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Health & Exercise
What am I doing wrong?
I need to lose 25 lbs I gained during pregnancy. Since DS was born I've only lost 10 lbs. for the past 2.5 months I work out 4-5 times a week, an hour a day, switching between spin, running 2.5 miles,core class and weight training.
I EBF, eat around 1800-2000 a day and the scale just isn't budging and I'm not losing any inches. I feel like I'm doing everything right and not making any progress. It sucks sucks sucks. I've never had this much weight on me. I've never been overweight and always heard breastfeeding would melt the pounds off.
Im extremely discouraged and just don't know what to do any more. I guess I'm looking for encouragement/advice/similar stories. Thanks ladies.
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Re: What am I doing wrong?
Losing the baby weight is SO emotional. Trust me, I know. It takes my body a good 3 months to get into the losing weight mentality. And then once I get there, the weight starts coming off. Don't get discouraged. You can do this! I lost a total of 75 pounds since the day I gave birth...which is 15 pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. Most of the weight fell off from breastfeeding but the last 20 pounds did not want to leave. Plus, I had no muscle tone and felt like a flabby mess. I decided to run 6 days a week. I did that for 4 full months and didn't miss a day. And I of course couldn't run until 8:30 at night. Brutal! After 4 months I decided I needed an extra boost and joined WW and loved it!
You can do this. It just takes time!!
Hang in there! I gained about 40lb with my 1st pregnancy and it took 5 months until I was able to fit back into my pre-pg clothing. I was BFing (did that for 17 months) but not really watching calorie intake, just eating what I'd consider normally.
In reading your post, a couple things come to mind for me. 1) What sorts of foods are you eating for that particular calorie intake? Fruits/veggies, whole grains and limited meat are preferred over any processed type foods (already-prepared frozen meals, etc). and 2) Perhaps your body is going into a sort of 'starvation' mode with the BFing. In other words, maybe you actually need more calories than what you're getting for your body to lose weight. I've heard of that happening. The BFing may be throwing your metabolism off.
Just my two cents.
Thanks for the advice and encouragement ladies. I was having a particularly bad day after going to a pool party with my skinny non-mom friends. I know logically it will take some time and I may not lose it all until I wean. It's just really really hard to get used to this new body.
I am not eating 100% cleanly, but feel my diet isn't too terrible. I'm going to tart keeping a stricter food journal in the next two weeks.
My Israel Blog!
Hang in there! I am in the same boat and I keep reminding myself that I'm still supplying nourishment for DS, so until I am done BF'ing, I am not going to stress over that last hurdle of weight.
Don't forget too, that your hormones levels are different now than if you weren't BF. I've heard that once you are done and everything goes back to normal, it's much easier to lose the weight.
DD's Food Allergies: Peanuts and Rice, Outgrown Dairy!
8/09 Dx PCOS & Hashimoto's
BFP #2 12/13/11. Missed M/C at 11w5d, measured 8w6d. D&C 2/1/12
Never in my arms, but always in my heart.
Hang in there, it took me as long to lose it as it did to gain it. At 9 months, I was back to PP weight. I lost 5 extra pounds, (all while breastfeeding, congratulations on that, BTW!) Then gained it back right before I got pregnant again. I know some moms that it's taken 15 or more months. It will come off, you just have to be patient, and know that you're doing what you can. I know exactly where you're coming from, I had body issues after my pregnancy. I was totally fine with being pregnant, because there was a baby in that belly, but after, I didn't have an excuse, so it was really hard!
This is horrible advice for a BF mom.
It took you 9, really 10 months to gain the weight. Why do you think you would have it all off after just 6 months? Yes, some women do lose the weight fast but not everyone does (I did with my first baby, but not this time around).
I think you need to just put it out of your mind for a while. You just had a baby. Give yourself time. Your calorie intact is important. Why not worry about dieting AFTER you are done breastfeeding? It sounds like you are eating healthy and exercising, so you are doing all of the right things!
With DD1, I lost a lot of weight quickly, but then gained 5 pounds back when I stopped breastfeeding. Then it took a good 2 years for me to lose everything and really tone up (then I got pregnant again, ha!). I felt good and looked fine, even though I knew I wasn't as in shape as I used to be. I would try to enjoy the time more with your baby, one day you will be your in-shape self again, and you might regret spending so much time thinking about weight when your baby was a sweet 6 month old:)
Typically a person should not go less than 1200 calories in a day, BFing adds roughly 500 to that, so, if you are breast feeding, I wouldn't recommend going below 1700 calories. Everyone is different but this is the general, Doctor and Trainer given advice. I know that if I dropped below this level for a couple days, my supply tanked.
I dropped 5 lbs the week after I stopped BFing without changing anything else.
Try adding activities into your day, go for an evening walk before bedtime, dance with your LO, do squats while you brush your teeth, etc. Somethings may seem silly but it doesn't take a lot of time and it can be fun!