How to Loose the Baby Weight

Hey L. -

I have four little boys and had put on 10-15 pounds after each one. After the forth I really concentrated on taking it off without major changes. I drank a lot of empty calories with soft drinks ( 4 or 5 a day) so I totally eliminated drinking calories. I drink mostly decaffeinated tea sweetened with a bit of splenda. I have lost about 25-30 pounds and I haven't changed anything else. I should exercise and eat better too, but baby steps , right? :) Hope this helps!

1 mom found this helpful

I thought I'd share a post of mine that I recently put up on cafemom :)

A few years ago, before my kids were born I was determined to loose the 20 pounds I had put on from eating badly. I decided to try an idea of mine and invented what I like to call "The Midieval Diet". If you're tired of calorie counting this might be a good option for you. I lost 20 lbs pretty quickly on it and now that my youngest is 18 months old--I've decided to go back on it.

Think about the food that was available on this planet in various parts of the world at 1200AD. The rule is to stop counting calories and eat only foods that were available at this time. SO----no additives, artifical colors, artificial flavors, growth hormones and anti-biotics (found in non-organic meat), vegetable oils (olive oil ok), high-fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils.
Check your labels carefully. Get your bread from a quality bakery made without additives or make your own using a bread machine. Use oraganic whenever possible in everything. Eat lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, white and brown rice, organic chicken, fish and beef. Cheese is fine but in small amounts. (If you want it to go faster tho avoid cheese altogether) Be careful not to overdo the bread--which can slow the weight loss down. If you have a juicer--use it! Fresh fruits in the morning before breakfast and fresh veggies in the afternoon or evening before your meal. Avoid deserts --but you can treat yourself with one every two weeks if you want. :)

This diet is a alot of fun and VERY good for you! The only drawback is having to check labels like crazy but an easy habit to form. I've lost 5 lbs since starting it on the 1st and I'm pretty excited. :)

Another little interesting tid-bit about this diet. Before I got on it years ago-I felt terrible, was overweight, had irregular periods and thought I was infertile. My husband I tried to have a baby for 5 years with no success. As a result of this diet I lost 20 lbs, felt fantastic and my periods became like clockwork resulting in 2 pregnancies! :) You can't say enough for GOOD nutrition!

1 mom found this helpful

It takes longer for the 2nd child. For my 1st, I was back in my regular clothes by the time she was 3 mos. old. And I had gained 44 lbs. My 2nd child took about 7 or 8 mos. On my 3rd child, I didn't finish losing everything until she was 1 yr old. I'm on my 4th right now, & she's now 5 mos. old, & I still have 13 lbs to lose to get back into a size 5. Just give it a little time. Some of it is attributed to the expansion of your ribcage and your hips during pregnancy. Be patient & keep working at it. It'll happen.

1 mom found this helpful

I am 28 with 3 kids. I think it depends on what birth control you are on. I couldn't lose, had been hanging on to extra weight since the twins were born, and I thought it was the Birth control I was using, also, had bad migraines. The Dr said he didn't think it was the birth control, but I changed from Ortho Evra (patch) to YAZ and was able to lose some weight on my own (about 10 pounds).

Then I decided to join Weight Watchers and that has been the best decision I ever made as far as weight goes, I started weight watchers in September 2007 and have lost 20 pounds so far. I am doing the online program. My portion sizes were way out of wack, and even though I was eating healthy foods and exercising, I was eating too much food so I wasn't losing. Also drinking the water helps too. I still have about 40 pounds to get to goal, but I believe Weight watchers will help me get there.

1 mom found this helpful

I had this same problem. I did two things. When I walk I would hold my stomach in. The other thing is watch your carbs. I am doing this and I have really lost weight. That about sums it up. Different things work for different people the trick is what ever you choose, stick with it. :)

1 mom found this helpful

If I were you I would get a second opinion from another doctor. Especially if you are eating right and exercising.

1 mom found this helpful

I know I had problems loosing weight too, finally I went to a Bariatric Doctor and had blood work done. I was doing everything I could to loose weight and nothing worked. I didn't know my health was so poor. I was insulin resistant, basically too much insulin and my body couldn't get rid of it, I was on my way to being diabetic. They helped by showing me where the hidden sugars were and how to find them in foods I didn't even know had sugars. They also gave me some medications that helped me get rid of the extra insuling my body couldn't get rid of and held onto. I would suggest an American Board Certified Bariatric Doctor. There is only ONE in the state of TN and he works out of Franklin....Michael Talbot. I just found a doctors office down the road that just started the same regime I was on with him and like them better. Personalities of the people there are just more welcoming and personalble. If you want to know the clinic, just email me back and will give you their name and number. I'm proud to say the medication helped, my eating habbits have changed, exercise and feel great! I've lost over 60lbs. Just have a few more to go.

L.

P.S. There are a lot of good suggestions on here, but sometimes it's a medical/health issue, and very RARELY do we pursue that avenue and have support in doing so. I would definately have blood work done to make sure because it sounds like you are where I was. I had a girlfriend suggest going and after 6 months, I finally did, and now am healthy because of it.

