I was fit and happy with my body when I got pregnant. Size 2 - 5'2" 122 pounds (ideal weight: 117). I gained 37 pounds while pregnant. Nursing did not work out for me, first of all I had a low supply to begin with and had to supplement from the beginning. Eventually what little supply I did have dried up. Now I am almost five months post-partum and no where close to fitting into my old clothing.
My husband and I are graduate students, so unfortunately money is tight. I was a WW Lifetime member before getting pregnant, having lost 70 pounds from 2008-2010 and maintaining that loss until this time last year when I became pregnant. So I know (or so I thought) how to lose weight and maintain it.
The day the doctor gave me the green light to exercise I started running again - did a couch to 5k program in August/September, now am running a Running 4 Fat Loss program which has me doing about 20 miles a week with interval training.
I'm back on WW, eating the minimum amount of points - some days I am so hungry I could just cry. I am avoiding sweets, processed foods, and eating mostly clean. I only eat out twice a week, and when I do I'm still measuring/portioning out everything.
And still - no success. The size 8 jeans I had to buy because school started and I didn't have any pants feel snug at the end of the day. I walk to and from campus - 20 minutes one way with a heavy laptop bag. My schedule is packed I'm not sure how I could possibly fit anything else into it. I have no idea what to do, but I am becoming more and more frustrated and depressed while the scale stays the same. Am I doomed to be this weight/size the rest of my life, no matter what I do? Why is the weight not coming off?
My husband thinks it's my birth control situation. I had an IUD put in at my 6 week post-partum check up. He could feel the IUD when we tried to have sex and it didn't get any better. 2 weeks ago I had the IUD removed and started on the pill. I don't want to use the hormones as an excuse - when I lost those 70 pounds I was on the pill the entire time, so it's not the pill right?
Thanks if you read all that I am just really frustrated and don't have a lot of people to vent to.
Re: plateau - frustrated
One thing I learned and saw in my body was that I needed to change up my workout routine. I know you said you run, but perhaps run every other day and on the days you don't run do some HIIT workouts or sprinting? Also cutting sugar- I know the good thing about WW is eating a little of everything and staying within your points but maybe cut sugar for a month and see?( I know that's hard- I am doing no sweets November- Thanksgiving is your free pass for pie and such but the rest of the month the only sugar I'll have will be from fruit. ugh hahaha).
I was running and eating the same and doing weight watchers and my body was so used to my normal routine that it just leveled out weight wise- now I've incorporated lifting and daily HIIT/tabata workouts into my routine and I've noticed I've dropped below pre pregnancy weight!
Birth control can very well play a role - I retained 5-10 pounds when I was on the pill. I seemed to be okay on Nuva ring but our bodies are all different with birth control. It's whacky. Plus time of the month, water retention all plays a role too-- I know the week before AF comes my skinny jeans are super snug because I'm so bloated. Also I try hard to avoid salt that week b/c it makes it so much worse.
Which brings me to this...I've never been a size 2 so I don't know what it's like to lose that, but I'm about your height and size (5'3", size 8 pushing 10), and I'm content because I let myself do everything in moderation instead of starving myself to reach some ideal size/weight that might not even be attainable at my age after having two kids. I run to set and achieve goals and to have time to myself outside, I eat mostly healthy foods in moderation, I'm never hungry unless I'm just too distracted to eat, and DH appreciates the fact that I still have a butt. I'm at the upper end of the normal BMI range for my height and I'm in good health. I could probably weigh less, but if that happens in the course of attaining a goal other than that (running a half marathon, etc.), that's great, and if not, it's my body, I choose what size I'm happy with, and I'm pretty happy as I am. Why do you need to be a certain size or weight? If it's just about being a WW lifetime member, or reaching an arbitrary number on the scale, not about doing what keeps you healthy and makes you feel fulfilled, step back and think about what you're doing this for.
Look, I'm not some kind of anti-weight-loss, fat acceptance, health-at-every-size, woo-woo activist. I should make that clear. My maximum non-pregnant weight was about 25 pounds more than I am now, and I don't want to go back to that. I also accept that I probably won't ever weigh 15 pounds less than I do now as I did in high school/early college. I am at a healthy weight for my stage in life - 38, post two kids, fairly active. I could probably weigh less with more effort, but the effort, in my mind, is disproportionate to whatever benefits I'd reap. You may need to accept that at this stage in your life, you are not going to weigh your minimum pre-baby. The happy medium is probably somewhere between your minimum and maximum weights as an adult.
Your "healthy size" is the size you are when you're healthy. That's it. You are leading a busy, stressful life - this is a given when you're a grad student and the mom of an infant - and you can't fuel your efforts without eating enough. It is possible that five (only five!) months postpartum, exercising frequently and eating healthy food, you actually are at a weight that is healthy for you now. In a few months or a few years, that may be different. I'm not saying you're doomed to be a size 8 the rest of your life (since obviously the prospect bothers you, though I think that's a little messed up), but that right now, your body may need to be the size it is to do what you're asking it to do right now.
Think about it this way - if you were doing what you were doing now and it was working, but it meant you felt like you do now, constantly hungry, would that be healthy? Would you be happy if you were losing weight but always hungry? You have to do what's sustainable both short and long term, or you will not be happy, and you will not be able to fill all the roles you have as student, wife, and most importantly, mother. Size is irrelevant to this. It is only relevant insofar as it is a symptom of your health. Right now, you are not healthy, but probably not for the reasons you think.