Not Losing Any Weight After 3Rd Pregnancy

I have to say that what you do sounds like you are putting your body under starvation stress and this is why you hold on to your pounds like crazy.
6 days of exercise - and 1200 cal at 4 months pp, sorry but no wonder you did not produce enough milk...
Your body is thinking there is some natural catastrophe going on and is trying to save up as best as possible.

I would speak to a nutritionist (and I am sure you can find someone who is supportive of veganism) and get on a balanced diet with a moderate excercise regimen. You are not doing your body a favor by wanting to loose so much weight too fast.
You could also consider relactating, as breastfeeding has been proven not only to be beneficial to your baby's health, but to also considerably aid in loosing the baby weight - even if you only partially breastfeed and supplement with formula.
Moderation is the key to sustained weightloss! And I do speak from experience, having at one point lost 50 lbs over the course of a year and not gained it back!
Good luck!

4 moms found this helpful

Hmmm...hate to sound harsh here...but you sound like me.

The problem with that would be Female Athlete Triad.

From someone who's been there, either slow waaaaaay down, or start eating a lot more. Your metabolism had dug it's heels in because your body is trying to save itself.

In my peak physical condition, I was doing strenuous physical activity 9-11 hours a day 7 days a week. I was consuming between 8,000 & 12,000 calories per day. I had a six pack, legs to die for, and I STRUGGLED to keep my bodyfat above 10%.

Sometime later: I was hiking an average of 20 mi p/day five days a week, riding, swimming, dancing, etc. the rest of the time. So, strenuous physical activity aproximately 15-16 hours per day 7 days a week. I consumed between 400 & 600 calories. My bodyfat hovered in the 30%'s, I was over 30lbs lighter, but wore clothes 4 sizes bigger. Ummm....NOTHING I could do would drop any weight. In fact, right before I woke up and realized I was being an idiot, I was starting to swell. Edema. Of course, I didn't wake up until I had a heart attack at 21 because my body was eating itself it was so starved for proteins.

Cortisols are one of your bodies natural reaction to stress. Think of adrenalin as short term, cortisol as long term, although like everything in physiology it's sooooo much more complicated. Unfortunately, it only makes the picture more bleak. You're putting your body under enormous stress and it's reacting accordingly.

My first suggestion would be this: GET SOME GLUCOSE. It's the only fuel your brain runs off of. Your body converts any "-ose" into glucose for your brain. So fructose (from fruit), galactose, lactose, succrose, I don't care what...something that's concentrated in natural sugars. Then UP UP UP your proteins quick, now. Protect your heart. Then see a nutritionist. No nutritionist I've ever spoken to would be anything but supportive & helpful with veganism. If you wait until you're in medical crisis, you will have no choice what is fed to you. So go pour some olive oil over some cannellini beans and serve it up over thick crusty slices of baguette. Not whole wheat. Veg Miso soup. A big glass of orange juice.

It's hard. To me, 1200 cal and a few hours of exercise a day sounds soooooo reasonable...except that I know it isn't. My body just isn't healthy, strengthening, & capable of healing. Weight loss? No siree. I have to convince my body food is abundant before I lose a pound. If you haven't been doing this for too long you probably haven't totally KILLED your metabolism yet. For me, it took about two years of eating 5-10 times a day to get my body convinced that I wasn't starving after about a year of completely mistreating myself. Still today, if I get stressed and forget to eat until dinner a few days in a row I'm guaranteed to go up a pants size.

So take care of yourself. Don't let it get to extremes. Or you could be like me; who gained over a hundred pounds when I started eating (suuuuuper healthy) again.

Good Luck

3 moms found this helpful

I have two bits of advice:

1- Be patient, for goodness sake your baby is only 5 months old! If he/she were 2 and you still hadn't lost the weight then get concerned, but 5 months!!!???!!!

2- Stop focusing on the weight. As a matter of fact throw out the scale. Focus instead on being healthy, which it sounds to me like you are... VERY. All this focus on weight is not good for you and a terrible role model for your 4 year old.

I must say, I know it is hard to decifer someone's state in a few paragraphs in an email, but your intesity sent up red flags for me. I hope I am wrong. Good luck and enjoy those beautiful babies!

