Any moms who successfully lost their baby weight?

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13

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  • mjmeintjes
    mjmeintjes Posts: 7
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    Hi, I'm a mom of a 2 year old and a 3 year old. I was slightly overweight before I became a mom, but my 2nd pregnancy gained me a whopping 25 kg extra. It took me around 2 years to lose the pregnancy weight, (and the extra kgs that were above my recommended BMI), and a lot of bad experimenting.

    What has really worked for me, is a lot of exercising daily with no rest days (60 minutes of cycling or yoga, with a small combination of dumbbell exercises and strength training exercises) and a small calorie deficit. I didn't cut any food from my diet, I still enjoy life's pleasures such as pizza, chocolate cake etc, but I learned about portion control and discipline, and my unhealthy food for the week accounts for 20% while 80% I make sure that it comes from vegetables, fruits, lean un-processed meat, fish, and legumes.

    Other small things that helped me reach my goals faster is:
    - Don't eat anything after lunch. I will have a huge breakfast, a decent lunch, but no dinner or snacks after that until the next morning.
    - Too much water. I drink 3 glasses of water as soon as I wake up, and make sure I reach 8 glasses of water until lunch time. That mostly ends up to 11-13 glasses of water daily.
    - Lemongrass tea in the morning, can substitute with lemon water if you like.
    - Psyllium husk in the morning, helps lower cholesterol levels, aids in digestion.
    - Don't drink the calories. The only thing I am willing to drink other than water is tea, and sometimes warm milk with honey. Juices and sodas are a no no.
    - Breakfast means everything to my day. I make sure I include a lot of protein and at least a serving of a fruit.
    - Wake up early, sleep early. Even though my kids keep me super busy, I manage to do everything I want in my day, including 1 hour of exercise. I sleep early, and I wake up around 4:00, by the time kids wake up, mommy has already prayed, exercised, took shower, had breakfast, and cleaned the house.

    My prayers to your sister. I hope I have helped.

    Yes, Tendersound, your story has helped a lot. I really appreciate your list of tips. I also believe that waking up early is one of the secrets to achieving your goals. Early morning can be a very productive time, and night time is often our most unproductive time. Swapping unproductive time for productive time is a very good strategy.

    Thanks again for the tips, I'm definitely going to include them!
  • mjmeintjes
    mjmeintjes Posts: 7
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    I lost my baby weight.

    <
    2 years postpartum. Ready to ruin it all over again with baby #2. :laugh:

    I ate/eat at a deficit and lift heavy weights. That's it. Nothing special, aside from LOTS of dedication and no giving up. :flowerforyou:

    Congratulations on reaching your goals AllOutof_Bubblegum! I think that is also an important reason why my sister wants to lose her baby weight, as she's told me about the dangers of possible problems when you are overweight when getting pregnant (e.g. miscarriages and other nasty complications).

    What did you use to keep you motivated, or are you just a very motivated person by nature?
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
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    I have two little ones. A 3 year old and a one year old. I gained 50 lbs with both. My second child I had May 16th 2013. I topped out at 190 lbs before I gave birth. I was 170 lbs at my 6 week postpartum check up. June 20th I started my weight loss. I picked a sustainable deficit at around 1650 net and did mostly walking a few days a week and weightlifting 3x a week. It took me 9 months but I lost 53 lbs and went from over 35% BF to 17%. I'm honestly in much better shape and two jeans sizes smaller than I was in high school, even !

    The most important thing for me was learning moderation and fitting things I enjoyed into my day. Weightlifting was something I fell in love with and stuck to. The key to success is understanding that it isn't easy and it won't always go smoothly. Falling down and getting back up. Never giving up was one of the most important things I ever did.
  • mjmeintjes
    mjmeintjes Posts: 7
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    Yes! I had my daughter almost 2.5 years ago. Before getting pregnant I was just over the overweight line by a little. During pregnancy, I gained a normal amount of weight and a lot of water. I hit my pre-pregnancy weight 4.5 months out. And then... nusring. OMG, nursing I was soooo hungry. I nursed until she was 18 months, and whereas for other people this leads to weight loss, for me, I gained another 6 kg or so. Uggh.

    A couple friends used web apps to help bring down their weight, so I evaluated and settled on MFP. I love it. Since Feb, I've lost 8.5 kg and I'm back into my normal BMI range. I have a couple more to go to reach my goal weight.

