Help with postpartum weight loss

Allirog

I'm just wondering if anyone could give me some simple guidelines to help lose the dreaded baby weight. During my pregnancy I gained a total of 7lbs which I've lost. Thankfully it wasn't a lot of weight but I carried some prior to pregnancy that I feel now is a good time to lose more. I'm 4 months postpartum so I've a little bit extra time to ensure I eat but still need to come away from certain areas like comfort eating or eating out of boredom because the baby is asleep.

Really appreciate any help or advice you can offer. Many thanks!

Typer Monkey

Hi. I had a baby in Feb '13 and I put on almost 5 stone when I was pregnant due to absolutely eating rings around me. I was a healthy weight before pregnancy (9.5 stone at 5'8'') so it was a lot to pack on! I lost it all again within 9 months. I won't say it was easy, it took plenty of will power but the following is what worked for me:

Myfitnesspal! I can't sing this apps praises enough. I think you can't hope to loose weight unless you know exactly how much you're eating. Keeping a food diary means you know exactly what's going in and it keeps you accountable. I got a small digital scales to keep portion size accurate. If you work out your calorie needs to maintain your current weight (lots of websites to do that for you), deduct 500 calories and use myfitnesspal to make sure you eat that many calories you'll loose weight no problem.

I did a big shop once a week and planned my meals in advance. I do 10 hour shifts with various start times so if I didn't bring my meals to work I'd be eating junk and fast food. Also don't have junk in the house. If you don't buy it it won't be there to snack on and you're not going to go to the hassle of dragging a baby to the shops for a couple of biscuits

Everything in moderation. Excluding food groups just doesn't work for me. Carbs are calorie heavy so I naturally reduced them to stay below my daily calorie limit but I never cut them out completely. I generally had porridge with water for breakfast, a 'slimbo' with eggs and salmon or meat for lunch and a dinner of stirfry, meat or fish with salad (just regular dinners with extra veg instead of the spuds/rice/pasta) Some people do really well on zero/very low carbs tho so that will depend on your own preference.

I had one treat meal a week to keep me on track. I really looked forward to it and it helped to keep me focused for the rest of the week.

I lifted heavy weights. I learned to lift from a PT and I found a real love for weight lifting. I used to dread running (cardio in general! ) but look forward to weight sessions. I would say though that pick something you enjoy and can fit into your lifestyle as that's what you'll stick at. 'Biggest Loser' style beasting sessions aren't necessary to loose weight, most of the work involved in loosing weight is done in the kitchen!

Hope that helps. Good luck

cactusgal

@Typer Monkey, did you avoid alcohol? I find it so hard to avoid on nights out, etc etc!!
Thanks for sharing your info!

Typer Monkey

Hi cactus gal. No I wouldn't say I avoided alcohol but I will say I wasn't getting out much with the baby and a husband who works shifts. I'd say maybe I was getting out on the beer every 6 weeks or so. For that week instead of my cheat meal I'd have the drinks instead. Tbh I think the damage is done by the poor food choices you make when hung over. A feed of drink followed by eating crap/take away the following day could undo all your hard work during the week.

Dolbert

I put on most of my baby weight in the few months after my son was born! The tiredness of new motherhood meant eating a lot of convenience food and sugary snacks for energy, not helped by the fact that breastfeeding made me ravenous. I had weight related problems in pregnancy so in my mind enough was enough. I joined Slimming World at my highest ever weight and 5 months on have lost 2.5 stone. SW isn't particularly radical in its approach tbh, but I find the weekly class a motivator to keep going and the simplicity of it means I can enjoy myself. I've lost more weight more quickly with other, stricter plans but I'm quite happy to take it slowly now as I'm much more likely to keep going with it.

Allirog

Thanks so much for the replies. Realistically, I do love my rice and pasta, more so than potatoes so was thinking of moving them to brown, but not sure if that's enough of a benefit. I do struggle at weekends too! Alcohol isn't an issue here thankfully! In he early days I was cooking using a jar of curry sauce or jar of pasta sauce but now I am back to the cooking from scratch again I just feel like I'm missing something, that there's a key element I need to add or exclude on a daily basis but I can't quite figure that out yet

Typer Monkey

Alirog there's minimal calorific difference between white and brown versions of rice and pasta. That change alone wouldn't make you loose any weight. There's no one food that you can add or leave out that will make a difference. It's more about your total daily calorie intake.

You can eat pasta and rice with your dinner if you want and still loose weight but you need to know your portion size and take it into account in your daily total.

Slimming world and weight watchers work on this principal too. They just involve counting points and syns instead of counting calories but the overall point of keeping your intake below a daily target applies

Alf Veedersane

Allirog wrote: »

Thanks so much for the replies. Realistically, I do love my rice and pasta, more so than potatoes so was thinking of moving them to brown, but not sure if that's enough of a benefit. I do struggle at weekends too! Alcohol isn't an issue here thankfully! In he early days I was cooking using a jar of curry sauce or jar of pasta sauce but now I am back to the cooking from scratch again I just feel like I'm missing something, that there's a key element I need to add or exclude on a daily basis but I can't quite figure that out yet

If you start using MyFitnessPal (honestly) then it will be pretty clear where any changes need to be made.