Need Help! Still Not Loosinig Weight Six Months After Delivery.

Hi T.!

I am a Mom of 2 and they are 21 months apart. I can tell you that I have had more trouble losing the weight with my 2nd. I am assuming if I had another it would be even harder! However, I too have no friends. I just moved here about 3 weeks ago and have not yet made any friends. So at night I take myself for a 2 - 3 mile walk around my neighborhood and it is like I am walking off the weight. Not only am I taking the weight off I also get sometime just for myself. Sometimes I even carry my cell phone and talk to the friends I moved away from....No interuptions!

Just hang in there!

C.

Hi T., you poor thing. You certainly do have your hands full. I have two children and a husband (which could be considered a 3rd child) and I get stressed to the max. I couldn't imagine 5. But after my second child I was 45 lbs heavier than I had ever been and it was not coming off. I tried every diet under the sun, literally, you name it I tried it. Nothing worked, or if it did work I never saw it because I could never stick to anything for long. It either took to long to prepare the food for my busy lifestyle, cost to much money, or deprived me so much that when I made REAL food for my family I would give in and eat that instead. Then I tried the simplest diet I've ever been on. I counted my calories. For my body type I had to consume 1300 calories a day to lose weight. I did excersise religiously, but you will still lose weight without excersise also (about 1lb a week.) I just lost mine faster including excersise. There are many easy ways to count your calories and you get deprived of nothing. As long as you stay under your calories, it doesn't matter what you eat. I ate 5 times a day- breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. This helps to prevent you from becoming over hungry throughout the day and pigging out later (not that I've ever done that:)) I did it the really easy way and went to microwave dinners for lunch and dinner(lean cuisine, southbeach, healthy choice,etc...) I had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast (because I love my cereal.) You could have whatever you like. Then I would have small snacks such as banana's, yogurt, small serving of potato chips (love those too!), anything that is between 100-200 calories for your snack. If you do manage to get in excersise, you can earn calories for that. EX: I would do a 45 minute cardio class at the gym and would earn 300-400 calories that day. So I could eat 1600-1700 calories that day and still lose weight. I also set a day to cheat every week. I would eat WHATEVER and however much I wanted for one meal on the day I had set ( my day was Saturday). And I would include dessert (Yummm!). Oh, and last thing and most important! While you are making dinner for your family (if you can't eat a little of it and stay within your calories) heat up your microwave dinner and eat while you're cooking. Otherwise the temptation will be to strong and you will eat that food and go over (not that I've ever done that either!) January 30,2006 I was 145 lbs., by June 2006 I was 111 lbs. Now I eat what ever I want (no more diet) for 2-3 months. Once I get to 113lbs, I get on my diet again for 2 weeks, lose 2lbs and then go another 2-3 months with no diet. Well, I know this was long, but hope it helps. Also a wonderful website you will absolutely LOVE is www.myfooddiary.com. It is $9 per month but is the best $9 you will ever spend. It was my lifesaver through this whole process, TRUST ME! It tells you the calories in any food you could possible eat, tracks it for you, talls you how many calories you can have, talls you how many calories you can burn with excersise, and also tracks your measurements and weight so you can see your progress. Just try it, you will love it!

Hi there T.:

I would have to say that after 5 children this is why you are having this problem. I know that my little "pouch" has gotten bigger since my second child was born. The only thing I can recommend is sit ups. I do them and it has helped. If I had time to do them daily it probably would help more. Hope everything works out for ya.

Unfortunately that is the price of having children, your body will never be the same. There is no simple way to lose weight and all of those loss weight quick schemes don't help you stay that way for the long term. You need to change your diet and lifestyle. If you can breastfeeding helps, I lost a lot of weight while I was breastfeeding. Otherwise, if you are like me so busy that you just grap things to eat on the run then you are not going to succeed. Make healthier meals. I don't add butter or salt to anything I make and limit oil as well. Eat smaller more frequent portions, I know this can be hard especially with 5 children. Have your older daughters get involved, maybe then can come up with a healthy meal and make it on their own to give you a chance to relax. The next step is exercise, which is harder said then done when you have a large family. I would schedule a routine of exercising early in the morning when everyone is asleep or at night. Take your kids with you. Go for a run and have then ride their bikes or push the little one in a stroller. If you combine your exercise routine with spending time with your kids then it will work out better. Maybe your older daughters would be interested in going to an arobics class with you. Your self esteem and health are the most important thing and they will make you a better mother. I only have one child but I have been struggling to lose the weight as well. My daughter is only 18 mths old but both her and I were sick pretty much the whole first year of her life thanks to the joy of daycare. Everytime I set up an exercise routine to lose the weight I would get sick and have to quite, then I finally got mono which put me out of the exercise area for 3 mths while I was pregnant. I am due with our second in a few weeks and hopefully I can get back into the program then. You definitely aren't alone, it is so hard to lose weight especially when you struggled with it before you were pregnant and are older. I use to have to work out twice a day to maintain my weight, so losing weight now is so difficult. Good Luck!

