Post-Baby Weight Loss

I first posted this on the June 09 playgroup, and Amy suggested I also cross-post it here to see if anyone had advice!

Through a combination of eating right and BFing (no exercise here, haha) I'm losing weight steadily. I am meticulously counting calories to help me make smart food choices, and this helps a ton!

I've lost almost 20 pounds from my pre preggo weight. I'm wondering for those of you that have used BFing as a way to lose weight, have you been able to keep it off? I'm hoping if I continue to eat right I'll be able to maintain this weight....

Biggest Loser Team "Yummy Mummies"        June 2009 Playgroup

        

I may not be the best person to talk about maintenance since I'm currently attempting to lose 10-15 pounds I just gained.  However, overall I have lost 40-50 pounds and have kept the majority of it off for a couple of years now. 

Maintenance is MUCH harder than losing!  You tend to give into your cravings more often because you can and you derserve it.  You will still have to stay active and eat right (the majority of the time).  

Right now you need to play with it a bit and see what you can eat before you start gaining.  Add a few hundred calories a day for a week, then after a week if you've maintained then you can either eat a bit more and see what happens or stay where you are.  Keep track of calories eaten and calories burned for a while and track your weight.  After a few months you'll get the feel of how you need to eat, when you can splurge and what you need to do to keep the weight off.

Sorry to say but you'll have to eat right and continue to be active to keep your weight off.  I gave into way too many cravings and I've gained some pounds.  It is SO easy to lay off for a while and it is SO fast how those pounds creep on.

Good luck and congrats so far on the weight loss.

Welcome to the board!  It sounds like you're doing all the right things.  20 pounds is fantastic!  :)

I found a really good article on this - you can read it here:

Post-Pregnancy Weight Loss

Sounds like you're doing great.  The thing that's helped me lose the weight and keep it off was mostly portion control.  I eat about 6 times a day in small portions which keeps my metabolism running fast.  I'm pretty lazy when it comes to exercise but I do try to take walks (in the summer) and I'll squeeze in a few lunges and push ups here and there.  Once a week I allow myself a cheat meal like pizza or something.  If I get a craving for something I get it just as long as it isn't very often.  Hope this was somewhat helpful.

 

Thanks for the replies and encouragement! This past week I've stalled out and made some bad choices w/ food. I kind of went off the deep end. Plus, over the last few days I was snacking more and gave in to more random Halloween candy at work, and it's *amazing* how fast the extra calories add up! I had no idea...

That being said, it's time to start eating better again. I could still stand to lose another 20 lbs. It seems daunting until I remind myself I've lost 30 since I started eating better.

Sounds like I'll need to keep doing more of the same to watch the weight gain - counting calories, watching portion sizes, limiting 'junk' foods, etc.

I still feel "deprived", even though I eat at least one sweet every day and still eat junk in moderation on my good days. I just miss eating everything in sight, whenever I wanted, w/o guilt, LOL. Any tips?

Biggest Loser Team "Yummy Mummies"        June 2009 Playgroup