Postpartum weight loss update… if you want to even call it an update

I read the posts here and could really relate to problems of losing weight after pregnancy. I had 9 pregnancies with 3 miscarriages and 6 live births. Boy, do I know about yoyoing around with weight. I tried every diet pill on the planet, have a room full of VHS and DVD videos, tried every yucky nutritional plan, and spent a ton of money before giving up.

When whining on one of my ladies yahoo groups in chorus to everyone else whining about weight, one of the members suggested yet another, diet pill. Gees, here we go again, I thought, and just ignored her.

The other members kinda did the same thing but she mentioned she lost around 50 pds so after thinking about it for a while, as she had pics to show, too, I ordered her sample pack. When it got here I tossed it on my desk and it got lost in the flurry of paperwork for around a month and a half. I found it again and decided, against my better judgment, to take it. Hmmmm....after just a week I lost 5 pounds, so I ordered a bottle.

Was I ever in for a surprise! No side effects, no jitters, and more energy so I didn't have to keep taking my afternoon naps. At the end of the month I stepped on the scale and I had gone from size 12/14 to size 6/8 and from 152 to 128. WOW. I went shopping for new clothes and with the offer from the gal I got the capsules from, I started to carry them in my store. Many of my family and friends have now lost the weight too and the word of mouth advertising has strangers banging down my door for bottles.

The diet capsules are all herbal, no caffiene or ephedra and are healthy for you as they boost the immune system. That's why there are no side effects. I would be very ungrateful if I didn't share with others who are as frustrated as I was. The gal I got my supplies from is out of business and selling something else, but I have another supplier and sell it.

You owe it to yourself to at least look ;-)

Carol

I'm so sorry NS wasn't working out for you! It's been a dream come true for me, but everyone's body chemistry is so different. (Weight Watchers NEVER worked for me.) I hope you find something that works - I HATED going back to work in clothes that didn't fit, & only having three outfits to rotate.

You'll get there, even if it's slowly but surely.

Weight watchers is not difficult. Once you get the hang of it it makes counting calories much easier..it is just an easier more efficient way of counting calories and fat. Check it out. Meetings are not embarrassing you can meet lots of people and get GREAT ideas. oddds are that you will find lots of new mothers there too. Good luck :) Another good thing is that you can eat anything....you can have margaritas if you want, nothing is forbidden which is great.

Jane--i am having the same issue after having baby number two--it is even harder this time around. I joined a gym & work out 4-5 days a week & have been watching my food choices. I do feel a little leaner but agree that the numbers are not moving..i love spark people more for the ideas on recipes & alternate exercises. I am going to keep optimistic & hope that my 5 am workouts will get me there (and soon, since I have to be in a bathing suit in a month!). good luck & keep at it!

I was on a shopping trip last week when I spotted an old friend, whom I haven't meet for years. And guess what she is married and carries a 2 year old baby with her but her physical look still the same during her student times.

I asked her what made her so slim after birth and she told me she did regular exercise and have a strict diet. I guess if you go for regular exercise and a diet you'll be back to normal shape once again. May her tips would help you out.

I bet you guys have some great farmers markets in your area. Maybe take Monkey along and pick out some fresh produce to munch at home. Most veggies are 0 points!

Wow! Thanks for all the great replies, ideas, & suggestions! I really appreciate it. So I went ahead & cancelled NS. While it's totally convenient, it just wasn't doing it for me. However, if you are looking for convenience in a diet, you should give it a try. I could handle the fact that the food arrived in a box until just recently. The food does taste good (most of it anyways). I guess after being on it for 4 months, I think it was just time to move on.

I am going to do Weight Watchers, although I haven't signed up yet. I can't decide if I should do meetings or just do it online. Many of you said that meetings were what worked bc it held you accountable, so that makes sense. I might just attend my first meeting next week & see how it goes.

I think I'm just mostly excited about eating fresh & trying to eat as clean as possible. I think my body will thrive from it... at least that's what I'm hoping for!

As far as my thyroid is concerned, I'm on levothyroxine 10mg. I've been on it since the middle of my pregnancy.

Thanks again for all the great comments!!

not only birth giving and food intakes gives us additional weight, it also includes age factors, physical activities, lifestyle and metabolism..... if we have tendencies to go fat because of our genetics, we should be careful of what we eat and add more physical exercises.

Yeah where is Tarzan these days? Its his blog too........

I would bet a 100lbs that it's the thyroid. A hypothyroid person has a beast of a problem getting their metabolism restarted. You could work yourself into oblivion and still not see a change on the scale.
If you are still dealing with high TSH levels or are on some type of T-4 medication, Google the name Mary Shomon, she is an incredible advocate for thyroid patients and a source of knowledge for so many of us who deal with thyroid problems. She also has some great insight on losing weight.

