losing weight after baby

evolve33

hi everyone my name is sarah and i am new to this site. just wondering if anyone else is trying to lose extra pregnancy pounds ( i gained 50 pounds with my daughter) and if so any tips on how to cut calories while breastfeeding and how to get excercise with a demanding 6 week old and cold weather problems?

evolve33

hi everyone my name is sarah and i am new to this site. just wondering if anyone else is trying to lose extra pregnancy pounds ( i gained 50 pounds with my daughter) and if so any tips on how to cut calories while breastfeeding and how to get excercise with a demanding 6 week old and cold weather problems?

JMAMA

What helped me the most after having baby, is to realize that it took 9 months to have a baby and it will take that time and then some to get back to your old self! Take it slow, walking, some light strength training. For me, aerobics and running were out the entire time I nursed (it was just too painful). Make sure you are eating nutricious food, and enough of it for you and baby.

Congrats on the little one!:flowerforyou:

justdoingit

Congrats on the baby and welcome to this site! The best thing you are doing right now for your baby and yourself is to breasfeed. Not only is baby getting wonderful nutrition, but breastfeeding will help you drop weight faster. It helped me. There is a bunch of fat in breastmilk.

Try sticking to lots of fruits and veggies and some lean protein like hormone free chicken breast. You need extra nutrition since you are breasfeeding so I wouldn't do less than 1500 cals per day. Hopefully that will help!

wilted6orchid

Welcome to MFP!:flowerforyou:

I also joined to lose the baby weight. I have already met that goal, pretty recently and my little one is 8 months. A huge helping factor for me has been breastfeeding. I read on various sites the calories that you burn are anywhere from 350-500. I chose the low end of the spectrum and added it as a cardio. Nursing for 80 min a day at 350 calories...gives me an extra bit of wiggle room for eating.

My big thing is to remind nursing mommies that 1500 cals is min. even while losing weight, to keep up your milk supply. Eat well, and good luck.

evolve33

Thanks! I know eating good food is important so i'm trying to make an effort to cook nutrisiously though it's hard to do on a budget and the schedule my daughter has me on. Excersise is tough since it's too cold to go out for walks, i've been doing sit ups, squats and the like. I think if i can stay motivated to visit this site every day it will help a lot.

staceyw37

What helped me the most after having baby, is to realize that it took 9 months to have a baby and it will take that time and then some to get back to your old self! Take it slow, walking, some light strength training. For me, aerobics and running were out the entire time I nursed (it was just too painful). Make sure you are eating nutricious food, and enough of it for you and baby.

Congrats on the little one!:flowerforyou:

congratulations on your daughter! and i agree completely with jmama. i didn't breastfeed and it took me literally one year to lose the 40 lbs i had gained.
i won't depress you about baby #2 and 3
seriously, tho, be sure to eat enuf to take good care of your body and baby--the weight will come off in due time. and don't be surprised if your overall shape changes too. that is also common. for ex, you could get to the same wt but your old jeans don't fit b/c your hips have repositioned. so for you, as a new mom, don't be discouraged by those superficial things.
good luck! and enjoy this incredible time with your little one!:flowerforyou:

Venusjems

I will be your buddy! My baby is about to be six months, was my first and i gained 70 lbs:embarassed:
I wasnt overweight to begin with, just had a lot of fat in the tummy and thigh area... and that is where all 70 lbs went too!!

I lost about 40 without doing much... and recently started doing some biggest loser dvd's (amazon for under 10 each).. I try to eat around 1500-1800 calories, i just make sure it is all healthy choices, lots of fruits and veg lean meat ect...

I also breastfeed, i try to work out right after i feed, because a) boobs are not as full and b) so i have time to shower so baby doesnt have to taste sweat!! I wear my nursing tank/bra, a tank sports bra, and a regular sports bra over that!!! it works pretty well i can do jumping jacks and jump ropes

mjj79

Me too! My twins will be 9 weeks tomorrow. I don't breastfeed, so I have more wiggle room with my calories, but it is REALLY hard to find time to exercise. (I have 3 other kids too.) Maybe we can all encourage each other. I know it will take time, which is soooo discouraging. I never lost all the weight i gained w/ my other 3 pregnancies, so there's a lot of work to do. Best wishes to you

evolve33

haha i know what you mean about my body changing shape. under the extra padding i can see my hips are farther apart and my boobs have dropped an inch or two... it's all worth it when i look at my amazing little girl. she is a big part of me wanting to lose the weight, cuz i want her to see that she can be the best version of herself if she works at it - thanks!

