Baby Weight

Hey, I heard that there is an over the counter cream made from the people who created Head on and from what i have heard, it works but it takes about a month of consistant use to see results. I used the cocoa butter, the really thick and creamy stuff and it is starting to help on my thighs and breasts.

The most important thing that I found after having my sons was to keep moving. You may be worn out from your baby's demanding routine but you can take that routine and turn it into little exercises. For instance, when you are doing laundry and you bend down to pick up dirty clothes...make it into an exercise. Keep your back straight, and bend at the waist. Also, instead of using a rocking chair with my children...I became the rocking chair. I would sit as I would if I were in one...but I would rock back and forth keeping my back straight. If you imagine it..it's like mini crunches and works like a dream. Oh!! and don't forget to watch what you eat. Healthy fruits and vegies are a must!! Sugary and fried foods can wait until you've reached your goal. Hang in there and good luck!!!

Pilates pilates pilates. At my heaviest I was 125 BC (before child). During pregnancy I got up to 197 lbs! I worked out the whole time and continue my Pilates 3x a week. I'm going to start incorporating cardio the other 2 days- treadmill mostly, until the weather turns.

Good luck! I'm down to 150 and counting. (baby is 4 months old)

T.,

Breast feeding helps you lose weight faster bc you're expending more calories than you're consuming (hopefully). Also, my understanding is it takes about 3 months for your body to adjust to NOT being pregnant so don't expect any significant weight loss during the first three months (aside from the baby, of course).

Keep in mind that it took you 9 months to put on all that weight (I gained 65 lbs with my first too....) and is going to take you at least that long to lose it. Remember that even "losing weight" is a misnomer bc the fat cells don't actually disappear, they just deflate and so gaining it back is so easy later on. Certain parts of your body will be changed forever (your hips mostly) and keeping a pooch off will be more difficult. The best solution is lots of exercise (my poison is running, ellipitical rider, and weight training), and eating healthfully (celery! gotta love food that requires more calories to chew than it contains). And don't get discouraged!! You CAN do it.

If you're a member of Southeast Christian, take advantage of the gym and various exercise classes they offer.

If you can't get to any gym, try a rigorous workout video that you can get your baby involved in with you (leg presses using baby, stretching while baby watches from the floor below).

Stretchmarks- no cure for that. Unfortunately, those are hereditary...your predisposition towards them you can thank your mother for. They can fade with time (yay!), altho that too is based on genetics....so how did your mother fair? My advice (and I am so being serious here), just don't wear midriff-bearing tops. My son has a 40-something mom who drops her child off every day and has bad stretch marks yet still finds it necessary to dress like brittany spears....

Ultimately, your body is changed forever and there's a pound or two you'll never be able to lose...but you can do it! Just don't get discouraged....remember that the best weight loss is gradual. More than a pound or two a week and not only is it hard on your heart muscle, but it probably won't stay off.

GOOOOOOOODDDDD LUCK!!!! You CAN do it.

T.,

My name is R. and I have a 13 month old little boy. I gained 45 pounds during pregnancy and lost 40 within the first 6 weeks. The rest I had to work at. I've found for myself personally I had to get my hormones right to get my weight off so if your nursing keep it up, if not when you are back on track think about going on the pill, it really helped me get back to where I needed to be. I still have 18 pounds that I'd like to lose to get to my goal weight but I'm happy where I am so if I don't make it, I'll be okay with it.

As far as stretch marks go, I've been using the Super Shape and it does work wonders - email for sales rep information.

Sounds like you're doing a great job losing the weight already without much effort, and that's probably best. Your body needs time to lose the weight, and needs balanced nutrients, especially if you're breastfeeding. Focus on healthy balanced nutrition, rest, and light exercise. It can be frustrating when you're still wearing maternity clothes a few months after childbirth, but be gentle on yourself! Check with your doctor or midwife and I'm certain they would encourage you to take your time.

I am a fan of the south beach diet, however the true diet with phase I probably is too extreme for your body, especially if you're breastfeeding. You need the whole grains and healthy carbs, calcium, and vitamins from fruit, you could start with phase II, that allows these in very limited portions, but give yourself a little extra.

