Postpartum weight loss and exercise thread - Page 2

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by Kelly1101

Trying to decide if I want to buy a scale. Will it motivate me or distract me?

I bought one that does not only my weight but, if my feet are wet, will actually tell me the fat percentage in my body. I stopped using the fat percentage part after a week. It was depressing.

However, I found that stepping on the scale every morning (right after my morning potty break and before hopping in the shower) keeps me motivated. Either I see that I am still fat and get mad and want to lose it... or I see that I am losing it and it motivates me to keep doing it.

The Wii fit will do this for me and keep a graph of where my weight and BMI are at any given moment.

However, seeing you arent losing could possibly make you depressed and want to eat an entire chocolate cake yourself... or seeing you are losing could make you think oh... im doing good I should treat myself... with an entire chocolate cake!

both of those are destructive thoughts. If you think you fall into either category I would suggest not watching the weight daily or even weekly.

[RedOakMomma]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

However, I found that stepping on the scale every morning (right after my morning potty break and before hopping in the shower) keeps me motivated. Either I see that I am still fat and get mad and want to lose it... or I see that I am losing it and it motivates me to keep doing it.

This is what I do, too. I actually find that my weight creeps up if I don't weigh myself regularly...it's like my own little form of denial.

I've been weighing myself regularly (trying for daily, but sometimes I'm in a rush and it doesn't happen, or I get in a kick of not weighing myself) for years now and I haven't had any negative effects. No food issues, body issues, etc. I find it very empowering when I can see my progress, or find the daily motivation to improve/keep working.

[Just1More]

Originally Posted by Baby~Braatens~Mama

I have 27 pounds to lose before I get down to my pp weight... but it was a solid 150, muscle from working out in the oilfield... I am no longer doing physical labor, nor will I be (I am going to raise my son ) so now I need to figure out how much I should weigh and try to achieve a healthy schedule. I have NO idea how I will go about this, since I have never tried to manage my weight before.

I was strong before my first, too. My body just slid back into shape a little at a time...I didn't have to work on it. By 7 months pp, I was under pre-pg weight. (And was probably actually a little too thin.) I think it might have been my barracuda nurser...

This time (baby 4), I hit 205 (typical for me), and am now at 175. I'd like to loose another 30 pounds at least, maybe 40. 135 is pushing it for me, though...I'm 5'8" and have "heavy" bones. When I was training and running in high school, I was 150. I remember another girl (non-athletic, but small frame) saying, "YOU weigh 150? I weigh 100." She was shocked that I weighed "that much", but looked like I did. But, I no longer carry that kind of muscle...too bad.

As soon as I hit the 6 week mark, I am going to start weight lifting and maybe running again. I have a little problem, though. My toe (you know, the one I broke) doesn't appreciate shoes. I've just tried to switch to real shoes from sandles and my toe HURTS.

[Monkey Keeper]

Originally Posted by CraftyMcGluestick

Maybe I will treat myself to some new clothes when I reach specific goals.

One thing I did treat myself with after DD2 was a fabulous-fitting pair of jeans that I never would splurge for otherwise! I got down to a size I hadn't seen in years, and my various sized jeans all were too big. It was a great reward--and now it is great motivation to get there again!


Scale--Nope, don't own one. I have body image issues, so I get into loops of those negative thought patterns Mae mentioned.

Getting the itch--YES. OH how I want to get back to my fitness yoga class. ahhh.... and I saw 2 moms walking after they dropped their kiddos off after preschool yesterday. I wanted to climb out of the car and tag along! But I'm still having some bleeding, so I should hold off

Just1More--I am like you; I barely am 5'6" but am "heavy boned" and really have to work at getting under 140. At this point in my life I really don't have the desire it takes! not when I can be lean,in shape and healthy 10lbs heavier. No one ever believes I weigh what I do though.


STATS:
Pre-pg low weight: 137lbs (last spring before TTC)
Starting weight: 148lbs
High weight: 180lbs
Weight @ 8 days pp: 155lbs
Goal weight: 140-145lbs

I won't get on a scale till my 6w appointment, probably, which is on the 27th. So I will check in then. I'm hoping to be down at least 5 more lbs, but with DD2 I lost nothing from 2w-6w pp...

[Kelly1101]

Well, I bought a scale. Just a cheapo $7 from Walmart. It says I am exactly 150 this morning.

So, YAY I'm only 3 lbs up from where I was pre-Ozzy... and 25 lbs up from where I was pre-Emma, rotfl.