And just for the record.. I don't mean to come across in a "my hubby lost weight, you can do it, it's easy".. because everyone's body is different, and it's easier said than done.
What I DO mean is, is that it was quite a simple diet, food-wise, to prepare, with great results for my hubby.
I've got my fingers crossed for you, Jane!! :0)
PS. Haven't heard from Tarzan in AGES. Busy with work? :0(

Hi Jane,

Long time reader, first time commenter, aaaaall the way from Australia.
Congratulations on your eagerness to lose weight. Seriously, I'm amazed. Even if you haven't managed to lose much, the fact that you partake in so many exercise classes / routines is amazing. I've not yet had children, but I know it's no walk in the park (ahahaha.. pun not intended)

The P90X is tough. My hubby's been on it before. Have you tried their food plan? Obviously I'm the one that does the cooking for him - it's all REALLY simple. I don't bother with all the fancy capsicum (green/red pepper, we call it capsicum, lol) soup stuff, takes FOREVER. Pretty much all I fed him was:
Breakfast: cereal, with low-fat milk.
Morning Tea: muesli bar or cashews, or a protein bar/shake.
Lunch: cooked chicken or pork with a marinade of some sort (just in jars brought from the shops). Cook extra so he can have it for dinner!! Then serve it with salad: tomato, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, capsicum (green/red peppers.. bell peppers? I don't know what you call it!!), and snowpeas/sugarsnap peas. Easy peasy.
Afternoon tea: Celery and/or carrot sticks, or cashew nuts/peanuts.
Dinner: practically same as lunch. either a fish fillet (plain old fish, or salmon), pork or chicken, chopped up and served with a salad similar to lunch. Sometimes it'll be a pumpkin soup (I buy it tinned.. so lazy..) with 2 slices of bread.

Of course, he did the exercise program along with it, every day, or at least every second day. I'm not going to bother to detail with how much weight he lost, 'cause I get confused with all the conversion rates from kgs to pounds. But it was quite good, I was impressed :0) He did it for 9 weeks, but quit after that 'cause the food is quite plain and boring, hehe.

I don't know anything about WW, but wanted to tell you thank you for being real about your weight loss. I'm also having a hard time getting the weight off and my little man is 8 months old. I'm breastfeeding (same as with my first son), but for me that doesn't take the weight off. Instead I find myself having to eat more to keep up with him. I'm within 9 lbs. of pre-preg weight, but it's been a SLOW journey!

Almost 5 years after my daughter was born I am finally down to my-pre-first-pregnancy weight. It's true everything ends up in different places because I certainly can't fit into the size I was back then!

De lurking for the first time to throw in my two cents.

I've struggled with weight for years..literally years! Last october my Aunt and I were talking and she suggested I try Reishislim, it's an all natural weight loss pill you take it with water, try and drink 8ish glasses a day while eating fruits and veggies. It helps to increase your metabolism, decrease cravings and get your body back in the "swing of things". The really nice thing I liked about this for me is there was no counting cal, no crazy exercises, no "do not eat" list...I'm really bad at that type of stuff.

I've tried a lot over the years so I was totally skeptical but I've lost 30 pounds and not just that but I feel so much better about myself too.

If you want you can check it out at reishislim.com, Dalia runs the website and she is Ah MaH Zing! I really love her.

I'm absolutely not trying to push it on you and I mean different things work for different people but I've had such great results and I know how defeating it can be to work SO hard and still see those damn numbers stay in the same spot.

I'm going to stop sounding like a freaking infomercial here.....and whatever you do end up doing I wish you the best of luck :)

Could it be the hormones? I can't lose weight when on the pill. Perhaps by having a baby your body just works differently and the hormones are preventing you from losing weight?

You're also on other medications. These could be preventing you from losing weight as well. 25% of people on antidepressants gain weight.
Here's an article:

http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/antidepre...

I agree on the thyroid issue. My family has a lot of issues with both hyper- & hypo-thyroidism. Those with hyperthyroidism can't keep weight, and those with hypothyroidism can't loose it. In fact, it's such a problem that my mom recently went back to the endocronologist to have him re-evaluate and see if she could be put on another medicine. She has 10 coonhounds and walks them all every day, as well as being a staff nurse at a retirement home. Eats healthy and everything. Yet, she doesn't loose weight (in fact, she's been gaining weight over the last couple years since diagnosis).

