What helped you lose the weight?

[z03yr04ch]

@olviersue C-section mama here too!
I gained an incredible amount of weight while pregnant, and had a very fitness-centred lifestyle pre-pregnancy. I was feeling very defeated for awhile, and struggling with PPD/PTSD as well as bouts of insomnia.
The BEST thing I can recommend, is tackling some of those issues (to the best of your ability) first. Women’s bodies (especially pp) will struggle to lose weight if you’re also struggling to attain productive sleep, drinking ample water and eating nourishing meals.

For me, this looked like focusing on sleep hygiene, trading my phone for a book at bedtime and meal prepping when I had help from family to ensure my fridge was stocked with good meals. From there, anything I chose to do at the gym were workouts that I enjoyed and felt good. Yoga, CrossFit, lots of back days. I didn’t put myself into a deficit until I started to FEEL good and more “myself”. I had a fantastic therapist (still do) and put a lot of energy into trying to “feel better” than “look better”. This sounds like fluffy advice but you’d be surprised how much it works, and how much easier it is to lose the weight. It’s like trying to pour from an empty cup otherwise.

Outside of this, protein dense meals and lots of fibre. Lots of water. I found high waisted, compression like panties help mask some of the c-section / lower belly insecurity (and felt good being “held in”) , bio-oil scar massage and of course avoid alcohol where you can.

I hope this short novel helps a little.
Hang in there

 

[olviersue]

@z03yr04ch I’m so glad you’re doing better! I’m starting to think it’s my lack of sleep making it hard to lose weight. I’ve tried all the natural stuff for sleep, three medications, I’m now in with a neurologist who’s having my do a sleep diary to see how to proceed. So hopefully I get answers soon! I love how you said focus on feeling better instead of looking better that’s wonderful advice that I haven’t thought of! Thank you!

 

[z03yr04ch]

@olviersue Of course sending lots of love. Inquire about diastasis recti too if it hasn’t been mentioned yet. There’s tons of helpful core rebuild videos on Insta, TikTok, YouTube etc if you want to avoid a physio.

You’ve got this!

 

[lambslegacy]

@olviersue With my first two kids, I breastfed which helped. When I stopped feeding, I started working out a bit. Then eventually I started working out 4x a week ...

Now my third one, I just keep the weight on. I don't gain. I don't lose. It just stays there. I think it is a combination of breastfeeding still and being on an SSRI (which I wasn't on with the previous kids). At this rate, I suppose I will just be egg shaped with a mom apron for the rest of my natural life.

 

[catholicguest80]

@olviersue Unfortunately only after I stopped breastfeeding did I easily loose weight

 

[jjp]

@olviersue I am walking a ton, eating healthy and drinking at least a gallon of water per day.

 

[chaseyourlion]

@olviersue This is gonna go against what a lot of people say but I think the biggest thing that helped me was eating more.

I focused on eating nutrient dense food but I definitely ate so much and so often. I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight at 3m pp.

Basically if I was hungry I ate and if I wasn't I didn't. I didn't try and count calories and definitely didn't try and cut anything out.

 

[susanedgar37]

@olviersue I have to make sure I’m not snacking and I cut out starchy carbs. I let myself have a fun meal twice a month. Weight is coming off slower than I’m use to being 6 months pp. But I’ve lost 15ish lbs since November - even with the holidays. Slow and steady.

 

[zelmamccullough]

@olviersue Hi there love!! First off, you are doing SO great. That is amazing you’ve lost 60lbs in the past and currently striving to continue to make healthy changes.

1.) If you haven’t, it might be worth while to check levels for nutrient deficiencies, thyroid levels and maybe hormones with a Functional Medicine provider to rule out those causes. For example, if you’re anemic, have an imbalanced thyroid or out of whack hormones it makes it much more difficult for you to loose weight. Micronutrients are commonly depleted postpartum from all the work your body did to grow a beautiful human which could make it difficult to loose weight despite your best efforts. It’s similar to your body is under metabolic stress and not getting the right support it needs from a micronutrient level so it holds onto your fat stores.

2.) Getting in a decent amount of organic fruits and vegetables is helpful/ choosing clean food sources (foods without preservatives, added stabilizers, natural flavors, highly processed, ect) will help as well because a body that has to work less hard to detox from all that crud will be much more efficient at shedding the pounds as well as balancing your hormones which is also important!

3.) Sleep & stress! How’s your sleep? Resent studies show getting adequate sleep will naturally help you to eat about 270 calories less every day. If your sleep deprived, your body is reliant on quick sources of energy (sugar/carbs) so it makes it much more difficult to make healthy choices. Also managing stress (how’s your stress burden everyday? Are you consistently feeling burnt out?) this raises the hormone cortisol which overtime tells your body to keep the fat rather than loose it.

This is all coming from a certified health coach & experience working alongside a Functional Medicine provider for years.

Best of luck

 

[olviersue]

@zelmamccullough Hey! So back in October when I went and saw a women’s health NP for PPD and Insomnia she did full bloodwork on me and said everything was normal (I’m pretty sure some things weren’t I no longer go to her) I gave my bloodwork results to my psychiatrist a month ago because she also believed some things had to be off but I haven’t heard back from her and my appointment isn’t for a few weeks.

I definitely haven’t been eating enough good foods. I definitely do better than most but not like how I used to pre pregnancy!

My sleep isn’t good! It’s better but not great. I saw a neurologist two weeks ago and he had me do a sleep journal and after I sent it to him he basically dismissed me and told me to lose weight. So not sure how I’ll get that figured out! I’m just going to keep trying to lose weight and see what happens!

I do have a functional medicine place in my town that I’ve heard wonderful things about. I’ll probably talk to my psychiatrist about going there and getting my thyroid and hormones tested!

 

[integrity31]

@olviersue I followed Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto Food List, but did not limit my portions since I was breastfeeding. I lost about 25lbs.

If you are on any hormonal birth control, this can also play a large role. I used Nexplanon after my first child and it caused weight gain. Despite working out regularly, I couldn’t get the weight off until I stopped it.

I have also read that some women develop thyroid issues postpartum. Might be worth getting bloodwork done.