shall I give up?

CelesteBDrew
CelesteBDrew Posts: 4
edited September 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi

I am a mum of 34, baby is now 20 months, pre preg I was 8st 3lbs, im 5ft 4 and now weigh 9st! I appreciate that some might say "you don't need to lose weight" but its about how you feel in yourself and not how others percieve you.

Thing is.. I have been keeping to the 1200 cals per day pretty well, only eating ryvita and fruit for Breakfast and lunch I am pretty hungry but ive been good, cutting down on my carbs in the evening also... i have been doing this for 4 weeks and have only lost a pound. I feel so down.
When I first had Oscar I was 11st (i got a bit silly when pregnant) and the two stone fell of pretty naturally.
I hate my body, I had to have an emeg C sec which didnt help.

I try and do sit ups every day. I do admit that I don't do any other excercise, apart from walking for about 30 mins to hour a day.
I tried to do an excercise vid, but but the time I get in from work and Oscar is in Bed and have made dinner its 8;30 in the evening...mornings is no good as me jumping around wakes everyone up!

I may start running in the morning b4 7.. i hate mornings as it is. But other than cutting out food altogether what do i do?? I don't suppose you guys have any ideas do you?:brokenheart: :brokenheart: :sad:

Replies

  • CelesteBDrew
    CelesteBDrew Posts: 4
    Hi

    I am a mum of 34, baby is now 20 months, pre preg I was 8st 3lbs, im 5ft 4 and now weigh 9st! I appreciate that some might say "you don't need to lose weight" but its about how you feel in yourself and not how others percieve you.

    Thing is.. I have been keeping to the 1200 cals per day pretty well, only eating ryvita and fruit for Breakfast and lunch I am pretty hungry but ive been good, cutting down on my carbs in the evening also... i have been doing this for 4 weeks and have only lost a pound. I feel so down.
    When I first had Oscar I was 11st (i got a bit silly when pregnant) and the two stone fell of pretty naturally.
    I hate my body, I had to have an emeg C sec which didnt help.

    I try and do sit ups every day. I do admit that I don't do any other excercise, apart from walking for about 30 mins to hour a day.
    I tried to do an excercise vid, but but the time I get in from work and Oscar is in Bed and have made dinner its 8;30 in the evening...mornings is no good as me jumping around wakes everyone up!

    I may start running in the morning b4 7.. i hate mornings as it is. But other than cutting out food altogether what do i do?? I don't suppose you guys have any ideas do you?:brokenheart: :brokenheart: :sad:
  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
    My daughter had to have an emergency C-section as well so I'm familiar with the struggle -- but not personally. You didn't say whether the 1200 calorie limit was something the website recommended or one of your personal limitations?

    Try spreading your meals out to 6 a day so that you're eating something for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, tea, dinner, snack, etc.

    Regarding the exercise, you forget how much exercise you do get as a mum taking care of the baby and all of the things around your home so you really are getting more bending, stretching, lifting and walking than you think.

    I find it difficult to imagine that you really have much to lose for your height (5' 4") and weight (9st or 126lbs) so maybe what you really need to focus on is taking some personal time each day while the baby is napping to do some muscle toning targeting your abs, lats and back and if doing this at home alone is not your thing maybe a ladies exercise group.

    Maybe there are some ladies out there who can answer this better than I but I think you should also talk to your physician as well.
  • delightedin
    delightedin Posts: 49
    No definately don't give up!!!

    You're probably not doing much wrong, you just maybe need to tweak what you are doing already to get your body really going.

    I'd suggest three basic tweaks - 1st, eat a little more. Yes, I know it sounds crazy but are you eating what the website recommends? If you are then stick to it, but don't starve yourself. If you're feeling hungry for long periods of time it could be that your body is going into starvation mode, because it's not sure when the next meal is coming, so it stores everything you eat as fat.

