Losing Pregnancy Weight

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vbcp861
vbcp861 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone!

To all the moms out there (or anyone experienced with working with postpartum women), any advice for losing Pregnancy weight? I'm 4 weeks postpartum, 5'5 and weight around 153 pounds. My pre-pregnancy weight was around 133. I've been counting calories for almost three weeks now and haven't seen much success. Is slow weight loss normal with it being so soon after delivery?

I've started easing back in to cardio with long walks and light jogging (under supervision of my doctor) and I should get the okay to start back up my workout routine at the six weeks mark.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Replies

  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
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    At only 4 weeks postpartum, I would definitely give yourself time. You gained the weight in 9 months, so give yourself at least that amount of time to take it off. There are still a lot of hormonal fluctuations happening that can affect weight, and I'm guessing you're not getting a ton of sleep--which also affects weight. So--sleep when you can!

    If you are breastfeeding, keep in mind that you'll be burning about 300-500 extra calories a day. I really would try to focus on your overall health and well-being and adjusting to being a mom--which is a huge adjustment! That in and of itself is very stressful, which again, can impact weight as well. You'll get there. I know we often see in magazines about how celebrities "got back to their pre-pregnancy weight" in like 6 weeks, and it's just not realistic for most people.
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
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    I’m currently pregnant with my first, so I have no insights yet but interested to see what others share.

    I do want to note that at least here (Finland) officials don’t let you donate blood until 6 months postpartum, because birth is such a major experience on the body and you need adequate healing time. Putting that 15-minute procedure into perspective, a sustained long-term stress on the body (like major calorie deficit) sounds like a bad idea. Yes, I know, the effect of blood donation isn’t about the procedure itself but about the blood loss, but it’s still a relatively small and short operation from which the body can start healing immediately.
  • Iwannabeapunkrockmom
    Iwannabeapunkrockmom Posts: 61 Member
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    Another mom of five here and professional doula and lactation counselor for 16 years. You are still in what us birthworkers call "the fourth trimester." I agree that now is the time to focus on healing. I highly recommend eating at maintenance and allow taking care of baby/breastfeeding (if that's your route) provide a deficit. Walking while focusing on your pelvic floor and light yoga are great options to build strength in your core to give you the stability to work out once your internal wounds have healed (the area where the placenta adhered to your uterus that causes post partum bleeding). Once your bleeding has ended and has stayed gone, it's usually ok to slowly increase your activity. If your bleeding stops, but then starts again, that's a sign that you might be overdoing it. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, it is usually recommended to have an additional 300 to 600 calories to maintain your milk supply. I totally understand your eagerness to get back to the body you know. I normally recommend to my clients to take as much time to lose as it took to gain (usually around 40 weeks). You can do this. Slow and steady will help you prevent burnout ❤️
  • sarahq81
    sarahq81 Posts: 35 Member
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    Hello!! Congratulations. I’m currently 17 weeks pp and I’ve lost my baby weight for the latest pregnancy but still have some lingering from the first one haha! (17 weeks is quite short but I only put 7 lbs on this time)
    I found I lost a lot of weight very quickly pp but then put a bit back on whilst establishing breastfeeding. I just tolerated it because I wanted to have a good milk supply.

    After about 6-8 weeks I started logging my food and eating to hunger, to check how much I needed. Then I kept logging to make sure I stuck to that, rather than going overboard. Personally I found I needed about 2000 cal a day with a couple of bigger days a week when I got really hungry. Aiming for about a pound a week. Then I will adjust when I start to breastfeed less. Forget what you needed before and experiment, because whether bf or not, you’re using a lot more energy by sleeping less and caring for a baby, and you’re hormones are raging. Enjoy the extra snacks!!
  • Lhenderson923
    Lhenderson923 Posts: 102 Member
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    I’m almost 10 weeks pp. I didn’t start counting calories until 6 weeks pp partly because I wanted my body to be able to heal fully (my recovery took longer than normal), but also because I’m breastfeeding I didn’t want to impact my supply. First off, if you are breastfeeding, make sure you are eating enough! I’m now 10lbs away from my prepregnancy weight but I’d like to lose another 20lbs on top of that. Since you are pretty close to a healthy weight for your height right now, I really wouldn’t try to lose more than .5lbs a week. I’m eating about 2,000 calories a day and I’m losing steadily. My advice is to look at this long term, don’t expect miracles overnight, and to prioritize your health!
  • LilianaV22
    LilianaV22 Posts: 17 Member
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    Go for daily walks, trust me!

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