Losing the baby weight

Replies

• Rach2186

  Sep 11, 2014 4:09PM

  Breastfeeding and eating sensibly without it being a diet helped me lose mine! My health visitor reminded me quite early on that it takes your body 9 months to get that way don't be surprised if it takes 9 months to get back to pre pregnancy. It was a comforting way to look at it. 6 weeks is still so soon after having a baby. All these celebs that get back to their normal size 3 weeks after birth have all this help so they don't get up at 4 in the morning to feed their little one and then decided to raid the fridge like I did. They don't always choose to breastfeed so they can afford to starve themselves. They get personal trainers in to achieve that beach body look and then brag about it so people like you and me feel ashamed when at 6 weeks we haven't got back in to our normal clothes. You have already done so amazingly well. 26 lb is nearly 2 stone. It took me 6 weeks to lose 7 lb recently so if you could tell me your secret I'm all ears!!

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• LH86

  Sep 11, 2014 5:41PM

  Agree on the 9 months thing. I'm kinda stuck at the mo and weight not going anywhere so I'm concentrating on toning up and trying to eat less crap lol x

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• Charley17

  Sep 11, 2014 5:45PM

  Thanks Rach, I think I needed to hear that.
  
  
  
  The 26lbs sounds better then it really is. My little girl was just shy of 9 lbs when she was born, so probably about 15-20 lbs of that weight loss was the day she was born.
  
  
  
  In reality I know it will take time, I guess I was just hoping I'd be able to get into my clothes without looking like a stuffed sausage.
  
  
  
  I do go for a walk everyday with my baby and dog and it is usually 3-4 km. I need to be patient I think.
  
  
  
  Thanks again

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• Charley17

  Sep 11, 2014 5:50PM

  LH86, toning is a huge part of it! I think i'd feel a little better if my whole midsection weren't all flab and stretch marks.
  
  
  
  I agree the 9 month thing makes sense, I'm just kicking myself now for letting myself gain so much in my pregnancy

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• Dan-PT

  Oct 21, 2014 2:20PM

  Hi Charley,

  Don't beat yourself up for putting on weight during pregnancy - it is perfectly natural and above all else, is necessary for the proper development of your baby! I will tell you though, there is no reason it should take as long as 9 months to lose your baby weight and get back to virtually where you were before. It is more than feasible with proper planning and some self motivation.

  As a fitness coach for postnatal mums this is something I see all the time! It's absolutely fantastic that you regularly go on long walks - that's the first thing I always recommend as it's easy & low impact, and gets you moving.

  On top of that, it is a great idea to start incorporating some medium-intensity circuit-style workouts regularly. You can do these at home (while bebby sleeps), you don't need any equipment and as little as 10-15 minutes can be highly effective. The nature of circuit training means you are increasing the metabolic demand of your body way beyond that of low intensity/steady state exercise like walking, running, cycling etc., so you burn much more energy (read: "body fat") in much less time.

  You mention you exercised a lot before you had your baby, so you may be familiar with the idea. I would recommend you try the following short circuit at home 3-4 times a week for 2 weeks and you'll notice the difference:

  Repeat the following 3 times in a circuit fashion. 15 seconds rest between exercises. 1m30 rest after each round.
  1. Mountain climber (x20)
  2. Kneeling pushups (x10)
  3. Sit to squat (x15)
  4. Tricep dip [on sofa, chair, table] (x12)
  5. Reverse alternating Lunge (x10 each leg)
  6. Kneeling plank (30 seconds)

  Of course, a sensible diet is also important for weight loss and extra care needs to be taken to strike a very exact balance as you are breast feeding too.

  Good luck!
  Dan

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• Charley17

  Nov 3, 2014 3:17AM

  Thanks Dan, wishing I had seen your reply sooner. I've been doing some of the exercises you recommend, but not all.
  
  
  
  Things seem to be going slow but I'm doing fairly well, I have now lost 38 of the 52lbs...it'll be 14 weeks tomorrow since giving birth.

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