2 moms found this helpful

Hi A.,

I too am a total food snob. I try not to let anything with chemicals or pesticides etc into my house let alone onto our table. But I suspect that you are eating a lot of carbohydrates if you are a vegan. The problem with not eating any animal products is it is difficult to get all of the protein your body needs, so you have to consume a lot of grains, legumes, etc all of which are very high in carbohydrates and even though you don't consume much sugar, your body is consuming a lot of it. Which creates insulin. Insulin is a nasty but very necessary hormone in our bodies. However insulin does several things. It tells your body to store it's fat, instead of burning it. It also tells your body to make more fat and store it. And to top it off, it makes your body crave more carbohydrates. There is also a sister hormone to insulin which many think is even a worse culprit that is triggered when you have to much sugar in your system called leptin. Leptin affects your appetite. Do you eat very many complex fats? Nuts, fish, avocados, coconut oil, olive oil are all very good fats to be consuming and most of us don't get enough of them. I am sure you have heard of omega 3's. So getting more of those would be a good place to start. Just a note, when you cook, the only oil that doesn't turn into a trans fat is coconut oil. If you are cooking with olive oil, you are consuming trans fat. Coconut oil is the only one stable enough to withstand heat. Olive oil is great for salad dressings though and anything that doesn't get cooked.

If veganism is a philosophical choice for you, it is a tough road to hoe for you to get enough protein. Which is probably why your milk dried up. Your body had to save it for you. I know consuming fats seems like the opposite of what you think you should do, but think about this. If the standard of low fat high grain diet is right, than why are Americans getting fatter and fatter? The truth is that is just not what most of us need. Most of us need a lot more protein and we only need the carbohydrates found in vegetables. But as a vegan, it is extremely difficult to find protein sources without triggering massive amounts of insulin. So I don't have many suggestions for you other than watch out for soy products. Soybeans are the biggest genetically modified crop, then comes corn. And unless your soy has gone through the fermentation process, it really isn't that good for you. It is high in Estrogen as well, which is great if you are post menopausal, but not great for the rest of us. So I hope something I have shared with you has helped in some way. Your body certainly does seem to be in conservation mode. But be aware that many of the vegetables we eat, are very high in simple starch which turns very quickly to sugar, causing insulin spikes, which tells our fat cells to store more fat. Your exercise level helps with that and burns off sugar and insulin however, so if it wasn't for that, you would probably be twice your size. So good luck and good health to you.

I remembered after I had sent this that I gave you a great protein source, and didn't even realize it. Nuts! You should be eating lots and lots of them. They are great in salads, as a snack, as a hunger stayer, and it sounds like you really need to eat a lot of them. Have a handful with every meal, snack on them, chop them into recipes, just eat lots and lots of them, they are a great protein source and a good fat as well! good luck!

2 moms found this helpful

There is a saying 9 months on - then 9 months off - so just know that - it took you 9 months to put on the weight - so it should take you 9 months to put it off - and if you never lost the weight with baby 2 it might take a wee bit longer.

1 mom found this helpful

It might seem weird, but I think you need to increase your calories! If you are working out as much as you are and are working with a trainer, your body needs more fuel. If we do not eat enough, our bodies will hold what we have because it feels as it is not getting the nutrients it needs. I know it sounds crazy, but try it. You should consume about 1500 a day. It does take a woman's body two years to get back to normal after having a baby. So, take it easy on yourself. I know how hard it is. I still fight that battle too. Good luck

1 mom found this helpful

I lost most of my weight after having my twins. Then a weird thing happened. I went from a size 6 to a size 12 in two weeks. I went to see my naturopath and even though my thyroid levels were normal I had hypothyroid symptoms so they put me on thyroid. I also found out I have gluten sensitivity (maybe celiac).Sometimes a gluten sensivity can make you gain weight. I also decided to do the metabolic typing diet and got really good results with it. Even better was how I felt after I got off the wheat. I didn't get to finish loosing all my weight because I got pregnant again. Isn't that how it always goes?:) Once I'm done being pregnant I will go back on the metabolic typing diet. Maybe you just need more protein and less carbs. Maybe how much your eating of one thing is causing the problem. Good Luck to you! I know how frustrating it is. I hope this kindof helped.

1 mom found this helpful

I hung onto most of my weight until I stopped nursing. Once I stopped nursing, it dropped fairly quickly. My guess is that since you are no longer nursing and no longer needing to hang on to those calories to produce milk, that you will begin to lose weight. It certainly sounds like you are doing your best to at least stay in shape. Perhaps you might need to find a way to put a little more protein in your diet. As the daughter of a vegetarian (not vegan), I can imagine that as a vegan it is extra hard to find those proteins.

You sound like me a couple years ago. I was vegan (am now just vegetarian because I was severely anemic and wasn't good about getting enough protein), working out 15 hours a week in the gym, doing pilates at home and taking in only ###-###-#### calories per day. My milk supply totally dried up, I had little to no energy and I stopped losing weight because I was starving my body. I think it's safe to say you're overdoing it a little.

