Trying to lose weight..(post pregnancy)

alisha232
alisha232 Posts: 43 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am 6 weeks post pregnancy. Unfortunately I gained 60 pounds through out. I am currently serving in the active duty army. I only have 5 months to lose this weight based on the army's standards of fitness. I have been working out 1-2 times a day burning around 600 to 900 calories. I hardly hit my goal of 1200 calories. On top of that i am breastfeeding so that knocks off another 500 calories roughly. So far I haven't lost weight since I started working out. I know it's probably because I need to consume more calories, but I am scared to eat more because I am scared to gain weight and be even more unmotivated. Do you think my problem is lack of calorie intake and what has worked for you. I'm not sure how many calories I should aim for, but I don't have much time before my career is put on the line. I am very new to fitness and trying to be healthy any helpful response is appreciated.

Replies

  • LD6686
    LD6686 Posts: 77 Member
    Hey hun

    I am 12 weeks post pregnancy myself and trying to lose lots of weight. I didn't gain much during pregnancy but I had loads to lose before.

    They key is to make sure you eat your calories. Breastfeeding is about 500 calories, and you need 1200 just to survive. You should be aiming to eat at MINIMAL 1700 to 1800 calories. Also eat back some of your exercise calories. It may seem counter productive but the last thing you want to do is starve your body. Especially when breastfeeding. Don't forget that you need to fuel baby too.

    I always eat back about half of my exercise calories and I aim to hit 1200 (I'm ff as my baby couldn't latch on). I lost 13lb in 3 weeks before I found out I was pregnant, and since I started my diet a week ago I've lost another 2lb.

    Sorry for long post, hope it helps a bit though

    Lu
  • alisha232
    alisha232 Posts: 43 Member
    Thank you for your response. I kind of thought it was about burning more calories than consumed, stupid I know this now. I'm trying to research things a bit more. I only started about a week and a half ago. Good luck!
  • hmrsw33ti3
    hmrsw33ti3 Posts: 12
    I am also 6 weeks post pregnancy and also in the military. While breast feeding I was losing weight and eating whatever I wanted, that only lasted for a week and a half though. We switched to formula and of course that was the holidays as well...packed on several pounds I had recently lost. Of course with the new year my goal was to become healthier than I have ever been! At the moment I am trying to just make healthier decisions, workout 3 times a week, and be just below my 1700 calorie goal a day. Since the pregnancy I have lost 31 pounds and I still want to lose 33 pounds. Maybe we can all encourage each other since we are in the same boat! MFP has helped me a lot with tracking my calories and helped me be able to look at how many calories something is before I make the final decision. Hope this helps! ;)
  • LD6686
    LD6686 Posts: 77 Member
    I'm up for that! It's so hard when you are tired to make the right choices at times. After a few too many take aways since baby was born I decided enough was enough. I need to get fit and healthy for her sake and mine :-)

    Feel free to add me as a friend!
  • alisha232
    alisha232 Posts: 43 Member
    I am also 6 weeks post pregnancy and also in the military. While breast feeding I was losing weight and eating whatever I wanted, that only lasted for a week and a half though. We switched to formula and of course that was the holidays as well...packed on several pounds I had recently lost. Of course with the new year my goal was to become healthier than I have ever been! At the moment I am trying to just make healthier decisions, workout 3 times a week, and be just below my 1700 calorie goal a day. Since the pregnancy I have lost 31 pounds and I still want to lose 33 pounds. Maybe we can all encourage each other since we are in the same boat! MFP has helped me a lot with tracking my calories and helped me be able to look at how many calories something is before I make the final decision. Hope this helps! ;)


    I'm up for that. I am actually in the same range. I also lost 30 pounds and am looking to lose another 30 pounds. This site is helping me track my calories and make better choices but making my calorie goals is difficult.
  • GIJaye
    GIJaye Posts: 7
    I'm a retired MSG and bore 2 children while on AD. Hang in there and YES you HAVE to eat! Breast feeding will definitely help as well as your workouts. You will be fine as long as you're able to make tape and your continuously loosing. You didn't put it on over night and it won't come off that way either. Go see a nutritionist and continue your workout routines. Also incorporate exercise in everything you do for example: park further away, walk at every opportunity, if you can get in a good 15-20 during lunch that would be great! and drink plenty of water. Be sure to watch your sugar and sodium intake and incorporate plenty of veggies in your diet. :happy: you can do it!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    Hey hun

    I am 12 weeks post pregnancy myself and trying to lose lots of weight. I didn't gain much during pregnancy but I had loads to lose before.

