hard time losing baby weight!

[1st time mama]

So, my baby is 10 months old. I gained about 55 pounds during preg and after baby, lost about 20 right away. Lost another 10 but since April, I haven't lost a thing. I walk all the time and eat really healthy, don't do a lot of junk food, don't overeat, but I can't seem to lose weight. When I did lose weight back in the day, my milk was drying up, baby lost some weight, and the doc had me do fenugreek and told me to slow down weight loss, not exercise so much. So, I did cut back on exercise but now I really want to lose about 20-25 more pounds and I seem to have plateaued for the past 6 months which is really annoying. Any ideas? I'm beginning to wonder if it may be some medical issue (I've heard of thyroid issues after childbirth) b/c I really do eat healthy and prob not even more than 1800-2000 cal a day and I am b/f ALL the time. Has anyone had this experience? Any ideas? Thanks!!

[columbusmomma]

Can I recommend weight lifting, more then just picking the baby up!! Even if it's a little bit at home, do you have some free weights? You could probably get some off craig's list if you want. I would have to say the best thing would probably be hard core cardio! The type where you are out of breath, sweaty, and red in the face and hating life, lol!! Do that 4-5/week and still do your long walks. Just my:

To anyone else reading I can be forward and direct since 1st time mama is my sister!

[sapphire_chan]

I think you should make your sister come over and exercise with you!
:

But yeah, the advice is great. Plus, exercising will help your thyroid function if that is a factor.

[mommajb]

Originally Posted by columbusmomma

Can I recommend weight lifting, more then just picking the baby up!! Even if it's a little bit at home, do you have some free weights? You could probably get some off craig's list if you want. I would have to say the best thing would probably be hard core cardio! The type where you are out of breath, sweaty, and red in the face and hating life, lol!! Do that 4-5/week and still do your long walks. Just my:

To anyone else reading I can be forward and direct since 1st time mama is my sister!

I wish I had a sister to come over and make me red in the face. Oh wait, I do. I wish we were exercising when that happened.

[1st time mama]

losing weight

I guess I just need to get more hardcore with my workouts!! Thanks for the replies--I will just have to maybe do less than 4-5 times a week (per the SISTERly advice!) because last time I did that (April), my milk almost dried up and Nick lost 11 oz. and the doc told me to slow it down, cut way down on exercise (and all I was doing at that time was my daily walk AND about 40 min. of run/walk on my treadmill.) I pretty much cut it down to my daily long walk and no treadmill. I do have free weights so maybe I'll just do that in addition to the walks. I'm very worried about the milk thing w/ Nick since he's always been so little. We have to go back in a month b/c he dropped from the 10th to the 5th percentile in body weight (but didn't lose weight) between 6 and 9 months and I really don't want to compromise my milk supply since he doesn't really eat food yet. I guess it's just finding a happy medium with being able to lose weight AND maintain milk . . . thanks again!

[mommajb]

I think weights are a great idea - building muscle will boost your metabolism.

You could try a nursing tea to help with milk supply as you try again to lose a bit more weight again.

[columbusmomma]

I would totally come sweat it out with you if you didn't live 1000 miles away
I would just try the workouts and watch your milk supply. Maybe the 2 issues were not related for sure.... it may not happen this time. You could also pump if you were concerned about the supply. Drink lots of water too. I say go for it and see what happens!!
I'm sure you've researched on kellymom to in regards to exercise and supply? You know how well the fenugreek worked too!

[1st time mama]

losing baby weight

Ok then, it's on!! I am going into high gear and I still have my fenugreek stockpile just in case. Thanks for everyone's advice! Too bad it's only going to be 40 here in Denver tomorrow!! Back in the 70s by Tues or Wed though. Luckily I bought Nickel a winter coat, hat and gloves yesterday so he can join me in my outdoor workouts.

Julie, wife to Rob and mom to Nicholas (12/07)
::

[columbusmomma]

Speaking of high gear I'm signing up for the Columbus marathon! i'm only doing half though, it's this weekend!

Back to the topic though~I think you should post over on breastfeeding with the topic of milk supply during exercise. I bet you will get some advice and feedback there! Just keep an eye on everything and you will be fine!

[wendyland]

I ate under 1800 calories all summer and didn't lose a thing. I started weight watchers and was shocked by how much I was really eating. I've only lost 5 lbs so far, but I lost 20 lbs when I did it several years ago.

