Ditching the baby weight after baby

nursej519

This is mostly a question for STM... How long did it take you to lose the baby weight and what did you find was the best way to go about it?

I am normally an active person but have always been weight conscious. I had lost a lot of weight a few years back and the number on the scale is playing with my head! I am active now but still feel restricted. I am already starting to think of how I want to get rid of the weight!

Shanfrey82

It totally depends on where you started and your body itself but I think a safe rule that my doctor a always says is 9 months up and 9 months down. Not that it takes 9 months to lose it all but slowly and healthfully it's about that long

nursej519

Oh man. That seems like forever. Patience isn't my strong suit :-)

rae4512

Not sure if you're planning on breastfeeding but for most women that helps speed things along. I breastfed and ate pretty much whatever I wanted and was down to pre pregnancy weight by 4-5 mo and below at 6 mo. Every woman different though.

mylittleladies1229

Took me just a few weeks to lose 24 lbs after having twins.  It depends on your activity level during and after pregnancy.  Nursing/pumping for my girls helped me lose all the weight quickly.  I was crazy hungry and ate so much during nursing!  Every time I think I should splurge and eat a lot during pregnancy I tell myself to just wait, because when you are nursing you burn the calories so much easier.

stark01938209

Not to counter - but activity level/ diet/breastfeeding don't always lead to the desired result. I worked out 5+ times each week after ds, ate well, and breastfed... Still took me about a year to lose 30... I wasn't back to prepreggo weight until he was around three (I had gained 40). Genetics plays a major role here too. You just have to stick with it and not expect it to happen overnight. You'll be too busy with the baby to get way hung up on vanity anyhow.

marijaa333

My mom gained 25 lbs and said it took her 9 months to get back to normal. Sounds long to me too, especially considering she gained relatively little.

bjackson2688

One of my really good friends worked out 4-5 days a week up until she delivered and she lost the weight in a week. She gained 35lbs and another woman I know worked out and did the same thing and lost the 40lbs she put on in 2 weeks!! I think it's also about the intensity of your workouts and really being conscious of what you're eating. You can still have a pretty intense workout and make sure that it's safe for the baby. I have a heart rate monitor that I wear so I burn about 500 calories in a 45 min workout and that's what my friends did as well. Hopefully it works!! I wouldn't be so hung up on the time frame but just focusing on just being as healthy as you can! I hope that helps!!

marthaudani

I lost the weight in 6 weeks with my first but she came early at 36 weeks and I had only gained about 25lbs.

My second was born at 39 weeks and with him I gained more than 40 lbs. Let's just say I stopped paying attention to the scale after it had passed 160. I think it was closer to 50lbs. It took me 6 months to get back to 120 and a flat stomach. It took another month to be bikini ready with a set of abs.

Six years later I am pregnant with #3 and i'm giving myself at least 9 months to see results before I backslide and gorge myself on a box of twinkies and a bottle of wine while crying on the treadmill.

TBsquared

I was back to note pregnancy weight by 3 months post partum. I did nothin besides breastfeed

beaseg

hahaha this is always funny for me. I went into the hospital weighing 156, and birthed a 7 pound 5oz baby and when I got home from the hospital I weighed 152. I ALMOST BURNED DOWN MY BATHROOM WITH RAGE!!!!!!!!! for serious.

A week after I had the baby, I couldn't even fit the stupid binder thing I had bought to help me lose weight (the squeem. google it.) Seriously. Couldn't even close it. Talk about devastation.

Mind you- I was breastfeeding, eating well and the day my daughter turned 6 weeks- I ran an 8 minute mile. And around when she was 3--4 weeks, I started the elliptical. 

But- also, at 3 weeks postpartum- we attended a wedding- and I went in a very form fitting dress and it looked incredible. Partly because my boobs were so filled with milk that I just looked like a porn star, but also- my stomach was relatively flat. 

I am still nursing my daughter who is now 2.5 years old, so when I got pregnant I was 8 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight, but it was a very good weight for me, looked nice and I felt fine with it since I was still nursing. So 2.5 years later- still haven't attained the pre-pregnancy weight, but it was okay for me. 

supersarah77

It took me 3-4 months to lose the 37 lbs and get back to pre-pregnancy weight.

I honored the 6-week recommended recovery time and only went on a short walk every day. After 6 weeks I started running again. I got in some pretty bad eating habits at the end of my pregnancy - like ice cream every day - so changing my eating habits was what real did the trick. Breastfeeding helped but really it was the eating habits.

marym94

rae4512 said:

Not sure if you're planning on breastfeeding but for most women that helps speed things along. I breastfed and ate pretty much whatever I wanted and was down to pre pregnancy weight by 4-5 mo and below at 6 mo. Every woman different though.

This exactly. I had to start adding spoons of PB every time I went through he kitchen bc my weight was getting so low. It was bizarre and I even took some blood tests to see if everything was ok... Should have just appreciated it but it had me worried! This time I may not be near as lucky!!!

sunnyday016

There is a huge range of normal and healthy on this issue. For me both times, the weight came off pretty fast. I am a runner and started getting back into my running routine around 6w postpartum. I also breastfed and tracked my calories with Lose It.

lishaell

I think it all depends on metabolism, what you eat, exercise, how much you gain during your pregnancy ect.. I gained 23 lbs with my first, breastfed, and did light exercises. I was down to almost prepregnancy weight at my 6 week check up. After that I found out my baby had food allergies so had to do a restricted diet (no dairy or soy) and lost an additional 20 lbs by 6 month postpartum.

babydynamic

Don't Panic, I am usually super fit and have Been too wiped to train in my pregnancy (although I'm a dance teacher so I'm active) im scheduled back im the gym 4 weeks after birth and will start my diet straight away. Planning meals etc now do can be organized! Obviously baby is priority but getting back to yourself also important
Good luck x

climbermomma

I gained 35lbs with my first pregnancy. I am extremely active and it took me about 8 months before I felt sorta normal and longer than that to get down to my orginal weight. I was wearing my old clothing before that but they didn't fit the same way. I had a C-section and couldn't work out for a long time, also my sport of choice is rock climbing and I had to wait a long time before I felt comfortable doing this again after surgery. Positive note is that I got really, really strong climbing with all that extra weight!! Also breastfeeding did NOT help me lose weight at all. I have never had issues with weight and was about 125lbs before getting pregnant and 5'5". It really just depends on your body, what you went through and what activity you do to help you get back in shape.

orangecurls

Breastfeeding and pumping. For me the weight came off really quickly, no diet or special exercising (though I did walk a lot).

After 2 kids though, I'm about 10 pounds heavier than before.

jennygirlmt

I think this is really dependent on your body. I lost all the weight in 3-4 weeks, I gained 30ish lbs with each. That's really uncommon but my mom was the same way.

But it took months for my stomach to not slide off to the side when I was laying down.

I don't think you should freak out if it doesn't happen as fast as you want.