    What changed for me (and I'm a working mom) is just the amount of exercise compared to what I used to do went way down. I've now got a few lunchtimes where I walk and two days where I go to the gym and work out hard (cardio + resistance training). Before baby, I used to bike 2+ hours every day, walk an hour a day, etc. Baby (now toddler) just takes a lot of time and cuts into your sleep.

    By logging everything I eat and tracking my exercise, I've just reset the new portion sizes I really need at this stage in my life.

    My goal was not to throw out my old wardrobe. Now I may have to because a lot of it is too big, ha ha!

    I am not in any way deprived. I eat everything I enjoy, just in moderation (and I mostly eat and enjoy healthy stuff, as long as there is a regular supply of a little bit of dark chocolate, I'm good to go...) And I'm 5'0", 42 years old. I don't have a lot of spare calories to make a deficit, but I still manage. :happy:

    Good luck to your sis'!

    Thanks SimaN2014, that's a very inspirational and positive story. I personally think a big reason why moms, and my sister, struggle with their baby weight is not because something fundamentally changed in their bodies, but rather it is due to their lifestyle and habits changing - i.e. they lose their healthy habits that they had before becoming pregnant.

    Like you said, before the baby you were biking ever day. Then you got your baby and your whole lifestyle changed (you lost all of your healthy habits). And what you then did is work on getting your lifestyle back by building positive habits like tracking your exercise and logging what you eat. By working on getting your healthy lifestyle back, the natural result was that you got your healthy body back.

    That's a very good lesson, and something I'm going to include. Thanks again.
  • mjmeintjes
    mjmeintjes Posts: 7
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    I lost my baby weight both times. I was fit and back to prepregnancy weight at 7 months postpartum after my second baby. I breastfed, pushed my babies uphill in a double stroller, walked a lot, played, did pilates, weights at the gym, carried my baby around.
    Hi BinaryPulsar. Thanks for sharing your story. Was it easier to get back to your prepregnancy weight the second time?

    What did you do to stay motivated? How did you find time for exercise and still looking after your baby? My sister has told me that she struggles to consistently find time for exercise. I think it is more because she doesn't want to be away from her baby (and she just doesn't enjoy exercise that much :wink: )

    Thanks for taking the time to reply, it is great to see that it is possible to achieve this, even if you have 2 kids!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I lost my baby weight both times. I was fit and back to prepregnancy weight at 7 months postpartum after my second baby. I breastfed, pushed my babies uphill in a double stroller, walked a lot, played, did pilates, weights at the gym, carried my baby around.
    Hi BinaryPulsar. Thanks for sharing your story. Was it easier to get back to your prepregnancy weight the second time?

    What did you do to stay motivated? How did you find time for exercise and still looking after your baby? My sister has told me that she struggles to consistently find time for exercise. I think it is more because she doesn't want to be away from her baby (and she just doesn't enjoy exercise that much :wink: )

    Thanks for taking the time to reply, it is great to see that it is possible to achieve this, even if you have 2 kids!

    The first time I had a baby I was 26. I gained a little bit more the first time (maybe 10 pounds more than the second), and after I had my baby I didn't really think about or focus on losing weight. I just walked a lot, did pilates, and was active with my baby. And I ate healthy food (I didn't know about counting calories). Around 8 months postpartum I noticed that I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and was wearing my bikini.

    Although admittedly I was very fit before I got pregnant (I'm a dancer), and 2 weeks after I had my baby everyone was commenting that I had a flat tummy already. But, during my pregnancy I just walked because I couldn't dance and exercise. I had very bad, all day, vomiting for the whole pregnancy. And I ate a ton because I was worried I would not gain enough.

    The second time I didn't want to gain as much weight and I wanted to get fit even quicker. So, I kept a food diary, but still was not counting calories. I gained a perfect amount of weight (not too much and not too little). And that was even with me needing to go on full bed rest for the last two months of my pregnancy due to a placental abruption. I was 29 when I had my second baby. In some ways it was easier because I gained less, but it took a little more work for my abs to return (but they did). I did the Tupler Technique to heal a very small diastasis.

    At first I just took my babies with me, pushing them uphills in the double stroller, doing stuff with them, carrying my baby in the sling, doing pilates at home. When my baby was 5 months I joined the gym because I needed strength training. The gym had childcare. I did strength training and took pilates classes. And within a couple months I was turning heads and getting lots of compliments. Strength training was very important.

    When my youngest baby was a toddler I went back to dancing. I danced on my own and I also took my kids with me and danced with them.

    My kids are now 7 and 10. Fitness is an ongoing process.