Additionally, my MIL does the weight watchers thing. She found that it was simple enough, but needed the meetings so that she could have other people surrounding her in order to keep her motivated. Dieting doesn't work for everybody, and sometimes you need to find your motivator to keep on track. She also tried NutriSystem - but when I tasted that stuff I couldn't stand it.

Finally - you said you've been doing the P90X program. That particular workout is made to put on muscle. I've heard that the P90X Insanity workout focuses less on muscle gain and more on cardio, which would burn fat a lot faster and wouldn't put on the pounds. You might want to look into that if you're more focused on a scale...

In any case, good luck and thanks for being honest. My little boy is due next month and I've already got all my workout equipment purchased and set up at home waiting for me. Even though I've been watching my diet and exercising the whole time I've been preggo I've still gained 40 lbs... I'm sure regretting all those years I took it for granted that I couldn't gain weight (I actually resented being asked over and over again if I were anorexic, even by school nurses). Now I look at my old bikini with contempt. Even if I do drop all this weight, the stretch marks on my thighs will ALWAYS be there.

But, having this baby will make up for a lot of the mental abuse I know I'll be heaping on myself whenever I look in the mirror. It will also help having a supportive husband.

Brig - Same here! I got back to pre-preg weight when my LO was about 4 months and since then the weight has kept coming off without me even trying! It's crazy! I am 15 pounds lighter than I was pre-preg and the baby is 13 months! I am still breastfeeding and I think that has something to do with it. I am afraid of what will happen when I wean! lol

I wonder if the sodium content in prepared meals like nutrisystem would contribute? Water retention maybe? It's hard for me too, I'm just about pre pregnancy weight but would like to lose some, as pre pregger weight was not ideal. Eating less and working out more helps, but I think the mommy juice doesn't! Lol

WW is the best. I lost 40 lb on it a few years ago and had no problem keeping it off. Iwent to meetings b/c it made me more accountable but I tracked all my food online. It hink that's the best place to start-writing down everything you eat. WW is really easy once you get past the first week and you don't have any limitations on where you can eat-you can eat at hom,e, eat frozen food, eat at a restaurant, anything you want and you just have to count it. It makes it so much more liveable. Plus I loved the ability to be able to look up points values of anything online and I loved having the 35 extra weekly points for something I really wanted like candy, desserts and other stuff that's "forbidden" on other diets.

I started WW 2 1/2 most post partum. Since then, I've lost all my pregnancy weight and then some...yes, I am about 5 lbs lighter than pre-pregnancy. It probably helps that I am still EBF (just intro'd solids - baby is 6 months tomorrow). I love WW; it takes about 1-2 weeks to get used to counting points....if you have an iPhone they have a fabulous app that makes point counting easier than having to run to your computer every day. I don't do the meetings, just the online WW. They have delicious, easy recipes...most recipes feed my husband and I for a couple meals...and he doesn't even notice that it's a WW recipe. It's a great way to get used to eating healthy again and an eye opening way to know what not to eat.

I'm right there with you Jane. I'm still up 30 lbs from my fattest pre-preg weight, and I keep hovering around the same stupid number on the scale. I don't fit into any of my pre-preg pants... I was a size 10/12, now I'm a 14/16. Even though I'm done nursing, I still wear my nursing bras because they're the only ones I can find that come in a 38G. Everyone I know is already asking me when we're having another one and I keep thinking to myself, he's 11 months old and I'm still HUGE. By the time I lose this weight, It'll be time to "try" again, and then what's the point? It's frustrating beyond all measure. You're not alone :)

I am in the same predicament as you right now, only difference being I have done a slew of diets before so am a seasoned pro! WW really is super easy and you really don't have to do the math yourself, they have lots of tools you can use to make it simple. It soon becomes so second nature that you can't even look at a food without seeing it as a points value!

The thing that works for me is low GI or low carb eating, it's easy to know what foods are off limits so you just avoid them which is really easy if you are lazy about tracking what you eat. Downside is it's no good if you have a sweet tooth and like treats, and probably also if you don't like to cook.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide and how it goes.

Maybe I missed something somewhere... but someone mentioned thyroid isues... those things are so frustrating! And if it makes you feel any less alone, I developed thyroid issues after having my daughter (she will be 9 months in a week) and am having issues with weight myself. I never, never, ever had problems before. If anything, I had a hard time gaining weight (and let me tell you, people are just as quick to judge a skinny person!) but now? Now, Im struggling to lose this muffin top! I guess it is ironic... but mainly just frustrating. Im doing pilates... and really love it. Its smooth, and graceful, and calming while working my body. Its good for my head, as well as my body. Anyways, its nice to have someone to understand. I think we just have to keep going. We all plateau at points... those are the frustrating points.