Also yoga is great exercise after pregnancy; Parents has a DVD that you can do at home with your baby if it's hard to go out for exercise. Good luck!

Make sure you are getting enough rest - I know that's probably impossible with an 8 week old. I have a tendency to eat junk food when I am tired, so try to avoid that. Also, if you put your little one in a carrier when you are at the store or picking up, the added weight helps you burn more calories. Really, the most important thing is to remember that your body needs time to recover from being pregnant & child birth, so be patient.

T.,
All bodies are different. Unfortunately, some of us don't go right back to where we used to be. I gained 50lbs while I was pregnant and 20 months later, I'm still not quite there. It is very frustrating because I have some super cute pre-pregnancy clothes! :) A healthy diet and exercise are always good for your body regardless of pregnancy or anything else. I really don't know any quick, miracle solutions. Most importantly, try to stay healthy and get good rest after just delivering a baby girl and give your body time to heal. Don't be real discouraged about your weight yet. It took 9 months to gain it, so give it more than a couple of months to loose it. Good luck and congratulations on your new angel princess! :)

Hi T.~
I just want you know you are NOT alone!! I also gained 63 pounds during pregnancy thankfully I lost 30 of it in the hospital I guess it was just water weight or something, but it took me about 6 months to get back to where I was, I am now 114 which is 10 less than I was before the baby- I didn't work out or watch I what I ate, it was as my daughter became more active, so did I!
As far as stretch marks, luckily I didn't get any... but I heard once they are there they are hard to come off except with laser surgery... I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss! ;0)

T., My advice to you is not to do anything extreme! It took you 9 months to gain that weight, and your doctor will tell you that realistically, it may take you that long to loose it - in a healthy manner. I gained 45 with my pregnancy, and my son is 7 months old, and I'm 8 # away from pre-pregnancy weight, but that's not to say that my body is shaped the same!!! I do advise you to walk and eat healthy, eating 5 small meals or 3 average meals with two healthy snacks - if you're breast feeding you have no choice but the load up on the calorie intake for your baby's sake... however, this can be healthy calories and you can still loose weight. I lost ALOT during the first 3 months by walking. The rest is tedious and slow going for me, but I'm just managing a routine as best I can. I hope this helps!

I live by giving advice on WALK WALK WALK! And it's even good for the baby to get out in the stroller!!! It's becoming GREAT weather for this too! Tip: If you walk Concord Mills ENTIRE loop, with curving in and out of each door way entrance, it's almost exactly 1 mile if you do it 1 time. We found this out when my husband had 3-bypass surgery after a heart attack. This was our place to walk during bad weather!!!

First on the stretch marks. I had terrible stretch marks, it looked like a tiger had clawed me on both sides of my stomach. They were about 1-2 inches wide and about 6-8 inches long. and very red, I started using Avon super shape and it has faded them so drastically. You can hardly see them, and they have also diminished in size some. I paid around 10 dollars for it, and you can order directly from them if you don't have a rep, at their website www.youravon.com (I think).
As to losing the baby weight, every one is different on what they can handle after the baby and most depends on what they did while they were pregnant. you need to start walking, and try to walk about 45-60 minutes a day. you will also want to walk at a good pace, not a leisurely stroll. If you are breastfeeding you will not want to cut back too much on calories, however you need to be eating very healthy, cut out the junk food, nothing fried, and limit your processed foods. If you are able you will also want to start lifting weights. Walmart has some good tools to help, they have a bar by danskin and you can adjust the weight on it, and it comes with a video to show you what to do. If you belong to a gym use it, but if you don't do it at home, stand on your stairs, and do calf raises, spread you legs wide and point your toes outward and squat as if you are going to sit down, these are great for your thighs and your tush. Walk up and down the stairs 50 times, anything that will get you moving. Also drink plenty of water, about 10-15 glasses a day, and stay away from soda even diet, it will destroy you diet efforts. I wish you the best. the weight will come off, and your body will settle, don't stress too much about the weight number just how you feel and look. and congratulations on your new baby.

