I expected because I would intentionally over estimate portions).

It's a glass. About 6oz and usually Pinot noir. I've been using a local fresh meal delivery company so my portions are weighed out for me This is why I feel so lost. I feel like I'm doing everything right and not seeing results.

3dogsrunning

How are you measuring the amount of wine(a measured cup is different than a glass)? What kind of wine is it(some wines can be very high in sugar)? When counting calories if you are having difficulty loosing weight it is because you either overestimated your calories burned or underestimated calories eaten. When I stopped guesstimating and started measuring everything not only did I improve my weightless by 50% but I was within 10% of my projected weightloss goal(I actually lost a bit more than I expected because I would intentionally over estimate portions).

It's a glass. About 6oz and usually Pinot noir. I've been using a local fresh meal delivery company so my portions are weighed out for me This is why I feel so lost. I feel like I'm doing everything right and not seeing results.

You are still only 8 weeks post partum. I've not been there yet but I am guessing that your hormones could very much still be off.
If you trust the company making your meals and are logging everything else accurately my advice would be to give it more time.

Pegsworld1

Hi! I'm nearly 10 weeks post partum with baby no.3.

I haven't actually weighed myself, and I didn't weigh myself in pregnancy either, but judging by clothes and the mirror I reckon I have to lose about 30lbs now. I have measured though and I don't appear to have lost a lot, despite being back at the gym for 3 weeks and tracking calories on here for 7 weeks, and walking every day.

Everyone assures me that they noticed a big difference at about 12 weeks post partum, so I'm hoping that will be true!

I did lose a lot of weight after my 2nd, but she's 3 now and I don't remember when it first started to come off. I do remember being disappointed though. I had personal training sessions from 8 weeks post partum with her and got weighed and measured every 4 weeks, and after the first 4 weeks of 1200 calories and gym 5 times a week, I lost about 2lbs. I nearly cried! I did lose a Lot of inches though. Over about 18 months I lost 66lbs though and really changed my body, so it did happen in the end. I actually found increasing my calories helped.

Now I have a 3 and 5 year old too, and my eldest is at school so I do a lot of walking to and from school, plus I take my 3 year old out pretty much every day. I'm doing 5 gym sessions/classes (spinning, Zumba, aerobics, step) a week and eating 1660 calories a day. I'm still partially breastfeeding - unable to do it exclusively due to my baby losing too much weight (this has happened with all three).

I also asked my doctor about thyroid issues, firstly because of the breastfeeding, and secondly because I gained a lot in pregnancy and I don't know why. She said they check your thyroid when they do bloods at 12 and 28 weeks, so it would've been flagged up if I had an issue.

I think it just takes time for your hormones to sort themselves out, and we probably still retain some water too. I know from my previous two that the weight loss is possible, but it just takes time and patience.

Good for you for staying away from the scale! It's driving me crazy.
I do agree that it could be hormones - but I feel like they should be back to normal by now (8weeks). The first one took over a year to lose weight but that was with minimal working out and not much dieting. It's frustrating to be doing everything right and see no results. I wouldn't be so upset if I didn't gave this wedding at the end of November.
Hopefully I'll start seeing some movement soon like you did with your second.
Good luck to you and congrats on the baby ))

Pegsworld1

How are you measuring the amount of wine(a measured cup is different than a glass)? What kind of wine is it(some wines can be very high in sugar)? When counting calories if you are having difficulty loosing weight it is because you either overestimated your calories burned or underestimated calories eaten. When I stopped guesstimating and started measuring everything not only did I improve my weightless by 50% but I was within 10% of my projected weightloss goal(I actually lost a bit more than I expected because I would intentionally over estimate portions).

It's a glass. About 6oz and usually Pinot noir. I've been using a local fresh meal delivery company so my portions are weighed out for me This is why I feel so lost. I feel like I'm doing everything right and not seeing results.

You are still only 8 weeks post partum. I've not been there yet but I am guessing that your hormones could very much still be off.
If you trust the company making your meals and are logging everything else accurately my advice would be to give it more time.

Thank you and you are probably right. I'm rushing things and need to relax. I just wish this wedding wasn't so soon. What was I thinking ??! Lol

Pegsworld1

Are you weighing all foods and measuring all liquids? I started MFP to lose the weight I gained from eating over my TDEE during my second pregnancy, and even with exercise, I lost 0 lbs for about 7 weeks. I didn't start to see a shift in weight until I started weighing/measuring my food and eating within my calorie goal (plus exercise, because MFP uses the NEAT method). Once I started doing that I lost 1-1.5 lbs per week, and our stats are similar (5'7", started at 180 lbs).