Pregnancy Pounds... Do they ever go away?

Hi, my name is Amanda and I'm currently 24.

About 3 years ago, I weighed 248lbs, which started my weight loss adventure. After about 9 months, I got down to 202lbs and could have not been more pleased! I havent been under 200lbs in atlease 5 years at that time and was soo beyond close... I then got pregnant with my son!

I gained a horrifing 72lbs, about 40lbs was water gained in the last month, so I wasnt so upset. After having my son in January of 2011, I went down to 220 by March and figured 20lbs was nothing, and I could lose it in no time. Unfortunately, my body reacted badly to restarting birth control pills and gained 29 in about 2 months.

My doctor keeps telling me it takes on average 2 years to lose the baby weight gained (considering she has 5 children and is a skinny as a stick, I figured she was right). Too bad the weight just stuck. I tried exercising, and dieting and would lose a couple pounds, get frustrated... and then it would come back, like it was some how magnetically connected to my body.

I keep telling myself, "My son is still an infant, the pounds will go away", but they don't, lol... My son is now just shy of 18 months.

So I'm just asking other people, Did or Do you have a problem losing pregnancy weight??? And if you lost the weight, what worked best to flatten your tummy?!!!

Replies

  • jkt69
    jkt69 Posts: 11
    Hi Amanda,
    I had two kids in less than two years and two c-sections. I nursed both (my youngest until he was about 16 months) and I gained weight like crazy after I stopped nursing. I never went back on birth control so that was not an issue for me. About 20 extra lbs stuck with me from before baby #1. 15 months ago I decided to try to lose some weight and it worked. With some light exercise (mostly cardio) and diet changes I was able to drop 20 lbs in about 3-4 months. My youngest was 2 1/2 yrs old when this happened. I have now decided to get more serious to lose a bit more and get rid of the jiggly bits. As for flattening the tummy I am still trying. Was it hard; hell ya I had to change my eating habits and watch everything I ate instead of eating whatever whenever but as time goes on that gets easier, as for the exercise portion I find it hard to exercise after working, taking care of kids and doing the houshold chores. I would just rather sit down and put my feet up.
    So the answer is yes the pregnancy pounds do/can go away. Keep trying. :)
  • orishp
    orishp Posts: 214 Member
    They do go away!!!!

    I have two kids, I gained about 35 lbs with each. I would say in about 10 months I went back to my pre-pregnancy weight. After my first I got on implanon for BC, but I didn't like it so after a few months I asked my doctor to remove it, and almost immediately I gained 10 lbs, which were impossible for me to loose no matter how I tried. Then I got pregnant with my second. Fastforward to today, I am finally back to my pre-babies weight, including those horrible 10 lbs.
    I have switched my diet a lot, though, no dairy, no carbs, no sugars, mainly veggies protein and a little bit of fruit, AND lots of exercise, more than ever before in my life, but its working!!!!

    My diet is not for everyone, but its working for me, I got one more week on this restrictive phase, and then I can start slowly to introduce back dairy and carbs. I have learned a lot, and I am hopeful that I'll maintain the results, or even lose a bit more by keeping the calories low

    Good luck!

    PS: I may have lost the weight, but the body has definitely changed ......
  • orishp
    orishp Posts: 214 Member
    PS2: love your profile pic ;)
  • amanda05ohio
    amanda05ohio Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you :)
  • raw14
    raw14 Posts: 22
    It does go away, but does sometimes take extra effort. I have two kids and gained 50lbs with the first and 59 with the second. I lost all 50lbs when he was 10 months with breastfeeding and being active. Now with my second I lost all but 12lbs with in the first year and then couldn't get it off (in my head no matter what I did). I never had a problem loosing weight in the past so I thought it would be easy, but this time it took more effort and cutting out a lot of the food centered activites I was going to. I realized I was treating myself all the time with potlucks, birthday parties, holidays, ect. So I started making the gym a priority and started getting into more active activities with the kids. FInally I have had success and my stomach has pretty much gone away. i'm not Saying the skin isn't still loose, but I can still wear a bikini (as long as I stand : )