I too gained about 60 # with my son. I was 117# pre-pregnancy(19 yrs old), and now, almost 2 1/2 years after having my son, I am just now back at 122#. I had a c-section, so excercise wasn't an option for a little over a month. The thing is, it's not the weight that has bothered me, as I knew I wasn't exactly at a healthy weight pre preg. It's all the extra skin! Forget the extra weight, and stop worrying about the stretch marks! I have found that the quicker you lose the weight, the worse the flabby skin gets. But, at the same time, if you absolutely must drop the pounds, once you get rid of it, if you wanna get rid of the skin, you have to work so much harder, and u usually end up pretty buff. I broke down and bought a treadmill, because I fell into a slump of depression about my weight(I was very athletic and fit before). I made a ROUTINE, which is the key to success, changed my diet habits, and stabilized my sleep schedule. My fave things to do include listening to my fave songs on the headphones while running on the treadmill(during my son's nap), or taking a nice trip to the park, and walking the trails with my son(this also doubles as a great way to tire the kids out, and help them sleep better, as well as keep them on healthy habits). I now have nice arms and legs, and have only a few # and a little extra skin to go. The harder I work, the better I feel, because the results are great. Just keep at it. But, if nothing seems to be working for you...there's always the mini tummy tuck..which runs about $6000. Hey, I've considered it. Don't let anyone tell you it's a stupid idea, if it's what you want. It's your body, and only you can understand how you feel about it. As far as stretch marks, I used Palmer's cocoa butter. It works great, but you have to use it consistently. You can still see some of mine, but they are drastically diminished. My mother's were pretty bad, so I was prepared for the worse. Pretty much anything with collagin, elastin, and vitamin d will work.
Good luck!

T.:
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!

I have found some incredible nutritional products that are safe through pregnancy, nursing, etc. (All natural, no stimulants, etc) They are 100% guaranteed and marketed through a company in Arizona. They have a scientific advisory board made of doctors, scientists, nutritionists, and more. The products bulid lean muscle mass and help you lose body fat (Many professional and olympic athletes are using the products too!) If you would like to see some of the results people are having go to www.weightlosshalloffame.net. And if you want the scientific reason so many of us are gaining weight or having trouble loosing weight, you may want to watch a short 8 minute movie at www.DrSpeaksOut.com. I will be happy to get you more information about the products if you desire.

I know there are many nutritional products ou the market - my advice is to do your research on the companies and the products. I have lost 25 pounds and 14 inches so far (8 pounds my first week!!!) and am thrilled with the energy and mental clarity I have - as well as wearing smaller clothes and having less stress from the products! My 12 year old loves the products too (They even have a kid's line too with all natural vitamins sweetened with Xylitol which helps reduce ear infections in kids!) Let me know if you would like more info and I'll connect you!

Best regards,
E., RN

It is also important to realize that your body will never return to way it was before you put it through the ordeal of pregnancy. "The sands shift," according to my grandma. You may lose the weight, but you may never fit those old clothes quite the same way. Your hips may be wider. Your breasts larger (smaller sometimes. You may have already noticed that you need new shoes, because your feet are bigger.

Getting and staying fit and sharing an active healthy lifestyle with your child is what really counts.

As far as the weight, I saw IMMEDIATE results (that stayed off permanently, and made me feel more energetic) with the South Beach Diet. You can buy the book and the cookbook on Half.com for something like 80% or 90% off the original price, and the food is really good.
My second baby sat terribly low and left me with a couple of stretch marks as well... StriVectin-SD worked really well. It was expensive as heck, but I suppose that is because it actually works...
Goodluck, and congratualtions on your little girl!