evolve33

thanks for the reply, and congratulations on your babies! working out is tough for me, because my baby is so cute i get distracted playing with her and she's too young to take to the gym. i will look into getting some videos i think that would be the easiest way to squeeze some activity into my day.

wouldn't it be nice to have a babysitter and personal trainer come to your house for workouts? guess thats why it looks so easy when the celebs lose the weight in a month...

staceyw37

Me too! My twins will be 9 weeks tomorrow. I don't breastfeed, so I have more wiggle room with my calories, but it is REALLY hard to find time to exercise. (I have 3 other kids too.) Maybe we can all encourage each other. I know it will take time, which is soooo discouraging. I never lost all the weight i gained w/ my other 3 pregnancies, so there's a lot of work to do. Best wishes to you

you have 5 kids---wowza! i think that's amazing and that you are trying to improve your health, too. i'm working on losing the weight from baby 2--the weight that never left and helped fuel baby 3. anyway, kudos to you, mom.

staceyw37

thanks for the reply, and congratulations on your babies! working out is tough for me, because my baby is so cute i get distracted playing with her and she's too young to take to the gym. i will look into getting some videos i think that would be the easiest way to squeeze some activity into my day.

wouldn't it be nice to have a babysitter and personal trainer come to your house for workouts? guess thats why it looks so easy when the celebs lose the weight in a month...

no personal trainer--just a babysitter and a personal chef! and a regular masseuse and pedicurist/manicurist for added fun! :laugh:

don't worry about getting so into exercising right now and missing the fun when she's awake. maybe one dvd from the library for one week. and then try a different one. try to take advantage of her sleep times for activity--but itf that's too much, don't worry. soon enuf your rhythm together will change. and you'll find ways to be active but maintain your flexibility w/shcedule. man-that sentence made no sense. my point is that with the first year of baby, you find that phases come and go quickly. a big part of that year is your adjustment to motherhood, riding with the waves. keeping your expectations of yourself realistic (or low) will help you to maintain flexibility in your responsiveness to her and help you to be kind to yourself as you take this long twisted journey.
this one on one time will never be again--so enjoy it to the max, even with sleepy eyes and tired boobies--and the rest will happen in due course. "a season for all things" or something like that.

i better turn in--i'm getting sappy

mjj79

Me too! My twins will be 9 weeks tomorrow. I don't breastfeed, so I have more wiggle room with my calories, but it is REALLY hard to find time to exercise. (I have 3 other kids too.) Maybe we can all encourage each other. I know it will take time, which is soooo discouraging. I never lost all the weight i gained w/ my other 3 pregnancies, so there's a lot of work to do. Best wishes to you

you have 5 kids---wowza! i think that's amazing and that you are trying to improve your health, too. i'm working on losing the weight from baby 2--the weight that never left and helped fuel baby 3. anyway, kudos to you, mom.

Stacy, believe it or not, the jump from 2 to 3 kids was harder than 3 to 5. Yes, there are more kids to take care of, and less time for yourself, but as far as organization and difficulty etc.., once you have 3 adding more doesn't make a huge difference. (Like I said, other than time for me and Oh yeah, cleaning

Thanks for the encouragement, though. I have been discouraged this morning b/c I have been eating well and haven't lost anything in a week. I did only exercise once this week, but still. Again, thanks.:flowerforyou:

paula123

Hi and welcome!! I know how you feel I gained about 50 lbs when I was pregnant with my daughter. I lost 30 lbs really easily doing NOTHING the first month after and then have been struggling with the last 20 lbs. My daughter will be 3 this year and I have finally decided to start taking action. I just started last week eating healthier and tracking my calories on this website. I am down about 2-3 lbs right now!! I know I will not get ALL of the weight I put on off because that would not put me at a very healthy weight for ME in my opinion. But you have received great advice, it WILL take time to have all the weight come off, and its true it took 9 months to gain it can take that and more to come off, I am walking evidence :blushing: