February 2013 Moms

Post Pregnancy Body

I am not at all naive in thinking I will just drop the weight and be back to my pre pregnancy body.  I know that body is gone but I feel there is a post pregnancy body I can be incredibly happy with.   I have been looking at different options to follow that help you eat healthy but the options are overwhelming and some very expensive.

Not to mention making sure we are getting the calories our bodies need to produce milk (if BFing), heal and have energy. 

Any S+TMs want to chime in on what to expect, how you coped and any tips to keeping up the calories needed while still working towards loosing the baby weight (or toning the tummy)?

Any FTMs, if you have one, want to share their plan on how they plan on getting your post pregnancy body to a point you are comfortable with? 

M & M
06/12 - BFP!!!!
Beta #1 15dpo - 256
Beta #2 18dpo - 1097
6wk U/S on 07/02 ~ TWINS!!!
EDD 02/21/13
09/10/12 Found out it's two Boys!!!! Sam and Jake
Jacob and Samuel born 1/29/13 at 36 weeks. photo F489900B-BB44-4C44-ACD1-ABB73509E3B2-9032-000005E7AE7EF53E.jpg Lilypie Premature Baby tickers

Re: Post Pregnancy Body

  • I don't have an electorate plan. Just making sure that what I do eat is a healthy nutrient dense option. Eating quality food and staying active has worked well for my family. I'm hopingy moms genetics were passes to me, she's had four kids 50 and puts a lot of 20 something's to shame. She doesn't have a magic trick just eating right and staying active

     

     

     

  • I always try to cook as many  meals at home as I possibly can, even if it's something out of a box and I add fresh meat. I've been super skinny my whole life and was looking forward to having a little extra meat on me after my 1st pregnancy. But nope, I went right back to normal pretty quick after delivery. I breastfed for 14 months and I'm certain that was the key to getting your body back. I really tried to eat my extra 500 calories a day while breastfeeding but veggies and fruit really don't have calories so that helps too (with weight loss). But I'm not having twins. You just have to remember it took you 9months to get your babies ready for the world so give yourself at least 9 months to get your body back after. This time I'm again hoping that I keep a little of the weight I've gained (since I'm 10+lbs more than with DD1) but I will breastfeed as long as possible again and don't really have any plan other than that.

     

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  • Although breastfeeding does help most women, don't think it's the *only* way. With DD I pumped for 9 weeks but never had enough and had to supplement the whole time. What with losing water weight, baby, placenta, the uterus shrinking, etc, I was 8 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight within 3 weeks. I don't expect that this time because the circumstances with DD were much different (I called it the "NICU diet" because I just didn't have time to eat), but my plan besides BFing is to start doing light exercise at 6w PP or whenever the OB approves if I have complications and to make sure that I eat what I would want DD to eat and not make her "healthier" versions of meals while I eat something less healthy. I've been guilty of doing this in the past.

    BFP1: DD1 born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
    BFP2: 3/18/12, blighted ovum, natural m/c @ 7w4d
    BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w4d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence

  • I plan on joining weight watchers online. It's the only diet I've ever had success with. 
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  • I failed last time round and didn?t eat enough to either keep up my energy or milk supply.

    I was so shellshocked by the whole thing - with an unplanned CS thrown in - that in being so focussed on looking after the new baby and trying to get any little bit of sleep that I could, that without noticing I  allowed myself to get really run down.

    And the more tired I became, the less energy I had to eat and look after myself, which again led to me becoming even more tired. My DH did a fab job, but after 2 weeks he was back at work and it was just me and the baby. I tried to do all the night shifts cz hubby obv cldnt do night shifts and work thru the day, so the only break I got was about 4 hrs when he came home  which I took to shower and sleep.

    I certainly wasnt thinking about what my body was going to be like - I was just trying to survive and keep alert enough to safely look after the baby.

    As it happened I lost all, bar 10lbs, of the 50lbs baby weight I?d gained in the first 3 months without even trying. Looking after a newborn is hard work!!

    So I guess my advice to FTMs wld be to focus on keeping yourself well looked after and most certainly well fed! With enough energy  you can cope with everything so much better, and BFing needs those extra calories.

    A few months down the line, when you and your hormones are  more stable, and the "new baby fog" is beginning to lift, maybe then start thinking about working on toning up. You may be pleasantly suprised, as I was, to find that a fair bit of weight has already come off without you even thinking about it!Big Smile

     

     

     

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  • Honestly, I've never really dieted PP.  I am actually hungrier when I am nursing than I am when I am pregnant, so I find myself eating more.  I can't workout a lot while nursing either or my supply tanks.

    I just make sure I am eating a healthy diet and try to be active.  The weight usually takes about 9-10 months to come off, but I always look like I did before I got pregnant at that time. 

    I just think having a realistic goal and time frame to work with is key, especially if you're breastfeeding. 

        
  • I'm a FTM and I've barely gained anything but I was 30lbs overweight before baby and I was working to loose weight and tone up when baby decided to join the family. I'm still hoping to get to a healthy weight after giving birth.

    I'm a member of caloriecount.about.com and I plan to go back to that for support. I like to do distance walking and interval running, yoga and counting calories. I can find out how many calories I need for BF and use caloriecount to monitor my consumption of calories and water, log my workouts and weight and talk to others about what they are going through.

    I also use mapmyrun.com to find out what kind of workout I'm getting from biking, walking or running in my hood (I usually use the treadmills at the Y, but I like to get outside when weather is nice).

