Post-Baby Weight Loss

Hi - my name is Marty and I am the proud single mother of a gorgeous little girl named Ellie who is almost 13 months old. She is the best thing that ever happened to me, hands down. And she is worth any cost or sacrifice.

Right now, I am thinking my body falls into that category. When I got pregnant, I was a size 6. I gained only 30 lbs during my pregnancy (within the normal range), and I started to lose weight after she was born (she was preemie so I was living in the NICU essentially during that time). I wasn’t able to breastfeed because she came too early and my milk supply was not sufficient. Suddenly things seemed to go in reverse and I just keep gaining weight. Not a little here and there – recently I gained 15 lbs in only 3 weeks! I eat very healthy (low fat), I see a personal trainer 2 times per week, and I try to walk every time I get a chance. I can’t figure out what is going on! I went to an endocrinologist to see if there was a problem with my thyroid, and there isn’t. The only thing I can think is that my post-pregnancy hormones are out of control.

I kept wearing my pregnancy clothes but I got too big even for those! My mother got me some stretchy pants and lots of big sweaters/wraps to wear with them so I practically lived in those “Transition Clothes” (as we called them for the first several months) until I realized I had to get some new clothes because people at work saw me in the same thing every other day! So I went to try on clothes with my mom the other week and I started bawling in the dressing room of Macy’s because I couldn’t fit into a size 18! Finally I suggested we go to Lane Bryant (a store I never thought I’d visit), and they were great! That was a bright note because the woman who helped me was super nice and she found a lot of great fitting clothes for me. I finally have clothes that fit me.

I don’t know what else to do except keep trying and maybe get back to running (I used to run a 5k a few times a week; now it’s like trying to run with an 80 lb body suit on!). I know that there is more I can and should be doing but I also have full responsibility to care for my daughter. Her father is not involved at all so there is no opportunity for me to jump on the treadmill while someone else watches her and I have working single mom guilt in that I don’t want to dump her off at the gym daycare after she has been at regular day care for 10 hours every day. I am hoping now that the weather is getting a little cooler that I can put her in the stroller and take her with me on walks/runs.

I miss being “checked out” and flirted with when I am out and about. And I miss people holding doors for me and smiling genuinely at me. And I really, really miss my size 6 comfy jeans. I want to be happy no matter what size I am but I don’t feel good about myself. I avoid seeing people (visiting friends, relatives, etc.) and when I do see them, I dread it and worry what they are thinking seeing me 80 lbs heavier than I used to be. Several of my friends have had babies before and after mine and they are all back to their pre=pregnancy weights. I feel like such a failure. And I even worry about what people who didn’t know me before think. My daughter is an absolutely stunningly beautiful baby (people constantly stop me and I have been told many times that she reminds them of the Gerber baby) and I wonder if they think to themselves, “Wow – wonder how she got to be so cute with a mom like that. Must be the dad’s side.” That may sound a little paranoid but no one ever tells me that she looks like me (and she looks much more like me than she does her father).

Anyway, sorry to ramble. I love, love, love my daughter and she is worth any price but I have to admit selfishly that I miss being beautiful. I am hoping to hear some of your stories and get some inspiration. And I have “stolen” the ticker below to keep myself motivated and accountable. I really want to be healthy and I want to run and play with my little girl once she gets to that stage without gasping for air and/or soaked with sweat. Thanks for listening/reading.

Hi Marty, my name is Monica. Welcome to the board. I am mommy to a gorgeous 7 month old daughter, Journey. I also have a wonderful 14 year old son, Jonathon, who was born 3 weeks before my 17th birthday. I know what it feels like when your body doesn't feel like it belongs to you anymore. I was a high school athlete (and underweight) before my son was born, and have had to fight with my weight ever since. The ladies on this board are awesome and really supportive!

I know it is hard to make time to exercise around your daughter's schedule, so can you think of ways to include her? My daughter is nearly 18 pounds right now and has no idea she is helping Mommy exercise when I just pick her up, blow raspberries on her tummy, then put her back down several times. She just knows she is getting some good play time in with me. Little things like that add up over time and it doesn't take anything away from her. I would also like to add that our community leader, Amy, posts some workouts nearly every week that she does, and can be done whenever the little ones let her. Check them out!

I hope that helps! And welcome again. I hope to keep hearing from you.

Hello and welcome to the board. I can totally put myself in your shoes. My oldest was born 6 weeks early and for 31 days I lived in the NICU with him. It is hard to lose weight when you live on hospital food and are under stress. I gained 20lbs while my son was there. I struggled hard every day once he came home to lose the weight but with the support of this board I lost 55 lbs before getting pregnant and going on bedrest with my second child. I was very lucky with him. I had 1 week hospital bedrest where I gained 8lbs that week. After he was born I promised myself that I was finally going to get healthy. I was a size 16 before having my first and made it to a size 12. Now I am back to a size 12 but want to be a size 8.

It is so hard for me to step back and say I deserve this, and some days I don't stop long enough to think about me. Both of my boys have delays that are typical of preemies that require a lot of time and demand. I just try for 30 min each day, some times I only get 15mins. What I usually do is turn on the radio while I am cooking dinner and dance around. I also use the radio and tennis shoes during cleaning. I don't know why but it really makes a difference. It makes me move different which burns more calories.

I am hoping to add a lot of new things over the next few months to help out all of the boardies. I have the foodie fridays which I missed this week due to a specialist appt (I will post it tomorrow). We also have weekly workouts that are designed to burn as many calories as possible in as little time. Mostly it is about 400 in 30 min. I am also wanting to start a simple swap thread that will help with subtracting calories from your day but just a simple swap out.

I hope you will come to visit with us when you can and we are always around in the chat thread.

Hi Marty,

Isn't it amazing how our postpartum bodies can do that? I'm dealing with similar issues - working hard and eating right and continuing to gain weight. It's frustrating, isn't it? I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone...and welcome to the board. :)