1 mom found this helpful

I certainly think the pill can be hindering your efforts to lose weight. After the birth of my 5th child, I was given a depoprevera shot and I put on an instant 30#'s and had severe mastitis. I have never been on any birth control since it was that bad.

Ok, now for diet ideas. I am not on one but I have heard lots of people have had success with a couple of them out there. One is the Suzanne Somers diet and another is The Makers Diet. I've not checked out either personally.

Also, watch what you're eating. I was so guilty of 'finishing' their plates for them. And while I felt I was exercising chasing them all over the place, I truly wasn't. Portion control, water intake, and exercise are usually your best bet...bites huh? I just want to take a pill and wake up looking like Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) from Lost.But aint gonna happen. If you eat too little your body will go into fight or flight mode & hold onto everything you eat. Check out the above diets at your local library and see if it's something you can see yourself doing.

Good luck. I'm 48 and still have baby weight and my baby is 9! LOL.

1 mom found this helpful

L., I am in the same situation. The trick is to change what you put in your body consistently. No eating out. No cookies and snacks. I have 20 lbs I would like to lose and I will lose a pound one day and gain 2 the next because of what I ate that day. First cut out any sweet tea and cokes if you drink them then stop eating out or what you fix for your kids. A diet that worked for me is the 6 week body makeover. at www.provida.com. It is a little expensive for a diet but you get eat out guides, exercise guides and a meal guide.

1 mom found this helpful

Well let me speak from experience, it just takes time and I still have 25 lbs to lose. I had twins they are 20 months and i gained over 80lbs. I work out and I diet here and there but I do watch what I eat, and work out 3 days a week. It has slowly came off. I really think you would have to do serious diet to lose quick, but will it stay off?? I do understand your frustration, at first I gained weight from building muscle. Now I have maintained my weight but have noticed around the holidays we tend to splurge. As we get older it's just that much harder. Please believe me just stick with working out and it will help.

1 mom found this helpful

I know how you feel. I have 4 children and after the last one, I gained more than I did during the pregnancy. I was on birth control (Depo) and my midwife changed it to the patch because it causes weight gain. Later I had to switch to the ring because the patch wasn't working for me. I am about to start a diet that helped me after my second and third child. (I was over 30 when it is harder to lose weight) It is called the Weigh Down Workshop by Gwen Shamblin. You can find it online if you search. It may or may not work for you but it is a great diet. I hope it will help you.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi L.! I also have two children but I had the opposite problem with my first child i gained maybe 35 pounds and the 35 pounds stuck on me no matter how healthy i ate and how long i excersised! when she was about 10 months old my doctor finally did some blood work on me and realized that I have an underactive thyroid brought on by pregnancy, and that causes the body to hold on to fat and make it next to impossible to lose anyweight even gaining weight on occasion...and until its treated it will not go away! I got put on medicine for it and with in 2 months lost all 35 pounds plus another 5! and now with my son who i just had not even 4 months ago I gained about 60 pounds and I have lost all but 5 pounds of it, with good nutrition and excersise! Now its not Easy and I do have to deal with it all of my life now but findning out what the problem was kinda made me feel better about it, there were a few people in my family that snikered and made mean remarks when I hadnt lost the weight i gained from my daughter 10 months after My Father even told me that maybe I should stop eating, so it was nice to know that it wasnt my fault, and that no matter what i did if I didnt take the proper medicine to make my thyroid better I would NEVER lose the weight! Well Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you! but i would def get that checked out!

1 mom found this helpful

Jan. 17, 2008

Hi! L.:

Check your metabolic level. I did stay slim at 110 pounds thru my fourth children. All the sudden, my weight just climbed up. I did not know the reasons. Finally my doctor found out I had metabolic deficit.

When you try to work out. The morning exercise before breakfast for 30 minutes is the most effective way to lose weight.

Eat plant foods more, such as mushrooms or tofu.

I found out deep breathing is very important for our life also.

Any more questions? e-mail me: ____@____.com-mei

1 mom found this helpful

I had the same problem. The pill use to make me feel bloated but I don't think that it made me gain weight but it made me feel hungry all the time and cravings. I took vitamins and that gave my body what it needed and that helped a little on the cravings but I had to go to a diet dr downtown Nashville and he gave me phentermine. That really curved my cravings plus he gave me a diet plan and then the more weight I lost the more energy I had and then I was able to exercise more and then I started lifting a little arm weights and doing squats. The more muscle, the higher the metabolism. I think that the pill made it harder to lose weight and the reason I say this is because the weight went off slow but when I stopped taking the pill, it really started to come off fast.
Now I had a friend who felt the same way, she went back to her dr and told him the way she felt. He changed her pill and she said that she didn't have the cravings anymore and didn't feel bloated.

1 mom found this helpful

L.,

One thing to think about, our metabolism slows down the older we get. Losing the weight at 20 would be a heck of alot easier than on the edge of 30. Now that I'm on the other side of 30, I find I have to work harder to maintain the weight that was always my normal. I've started keeping a food journal, and that helps alot.

Good Luck,
J.

1 mom found this helpful