Weight gain - shocked!

YouMe&Bax · September 2013

Okay, so I stepped on the scale yesterday and realized, "Oh my word! I've put on 50 lbs!!!" My doctor does not have a problem with this - I brought it up at my last visit, but she said it's "normal" and a lot of it seems to be water.

The hard part is - I'm just seeing the scale go up and up. Now I'm on bed rest and I'm sure not burning a lot of calories - and I have 7 weeks left until c-section day. I'm horrified at what the grand total will be as I was already a bit overweight (IF meds/stress eating) before I got pregnant.

Here's my question. What did you do after you had your twins to lose weight? I'm planning to walk the neighborhood with the girls when approved, and I'm trying to find exercises to do at home, but I'm overwhelmed by the amount I will have to lose. At this point it's close to 75-80lbs b/c of my pre weight.

Was the weight gain/loss hard for anybody else to handle? Did you find time to workout? I'm thinking of even joining PF ($10/month) to go just on the weekends when DH can be at home with the girls...My mind is just going 100mph with the thought of needing to lose so much....

Any tips from those who have already had theirs would be appreciated!

staceymack · September 2013

I'm only 4 weeks PP so I'm not doing anything yet. I worked out at home before pregnancy and will go back to that. I do and love Beachbody workouts like P90x, insanity, TurboFire, etc. Great results! Right now weight is coming off just from taking care of twins and some pumping all day long. I'm eating well which is the biggest factor in weight loss success.

pillowass · September 2013

I like to reply to these posts because I feel like the people who had an easy time losing the weight (bless their hearts) are overrepresented in the replies. I hope you are one of the lucky ones, but I have had to work really hard to lose weight and I'm happy to share what worked.

I gained 65 lbs and none of it came off effortlessly. I lost about 20 at the birth, then started PT for abdominal separation when I was 2 months postpartum. When I was on maternity leave, I went out for a walk every day after DH got home from work, which also helped with my mental health. Now I exercise at work on my lunch hour. Once I got my abs back together (took about 6 weeks), I started using My Fitness Pal to track calories, and gradually worked up to running again. I'm 10 months postpartum and about 10 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight and I'm OK with that for the time being.

I recommend PT (at least be evaluated for abdominal separation - most MOM's have it), My Fitness Pal and walking. And be kind to yourself, especially in those early months!

smscartozzi · September 2013

I can't speak for post twins but with DS I gained about 50ish lbs, maybe more. I am not gonna lie...it was near impossible to lose the weight! I thought BFing would take some of the weight off, it did not! I finally got back to within 10lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight. None of my pre-pregnancy pants fit again, I had to buy a lot of new clothes. And here I am again, pregnant. Mind you DS is 2yo. I can honestly say I never totally lost all the weight. That being said, I am a SAHM and never really gave myself any "me" time to seriously get the weight off. I would go to the gym but would try to be as fast as possible so DS wouldn't have to suffer through kid care at the gym and DH never watched him so I could go exercise. This time around I am hoping to get that "me" time so I can get healthy again! My advise is to put your health first, make your husband watch the babies and get out, even if for just a walk. Another big thing is to watch what you eat. Its easy to grab a quick bite when you have the new babies but try and cook healthy meals if you have the energy!

YouMe&Bax · September 2013

Thanks for the replies, ladies. I've calmed down a bit since I posted. I spent the morning looking at some healthy recipes, exercises, etc. I know I have a big road ahead of me - but it sounds like it's doable even if it means it takes a long time. I suppose it took my body 10 months to grow these babies - the weight isn't going to come off in just a few months. I was just so shocked to see the number!!

Pillowass- I didn't know about abdominal separation so I will need to google that and what signs to look out for! Thank you!

kstar83 · September 2013

Yeah I will be honest, I am one of those people who does not lose weight easily. Before getting pregnant I would eat mainly protein and veggies, occasionally a healthy carb or treat. I found that not drinking has helped my metabolism quite a bit.

Now I am pregnant for the first time, so I have no idea about losing postpartum...

I second MyFitnessPal, it worked great for me in keeping me accountable. I also got a heartrate monitor that keeps track of your actual weight and heart rate so you can get an accurate count of how many calories you are actually burning.

The biggest thing you can do for yourself is love yourself, and take time to get healthy again. Watch portion size and if you can do meal planning and shopping before the week begins, go ahead and fix some easy to grab healthy snacks, a Tupperware of pre washed, pre cut up fruit or veggies, etc. It makes it so much easier to grab and go instead of eat what is convenient.

lwatkins12 · September 2013

I gained about 65-70lbs with my singleton years ago and it tooke a very long time to lose it. WW never worked for me. I need more freedom in my diet than that. Honestly, taking a nutrition class when I went back to college helped the most. I rarely eat pre-packaged food and still use MyFitnessPal while pregnant. If you are only able to do more than walk on weekends, than you are really going to have to watch what you eat.

mylittleladies1229 · September 2013

It's hard not to worry about your weigh especially when you are bed rest! You never know how your body is going to react PP. Some weight may come off immediately and you may have to work your ass of to get the rest off. I took it easy for the first 6 weeks after my c-section. I was so tired and sore and had just come off 2 months of bed rest that I couldn't even think of exercise. Resuming normal, every day activities was a workout for me!

If you plan on breastfeeding or pumping just be aware...you will most likely feel the hungriest you have ever been in your life! All I could think about was food while I was nursing, and diet was not a part of my vocabulary. Don't beat yourself up if that's what happens to you. Exercise and do your best to eat healthy during nursing. It is a lot easier to cut back on calories once you are through with nursing.

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