Ok, Madelyn is 2 months old now… why am I not back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 128 pounds? Why??
I guess this is why:
- I gained about 40 pounds.
- I was in a car accident at 32 weeks that put me into pre-term labor and on bed rest.
- I was in the hospital for a week with bronchitis and sinusitis at 35 weeks.
- I basically didn’t move from 32 weeks on… so I gained too much weight and my body became used to not doing anything making it more difficult to get on a good exercise routine.
Before the pregnancy I was walking 3 miles a day, in good shape and wore a size 6. I was happy with that.
I have been exercising for 2 weeks and have gained weight!! What sense does that make? It’s not muscle either!!
I search the Internet anytime I have a question about something so when I realized that the weight wasn’t melting off as I expected it too after giving birth (I wanted it to just come out with the placenta I guess) I searched the Internet for "post pregnancy weight loss".
Unfortunately, a lot of what I found were articles and message board posts about early twenty somethings that just had their baby 2 weeks ago and are "finally" getting back into their size 4 jeans.
That’s not what I wanted to read!
I talked to my OB/GYN and she said "Alicia, it took 9 months to put the weight on, it’s going to take longer for it to come off". I hear that all the time now! So, what makes these early twenty something moms so different? I don’t know.
I walked 2 miles on the treadmill today and hope to get back to 3 miles by early next week.
Oh yeah.. I’m breastfeeding. Whomever started the saying that breastfeeding is the "best weight loss plan" must have been one of those early twenty something moms because that plan doesn’t seem to agree with me. I am not eating outrageously and I am drinking a ton of water. What am I doing wrong?
At the end of the day, I look at Madelyn and know that the extra weight is worth having her and breastfeeding.. but I sure would like to hear from other moms in my (or previously) situation to learn what you did to help the weight come off.
That’s it for now.. Alicia
It’s true — don’t worry, it will come off in time. I have to report that last weekend, i put on a pair of shorts from before all this, and they did fit! They didn’t fit one month ago, so the weight loss continues for a long while. my baby is one year old, and i’ve been breastfeeding that whole time. I quit walking daily back at month 6 when i went back to work, so it continues to come off if you nurse yet don’t exercise. be patient!! it didn’t start melting away until month 3 or so; i gained 50 pounds during the pregnancy. I also continued to eat what i wanted during this past year post-pregnancy. i’m a 30-something mom.
Don’t be so hard on yourself! I have two boys and I had very similiar situation. For some reason, it does take the body a good six months or so to recover from giving birth. Just keep doing what you are doing, eating healthy for you and your baby and working out.
you’re not alone…i’ll be 30 years old in a month and 8 weeks after having my first child, i have dropped perhaps a few pounds but that’s it. i’m breastfeeding which DOESN’T help the weight loss. (those breastfeeding “salespeople” are wrong about the weight loss thing.) i’m exercising too, but don’t fit into my jeans, either. (and let me say i was in great shape before pregnancy – yoga daily and i cycled to work.)
You are not alone! Now after my third baby, the extra weight does not seem to want to melt away either. I think it has something to do with a woman’s age and metabolism. I had my first daughter at 26, my second just before my 30th birthday and both times the weight came off (most of it within a year). I always retain a few pounds when I’m breastfeeding, so there’s always a little left to lose once the baby is weaned. I usually have to give up the chocolate bars to get back in the size 2 pants – I have a bit of an addiction there… For the record, I should state that I’m only 5′ 3″, and small boned, before anyone gives me a hard time about being a size 2 pre-pregnancy. Anyway… now that I’m 33, I’m not losing the weight as quickly, and I have a “mummy tummy” that I never had before (which I’m trying to work on thanks to Julie Tupler’s book – but that’s another story). My baby is 5 months old and I don’t have a prayer of fitting in my summer clothes right now as all the size charts I’ve consulted say I’m an 8! I broke down and bought a couple of Libby Dibby skirts (awesome wrap skirts that span several sizes, http://www.libbydibby.com) to help me through this transition. I’ve heard the 9 months on, 9 months off story too, and I must say that’s been pretty true in my experience. Give yourself a break, keep exercising, buy yourself something pretty and flattering to wear and be patient. All the best to you!