    Secondly exercise is really important, and not just the strength training (ie situps) They will tone your tummy muscles but you need to get your heartbeat up with some cardio to actually burn fat. I'd recommend speeding up on that 30 minute walk you do - try and go a bit faster each time and see how quickly you can do it in. If you're doing that every day, getting a bit out of breath and breaking a little sweat, you'll start to burn fat. Walking is actually one of the best ways of burning fat because it's low impact and keeps you in the "fat burning zone" for long periods. You just need to up it a little. Powerwalk instead of stroll. :)

    I wouldn't necessarily recommend running, especially if it's in the morning and you find the motivation difficult. I personally can't do running, especially on concrete pavements, as it jars my knees. Walking is just as good, if not better.

    Finally I'd recommend doing some sort of strength training - lifting two water bottles above your head a few times or doing exercises that tense your muscles for a few seconds. You don't have to be lifting weights to do strength training, and there's loads of ideas out there, on the internet for example. These exercises encourage your body to build muscle which burns fat.

    Other than that I might recommend measuring yourself as well as weighing yourself, as it can be more motivating!

    And drink lots of water :)

    Hopefully this will help, but I think the most important thing is to get a eating and exersise routine that is realistic for the rest of your life - because crash diets really don't work.

    You CAN do it, and we all believe you will. Don't give up!!!
  • kelpie06
    kelpie06 Posts: 93 Member
    Don't give up!

    I'm in a similar situation. My baby is 10 months, and I've been at this for about a month and a half. In the beginning the pounds came off pretty easily but now it's slowed down, and I find myself getting discouraged too.

    But, it took me a long time to put this weight on so it will take a long time to get it off. I want to be back at the weight I was before my first baby three years ago and these last pounds are the most stubborn. We have to change our matabolisms and I find the best way to jump start mine is to exercise. I am running and have to try and fit it in when I can. Plus I love eating so just cutting out food is not a weight loss option for me, I need to exercise too.

    So, my scale isn't budging, but my pants are fitting better and I feel more muscular so I guess I will keep plugging along and I asume that the scale will start moving eventually. And I suggest the same for you. Keep at it! Don't give up! Baby steps in the right direction will get us there eventually!
  • CelesteBDrew
    CelesteBDrew Posts: 4
    thank you for getting back to me. (your up early) the computer suggested the goal... on the basis that I excercise for 30 mins twice a week.

    Sadly I work 4 days a week.. but yes maybe it is inches I need to lose rather that lbs, I can do sit ups anytime... I am sure Oscar would love sittting my stomach at the same time! that would really help.

    Ill give it another few weeks, thanks again.
  • megan0313
    megan0313 Posts: 394

    I am a mum of 34, baby is now 20 months, pre preg I was 8st 3lbs, im 5ft 4 and now weigh 9st! I appreciate that some might say "you don't need to lose weight" but its about how you feel in yourself and not how others percieve you.

    I can identify! I'm 5'3", 120 lbs (although today's weigh in was 116), but all of my life I've been 105 lbs, which is the weight I feel good at. As far as working out, I walk/run, do cardio (Turbo jam), and Yoga. I've just started the Turbo jam about a month ago and really like it. I've done yoga for about 15 years now, but over the past year or so I haven't worked out much (hence, the weight gain?). I decided to get back into all of it, and even though the weight is coming off very slowly, I feel so much better! If you are looking for a good workout to do at home that won't wake the family with jumping around, I'd suggest yoga. If you've never done it before, you'll be surprised at what an effective workout you get. My favorite DVD is The Flow Series,by Ganga White and Tracey Rich. Here's the link if you'd like to check out the products.

    http://www.whitelotus.org/books/index.html

    Good Luck!
    Megan
  • CelesteBDrew
    CelesteBDrew Posts: 4
    Wow im not normally into emailing... for want of a better word "strangers" but you have all made me feel better.

    Ill try the Yoga, I did it years ago, can't afford classes but ill check out your link.

    Thanks to everyone one of you for taking an interest. xx
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