doing the right things but no weight loss!
ps412
Posts: 4 Member
Hi Moms,
I am 3 1/2 months postpartum. I had a vaginal delivery complicated by very extensive tearing and I was unable to do much of anything for about 6 weeks. Because I was so exhausted for weeks from the pain, breastfeeding got off to a very bad start and I always had to supplement. Once I was feeling a bit better, around the 6 week mark, I did make a full fledged effort to exclusively breast feed but was never able to do it successfully, and ended up starting the weaning process for multiple reasons. I completely stopped BF'ing 2 weeks ago. Prepregnancy I weighed 113 lbs (I am 5'0"). I gained 35 lbs during the pregnancy and weighed 148 just before I delivered. In the first 4-6 weeks, I lost 12 pounds to 136-137 lbs and then it just stayed there for weeks. I never lost any more weight while breastfeeding. Once I started weaning, I ended up gaining back a few pounds. Now I am 139-140 for the past 5-6 weeks and the scale won't budge! Since week 8, I started working with a trainer once a week and also do brisk walking 2-3 additional times per week. I eat about 1500-1700 calories a day. I am so frustrated with the lack of weight loss. My OB does not think this is normal at all but can't figure out what is wrong. I've had my thyroid checked multiple times and it is normal.
I am terrified that I will never be able to lose the weight despite doing all the right things! On all the forums I have searched, I haven't been able to find anyone who is holding on to this much weight at this time point. Anyone else with similar issues with postpartum weight loss (or lack of)??
I am 3 1/2 months postpartum. I had a vaginal delivery complicated by very extensive tearing and I was unable to do much of anything for about 6 weeks. Because I was so exhausted for weeks from the pain, breastfeeding got off to a very bad start and I always had to supplement. Once I was feeling a bit better, around the 6 week mark, I did make a full fledged effort to exclusively breast feed but was never able to do it successfully, and ended up starting the weaning process for multiple reasons. I completely stopped BF'ing 2 weeks ago. Prepregnancy I weighed 113 lbs (I am 5'0"). I gained 35 lbs during the pregnancy and weighed 148 just before I delivered. In the first 4-6 weeks, I lost 12 pounds to 136-137 lbs and then it just stayed there for weeks. I never lost any more weight while breastfeeding. Once I started weaning, I ended up gaining back a few pounds. Now I am 139-140 for the past 5-6 weeks and the scale won't budge! Since week 8, I started working with a trainer once a week and also do brisk walking 2-3 additional times per week. I eat about 1500-1700 calories a day. I am so frustrated with the lack of weight loss. My OB does not think this is normal at all but can't figure out what is wrong. I've had my thyroid checked multiple times and it is normal.
I am terrified that I will never be able to lose the weight despite doing all the right things! On all the forums I have searched, I haven't been able to find anyone who is holding on to this much weight at this time point. Anyone else with similar issues with postpartum weight loss (or lack of)??
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Replies
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Have you tried dropping your calories for a week or two to see if that helps? You might be eating more than you realize if you aren't accurately measuring everything, or you could have found your maintenance range. Good luck! :flowerforyou:0
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So I'm somewhat in the same boat.
You said you work with a trainer, has your trainer been measuring you? is it possible you are losing inches and not weight?
Also your calories seem kind of high. I plugged in your height (5 ft), weight (140 lbs) and amount of time exercising (3 times a week) into a calculator and it comes out to 1700 for maintenance and 1450 for weight loss.
I am also 3 months postpartum. Before I delivered I was 183. I am currently at 171. I have been at that number since 2-3 weeks postpartum. I am eating around 1900 calories a day but I am nursing, well only twice a day. I am working out a lot and I'm afraid if I drop calories also my milk will dry up. Therefore I am keeping my calorie count at that until I stop nursing. However, my husband does say that he sees a difference in my body. I have not measured myself at all. I am waiting (dont know for what) to have someone at my gym measure me to see how I compare to my last measurements (which were taken right before I got pregnant).0 -
Hi, thanks for the input. I'm not sure if I was overestimating my calories previously, but since I've been using MFP for the past week, I have been logging about 1400-1450 calories/day. I haven't had the trainer measure me, but I don't notice any difference in the way my clothes are fitting.0
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You might need to play with your calorie intake until you start to see the scale shift. Every body is different, so it's hard to say exactly what you need to eat just based on stats alone (for example, I'm 5'5" 130 lbs, and the scale doesn't move for me unless I do 1200+exercise calories, but I know there are many other women that are smaller than me that can eat more and still lose - c'est la vie!).
Does your trainer have any recommendations about your calorie intake? You can also try exercising more to see if that helps create a bigger deficiency for you. If you're strapped for time, try combining things, like jumping rope while waiting for dinner to cook on the stove, park in the back of the lot at the store and walk the extra steps, etc. There are also lots of videos of moms doing exercises that involve their babies, like doing squats while holding them straight out. They make sure to give lots of kisses in-between reps so the babies enjoy it too!0 -
it does sound like ur cals are a bit high. go for 1400. I am in the same boat (I thought I wrote this post for a minute!!) I still have 25 lbs to lose 5 months pp. I started w/o 3 weeks ago and keep going up and down on the scale, but I look better. All I can say is to keep going, it can take as long as 6 weeks to notice real change.0
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Hey PS412! I'm sure you are overwhelmed, this is a tiring time! My baby boy is now 4 months old and I have thankfully lost a lot of weight so far (50 out of 75). I had awful water retention which was due to most of my postpartum weightloss. I also had the same tare (4th degree) and couldn't do much of anything. After 6 weeks PP I started walking every day. I notice the biggest change in my body happened when I eliminated all fast food and microwavable meals from my diet. I know having a baby is a lot of work and super expensive but if you can do one thing, I would only eat foods that grow fresh from the ground. Pack your diet full with veggies and fruits and try some all natural yogurts packed with protein. If you eat meat, factor that in and you should get some results! Our bodies weren't designed to consume preservatives, sodium and bread so we can breakdown the natural goods a lot better! Good luck, let me know how it goes if you give this a try!0