    They key is to make sure you eat your calories. Breastfeeding is about 500 calories, and you need 1200 just to survive. You should be aiming to eat at MINIMAL 1700 to 1800 calories. Also eat back some of your exercise calories. It may seem counter productive but the last thing you want to do is starve your body. Especially when breastfeeding. Don't forget that you need to fuel baby too.

    I always eat back about half of my exercise calories and I aim to hit 1200 (I'm ff as my baby couldn't latch on). I lost 13lb in 3 weeks before I found out I was pregnant, and since I started my diet a week ago I've lost another 2lb.

    Sorry for long post, hope it helps a bit though

    Lu

    I agree, you definitely need to be eating more. Burning fat and losing weight are about consuming fewer calories than you burn, but you have to make sure your body is getting enough of what it needs. Your body is most likely not burning any fat because you aren't eating enough and you're breastfeeding. It's trying to hold onto as much as possible to ensure you can feed your baby.

    I just had my third baby last week and because I'm pumping (baby has latching problems so no actual breastfeeding) I'm not worrying about what I eat at this point. I'm doing my best to make healthy choices but I'm not counting calories. But, I'm just a stay at home mom so there's no pressure for me to lose weight.

    Only having 5 months to lose 60 pounds is going to be tough. That puts you at needing to lose 3 pounds per week. You may not be able to sustain breastfeeding while needing to lose at that rate because the increased exercise and decreased calories can negatively affect your milk supply and because breastfeeding can make weight loss slower. For now, don't restrict your calories too much, make sure you're eating extremely healthy foods and get as much exercise as you can.
  • colochel
    colochel Posts: 263 Member
    Congratulations!

    I don't want to say "I know exactly what you should do" because everyone is different and what works well for me might not for you. But I would bump down the calorie expectations from breastfeeding... I don't think you're burning 500 a day. I estimate that I burn about 200-300 a day from it, and my daughter is just a week older than your child.

    I would eat more, and eat as nutritionally balanced as possible. An extra few hundred calories of something healthy will put you on a much better road.

    Best of luck! I know being in standards is tough... I did 7 years active duty and I think our standards were more lax than the army's, but was difficult for me long before I even thought about kids and pregnancies. You can do it! Focus and log, log, log!
  • amberg83
    amberg83 Posts: 2
    I know its hard to lost weight after baby. I have had 4 kiddos. The last one being only 7 months now. The best advise I can give is happy mommy equals a happy baby. So do whatever to make you happy. On my 3rd kiddo, it took 2 years to be back at my pre-prego size. But then again I didn't push it. I just did it slowly, but I was happy and so were my kids!! Good luck sweetheart!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    Congratulations!

    I don't want to say "I know exactly what you should do" because everyone is different and what works well for me might not for you. But I would bump down the calorie expectations from breastfeeding... I don't think you're burning 500 a day. I estimate that I burn about 200-300 a day from it, and my daughter is just a week older than your child.

    I would eat more, and eat as nutritionally balanced as possible. An extra few hundred calories of something healthy will put you on a much better road.

    Best of luck! I know being in standards is tough... I did 7 years active duty and I think our standards were more lax than the army's, but was difficult for me long before I even thought about kids and pregnancies. You can do it! Focus and log, log, log!

    Actually, breastfeeding really does burn about 500 calories a day. I'm pumping for my week old daughter and yesterday when I logged my ounces pumped it was almost exactly 500 calories.
  • alisha232
    alisha232 Posts: 43 Member
    Thank you all for your support.
    I know it's going to be tough to lose that amount of weight, but I'm willing to give it my best.
    I have started to eat more than what I was. I haven't weighed myself in a few days because it only disheartened me last time.

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