I agree with the other moms about nursing, it's been a weight loss miracle for me. I got up to 250 with my daughter I had already started out overweight at 220 pre-pregnancy. Then I got to 240lbs with my son and then got all the way down to 185 lbs without changing a thing. I eat much more now than I ever did, now I have hit a plateau, but the other weight loss was effortless. Breastfeeding changes the way your body handles insulin, making it more efficient. This is something I definitely noticed since I was border hypoglycemic and I am not anymore. So just one more reason to continue breastfeeding if you still are.

exercise is wonderful, we should all be exercising at least 3-4 times a week, and yes take the baby out in the stroller, walk, run if you have the appropriate stroller and are used to running. As for losing weight,well I used weight watchers, and after having both of my children ( Igained around 50- 60 lbs with both) I started WW and I can not tell you how it has changed my life, I lost all of my baby weight and even a little extra, and it changes your eating habits. It is not really a diet rather a lifestyle, I can still eat all the wonderful foods I love, but now I don't crave as much food, and I eat smaller portions, I have learned to eat the right foods to keep me healthy.
Stretch Marks, ohhhh how I hate stretch marks, mine went down alot after losing weight and I too used the Avon product, but cocoa butter works well too!
Goodluck and congrats on your new little one

My daughter's 5 mos. old and I gained 45 pounds with her. I've lost about 30 of it, but the last 15 -20 pounds is killing me. However, if you're nursing, the calorie expenditure should be about 1 lb. a week if you're not over eating.

But, becuause breastmilk comes from fat stores when fat stores are depleted, toxins stored in the fat are released and go into the breast milk, it is recommended to lose no more than 2 lb a week to keep toxins in a completely safe range. That's about 15 weeks if you lose the max weight, which is a little over 3 months - which will fly by in no time.

Good luck!

I gained 26 pounds with my daughter and I lost it all by nursing. Plus I lost and additional 37 pounds, so I lost more than I gained...but I did not eat more while I was nursing like they suggest so that is probably a major factor....Good luck and congratulations!

Hi T.,

I too gained 65 lbs with my first daughter - she's almost 8 MONTHS old now and i still have about 20 lbs to lose - and it has definately been tough. I lost about 30 in the first 6 weeks and the other 15 have taken all these months! First and foremost i would say that you should try to exercise about 4-5 times a week - that will increase your metabolism overall and then even on the days that you aren't working out you will be burning more calories. If you are breastfeeding you should be careful not to cut too many calories - (which is part of why i have only lost 15 lbs in the last 6 months) - and although for some people breastfeeding helps you lose the weight faster, for me it was not the case - my body sort of went into "stop-loss" mode as if it was preserving the fat stores for the breast milk. But - if you are breastfeeding - then providing for your daughter is more important than fast weight loss. But take heart - I have just recently started to really feel "like me" again - so if you are feeling like things should be moving faster - just relax. Just as all children are different so are their mothers - and our bodies adjust uniquely after childbirth. Just eat smart, don't eat after 8pm if you can possibly avoid it, drink a ton of water (important for breast-feeding too), and exercise at least 4 times a week - and the weight will come off slowly but surely.

Good Luck!

Weight Watchers... it works!!!

After my 4th and final baby (she's now almost 6 months old) I decided to lose all the weight I gained over the years of childbearing. I did Weight Watchers, which has a special program for nursing moms. I started at the beginning of the Summer(15 weeks ago) and as of now I have reached my goal weight of 150 (I'm 5'8") after losing 27 pounds. I found the program reasonably priced (about $10/week) and easy to follow. I also make sure I go to weekly meetings to keep me motivated. Of course, fitting into my "skinny" jeans is quite motivational as well. Good luck with whatever you do, you can do it!

Hey T.!
I started walking with the stroller as soon as my youngest turned 6 weeks old. I have a double stroller (one behind the other) and it truly worked my whole body (arms, legs, abs). Now don't get me wrong, my tummy isn't flat like it used to be before I had my first child, but it IS considerably smaller than it was right after giving birth.
As far as stretch marks, sorry honey, but there's not much you can do there. I've had them since the birth of my first child (8 years ago) on my abdomen, butt, upper thighs. I've tried to use every over-the-counter cream and lotion, but to no avail. Honestly, I think the only option is surgery if you have them on your abs. I'm considering it for myself even though I go to the gym on a regular basis... the wiggly worms may lighten up, but will never go away.