Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Post-Pregnancy Weight Loss

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember that I spent a good deal of time last year writing about my efforts to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Over the course of about a year, I lost over 35 pounds. No extreme dieting or starvation. Just a commitment to healthy eating and exercise habits, which I wrote about in this post, My Healthy Habits.

During the pregnancy, most of my healthy habits went right out the window. I snacked more, gave in to ice cream cravings, and got lazy with my exercise routine. My excuse was, "Hey, I'm pregnant...I can do whatever I want!" While that may have been true, I can't lean on that crutch any more.

Now that the pregnancy is over, I'd like to get back to good eating and exercise, and hopefully my pre-pregnancy weight. Since the pregnancy, I have lost about 20 pounds (mostly made up of the baby, placenta and fluids), which leaves 15 more pounds to lose.

The catch for me is that as a breastfeeding mother, I'm not supposed to diet. I need to be getting a lot of nutrients for myself and the baby. I am also still physically recovering from the delivery, and need to gradually ease into a full exercise routine. Jessica Alba may have the superhuman capacity to lose all her pregnancy weight in thirty seconds, but I'm going the more moderate, normal person route.

My general plan is to resume my previous eating and exercise habits. In particular, I need to eat highly nutritional food, cut back on fats and sweets, and have some daily physical activity. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into a healthy lifestyle, and fit into my old clothes again!

I'd love to get some suggestions from you all. Any health tips you want to share? What habits keep you healthy?

21 comments:

  1. I find that breastfeeding is both your best friend and your worst enemy when it comes to weight loss.

    It burns lots and lots of calories....which can only be good news, right? BUT it also means that your body does keep a nice little fat store just to be on the safe side incase you don't look after yourself and your body still needs fuel to produce milk.

    Getting out in the fresh air and going for a long walk with George, was the best exercise I could get. AND both of us usually slept better because of it.

    My downfall was always that breastfeeding made me super-hungry, and so I was having to consciously make sure there were healthy snacks available for me to grab.

    You'll get there.. 15 pounds left to lose is great! I told myself 9months up, 9 months down - and that was my goal. It was actually more like 6 months before I was back to pre-pregnancy weight.

    Good luck. You'll do great. x

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  2. First of all, the photos of you during your pregnancy and after the delivery - you looked great! You hardly looked as though you chucked all your healthy habits out the window! But I've never had a kid, so I can only imagine. Plus we know our bodies best, therefore we are our own worst enemy. Be sane, and don't be hard on yourself. Eat the right kinds of foods and take the baby for walks in the stroller once you and he are able to. He'll love the fresh air and you'll get good exercise. Plus I think you'd be surprised at how quickly it comes off. You already look fantastic!

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  3. Veggie juice! I hated it so much at first-but I knew it would fill me up so that I was no longer hungry; plus, it offers so much nutrients that you won't feel like you're snacking on junk (because you're not). If afterwards, you still want a little something more-go ahead! You only drank 85 calories!

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  4. I don't have experience in the pregnancy and post-pregnancy area but I would suggest that you introduce as much wholefood as you can in your diet as fruit and veg, nuts, beans, barley, rice and maybe limit the dairy (full of fat, or if 'low-fat' full of chemicals). You seem to be an amazing cook so I am sure cooking those won't be a problem... now I also realise that having a baby to look after takes up a lot of your time...

    I would also advise you not to be too hard on yourself, like chasingparadise says you looked great whilst pregnant and I am sure you will get back to your pre-pregnancy size in your own time!
    Alex
    PS: your baby is sooooo cute :)

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  5. After Hailee I was lucky...she breastfed for a year and sucked it all right out of me. I had flat tummy within a couple months, ate all the time and had great boobs. Emilee breastfed for a year too, but I wasn't as lucky that time around. Almost 7 years post pregnancy, and I'm still waiting for the last 7 pounds to come off.

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  6. Keep on eating healthy and don't over indulge. The key is moderation. As for exercise I was always told that you should let your body mend for at least a month. But how should I know I haven't been through a pregnancy. You know you body and girl looking at your pictures you look happy and great! Aaron is a cutie too!

    As for exercise start of slow and eventually work your way up to where you was. Take it one step at a time!

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  7. Moderation, patience and exercise is all you need. You'll do great!

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  8. Just keep eating (healthy, of course). I agree with what Kimberly said about your body keeping some extra fat around...it just makes sence. I found myself more hungry while breastfeeding than while I was pregnant, and I ate every single time I was hungry (pending the baby allowing me a free minute to prepare some food). I have no doubt you will shed every last pound, it will just take some time for your body to allow it to happen.

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  9. I have no doubt that you can do it through health eating and easing back into your exercise routine! Good luck to you!

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  10. I agree with the slow dieting post pregnancy, it's so important for the baby esp.since you breastfeed :) I think highly nutritional foods are most important :)

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  11. I'm not in the position to give out any advice, since I am currently carrying quite a bit of excess weight. But I wish you good luck! I think as long as you concentrate on whole, unprocessed foods you cannot go wrong :-)

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  12. I know that being in a walking city like DC affords me this option more than others, but I walk EVERYWHERE. If it's less than 2 miles, I walk it. End of story. I walk a half hour to work and home every day, and it's made a HUGE difference for me.

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  13. Find recipes for healthy meals that you'll actually like. If I try to eat too healthy and boring, I wind up needing to indulge later. So just stick to healthy but fun and you'll be happy :) Good luck!

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  14. Can't you just photoshop the weight off?

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  15. Hi Larissa,
    My weight came off easily once the weather got nice and I walked the baby everyday. Some days a mile, some more depending on my energy level. I ate fairly healthy and nursed which is a huge help. But walking everywhere helps!
    Robin Sue

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  16. I've never had children, so don't quote me on this one, but I once heard from a friend who has three children that she lost almost all of her post-pregnancy weight thanks to breastfeeding. I don't know if that's the case with everyone...

    Good luck, and be sure to let us know what you do, especially for those of us who will be having children sometime in the distant future!

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  17. Good advice on what a mother should eat when breastfeeding. By relying on eating healthier foods and starting an exercise routine, the baby might get the nutrients he or she needs and still burn off the weight gain.

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