New mom looking for other new moms

lvromero3
lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey so I've been a little bummed out at the amount of weight (16lbs) I've gained since coming home from the hospital four months ago. Especially because I was down 7lbs from when I first got pregnant.

The weight gain kinda crept up on me but about a month ago, a stranger asked me when I was due as I'm pushing my newborn in her stroller. It was horrid. I'm surprised I didn't cry right in front of them but I used it as motivation once I got over it lol

But it's been hard to stay motivated when you don't see results a month later (I keep going up and down the same 3lbs). I know it doesn't help when you're seriously sleep deprived, don't have much free time, you're juggling two kids & you're home alone most of the time. It's also hard to be accountable when it's just yourself. So any help or support would be awesome!

I'm currently trying to figure out what calorie intake amount I should be at without going hangry all day or affecting milk supply as I'm breastfeeding. I'm finding that if I stay within 2000 I'm ok but if I go over then I don't lose any weight but if I go under 1900 I feel hungry all the time. Amazing how much a couple hundred calories make a huge difference lol

My immediate goal is to lose the 16lbs I just gained but my ultimate goal (for now) is to lose around 40lbs. Then maybe lose another 20-30lbs. I was overweight before pregnancy and have been for most of my life..

The only exercise I'm doing right now is walking for an hour (almost every day just started last Saturday) and eventually plan on incorporating more intense cardio & weight strength/lifting.

So don't hesitate to add me if you're in the same boat!! We can motivate each other!!

You'd think that after having a baby we'd be able to handle anything but weight has always been an issue with me :(

Replies

  • CB8504
    CB8504 Posts: 29 Member
    edited September 2017
    My LO is 10 months and breastfeeding as well. The first 3-4 months I was so hungry all the time!! I ate whatever I wanted and probably every hour or two. I didn't care about counting calories. I'm sure it was bad. After having LO I was back at pre-preg weight but after that 3-4 month eating binge I had gained I think 15-20 pounds! I've only recently started working out and counting calories again. I saw on here the recommended calories to eat to lose a pound a week was 1500 (I think) so I added anther 500 to maintain milk supply because I didn't want to drop calories drastically. So far I've (slowly) lost about 10 pounds. My short term goal is to get back to pre-preg weight and long term would be to lose another 20 pounds to get back down to the weight I was after the first trimester (I lost SO much weight after all that morning sickness!)
    I wish you the best of luck on your goals!
  • lvromero3
    lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
    @CB8504 thanks!! I wish you best of luck too!! Isn't it horrible how hungry one gets? Also not fair we gain weight while we're just trying to take care of our LO's!
    As much as it sucks I'm kinda glad to know it's not just me though but we got this mama!!
  • kerr0920
    kerr0920 Posts: 8 Member
    I'm a mother of 2. My oldest son is 2 & my youngest son is 1 month old. I didn't breastfeed ether of my children, so I have no advice on that. I do know how hard it is to stay motivated when your so busy. 2 jobs & 2 babies, I'm always busy. I gained 75 pounds since I started having children, and I'm just now starting to lose the weight. Walking is a great way to start! That's how I started working out, since I couldn't really do much at first. I now Walk & do workout videos I find on YouTube. Good Luck To You & Stay Motivated :smile:
  • lvromero3
    lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
    Thank you!! You too!! @kerr0920
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
    I'm a newer mom. My daughter is almost 10 months old. I gained only 17 pounds during her pregnancy and started out the pregnancy morbidly obese. I committed a few days before her birth that I would be as close as possible to a healthy weight by the time she is old enough to remember. At that time I had 90-100 pounds to lose.

    I have consistently eaten at maintenance or within 100 calories in either direction. For the first 8.5 months of my daughter's life this worked extremely well and I lost 62 pounds using breastfeeding to create my deficit. If I exercised, I ate my exercise calories (with great joy) and still lost an average of 1.5 pounds a week. I could have lost weight faster, but I have consistently prioritized my milk supply over a slightly faster rate of loss.

    I don't experience hunger issues with breastfeeding or during pregnancy or during hormone changes with my cycle. My issue is - and always has been - eating when bored or overeating when distracted.

    The psychological aspect of weight loss has hit me full force. I have had a bit of a mental block going on where I couldn't make myself accept being close to a healthy weight for the first time in my life. I got a bit cocky about my weight loss successes so this has knocked me about mentally a bit.

    I've been maintaining (barely) for the last 5-6 weeks while I've worked out my mental block. I've recommitted in the last few days and things are heading in the right direction again.