[Surfacing]

I so hear you about not losing baby weight quickly. As another person who gained 50+ lbs during pregnancy it took me 2 yrs to lose the weight after my first baby!!! I am finding it challenging now. One mother said you have your whole life to lose the weight, just enjoy nursing your baby and keeping your supply....it's such a short period of time in a child's life and a short time to be heavier, in the grand scheme of things. Just a thought to share. Good luck to all of us with our exercise and weight loss efforts! And keeping our supplies!

[Materfamilias]

Have you counted calories? It helps point out the difference between what you think you eat and how much you really eat.
Shape mag often has good at-home weight-lifting advice.
When you walk, are you incorporating hills? There must be a lot of those in Colorado!

[1st time mama]

baby weight

Started exercising (was walk/jogging about 3 miles a day) and still eating healthy last Mon., eating around 2000 cals a day (I've been counting) and by Wed. I stopped feeling letdown when b/f. Nick was up all night nursing, prob to get it going but I started taking fenugreek anyhow. Now today I have a lot of milk finally and feel the letdown again. Today, just back to my normal exercise--walked w/ baby and dogs for about 40 min. this am and will prob do it again this pm. . . . this is what I did before and no weight loss. Has anyone heard of this (increase of exercise and decrease in breastmilk production)? It's frustrating and has been hard to find that happy medium so I can still lose weight. I don't want to have to rely on herbs but I do want to lose weight.
Julie

[columbusmomma]

I wonder what would happen if you aimed to lose say 1-2 lbs/month. Do your walking and cut calories a teensy,tiny bit. We know that you need to decrease 3500 k/cal to lose a pound so what if you decreased that 3500 super slow?? I think you would barely notice since it's not really restrictive. Maybe you need to go super,super slow? Just another thought! i know you were surprised and shocked!

[mommajb]

I wanted to add the not very helpful comment that sometines if just takes time. I don't know how old you are but my baby weight came off very fast in 1996. By 2007/2008 I just had to wait around for the right time. If you are truly eating right and getting some exercise (but not so much as to threaten your milk supply) thi smight be the case. Also, have you looked at thyroid/hormone issues? This can be quite common after having a baby and it might explain both the weight and the supply issues.

[cafechi]

i gained 65 lbs with my first daughter, lost 40 pounds after and never managed to get the rest off.

then i gained 40 lbs again after my 2nd daughter and lost 30 lbs after. that was when i hit a plateau. no matter how much i exercise, i wouldn't lose any weight although i would get leaner and my clothes would fit better.

over a month ago, i decided to go mostly vegetarian with just lotsa fruits and vegetables and do about 45-60 minutes of cardio, abs, and weight training a day.

i was simply amazed at how fast i seem to slim down. i can totally see my thighs smaller and my waistline smoother. granted, i've only gone down 5 pounds (133 to 128) but am very happy. i can finally see the light on the other side of the tunnel and it's very motivating. i know you are BF so that might be a bit hard to cut down on some foods. weight training really does help and i am sure you'll get to your goal.

sometimes it just seems daunting not to see any results. enjoy your time with the baby (i miss those times!!) and good luck!

[phathui5]

You might want to try circuit training. Do a couple minutes of cardio, then a couple minutes of weight training and cycle through that. I would just work out 3-4 times a week and do the circuit training instead of what you've been doing rather than in addition to it.

[AKA_PI]

I've just started Weight Watchers and have lost one pound in a week. For the two months I was breastfeeding, I was losing weight like crazy but once I stopped, all the weight settled. I got lazy about going for walks daily but I'm back at it. I think you have to change things up. or maybe set up one appt with a personal trainer so they can do an assessment and helpyou out.

[fridgeart]

With my first, I didn't lose the last 10 or so til I stopped BFing, even with cardio 3x a week and weights 3x a week...it just wan't going anywhere. I had my thyroid tested, and it was fine. My doc just said some people hang onto the weight. Boo. I found it really hard to temper my vanity with what I felt was more important-letting DD nurse as long as she did. If you're concerned about thyroid stuff, definitely get it cheked out. Don't mess around!

With your milk issues, you have to be careful. Are you drinking more to compensate for the exercise? I find I have to drink so much more when I work out. Slow and steady is the best course of action.