As for NS? I didnt know much about it... Id rather just concentrate on healthy food, and meals, and correct portions. But your describing your food coming in boxes... blech.

I found Weight Watchers easy, but then again I'm a math nerd. I love doing call sorts of calculations and so figuring out that a 150 calorie/3 gram fat/4 gram fiber granola bar is 2.45 points (rounded down to 2 points) is easy for me. Fun, even. (Like I said, I'm a math nerd.)

A few years back, I went from 255 pounds to 173 pounds on Weight Watchers (over a year and a half, IIRC). Recently, I went back on and have lost 15 pounds in 16 weeks so far. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any points calculations questions.

It's going SO SLOW for me too - I'm 8 months post-partum. In the past three months, I've lost about 6 pounds. BUT, I've taken almost 2 inches off of my waist. So, I think that the "gaining muscle" thing might have some merit.

I would suggest looking into the Body for Life eating plan. It's very straightforward - 6 small meals a day. For each meal - a piece of protein the size of your palm, a healthy carb the size of your fist, and some veggies. I love that a lot of the meals can be prepared without cooking (e.g., lowfat cottage cheese, an apple, and some carrots are an easy one). Also, one day a week you eat whatever you want.

Good luck!

You make me feel so much better!!
I lost 15 pounds when I had my son but have gained most all of that back since having him (only 7 weeks ago!). I felt like crap. So I decided to start exercising and eating better. I hope it works out : ) Good job at everything you're doing. And I agree the NS sounds a little weird!

I could have written your post a little over 2 years ago, including Nutrisystem. I gained 50lbs with my daughter (my first and since only) and good Lord I am JUST NOW within 3lbs of my pre-baby weight, 3 years after she was born. Before she was born, I was a bike-riding, half-marathoning, boot camping, calorie controlling fool. The weight gain came on fast with pregnancy and I am a SLOW LOSER. I tried everything she was born, including Nutrisystem, which worked, but since I'm so slow, it only got me .5lbs per week. No lie, that is one half pound per week. Since NS is so costly, I lost about 12lbs and then tried to do it again on my own. I did lose about another 10lbs over the following year on my own, but again. Look. How. slow. Slow. Slow. So this past Jan, before Anna turned 3, I started NS again and have since lost 8lbs. Again, 8lbs since Jan! SLOW. SLOW. SLOW. I think I've got enough food for another month and I'm done: then I'm starting boot camp this summer (watch THAT scale go up, up, up with muscle! LOL!). At any rate, if you're like me, you're just a SLOW loser. It happens. It's not fair. It just IS. My husband is a physical therapist and has a neat little device called the Body Gem. If you Google it, you can find who in your area has one. The little device is something you breathe into for about 5 minutes and it calculates your BMR. That is, how many calories YOUR BODY TRULY burns at rest. Since calorie-based diets are standardized for everyone, assuming most of the population has the same metabolism, it's kind of a guessing game if you're not in the average. So it's good to know EXACTLY how many calories your body burns because woa, and it happened to me, it gives you a great indication of your true metabolism and you can then calculate for real the actual numbers you need to take in and burn off. At rest, your BMR should be somewhere around 1500-1600 calories. See what the Body Gem tells you. I was surprised to see mine was only at 1200 calories!!! So I had to put muscle on and actually eat a little more to fuel that metabolism and when I did, the scale started moving. I teach undergrad Human Physiology, and in my metabolism lecture, I teach that muscle burns glucose, which means less glucose being stored as fat, even at rest. You you need good muscles. Even though it makes the scale numbers go up.

Like you, I can lose inches, which is great but means really nothing to me psychologically if I don't see the scale move. It's in the scale for me. And in the numbers. My husband can say "do your clothes fit better?" and it means little to me if the scale doesn't move! (And, yes, I too know that muscle weighs more than fat but I too know when really it's not muscle that's a factor here most of the time :) ). At one point I even struggled with having to eat MORE, like a cheeseburger once per week so my body didn't freak out and hold on to the fat, thinking it's in starvation mode.

I'm still on NS for about another month. I too hate the packaged stuff but it helps when I set a goal date for ending it, or follow my intuition to end it. Even at a .5lb/week loss I try for an end in sight. Like me, it just may take you 3 years (God help you, I know, I know) to get there. Off and then on the dieting thing has helped me. But I knew NS worked for me in the past so I knew it'd be the one last push I needed.