T.~
I am a first time mother of a 16 month old very active little girl and I was over weight when I got pregnant and then gained 46 lbs while pregnant and have only lost 14 lbs granted I have not been working out or really watching what i am eating the last couple months but at first i really did try. After trying and failing I pretty much gave up because as well all know you cna only fail so many times before you become discouraged. My thing is that my husband is active duty and never home so I have really no time to try and go workout and by the time i can do it at home I have chased my daughter all day and am exhausted, granted I don't have five kids can't even imagine that :) But I do know that if you want someone to walk with or you need a friend I am here. My email is ____@____.com

God Bless and H. to hear from you soon ~ H.

I have to tell you, I was the same exact way. My son is now 8 months old and I had to tell my husband "It took me 10 months to gain it..give me 20 to lose it." Give yourself a little time. I didn't start to really lose until last month. I do squats with my son and sit ups with him. He loves it. Other than that - just give yourself double the time it took you to gain the weight. I say that because it is normal for new moms to be "chunky" and if you stress yourself out about it you will gain more weight (proven fact that stress and depression cause weight gain in the stomach region).

Good Luck.

H.

First of all, give yourself a break ... you just had a baby and more so still have to maintain a household and keep up with your very active family. I found that I gained weight while I was nursing (I seemed to be hungrier than when I was pregnant) and since I nursed my daughter until she turned 1 it was definitely a sloooow process. I would encourage you to take a look at what you're eating ... also when you are playing with your kids or baby try to squeeze some sit ups into your floor time with them ... my 4 yr old loves to sit on my stomach while I do crunches which gives me more of a work out. Good luck and remember ... after 5 kids I am sure your body is going to take a bit longer to return to 'normal'.

Check out www.glorymedicalcenter.com. Dr. Ikudayisi has a very affordable & wonderful weightloss program. It takes no time & works! I've lost 60lbs in four months. I feel better then ever & look great. I actualy have the energy to keep up w/my son! He has great office hours, open late nights & Saturdays. It's worth looking in to. I wish i would have done it years ago. I know its sooooo hard to loose weight, but get it undercontrol now. I weigh 122lbs 2 days after having my son (hes 9), and 5 mths ago i weigh 251lbs! Thats why Glory Med Ctr saved my life! I love the program! Check it out & good luck!

i would suggest either working out with baby as others have suggested, but also walks ! 30 minute walks !! at the beach around the neighbor hood , in the park ... pushing the stroller.. or by yourself as a "getaway" also...

in addition i would suggest cocoa butter... not to lose the weight obviously but to help your skin take its shape again! it really helped me and it also lessens the apperance of stretch marks (over time !) i have a two year old and i still slather myself in cocoa butter,( i started at 2 months of my pregnancy..) my stretch marks are virtually non existant! but it should help vitamin E is great for skin it helps it be more "elastic".. pS dont be hard on yourself , everything takes time!! <3

T.: First, CONGRATULATIONS on the new bundle of love. Second, remember that it took your body TEN MONTHS (not 9) to make room for baby.....give yourself at least that long for your body to snap back. Your organs and muscles stretch and reposition to make way for the baby. So, now that the baby is not in your belly anymore, your body is readjusting.

Also...I'm the baby of 5 too. And I can tell you that you ARE constantly on the go. Another attributing factor to your belly could be that you've had more than one child so your muscles are going to be more relaxed in your stomach than normal.

I highly recommend that you begin eating small portions (size of a deck of cards) of fresh fruits, vegetables, white meats, etc., every two to three hours. This will kick start your metabolism and start the fat burning process. Try to get some type of CONSISTENT cardio for about 15 minutes a day....not a little here or there.

