Secret to Shedding the Last 10 Lbs (While Nursing)

I agree with McMama, your body may be telling itself to "hold onto" the extra weight while you're nursing. It's a design of nature so that in the event there was a famine, your body would have some fat stores to convert to breastmilk and feed you.

Focus on being healthy - eating well, hydrating well, exercising/destressing (all of which it sounds like you already are!).

Finally, the best way that I've found in breaking through plateaus is to mix up my exercise plan. They have a saying, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Your body adjusts to your "routine" and seeks stability. So if you want to bust out of that plateau, try some interval training...it's not about being in the gym for 45 mins, it's about working HARD. I liked to do things where I could push myself hard for a few minutes then take a little break doing lighter work, then go back to the hard. Check out the Body for Life Book from the library. He talks a lot about how to keep seeking YOUR limits and pushing yourself. He's got a great program on how to work from 1(low) to 10(high), using intervals for both cardio and strength training. His philosophy is to get in and out of the gym so you can enjoy your life, not spend your time there exercising by putting in an hour on a treadmill.

Best wishes!

1 mom found this helpful

Short Answer: There is no secret and no matter how hard you try, you may not lose those last 10 lbs.

Long answer(s): Make sure you are eating the right number of calories. If you are eating the minimum then working out for 45 mins, you are NOT getting the calories you need so your body is NOT going to drop any weight because it's holding onto it to make milk.

Do not worry about those last 10 lbs until you are done breastfeeding. Also, you want to be sure that you are not working out too much and eating too little calories because I've heard/read that doing this can actually cause the milk to turn toxic for the baby. Not sure if it's true, but it always made me think :)

It sounds like you are doing so many things correctly, so go for you!

I would try to build up muscle 2 ways, since muscle = metabolism.

1. increase weight-lifting in all muscles, not just the core
2. take a protein shake with added natural leucine, a natural amino acid that is definitely safe while nursing

http://K..myshaklee.com/us/en/category.php?main_cat=Weigh...

Also, check out the entire Cinch Inch Loss Program:
www.cinchplan.com/K. . There is a little bit of caffeine in the 3 in 1 Boost and in the tea, so I'd talk to the dr. before taking those 2 items in the program. Everything else is fine.
Best wishes!

HI A.
We've all been there- at least most of us.
You're doing most of it..
Add in one white flour starch a day.
And depending on your height- if you want to email me I can run a profile on you quickly-- ____@____.com---you want to eat no less than 75 gm of protein a day along with a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and veggies.
Could likely be you're not eating enough with workouts 5-6 days a week- sounds crazy but if you're nursing and exercising and burning more than you're taking in, your body won't let those last lbs off -- especially while nursing.
Keep at it- after twins-- I am over 50 and in a bikini

About me: 50 yo perfusionist, wellness coach also doing a nationwide online weight loss challenge for up to winnings of $599 starting Oct. 19th, mom with 9 yo fraternal twin girls.

B. J

You can lose it but it won't be easy. I lost mine by totally avoiding processed foods, sugar and saturated fats (incluing butter, margerine, shortening). I might not have done it if I hadn't found out that I'm gluten intolerant, but I do feel much better now - it is worth it. Also I exercise but not nearly as much as you do. To satisfy my craving for sweets I eat lots of watermelon.

Consider not eating wheat or sugar. Really hard to do but will probably work.

K with both babies I lost all my baby weight while nursing and even more. You can do it you just need to count your calories. It's great you are working out and drinking lots of water but do you take into account how many calories you eat in a day? While nursing you can eat between 1500 to 1800 a day and that is low enough for you to lose weight but enough that you will still make enough milk. For me I also ate easy things that have all the calorie info on the back so I wasn't measuring or calculating so much. Like drinking slim fast and eating lean cuisines or the weight watchers smart ones meal. So if you were to only eat 1500 calories a day those 10 pounds would come off. Good luck.

Sounds like you are doing a great job, but remember that your body is designed to hold on to a bit of "extra" while you are nursing. I would say keep working out, and eating healthy and nurse for now. When you wean you can focus on those last few pounds and I think you will find that they are much easier to lose at that point.

One pound equals 750 calories. You have to delete 750 calories off your diet to lose a pound. Rather you have to burn 750 calories to lose one pound.

Well that is all fine and dandy but once you hit that plateau my goodness you have to step it up. sounds like you did. I did as well. So I have to step it up. I was told that for example I should walk an hour a day after I had the baby..... no matter how fast I walked or if and when I got up to running I needed to do it for an hour. That should help with the plateau and keep it at bay. It has so far but now that I'm down to 10 pounds pre baby I'm really having to work at it... it seems. I really have to cut out those 750 and keep my exercise up even more than before... because I have hit that damn plateau too.

It took a year, typically, to lose my weight for my first 3 children. With my 4th it was 5 months but it seemed odd for me to lose it that fast. Now my 5th is 6 months old and I lost 40 pounds but have 20 pounds that wants to hold on to me...LOL I haven't lost a pound in 3 months. I'm dancing and exercising and eating healthy too but I keep reminding myself that it will probably take a year. It sounds like you're doing all the right things. It was also recommended to eat smaller meals more often. You'll want to make sure your getting enough nutrition and calories also while nursing. Good luck to you and congratulations!!

Sounds like you're doing everything right. A few considerations:

-How many calories per day are you eating? Make sure that you're both eating enough as well as not too many. The absolute lowest you should go would be 1200. Have you adjusted your caloric intake with your weight loss? As you lose weight, your caloric intake should be reduced - not by much but reduced.

-Are you doing the same exact cardio and strength training activities? If so, mix it up a bit as your body has gotten accustomed to the work and you need to now 'overload'. This can be as simple as incorporating HIIT workouts (high intensity interval training). Basically you work really hard for a few minutes then rest, repeating this sequence. Just google 'HIIT' or 'high intensity interval training' and you'll get a lot of great sites with good information.

-Turn your strength training into supersets with cardio. Instead of doing 3 sets of 10 of say bicep curls and resting 60 seconds in between sets, do something like 10 bicep curls IMMEDIATELY followed by 10 tricep extensions then do a 60 second jog/jump rope/step ups, etc. Repeat that pattern 3 times. Not only will you save time during your workout but you will also have your heart rate raised for the duration of your workout without having it slow down in between your sets. You can set up supersets by doing opposing muscle groups (front and back like biceps and triceps or pectorals and lats) or by doing upper and lower (such as chest press and lunge, and lat pull down and squat). This is a super fat torcher and helps stoke your metabolism.

-Good luck and remember sometimes the plateaus are exceptionally stubborn and take a while to break through. In the meantime, remind yourself that you know you're doing the right thing, good things for your body and eventually you will get to where you want to go!

PS - skip supplements, vitamins, or other 'special products' (including shakes and meal replacements) because they tend to do more harm than good in the long run