I gave birth to my third baby 7 months ago and by doing 30 minutes of light exercise 3 days a week (walking, elliptical, pilates) and eating between 1500-1800 calories per day (what a nursing mother needs to produce milk, but still lose weight) I managed to drop off the 23 pregnancy pounds and a few more I needed to lose simply because I'm overweight.

Try to ease up on yourself some. Eat more, exercise less and get plenty of sleep. I think you'll start seeing a difference. I know I did. Good luck to you!

Are your iron levels good?? The reason I ask is my sister after 2 children was tired, couldn't get her weight off and was losing hair (eventually) and after one year of trying to get her doctor to believe her, found out her ironlevels were low. They were in the normal range on the scale but on the low end. The specialist she saw told her that the although they were normal, they were low for her body. He said that the kids zapped it out of her and that some women can't recover on their own and need some supplementation.

He prescribed chromagen and she is doing awesome now!!!

I am in the same boat, except my 3rd just turned one. I have been eating very healthy and spend at least 40 minutes a day working out, with few exceptions. I am very jealous of the personal trainer - I watch exercise videos in my living room and use a step part of the time. If I'm lucky I can get away for a walk a couple times a week. Anyway, my scale is not budging either, and I too am very frustrated. My thinking through this whole thing is that the most important thing is that I'm staying/getting healthy. I am getting stronger and in better and better shape, even if the pounds aren't coming off. Hopefully the weight will catch up eventually.

Hi, I would say that due to all of your working out and the fact that you are limiting your calories so much you have placed your body into starvation mode. Your body has become finely tuned to using every calorie you have and storing what little that might be left over as fat. I would recommend easing up on your calorie restriction and your workouts, changing to some different foods as well. You don't mention how old you are and that might be also part of the problem. Good luck.

How frustrating to be working so hard withiut results! You may not be eating enough calories--seriously. You're body may be afraid to let go of the fat--thinking it needs to store it--this may also have been your milk problem...I'm in the same place, just had number three, gained 40lbs each time no matter what--and I think I actually GAINED weight during the holidays/cold snap. Ugh! I'm using FitDay.com, a free service, which is helpful for awareness and tracking. The best book is Beating the female Fat cell after Pregnancy. It is funny and really helps you understand what your body is doing. After #2 I did Yoga Now by Rodney Yee and Mariel Hemingway--The best yoga program I've ever done, the DVDs are great and the results came more quickly than I thought possible--a little booklet comes with them with a flexible food plan, and there are four workouts. When I got pregnant with #3 my maternity pants were too big in the bottom--my butt was smaller than it had been after I lost the weight from #1! This is what I'm starting to do again to get back on track to losing weight. Good luck, and you are not alone!

I agree with the other Mamas who say you may be overdoing it/under eating. Another thought though, are you taking some kind of birth control? Some types make it nearly impossible to lose weight. Whatever it is, try not to stress over it you really aren't that far postpartum.

The Biggest Loser. I am so not kidding. I put on 60 lbs. average with each pregnancy and didn't manage to loose all the weight before getting pregnant again (balloon anyone?). It may not be the amount of calories, but what your calories are coming from. by signing up online they put together a meal plan and an exercise plan to fit your needs. There is also a Family Friendly cookbook they just put out to be budget and family friendly. I lost 15 lbs. my first month and DH lost 30 (he has a few more to loose than I so it was fine for him). I felt full, energized and good all the time. My clothes got baggy and I wasn't running myself into the ground.

Also what kind of birth control are you using? Things like the pill and the shot are known to have weight gain as a side effect (I put on 30 in a month with the shot!!! EEK!). I used mirena with no weight gain - I have heard the nouva ring also doesn't have weight gain side effect. Best of luck!

When you had your thyroid checked did they just check one thing? Like TSH? I had a friend who ended up going to a certain specialist, and she did have thyroid problems, a LOT of them. But she said they drew a LOT of blood, her word was actually a "vampiric" amount of blood. They checked a very wide spectrum of things, maybe more than an average thyroid checkup.

I too am a food snob and against crash diets. However I have seen my mom have amazing success with medifast. I think it's not the bes tthing but it's supposed to be nutritionally balanced and it's a temporary diet change, and it seems like you have a pretty healthy lifestyle so gaining it back won't be as likely for you as it is for the super-size me crowd.

You need to adjust your diet as it sounds like your body doesn't have enough intake to metabolize properly. I'm surprised this wasn't caught by the doctor or naturopath. Even your trainer should know this isn't enough. I would check with them regarding your correct calorie intake for losing weight. Also, when it does start coming off, remember that 1-2 lbs a week is normal so it will take a while for the weight to come off. Good luck.