    I am motivated because I like being fit. I like the results. And I do enjoy dancing and moving and using my body. I make an effort to always choose the active choice and to make activity a part of my life and recreation.
  • _Tink_
    _Tink_ Posts: 3,845 Member
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    <~~ Profile pic was taken today. I had baby #3 nine months ago at the age of 40, with no thyroid. I dropped all my weight except 5 pounds within 2 weeks. How? Consistent cardio, weight lifting, and yoga. Plus I track all of my food.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    <~~ Profile pic was taken today. I had baby #3 nine months ago at the age of 40, with no thyroid. I dropped all my weight except 5 pounds within 2 weeks. How? Consistent cardio, weight lifting, and yoga. Plus I track all of my food.

    Fantastic! You look great!
  • j1wright
    j1wright Posts: 286 Member
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    I gained 48 pounds topped out at 198 when I went into labor. I was miserable for 5 weeks and found MFP. After 6 months lost all baby weight after 9 months lost another 35 pounds. I haven't been this thin since high school. My boy is 2 years and 8 months old so it has almost been 2 years of maintaining. You can read my page for my story. It can definately be done.
  • 949BeachMom
    949BeachMom Posts: 89
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    i am a mom to a one n a half year old and this year i started eating label free foods and have lost about 27 lbs so far. i go on light long walks with my husband and have a long way before i get back to my prebaby shape. i started at 220 - im now at 193 i was 145 before the baby. i am 5'5 and have always had big bottom n flat stomach . 130 was the lowest ive ever been . im hoping by my sons 2nd birthday which is february , i will be down to atleast 160. some women gain weight n some dont. i dont envy women who dont because when this weight is off me there will be no competition lol
  • julgwill
    julgwill Posts: 18 Member
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    I am a mom of a ten month old and I was 160 before I got pregnant. I was was 195 when I came home from the hospital. I mostly just ate when I was hungry the first few months because I was breastfeeding, and some of the weight came off on its own. I plateaued at about 180.

    My goal currently is 140 pounds. I started my fitness pal, and I did insanity everyday because then I didn't have to leave the house. Insanity brought me down to 160 again, and I was able to fit in all my old clothes. Now, in order to do the last twenty, I am going to spin class five days a week and doing heavy lifting, while watching my calories on MFP.
  • tayortoeknee
    tayortoeknee Posts: 94 Member
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    Hey there - I had my daughter this past December and lost my baby weight by sometime in March I think - and I'm actually around 10 pounds less now than when I found out I was pregnant. It's more than possible!

    of course my stomach is a bit wrinklier and stuff butttttttttttt what can ya do.


    edit: I should mention I was incredibly careful with my eating and and everything when I was pregnant and only went home with 13-16 extra pounds.
  • tayortoeknee
    tayortoeknee Posts: 94 Member
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    love this. :)
  • harribeau2012
    harribeau2012 Posts: 644 Member
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    It occurs to me (having ONLY read the OP subject title at this point) that it's usual to lose all the baby weight at birth, the baby leaving the mother's body. I am indeed being facetious I know, I cannot blame my 12 year old son for left over baby weight! It's the left over mother fat I cannot quite get rid of. :flowerforyou:
  • vegkitten
    vegkitten Posts: 106 Member
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    I have lost the weight from all three of my children. My youngest is four, so it wasn't within the last three years, but I still think I should chime in. I lost the weight differently for each baby.

    For my first, I went from 115 to 167; gained 52 pounds. I lost the weight from my first very slow and steady. I would play occasional DDR, go on walks in the mall, would eat a range of 1200 to 200 calories a day. It took seven months to lose all of the weight.

    For my second, I went from 111 to 155; gained 44 pounds. For this baby, I was much more dedicated to lose the weight because I had a family event about four months after he was born. I did one exercise video a day. My husband at the time worked at a video rental place, and I'd get VHS work out tapes for free. I would do all of them in a rotation for four months. So, some days would be 10 minute abs, others low impact like yoga or tai chi, or high impact cardio like pilates. I ate on average 1,000 to 2,000 a day WHILE breastfeeding. I would occasionaly go on walks as well.

    For my third, I went from 110 to 140; 30 pounds gained. I had switched to a vegan diet a few months before becoming pregnant with him, so I think that helped with the weight gain during pregnancy. This was also more gradual like the first but with less weight to lose. I would walk my boys to and from school before I started working, and I would run in place at home for 30 to 60 minutes 3 days a week. I also was breastfeeding/pumping. I ate a clean diet and did not count calories at all. Everything I ate was vegan, mostly whole grains, lots of nuts, dried fruit, veg/fruit, and things like this.I ate small meals frequently through the day. I lost most of it within two months, but to get down to 110, it took a total of six months.
  • captmel
    captmel Posts: 29 Member
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    I have 1 little doll who will be 2 years old this month. I started at 196 and lost 12 pounds unintentionally during my first 3 months of pregnancy then bolted up to 252+ before I gave birth. I dont know what my final weight was, I weighed 252 nine days before she was born. I got down to about 185 by her 1st birthday by spending ALOT of time at the gym. Then went back to work, had no time for the gym, ate too much and went back up to 200lbs. In February 2014 I found MFP :). I count calories, 1200-1400 per day, and go to to the gym 3-4 days a week. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I am down to 170 and my goal at the moment is 140 (just 25 pounds more than my age 8 weight of 115lbs). :)
  • wordyroo
    wordyroo Posts: 98 Member
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    Have her ask her doctor to run her thyroid levels. Pregnancy can do a number on the thyroid. I had autoimmune thyroiditis before pregnancy. After each pregnancy, I've gone extremely hyperthyroid for the first 5 months pp and then my immune system switches on and starts attacking my thyroid again and I go extremely hypo. I wasn't losing any weight at all this time around because I was starving from breastfeeding and an extremely hyper thyroid state. I'm trying to stay within a calorie goal, but it's really hard with no sleep and craving sugar and carbs. I joined a weight loss challenge for an incentive not to gain anything (you owe $1/pound) and I lost 8 pounds in 8 weeks. I've got 5 pounds to go to get to pre-baby-#2 weight... (I'm 5 months pp) then another 10 to pre-baby-#1 weight. It's hard. It takes dedication. She can do it, but she should definitely get blood work done to make sure she's starting out with a fully functioning metabolism.
  • howletta
    howletta Posts: 11 Member
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    I had back to back pregnancies (had my son in nov 2012 and my twin girls jun 2013 - they are less than 8 months apart in age). I had about 20 extra pounds about 6 months after I had my girls and I started running. I wasn't losing anything, so I started counting calories and doing pilates and walking. I lost 20 pounds within 6 months and my husband says I look better than before I got pregnant. I do have a little bit of twin skin, but it's not too bad as long as I'm not crouching over lol. I weigh about 110 and I'm 5'2.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
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    I have 3 children - 5, 3, and a 22 month old.

    I was pretty fit (runner) before having babies and a healthy 122 pounds. I didn't gain much with my first, less than 30 pounds and was back to pre-pregnancy weight within 6 weeks. I came home from the hospital only having to lose 13 pounds. I didn't do anything, but take care of my newborn and pump exclusively (breastfeeding didn't work for me). I ended up pumping exclusively for 11 months and lost an additional 15 pounds! My lowest weight was 107, which was too skinny for me. Shortly after weaning from the pump, I got pregnant again (around 115 pounds).

    Second pregnancy I gained 30 pounds and lost it all again within 6 weeks post partum. I breastfed and pumped and got down to around 115. Again doing nothing but take care of kids i.e. no exercise or dieting. I got pregnant with my third 11 months after my second was born! Oops!

    Third pregnancy I gained 32 pounds. I literally must have gained weight the 2 days in the hospital after having her because I lost only 8 pounds after giving birth! She was an 8 pound baby! It took me 8 weeks to lose the weight and this time I had to work at it - consciously eat less and watch my portion sizes. I breastfed and pumped and got down to around 117.

    When I started weaning from nursing/pumping after my third baby, that is when the weight started to creep up. That is when I knew that I didn't have the luxury of burning all the extra calories from nursing/pumping. So I decided to get back in running shape, signed up for an 8K this March and signed up here to start tracking calories. It's been about 5 months and it's been very hard just to maintain my current weight (around 120). I was used to eating like a horse - as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted because I was either pregnant or nursing/pumping. I'm having to retrain myself all over again - smaller portions, less often.
  • Jojojesse
    Jojojesse Posts: 21 Member
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    I am a work in progress.

    I was 299 pounds the day my twins were born ( and a tad lighter shortly after :D) but still when I posted that number on the scale I was amazed. Shocked, stupified, but not quite ready to do anything about it.....

    After baby #3 I was stuck at 262 and rising.

    Today I am 220ish.

    Walk, eat within your calorie goal and throw the fat pants away!

    I lost all the baby weight, just working on all the extra now!!!

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