We've watched the scale go up together, wanna watch it go down? - Page 6

[livacreature]

Joining.  At the doctor last week, I was 4 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight.  Not shabby, but I need to tone up.  And my hips!  My goodness, she was only six pounds!  I've always been curvy, hourglassy, I like that, but I can barely get my jeans over them, and there is no way my slacks are going to fit.  Does your bone structure return to normal?  How long does it take?  I've been walking with her a lot.  I ran once at three weeks, haven't sense.  I'd like to lose about 10 additional pounds to get to my pre-grad school weight.  Those pounds are much trickier than pregnancy pounds!

[lifeguard]

Nice loss Chelsea!

I am totally struggling with my nutrition. Some days I do great but many I do not. Sleep seems to be the biggest issue. Dd has been going to sleep around 2:00, sleeping rather brokenly & then either her or ds wake between 6:30 & 7:30. So I'm averaging 4-5 hours of broken sleep & many days I do not get to nap. So I am finding that I do not have the self-control to stay "on" for 20 hours in a day, plus as I get more worn out I turn to food more & more in search of instant energy. Dh is off work for the next 6 weeks so hopefully I'll get more naps.

I am finding myself feeling split between hating my body & feeling pretty good about it. I go back & forth throughout the day. I must say overall I am very disappointed by my overall fat distribution - it seems my belly is bigger than ever, which is really unfair as it has always been my largest area. I was this same weight a few years ago but am now much stronger (so "should" be taking up less space) yet my jeans from then barely do up & the muffin top is humiliating.

Insult to injury: for my birthday I've said for months I wanting a lifting belt for the gym but dh decided not to get it as my waist measurement is still the same as it was 40lbs ago (how is that even possible?) & instead he ordered me some great powerlifting t-shirts - in size xl - sigh - I am trying sooooo hard to eliminate this size from my wardrobe, & they barely fit. The belt thing sounds meaner than it is - the reason I wanted it for my bday was that I was anticipating being smaller than before & as these belts are an investment I don't want to have to get a different one as I lose weight so I need to be closer to my goal size.

[RosemaryS-F]

Lifeguard, how long has it taken you to get back before? For me, it took a few months even though my weight was back to normal.

I'm down 21 at 3 weeks and have 9 more to go. Got this Shrinkx Hips belt thing that supposedly works with the relaxin that stays in your system for 8 weeks pp but it is sooo uncomfortable i barely wear it.

[lifeguard]

rosemary - I never got "back" after ds - I literally did not lose a single pound after he was born.

I've thought about using something similar but honestly I am all for being comfortable, plus I don't think it would reduce the tummy flab.

[emmaegbert]

lifeguard, I had lost 16lbs at around 1 week or whenever I first weighed myself, and have lost nothing since, despite walking ( while babywearing) 2-3 miles a day and following a moderately low-carb diet. And I am tandem nursing. And I am SO FREAKING HUNGRY. So, that puts me about 18-22 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight, depending on what number I am counting (my guestimate of before I was pregnant or the first time I weighed myself, when I was already bloated with that early pregnancy bloat).

After I had each of my previous children, I literally weighed in at 5lbs under my top pregnancy weight at my 6w checkup. And I am active, I eat a healthy diet, and I have exclusively breastfed my kids.

So basically I am afraid that I will start gaining weight in the next few weeks... I'll be 4w PP on Friday. I guess if I end up 16lbs down at 6w, that is a big improvement over the previous times.

I am going to tighten up my diet more (after thanksgiving is over) and I have been adding a little bit of gentle core work (like SERIOUSLY GENTLE). Next week I plan to try the mommy and me yoga class at the studio where I still have a few classes on my card, and also to finally go downtown to fill out financial aid paperwork at the Y, since I think they have childwatch-- so I could swim or take a class once or twice a week. With 2 kids at home with me and one in elementary school, there is just no time for me to work out other than the walking that I build into my life.

my arms and legs look seriously fat to me, I think that may be where I am carrying my extra weight (and in my gigantic breasts and mushy belly too, of course). I may dig out some of my workout videos... still want to watch it with core stuff since I don't want to compromise anything there.

livacreature since all my kids have been born while I was a grad student, I guess maybe that's my problem? grad school AND babies...

[lifeguard]

emmaegbert - it somehow seems unfair we had to be so strict with our eating through the pregnancy & more again now. Sometimes I just want a break from it - I want to be one of those women who says "when I was bfing I didn't even have to try" just for a little bit. Sigh.

I've been thinking a LOT about why my motivation for the nutrition aspect is down the tubes & I think it is because of this whole 40lbs down = zero inches in the waist thing. It's been hard work to get to this point & it feels like it was without results. Somehow I need to reframe the whole thing.

[emmaegbert]

lifeguard, I know you've had to be much stricter than me and still needed meds with the GD, hugs to you. You've done AMAZING things with your weight loss and gaining strength and health. I hope with some more sleep and some more time for healing and you see some of the changes you deserve in your measurements.

[~pi]

lifeguard, hugs. It's still very early. I am back at pre-pregnancy weight, but things are not where I left them. It's frustrating. Try to give your body some time to bounce back.

After starting to slowly ramp up my activity level, I have now very sadly knocked it back down. I am now using all workout time to do physio for my abs.