    I also love to bike to run errands and have been looking at ways to take baby with me, like those towing carriers or the baby seats that can be attached behind the cyclist. But I have plenty of time to shop around before baby is big enough to go on a bike ride with me.

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  • I think the main thing is to give yourself time to achieve that body.  I know it's cliche that you put the weight on in 9 months, it can take awhile to get back down.  It took me about 6 months to hit my pre-preg weight with DS1.  I attribute a lot of the loss to breastfeeding and just trying to stay active as much as possible.  

          DS1: Quinn - 10.22.10 and DS2: Cole - 01.18.13

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  • I'm planning to maintain a well balanced diet of lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and veggies for meals, snacks will be things like almonds, fresh fruit like berries or apples, granola bars stuff like that. Take it easy on yourself critically after LO arrives. Slowly work yourself to getting active again, remember to eat was a huge one for me. Always have a bottle of water, drink and snack when nursing.
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  • Just a word from my experience about breast feeding. I thought I would drop the pounds ASAP from nursing, but for me the reality is, I don't lose much from nursing. I think it is old Irish genes who hold onto the fat while nursing just in case a famine is around the corner.

    I agree with the above posters..9 months on and it takes me at least 9 months to take it off. With my last pregnancy, at 7 months I was back into my jeans. I found out I was pregnant that week too.

    I would love to say that I chill out and enjoy it, but I like to be in shape and my supply goes down if i work out too much. For me, I have to tell myself that my body created, grew and then feeds a baby. It is really amazing, and helps keep my perspective.

     That being said, I CAN NOT wait for these varicose veins to go away...with or without the help of a surgeon.

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  • I'm a FTM and I have a very loose plan on returning to my pre pregnancy weight.

    I'm BFing so I will be concentrating on recovering and looking after the baby for that first month or two.  Once I get the go head from the doctor, I'm going to start SLOWLY adding some sort of activity into my day.  I will be using an online tool that my DH found that gives you exactly what you need to do to achieve your goals (you can read about it here):

    https://lifehacker.com/5978511/bodbot-offers-free-personalized-exercise-plans-to-help-you-get-to-your-fitness-goals

    I also plan on taking some sort of class, so that I can get out of the house at least once a week and meet new people (I will be a new SAHM). 

    I know my body and I think with just that amount of activity, I'll return to my pre pregnancy weight within a year-ish.

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  • I'm going to try to BF, so hopefully that will help some. I'm not expecting immediate loss...but I know I'll have 50+ lbs to lose to get back to my pre-pg weight, so it will take time. Hopefully by late summer/fall I will be back in my regular jeans!

    I'm going to join my fitness pal and try and make as many healthy choices as I can. I know it won't always be easy and there will be times that I eat fast food or pizza...but I feel that as long as it's not more than once or twice a week I will be ok.

    And hopefully once it starts to get warmer out we can go for family walks around the neighborhood. H wants to join a gym, but I don't know if I want to do that. I feel like we'll be so exhausted every day (at least for a while), and our child will be in daycare which will eat up a good chunk of my paycheck.

     

  • At least for me, having DS #1 really motivated me to get healthy. I have never been really heavy but I grew up with to obese parents and wasn't raised with healthy eating habits or exercise habits.

    I plan trying to eat right: I have been reading up on good foods to eat for BFing moms and stocking up on those: oatmeal, spinach, dried apricots, salmon, etc. I recommend listening to your body. If you have a mostly healthy diet now, then I am a big believer that your body will tell you what you need. As long as I am eating most everything in moderation, I try not to fret too much. I made a mistake last time while breastfeeding and didn't make sure my extra 500 calories were "quality" calories. I kinda let it be an excuse to eat and drink whatever I wanted. My milk supply (and weight loss) really suffered. Having a good support system helps too!  

    Exercising: After DS#1, I did little to get off the baby weight and only when I started running when he was almost a year old did I see the last 15 lbs finally shed. This time I know that BF will not do it all, I will have to exercise. I am considering registering to run Color Me Rad 5K in May (about 12 weeks PP) to get me motivated after the baby gets here. I haven't ran since I was about 20 weeks so, we will have to see.

    I try to focus more on being healthy (mentally and physically) and happy not just a certain size/weight. Although, my hips did spread and my breasts are no longer perky after DS#1 :( All worth it though! 

    "Always remember there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name"

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  • 1. Give yourself time. Don't even think about calories, etc. until your milk supply is established in the firm of weightloss
    2. Get out and starting walking as soon as you feel up to it.
    3. Keep the desserts that are brought to you for other guests, and keep plenty of nuts, fresh fruit, and veggies around for snacking.
    4. Bag carrots, grapes, the like and when you sit to nurse, take them with you.
    5. Water, water, water
  • To be honest, most of it came off last time just between BFing and being too exhausted and frazzled to eat. I NEVER forget to eat, but those early days with a newborn just pushed me to a new place. I think I lost almost all of it by around 4 months but was definitely a lot squishier. However, I truly think that if I had eaten a healthier, leaner diet focused on protein and not sugar ( I love sugar) and hit the weights harder, I could have had a better body post baby than before (ok, maybe less firm boobs, but everything else was salvageable.) However, figuring out how to juggle work and parenthood took up most of my energy and exercise time so this didn't happen before getting PG with #2.

    I do honestly think that I stand a chance of getting the body I want after this kid, though, if I really make it a priority. My plans is to eat lean protein, veggies, and cut the refined carbs and sugar, hit the gym and focus on weight training to rebuild all of the lost muscle. The same things that always work (when I do them!)

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