Loosing that baby belly ;)

[Shiloh]

Okay so I have decided tomorrow is my return to gym day as those postpartum pictures of me are so far from what I want to see
(I got the goahead last week but I think 2 weeks is better time)

I'm over the postpartum raging hunger
...I've got to start drinking more water and less juice...
I don't believe in scary dieting while breastfeeding...

but would love a meal plan/guideline or other advice on how to loose the postpartum princess body...any links?

while not totally exhausting myself.
So who has got anytips advice?

[robertandenith]

I will love to join you!!! : I worked as a Counselor in 24 hour Fitness so I might have a few tips for every one, but not only for newly moms but for the entire family

A great tip (or a secret) is to do the 'No White Diet', soooo easy to follow and stick with. Also, it's just plain healthier than not eating carbs at all, since carbs are needed for energy. The 'No White Diet' means: no potatoes, white rice, white sugar, or white flour. Just replace everything with Whole Wheat and if you want some sort of potatoes, eat sweet potatoes. If you have a 'mashed potato' craving, you can steam cauliflower and prepare like you do mashed potatoes

Also, ban frying! We don't fry in this house and I have banned frying foods since frying alters the quality of the food even if you fry it with a healthy oil like olive oil. Toxins are released from food by frying (or grilling - but that's another topic) and they increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease, in addition they add up too many calories (by frying) into your food, it's a in our house!

We only have water in our house, if we want juice I get real oranges and squeeze some for the family. We also skip the snack section at the grocery store Have plenty of fruits, they are great for snacking and they are just great carbs. Try to eat fruits in the morning or before 1 pm, it will give you energy needed for the day. Eat a HUGE salad daily, mainly at dinner.

Eat 6 times a day, small portions. I found myself not so hungry when is time to eat since I have been feeding myself so frequent.

Don't forget to drink water! If you are hungry, try to drink a huge glass of water. Sometimes we think we may be hungry but we are just dehydrated!

Also, breastfeed your way thin! Breastfeeding (pumping doesn't count!) helps you lose the 'baby weight', every time you breastfeed have a huge glass of water near you and drink up! If you use your baby to help with engorgement rather than using the breast pump, you will loose more weight faster than you ever think of!

If after drinking water, you still feel hungry, eat an apple! Don't ignore your hunger, it's your body working really hard to make that liquid gold! Just remember to keep healthy foods handy. If you don't have it in your home, you will not eat it.

Junk Foods: We ate junk food (fast food) only 3 times when I was preggo and that was because I had a craving. If you want to eat it, make it a one time event - ie. eat it once every three months, but then the next day stick with your healthy habits. Once in a while (but really... ONCE IN A WHILE) you can get away with eating what you crave

I don't see this as dieting since we don't really limit ourselves of food, we just make healthier choices. BTW I lost 55 lbs in 3 months after giving birth to dd#2 and following the No White and Bfing Diet!

[robertandenith]

I forgot to add: Wearing your baby will also add up more weight to your body, so if you do wear your baby for long periods of time, you'll be burning tons of calories!

[Shiloh]

i call my back carrier the thigh master

The 'No White Diet' means:

no vanilla haagendas....that I am eating now

Also, breastfeed your way thin! Breastfeeding (pumping doesn't count!)

why ...lol even if you pumped and dumped 20oz a day?
That's a joke...

BTW I lost 55 lbs in 3 months after giving birth to dd#2 and following the No White and Bfing Diet!

yeah last year I was..... 60lbs lighter UGH...

[CathyG80]

Thanks for that! I can't wait to get this baby out and start being healthy again!! (But right now, my EL Fudges are yummy!)

[Shiloh]

fudge...

[Surfer Rosa]

Great advice Enith!
Since I do most of the grocery shopping, I just don't buy junk. I have to work for it if I want it-and we live out in the country, so usually laziness wins out.
I was stoked to start hitting the gym this week (my bleeding was pretty much nil), and for the last 24 hours or so, I've had little gushes, so I'm going to take it easy and just do small walks/yoga this week, and re-assess next week. I feel pretty great, and only have about 15 lbs to lose this time around (vs. 25 with my first!).