    I welcome new friends.
  • lvromero3
    lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
    edited September 2017
    Ahh thank you for your response!
    And I have that problem too of eating when bored or overeating. Which has gotten pretty bad right now... or I think I'm hungry but I'm actually just anxious or bored. So maybe most of my weight gain has actually been mistaking boredom or anxiety as being hungry and blaming all the hormones/breastfeeding lol

    But even then once I realized that I couldn't be at anything below maintaining (or I'd be starving & then binge) I still haven't lost anything in the past month :(
  • Chelly0126
    Chelly0126 Posts: 14 Member
    @lvromero3 you're right, it is very hard! If it's challenging when you don't have kids, with kids it takes an even greater commitment.
    Stick to it, you can do it!
  • lvromero3
    lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
    Thanks @Chelly0126!! It is so much harder with little ones, not just eating right but also trying to fit in workouts even if it's just a walk
  • caches87
    caches87 Posts: 5 Member
    New Mom to the scene but old fitness freak. Struggling to get into a routine while still trying to maintain a good amount of time with my little one. I am already back at work and i can tell how he misses me. Its crazy but im trying!. I do about 1500-1900 a day and havent seen a decrease in my milk. I aim to eat less then 50g of carbs 80g of fat and 200g of protein on a low carb day. The macros change depending on what i eat. This app has made it so easy when logging.
  • lvromero3
    lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
    @caches87 you're lucky you can go that low!! If I go below 2000 I'm starving and hangry lol and I def see a drop in supply as I already have problems with supply :(

    Am having a hard time just staying within my calorie limit right now so as soon as that's not so much of a struggle I'll focus on the finer details of daily fat/carb/protein grams cuz I get overwhelmed just thinking about keeping track of that too lol
  • elephanttrunkz
    elephanttrunkz Posts: 1 Member
    Hi mama! My daughter is a year and a half old now, but I know where you are coming from. I gained 55 lbs during my pregnancy and didn't start to lose the weight until my daughter started on some solid foods at 7 months.until that point I EBF, and now we are still nursing! But I feelshe started sleeping better when she started solids, so my rest increased, I could control my hunger and had energy to work out! Now I am back to what I weighed in HS. You can do it, but don't be so hard on yourself and I promise it's more manageable in time. Feel free yo add me! I'm always loooking for fellow moms as friends :)
  • lrob87
    lrob87 Posts: 20 Member
    Feel free to add me. I have a 1YO and a 2YO.
  • lvromero3
    lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
    @elephanttrunkz thank you! That's exactly what I needed to hear!
    That once she starts sleeping better (hopefully sooner than later) and I get more sleep, I'll finally see a difference! B/c right now it's seriously the same two lbs I lose one day and then the next time I weigh myself, they're back lol
    But at least I haven't gained any more extra weight since I started using mfp and I'm trying to stay positive by reminding myself of that!!!
    I'll send a request! Thank you!

    @lrob87 I'm sending a request as well!! How did you survive babies that close together? We're gonna start trying soon for our third so eventually our last two will be approx 1.5 apart but I wanna get back to prebaby weight before doing this all over again lol
  • PJ100LBGOAL
    PJ100LBGOAL Posts: 15 Member
    Hi everyone! I'm not a new mom, but I'm planning on having my 4th soon. My 3 have large gaps between them. 2 boys 12 and 6 and a girl that's 2. I need to lose some weight because being pregnant and morbidly obese is rough! Currently 315lbs. Love to see the 200's again.
  • lrob87
    lrob87 Posts: 20 Member
    @lvromero3 I actually had a very difficult time, PPD with both. But things are much better now, and my girls are the best of friends.
  • lvromero3
    lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
    Hi @PJ100LBGOAL!! My first and second have a big gap between them as well. Oldest is 7 (8 next wk) and the youngest is 4 months and I seriously feel like a first time mom lol
    I thought I knew what I was getting myself into but nope it was too much of a gap and it's like I forgot everything and now my body (& mind) can't snap back like it did before lol
    I also want to lose a bit before the next one cuz I'm only 5'3 but at my heaviest ever at 237. I didn't gain while pregnant but went up 17lbs postpartum. I blame it to the sleep deprivation & raging hormones. Oh and th lack of energy or time to workout.
    It's so depressing!! And if I'm struggling now I could not imagine getting pregnant again and how much more I would struggle during and after!
    But we can motivate each other!!!! :)
  • lvromero3
    lvromero3 Posts: 18 Member
    @lrob87 oh no! But I'm glad things are better!! I have rank anxiety this time around. Not so much ppd but post partum anxiety is just as bad in my opinion. But it's gotten way better. I think it mostly was the shock of sleep deprivation and the jump from 1-2 being so dramatic cuz of their age gap lol hence why we decided to go ahead with #3 sooner than later! And I want them to be the best of friends too lol

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