Though I did manage a really great walk today. On days when it's warm enough, I can totally get a good walk in, because I can nurse/change the baby outside if need be. But it just doesn't work well on cold days. I really hope my abdominals are friends again soon so that I have other options besides walking.

[akind1]

My main thing is remembering to eat enough; I have to eat to lose weight even though I have plenty to lose.

Also need to focus on abs, that is where all me very saggy skin is. I am 15 lbs below PP weight. It shows most in the boobs. I was a 44g when nursing DS, and I am a 40/42 DD nursing DD. I am happy to be in an easier to find bra size. Not really in a smaller pant size though. 

[emmaegbert]

Originally Posted by akind1 

My main thing is remembering to eat enough; I have to eat to lose weight even though I have plenty to lose.

this is true for me too, but WHAT I eat matters a lot. When I can keep my diet high in veggies, protein, and fat, I do well. But its hard b/c there are soooo many things high in carbs and sugars (and things I previously thought of as very healthy) that are just not so good for me. And those things always seem so delicious. And with tandem-nursing, I really am quite hungry. Ugh.

[emmaegbert]

Originally Posted by livacreature 

 Does your bone structure return to normal?  How long does it take?  I've been walking with her a lot.  I ran once at three weeks, haven't sense.  I'd like to lose about 10 additional pounds to get to my pre-grad school weight.  Those pounds are much trickier than pregnancy pounds!

for me this maybe never went exactly "normal", but last winter, when my daughter (second child) was about 20 months, I was able to wear pants from before I had kids. So, it was pretty close. I do think that can take a while. And, it probably varies from person to person somewhat.

[lifeguard]

So maybe it is normal to see weightloss but not necessarily a big change in my tummy just yet?

This week dh & I made a big decision to make some changes to our workouts regimes. We've been doing personal/semi-personal training for a year now (longer for me) but it is not cheap (although MUCH cheaper than if we lived in the city). At some point we've got to cut the apron strings so we're taking the first step. I am going to start training on my own twice a week & then once a week with the trainer & he is going to go with the trainer once a week & do a bootcamp twice a week. I'm a little nervous I won't push myself hard enough but it's unrealistic financially to keep up what we were doing.

[RosemaryS-F]

Yes, it's normal. I weigh 8 lb above pp weight, a weight that I weighed for about 6 months at one point, and none of the pants that I could wear then fit now without a muffin top. I'm not worried. The weight keeps coming off at a reasonable pace and my body will readjust, I'm sure. Another thing is, since you did so much lifting during pregnancy and went back to it very quickly, could you have a diastasis recti like pi? I believe those are common in lifters?

[lifeguard]

rosemary - i kept a close eye on my abs throughout the pregnancy & have tried checking since but honestly I'm soooo gooshy in the middle i can't properly feel my abs. I might ask my doctor more next time I'm in. 

[lifeguard]

Oh & when I sent my nutritionist my update today he seemed shocked at how little sleep I'm getting & it totally changed his tone (not that it was bad before) so I do wonder how much sleep affects it all.

[emmaegbert]

lifeguard I am sure sleep does change both our metabolisms as well as our ability (emtional/mental) to stick to a strict diet. I know that during pregnancy (when I monitor), I see higher blood glucose numbers when I lack sleep or am sick. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was some biological aspect to it too. I know there have been quite a number of studies linking sleep deprivation and weight gain (but sadly, I don't believe it goes the other way... adequate sleep doesn't cause weight loss).

[emmaegbert]

I am sad to be still sitting at the same exact weight as I was 3 weeks ago, baby is 4 weeks old now. I have been walking a lot- or it feels like a lot- 2-3 miles a day, for the past 2 weeks. In general I do feel much better. Diet has been pretty good though far from perfect (hello Halloween and Thanksgiving?!? Not that its a good excuse... and with the christmas/new years holidays coming I have plenty of opportunity to screw up my eating ahead). I am going to add a little more "working out" I guess. Have to dredge up my workout DVDs and I will start there. I am so darn tired, its hard to imagine when I will find time for this, but maybe if I have a goal of 10-15 minutes per day for now... in addition to the walking.... I can manage that in the evenings and see if that helps me some.

[RosemaryS-F]

I just remembered babyfit.com, which i found helpful before.

I hate to sound like a broken record about the belly binding, but if you DO have a diastasis Lifeguard, it will help to push the muscles back together. I first heard of this technique when I read "Lose Your Mummy Tummy" by somebody Tupler. You could check it out. I would be shocked if you both lifted AND were pregnant, and didn't have some muscle separation.

[dollyanna]

Rosemary I am going to try the binding. I found a belly bandit for sale on eBay for only $20, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  I'm feeling very ugh about my body these days. As others, i am PP weight but my belly & hips are bigger. Would really like to fit in my pants without ridiculous muffin top. Last time I did nothing & it took over a year to get back to my previous (still plump) shape.

I've been counting calories for the last few days. I have no idea what I should be aiming towards considering I am breastfeeding, but I only make like 1/3 of the milk DD needs. Maybe that means I should just eat an extra 150 calories? I'm freaking hungry, I know that much.

[RosemaryS-F]

dollyanna, i'd keep with 300 like prego and see what happens. how old is your baby--sorry, i can't remember! anyway, you don't want to compromise what you are able to make.