I sing and I can TRULY attest to not only the above but also what I am getting ready to say. Take your body weight and multiply it by .667. That will give you the actual number of ounces of water YOUR body requires. It will actually help boost your energy, lubricate your muscles and joints, and help in the weight burning process. (vocal cords are muscles so if you dehydrte them you cannot sing as well...same goes for your body...you cannot perform as well without the proper nourishment.) And by all means, take a GOOD multi-vitamin!!!

Best of luck to you!!!

My son just turned six months two days ago and I have not lost any weight yet either...You are not alone honey!!!

My best advice to you is JOIN A GYM. I know, I know they are expensive and time consuming, ect. ect, ect. But it is SO worth it!!!!! It gives you a chance to get out of the house and interact with other adults. Most gyms have daycare areas to drop the kids off, and personal trainers at your disposal. At first I was scared about going and embarrassed about my body, so I would only go during slow hours and wear baggy clothes, but then I realized that most people are not the airbrushed perfect beings in magazines, they looked just like me! Not to mention the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that I have at the end of a work out. It really makes my day. The best part is that you do not have to push your body to the point of breaking to get the results you want. With a little instruction, a good diet and the constancy of going everyday, I have been working out at a semi-leisurely pace for three months and have already dropped 35 pounds of baby weight. Plus I have actually muscle tone for the first time in a long time. Hurray!!!
My husband likes it too. (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)
Of course you should always talk to you doctor first and be honest with him about your goals. He can even give you things you can do at home while waiting for a pot to boil.
The rewards are endless.
With desire and dedication YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!!!!!
Good Luck and Best Wishes.

thats so odd that you gained after the pregnancy.. i bet that was nice during your pregnancy to not gain so much though.. i blew up during my first.. nearly 60 pounds. i never could lose all of it. 30 fell off soon after due to nursing.. but that last 30 stuck to me.. i then got pregnant again and luckily didnt gain half as much weight. i'm still struggling to lose the last 10 pounds from the first!! i tried south beach and it was working except when no one else is on a diet like that, you always have to make special stuff just for you. and you seen very busy so that wouldnt really help. maybe take the two younger ones for walk when the older kids are at school?? and slowly you'll see difference. since its hard to go to the gym, you can do a lot by eating healthy. have protein for breakfast. eggs, even a shake.. it'll give you energy for the day.. turkey bacon is actually really good, and a nice alternative to the fatty real stuff. i eat a lot of tuna and lean meats. and real leafy greens. they have tons of nutrients! and lots and lots of water.. water will help flush out your body. if you really made the effort and stuck to the strict diet you'll lose a few pounds in the first couple weeks and that will motivate you to work harder and give you energy to work out.. somehow!! lol..
and dont feel down. every mom has weight they want to lose.. we dont just shrink back like celebrities make it seem like we should. and give yourself credit!! you're a very busy mom.. just dont get too stressed about it b/c it will come off eventually.. take time to do things for yourself. a haircut, or get your mails done.. things like that to keep you going. its nice to do things for yourself everyonce in a while b/c its all too easy to lose track when you're running a family. take time for you. a happy mom makes happy kids!! but i gope you start shedding those pounds soon!!

Dear T.-My dear heart I agree you do need help you need some ''my time'' for you. maybe you could go to the gym at night after your husband got home and work out.i would think just by reading your letter you have to be beautiful so i wouldn,t worry about a little extra lb,s it will go in time.
I am not a young mom but having four of my own i can relate to your feelings so if you just need a friend please feel free to write ____@____.com I have two good shoulders and a whole box of kleenex and I am known as either Nanna are Auntie B and sometimes it help,s just to have anyone you can let go on and honey a lot of my friends let go on me but I still have room so no matter what you feel know you do have a friend and she is always ready and willing to offer a shoulder. god bless and no I don,t preach to you [ tee hee] Nanna

T.,
Have you tried Weight Watchers? It is working wonders for me. Slowly, but surely. In about 12 weeks I have lost 11 pounds (actually, it was 16, but Thanksgiving did a number on me:) ) Anyway, you don't have to stop eating anything so you don't feel deprived, and really it's not that expensive. Also if you have Avmed, they will reimburse you for a years worth of fees once you reach your goal weight. Worth looking into.

While nursing my baby, I used to drink Mummy magic weight loss tea 3 times a day and shed almost 35 pounds in two months.