If you want to look into something a little different, try EDiets packaged meal plans. Their food is much more fresh. It's a little more expensive than NS, but it's tastier (except I didn't like the dinners!). But it's something to at least look at. I'm with you, the other weight loss programs out there are too complicated ;)

Follow your intuition to get off NS and go your own for a little while. It's OK. I did the same thing over the last 3 years. You could always do it again later if you get desperate and determined. I did NS when my daughter was 6 months old and lost about 12lbs on that and then just did it again this past Jan (she turned 3 in March) and lost another 8. In between that was a visit to a nutritionist (I work, who has time to plan, count, get all my servings in per day?!) and I lost a few lbs with that. Then I didn't diet for awhile, no loss. I tried EDiets, and lost about 5lbs from that. Importantly, I didn't gain anything in the process. So bit by bit, 3 years later I'm good! Hang in there...just slow losers!

You know I had my baby boy 12 weeks ago. I started Weight Watchers online when he was 6 weeks old and I have lost 12 pounds so far. You said you thought the site was intimidating. It's absolutely not. When you first join you answer a questionnaire about your activity level, height, weight, plus a bunch of other things and you get a certain amount of points. Calculating points in foods is easy as you just input the calories, fat, and fiber and it tells you what the points are. But the best thing of all about the site is that it has hundreds of recipes all of which tell you the points value in a serving. I've been cooking ww meals for weeks now and my children and husband just eat an extra serving or two. The main thing is that the food is healthy and fresh. Eating food that doesn't need to be refrigerated would make me a little suspicious of the nutritional value also. But what I love is that it's mostly about portion control. What's kept me going is that I can leave myself a few points in the evening for the chocolate I love. And I don't have to feel guilty or cut anything out completely. Not meaning to sound like an advertisement but this really works for me. It's so worth a closer look. :)

I can speak as a devoted WW follower. I was a lifetime member before baby and now I'm back on it and reached my PP baby weight a while back, but still need to lose to get down to goal.
So, anyway, 1 point generally = 50 calories. The number of points you're "allowed" in a day depends on a few factors - your general daily activity level, your height and weight and if you're BF and if you're male or female. It's not too complicated. And to calculate the points, they give you a little paper scale thing and there are books to look them up in. For example, a small or medium apple or orange is 1 point.
I go to weekly meetings. Found a leader I really like and stuck with her. It took a little while to find her though. And I go to a meeting that has several mommies, so we all have similar issues. But you can also do it online if that's easier for you.
The best thing about WW is that you can eat whatever you want. If you don't like to cook, just buy what you like and add up the points. It's really something you can stick with forever, which isn't the same with other "diets" where you have to buy their food or eat weird stuff to lose the weight.

How is your hypothyroidism being managed?

Have you looked at myfitnesspal? i liked it alot better than the Spark People one.

Also, they have a free app for my iphone so it's easier to enter the food. And the forums are OK - there is one for post partum, but I haven't really looked at it (since I'm still PG)

Thanks for sharing this ... I know many "moms" feel this way about losing weight AND about the body changes we go through. I had 3 children and each was 21 months apart ... they are now 14, 12, and 11 and I've never lost the weight. In fact, a few weeks ago I weighed in at 30 lbs more than I did when I got pregnant with my first and I was soooo depressed! I'm doing an Isagenix cleanse right now (I've done them in the past and they work - but I always go back to old habits and gain it all back). I also working out with a trainer 4 times a week. I'm committed to losing the weight and to getting fit and tone. I've never tried NS or WW but I've heard about Spark but I too fear trying to keep up with the work of tracking it all. *sigh* Thanks again for sharing ... I'll be cheering you on and would love to read updates. *huGs* Suzanne

I did Weight Watchers online a year or so before I got pregnant and it was okay. But now to track calories and exercise I use an online site as an app on my iPhone. I am currently using MyFitnessPal but I have tried LoseIt also. It tracks your calories like WW does, but without the "point" thing--and you don't have to pay for it!

And if it makes you feel any better, I am 8 lbs heavier than the day I left the hospital with Porter--over a year ago now. My son now weighs about the amount of weight I want to lose! I get down on myself about it sometimes, but I try to cut myself some slack. I work fulltime at a wacky job, we are thinking about moving, my parents are divorcing, Hubs is out of town on business a lot. It is a lot to juggle so exercising isn't #1 on my to-do list. But I would looooove to be back to a size 8 again.

When my husband was keeping track of his food intake, he used YourFlowingData on Twitter to do it. You just tweet a DM to @yfd with a key word like "ate xyz" or "weighed ###" or "slept ##:##" and "woke ##:##" and insert your own info. It doesn't do a calorie count or anything for you, but it will take your data and input it into different types of graphs so you can see any patterns. He found it to be very easy without taking a lot of time.

I am with you. I did sign up for Spark People a few months ago, and loved the site, but didn't stick with it. Now, I'm just sticking with trying to eat healthy, but no plan. Ugh!