I really would like to get down to 125 again. I've weighed less in my life-- 115 at times-- but that was when I wasn't at my healthiest... I think 125 is a healthy and good-looking weight for my height and shape.

So, I brought it up to my husband this morning that I was going to drop 25 lbs. He's such a sweetie-- "you're already looking great, if you don't get all the way back to where you were before Emma it's okay"-- but I said I wanted to do something like reward myself every 10 pounds. He asked "with what" and I haven't figured it out yet.

But I may treat myself to splurge and buy something I've been wanting (I haven't bought anything for myself in ages) at 145, 135, and 125.

Now I just have to figure out what. Hmmm.

[Galatea]

The most frustrating thing for me is the mismatch between the size of my stomach and everything else. My stomach is a full size bigger than my butt and legs, which makes wearing pants hard. I would be fine losing slowly if my stomach didn't bulge. But it does, so I am motivated to start using the "Lose It" app on my iPhone, which worked really well last time. I lost 50 lbs in about 6 months.

[Lucy&Jude'sMama]

I'm crashing... I haven't had my baby yet but I wanted to give you ladies words of encouragement!!!

With my first I started at 155 (about 15 lbs overweight, I'm 5'7). During pregnancy I got up to 235. Yikes that's 80 lbs! On my 6 week check up I was down to 200 and that's when I started eating right and exercising. I lost 55 lbs in 6 months and went from a size 16 to a size 8. My body fat went down 12%. It took work and dedication but it's totally possible. I was 10 lbs under my pre-preggo weight and I felt great.


This pregnancy I haven't gained as much but I had a set back before I got pregnant with this baby... I had a miscarriage (my 2nd) and I got really depressed and stopped exercising and eating right... 3 months later I was up 25 lbs and I found out I was pregnant. Ugh! So this time I'm estimating that I'll need about 6 months again to loose the weight but at least this time I know ts very possible and attainable.

Good luck with your goals!

[jenifera2]

Originally Posted by Galatea

The most frustrating thing for me is the mismatch between the size of my stomach and everything else. My stomach is a full size bigger than my butt and legs, which makes wearing pants hard.

That! It does seem to be getting better, but it's still obvious enough.

[MaerynPearl]

Wii fit says I am down 4.17 lbs in 4 days... which I suppose is largely in part to breastfeeding + still getting rid of the inital pregnancy weight but still...


plus I gained 18 coins =D (which translates into 18 minutes of workout)

I havent tried any of the strength things... and I avoid the running one... and yoga for now. Ill do yoga on school days when the kids arent around so I can relax during it. Dont figure its too helpful when Im yelling at the kids mid-pose to get off the wii board.

Oh... I did the hula hoop thing... that got me sweating! wow. More workout than I thought it would be.

Im going to aim for 30+ coins per day as I get more into it... but for now I was just trying to burn off some steam and a sudden craving for less-than-healthy fruit.

[Illiana]

I've been feeling normal since about day 2 pp and have been going about as normal which is sadly very low activity level. Now I'm 11 days pp and wanting to get a little more activity. I don't want to push myself too much too soon, but I want to start some activity before i get in the rut of not doing anything either.. I'm super lazy and have to be motivated to do any exercise. I'm down almost 30 lbs pp with my max weight being 230 and was 202 Thursday at a doc appt but have gained since i think. I was 170 pre preg and had only ever lost 10 lbs from dd when i maxed out at 180.

anyway, I want to get down to at LEAST 170 again if not more to 150 (ideal). I think i want to take it 10 or 20 lbs at a time. and just keep upping the goals not set one huge one at the beginning. so all in all i want to lose about 50 lbs.

I'm having a hard time finding a way to do anything.. i want to start with walking since i'm so out of shape and we can easily put Trystan in a stroller, but dd who is 4 wont stay with us.. i dont trust our neighborhood so i wont walk without DF and there aren't many other places to go.


ETA: one thing i do want to start doing is hula hoop.. A lady from DD's ddc got a weighted one and lost her belly in no time doing it daily. I want to start with a basic kids one until i get the hang of it again. and then work on getting a weighted one.

[Chloe'sMama]

I have been out of town and away from my computer for the last week. Not much activity.... Did go running a week ago and then again on Friday and will go again today!!! We are staying with my parents while visiting, and don't have as much time to work out at all. I don't want to weigh myself either until I am back to my own scale.

Glad to hear everyone is doing good though!!!!

[MaerynPearl]

We restarted my wii fit account tonight (and DHs) as it was over 500 days old and 498 of them were inactive lol

So now I do not have my awesome weight loss scale... but Ill have it back here in a few days!