I found I didn't lose the last 10 til I stopped BFing when E was 19 mos. I ate really poorly throughout my teens/20's (ie. didn't eat), so my body hangs onto a few extra. Hoping that running will take care of that this time around?!
I'd like to lose another 10, but we'll see about the first 15

[AKA_PI]

Great suggestions Enith. That "no white diet" is going to kill me! I crave and love potatoes but I do have sweet potatoes in the fridge. What gets me is lunch time. I don't feet like cooking but I normally just run out and get something. I guess from this day forward it will be a salad. I do have tons of crockpot recipe ideas so I'll be utilizing that. And I'll also be sauteeing (not frying) things up on my gridle so that I don't have to use actual cooking oil.

Any lunch time suggestions?

[JennP]

If you want a great book with recipes, I really like the Eat For Life book. He talks nutrition and why we should eat a protein and carb (whole grain) each time we eat. It has some really good recipes in it too. Most can be child friendly so as not to make 2 meals, kid and adults. Also 5-6 small meals instead of 3 large meals. Alot is the same as RobertandDenith mentioned above just a more laid out plan. FYI I don't do any of the shakes or desserts, they are a little much for me.

I lost a load of weight before getting pregnant with Ben. I plan on going back on the plan next week, though I follow it at each meal now.

I would love to start walking again but earlier this week the kids, dh and I walked and I was bleeding lightly when we got home. I hope this next week will be better. I am not a very good runner but I seam to be craving it lately.
Soon I want to start back on a running plan that takes you from walking 30 mins to running 30 mins in a matter of 10 weeks. I found that once I could run 30 mins running 40-50 minutes was not that much more work.

Jenn

[robertandenith]

that sounds like a great book!

You know, you can always replace ice cream with a good fruit smoothie. You can use Almond milk instead of cows milk to give it a creamy taste and add frozen fruits to it. The Champion juicer can actually make ice cream out of frozen fruits, I been wanting to get that juicer but omg it's soo expensive

Well last night we ate white pizza instead of whole wheat pizza like we always do, but the economy is been pretty weak these days so we needed to buy the $5 per pizza promo, boohoo! Today I been good though I am thinking of making whole wheat pizza dough myself, and use low fat organic cheese. ohhhhh and I have a great healthy whole wheat corn bread recipe I'd like to share!!!! My girls are addicted to this stuff so I make it twice a week...

1st. Mix

2 c Whole Wheat flour, 2 c Corn Meal, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 4 tsp. baking powder

2nd. Mix in another bowl

1/4 c olive oil, 2 eggs, 1/2 c honey, 2 c milk (I prefer almond milk since it's low low fat and better than animal milk to digest)

Mix 1st. and 2nd. then place in an oily 9 inch pyrex and bake in 375 degree for 35 to 45 min. Turn off oven and cover and leave it inside the oven for another 15 min. You can serve with meals or eat as dessert with some honey on top! :

[Gwendolyn's babies]

My problem is my dh brings in the junk food. He would rather go out and pick up fast food than cook. We have alot of organic meat in the freezer ! We have alot of good "stuff" in the pantry. If mam is too tired to cook, then junk food it is. my first meal post partum was a ?McDonald's cheesburger. ( I had frozen meals in the freezer too!) I guess I am a bit depressed if I am not on top of things then this whole household goes toward junk food, disposable everything snd the house is a mess..

My belly is one big jello mass...what is the best exercise for this ? I heard sit -ups aren't really rhat greay for a flat stomach after birth. The squeem has been helping wonders, but Iam never satisfied.

[hopeandolive]

Great thread! I've only got 10 more lbs to lose to get back to pp weight, but it literally is all in my waist! UGH!

[robertandenith]

yeah, that sucks when hubby doesn't help! I find very easy when dh wants to lose weight or watches what he eats. He is close to be 40 yo so he is definitely watching what he eats, specially because his dad died from a heart attack and he has a huge family history of diabetes. In addition, that he suffers from gout! NO FUN! He also suffers from migraines and we are trying to figure out what are the causes, so we are avoiding artificial sweeteners and eating as much organic foods as we can. Be healthy is a huge challenge, specially when money is tight

I think the best exercise for abs (for PP mamas) are the ones face down. Our tummy muscles will tend to split if we do crunches (gravity wins) and make our tummy worse! There is a great book about it and I have it somewhere around the house. This is the dvd version of it and they are selling it with the splint! But I find the exercises very simple and you can probably wear a regular gridle.

You can also do abs workouts with a birthing ball facing down like this one. The idea is to have your tummy facing down at all times in every exercise. You can also do abs standing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGRjfYXqyVE