Postpartum Weight After C-Section-When Will I Not Look Pregnant Anymore?

My dear .. I'm not trying to be harsh .. but are you kidding ... 2 weeks post partum .. you JUST had a baby AND major surgery!!!! You haven't even had your 6 week check up and you think your body should be back to normal?

While all the other ladies said 9 months on 9 months off .. w/ most of my friends it almost took an entire year. Yes, some are back to normal in just a few weeks and yes, some celebrities are back on the runways in 4 weeks .. but it's only been 2 weeks .. let your body heal .. while your uterus is still shrinking .. your tummy is still going to be somewhat swollen from having a c-section.

If you ever watch any surgeries on TV ... like Dr. 90210 ... they tell them like 6 months until they look completely normal and that's just having cosmetic surgery!!!

Enjoy that baby girl and give your beautiful post-partum body time to heal!!! Keep in mind tho, that some women's bodies never are quite like they were pre-pregnancy. :-)

2 moms found this helpful

Hi J.!! Please do not be so hard on yourself to loose the weight!! I have had 3 c-sections and it took me no less than 9 months each time to get the weight off. I was in pretty good shape after my first and it still took me awhile to loose the weight. My youngest is 9 months old and I am just getting to the weight that I would like. It will come off- just give it time!!

Good luck! A.

Hi J.,
Lisa is right...9 months on, 9 months off.
I think most of us women would love to jump right back into our skinny jeans after giving birth but for about 99% of women, that's just not possible.

I had a c-section with my son (2nd baby) and it just seemed so much harder to lose the weight. I'm a very active busy mom who still struggles with the weight loss. ( A year later )
Try not to stress out to bad about it. I was so depressed and stressed about my weight after having my son I started taking diet pills about 4 weeks postpartum.
It was a BIG mistake! My body just wasn't ready for that kind of change and I really should have let things go back to normal on their own b4 the diet pills. They made me very moody, couldn't sleep and lost my appetite completely which of course made me very sick....

I quit taking them about 2 weeks later and never went back!
Now I just try my hardest to watch my portions and get daily exercise.
Just make sure you try and relax and don't worry yourself to much about your weight. If you only need to lose an extra 16 lbs then your very lucky and that should come off in no time!
Good luck and congrats on your new baby girl! : )

So true 9 months on, 9 months off. Even with all the weight off your body is just different exp if you are in your 30s versus the 20s.
In my case I couldn't diet very much as I was breastfeeding and working part time. If I worked out too hard or didn't take in enough food than my milk supply was reduced. Just be careful and give yourself TIME.
You can always do weight watchers for a month or so to help out when you are done breastfeeding.
H.

Two weeks post partum is really not very long. I had a c-section, but breast fed (which I highly recommend for the weight loss alone! you might consider it for that reason -- it's not too late.) and it took a year for the weight to come off. I didn't diet or exercise either which was really nice.

The saying is -- 9 months on and 9 months off. Don't be fooled by the celebrity weight loss myth. It is not healthy to loose that much weight so quickly. It will come off, but don't expect anything dramatic until at least 6 months. Good luck!

Everyone is different, but after 1 month the weight was mostly off (I had gained 52 pounds!), by the second month it was all off and my body was mostly back to prenatal tone. It's a little harder for us c-section gals because it's so long before we can do exercises to tone us up. But it does happen so gon't give up, especially after just 2 and 1/2 weeks!

Congratulations on the beautful baby girl!!

Hello,

Well first of all congratulations on your new baby! I had two C-Sections and my kids are 18 months are apart. I found that is was easier to lose the weight and go back to my "normal" size faster and easier with my first son. I say "norma", because I got down to my pre-pregnancy weight but still didn't have the same body. With my first son, I back to down to my normal weight within 6 weeks after giving birth, but I also breastfeed which was a tremendous help. With my second son it took a while, I'd say at least two to two and half months. I also breastfeed my second son, so that helped me burn calories without being physically active. I know it is hard to do any kind of physical activity after a C-section. So, my advice to you is try to get more often. Little healthy meals throughout the day that will help get your metabolism going and start taking short walks with the baby, if you feel up to it. Hope this helps!