I worked on it some more today... my wii fit age today was 20 =D and then when we were done on wii fit, we played wii sports for a while... then had chicken and rice for supper.

If you dont count the entire wonkas scrumdiddlyumptious I ate today... and the can of pop I had (naughty me! I stopped drinking pop almost two years ago!) then today would be a productive day!

oh and wii fit says I am just under 230 lbs now! Its gonna suck when this inital postpartum weight loss stops... because losing 2 pounds every day has been amazing lol.

[porcelina]

Are we really supposed to wait 6 weeks to get the clear for exercise? I was planning on starting to walk this week (I'm @ 18 days post-partum), and was hoping to move on to running/jogging soon. I only had a first degree tear, and it's really not hurting anymore. Are we supposed to wait for bleeding to stop?

Regarding rewards, I love the idea of self-pampering: pedicures, facials, dying your eye lashes, getting your brows shaped, massage, maybe buy some new fancy make-up/face creams. I have never had a facial, and have only had about 4 pedicures in my life, so these are all treats to me! What a great idea to have a reward system!!

[Kelly1101]

Originally Posted by porcelina

Are we really supposed to wait 6 weeks to get the clear for exercise? I was planning on starting to walk this week (I'm @ 18 days post-partum), and was hoping to move on to running/jogging soon. I only had a first degree tear, and it's really not hurting anymore. Are we supposed to wait for bleeding to stop?

Regarding rewards, I love the idea of self-pampering: pedicures, facials, dying your eye lashes, getting your brows shaped, massage, maybe buy some new fancy make-up/face creams. I have never had a facial, and have only had about 4 pedicures in my life, so these are all treats to me! What a great idea to have a reward system!!

I wanted to wait for the bleeding to stop, because heavy activity just aggravated the bleeding, and wanted to make sure my uterus was doing good and I was officially "recovered." I overdid things last time, though, so I'm being a bit extra-cautious this time.

That is a good idea... hmm. Still going back and forth about the rewards. Most of the stuff that springs to mind is stuff for the kids or the house, rotfl, I suck at telling people what I want for Christmas, too... It's like what would I want? I don't know. I have everything I really need, but I'm kind of a minimalist. And when I think of something I really want, it's always something like: New bath mats for the bathroom, rotfl.

I've never done any "pampering"-- I even cut my own hair, hahaha. And I don't wear make up. Something like a pedicure sounds interesting, but I've never had anything like that done. I couldn't go for a massage, because my MIL keeps offering (she does massage for a living) and somehow the idea of my husband's mom giving me a massage weirds me out, but if I went and got one somewhere else she might get offended.

I've thought about just making it be clothes, but meh.

*sigh*

[MaerynPearl]

nak

i wont start heavier exercise until 6 weeks just to be safe... i had issues after dd1 due to never getting rest after she was born.

that said, my wii fit has things that focus on balance that keep me active without strain and some light aerobics (hula hoop lol)

[JTA Mom]

Well, I'm a c/s so slightly different.

Even so, tons of cultures have a period of time were the mom is supposed to rest after birth, usually 40 days ish. It's really easy to overdo it and set back healing. Also, it tkaes about 6 wks for your milk supply to be established too.

Ami

[happyblessedmama]

AGH! I so WISH I could join this thread!

Baby is 5 weeks old, but I had a c-section and I'm not up to exercising just yet. I want, mentally, to take long hikes and be active just like I was before and during his pregnancy. However, the physical reality is that it ain't gonna happen like that for a while.

S'ok. Forced to slow down and appreciate other things. However, I feel like I've gotten out of shape or am in worse shapen than I otherwise would be... it's only in the last week and a half that I haven't been uncomfy on stairs, and I'm still not lifting laundry stuff.

My plans for eventually? Long walks. I'm already back at my pre-pg weight so that's not an issue, but I'd like to lose another 20 lbs.

[Kelly1101]

145

And I'm fitting into pre-preg jeans with no muffin top.

Although, granted, these are my size 13 pre-Ozzy jeans, not my size 8 pre-Emma jeans, but, I am confident that I'll get there eventually, rotfl.

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

Ok I"ll play.. I have a lot of weight to lose, so we'll just start with the baby weight. At 29 days out I had lost 32 of the 49lbs I gained.. 5 days later I was down another 2. So at 5wks out I still have 15lbs to go.. I just got my bloodwork back and started back on Synthroid, so hopefully that'll help me be able to get rid of it.