It's just been 2 1/2 weeks.....Take it easy on yourself. I had my son last November and my skin still isn't perfectly taut like it was before, but that could be that I'm not working out like I should be. Ok, back to the question....By New Year's I looked pretty good, but still some bloating and what not. Remember a good rule of thumb is it took 9 months to get that way it takes nine months or longer to get it back. Good luck and take it easy. You're suppose to wait 9 weeks before you can work out, you don't want to mess up your insides.

K.

Wait until the swelling goes down and it will be worse some days than others depending on your activity. I had 2 c-sections with my boys and was the same way. It will come around. Make sure you drink a lot of water so you are not retaining so much in your tissues. It does take longer for you to bounce back after having a c-section over natural delivery due to the surgery so hang in there and you will be your smokin' self in no time!!!

It took me a good six months after my c-section to get back to my normal weight. The funny thing is that my fingers were the last to get back in line. I couldn't wear my wedding ring for months after!

I wouldn't expect to ever be back to "normal." Honestly, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight just a couple of weeks after my c-section, but I was and am still (16 months later) so mushy. I weigh less now than I did before I got pregnant, but I also had a lot more lean muscle mass back then. I don't have the time for 2-hour workout sessions now like I did then. Oh, well. Such is life. Your stomach will shrink. Two and half weeks is nothing. As you said, everybody is different. With that said, it took 9 months to put the weight on, so you should give yourself at least that much time to take it off. Congrats on the baby girl!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy every minute of it because time flies.

Oh girl, I looked 4 or 5 months pregnant for a good month after my C-sections. Breastfeeding only helps with the contraction of the uterus, not so much with weight loss (in fact, I held on to an extra 10 pounds until I quit nursing). The only reason you are bigger than before is because you just had a baby, that's all. not because you're fat or unhealthy or unfit anything else. Yes, there are some women who are a size 4 before pregnancy and a size 4 again within a month after delivery. We're not all made that way. Your muscles and skin will gradually shrink back down over the next several weeks/months. Not only were they supporting a baby, but they've been injured because of the surgery. You have two things to recover from! Your body needs a break! If you exercised regularly before and/or during your pregnancy, check with your OB about when you can resume that kind of activity. It's probably not for 6 or 8 weeks, or until you quit bleeding.

If it helps put it in persepective, here's my experience:
I don't remember exactly after my first C-section (4 1/2 years ago), but I recall a big drop in weight around 6 months, then again at 9 months, then I was back into my pre-baby jeans at 11 months (marked that one on my calendar...). Remember that your body was loaded with all those pregnancy hormones that cause cartilage and ligaments to expand. Even when you are back to pre-baby weight, your body might still be bigger/wider in certain parts (hips, feet, shoulders) because of this -- that's what happened to me. I was within 5 pounds of pre-baby weight at 6 months, so should have been able to fit into my jeans, but couldn't. The hips didn't come back together until 11 months.

After my second C-section (2 years ago) I knew that I'd still be in maternity clothes for a few weeks. After a month I got fed up and decided I needed something decent to wear, so I went shopping. Much to my surprize I had to buy size 14 pants (that fit tight!). I'm normally a size 6 petite. However, in a month I was in size 12 (yes, I went shopping every 3 or 4 weeks for a new pair of capris that I wore over and over!), then a 10 a few weeks after that... I was within 10 pounds of my pre-baby weight, and at least down to a size 8 by the time my second child was a year old. He was 15 months when I woke up with a backache and realized my pants fit loose -- my hips shifted back together (causing back muscles to ache) and I was a size 6 again!

Hope this helps.
And hope you're enjoying that little girl!

I had a c-section eight months ago with a lot of complications. It took 6 weeks for my initial swelling to go down. I lost a lot of weight breast feeding but now that I don't do that anymore I have gained a few back. With my scar it sits funny and doesn't distrivute well so at times I still look pregnant. Ughh. It can al;so take a year for your body to heal completly.

Hello, I am a perinatal personal trainer which means that I work with pregnant and post-partum women. I encourage you to be patient with your body as it recovers from the C-section. In time, your body will come back to its natural shape. Depending on how much weight you gained during pregnancy and how active you were during pregnancy help to determine how your body responds after the pregnancy is over. It is VERY IMPORTANT to listen to your doctor regarding when it is safe for you to resume physical activity as there is a lot going on in your body that you are not aware of. As far as diet goes feel free to eliminate some calories but don't go below 1500 per day - I prefer to have people at around 1700-1800/day. If you have any specific questions for me, feel free to email me. Good luck!