Who are those people losing postpartum weight?

[kristalyn]

I am 7 months PP. I gained 14.5 kgs overall (height 5’1 and pre pregnancy weight was 60 kgs). My first trimester was bad so I lost 2-3 kgs in the first trimester. But afterwards I gained steadily in the second trimester. It was my third trimester where I gained the most.

Anyways after delivery I came to 69 kgs and recently lost a kg since my breastmilk production has reduced. I am still feeding my baby but my weight is stuck at 68 kgs.

It feels like my body has decided to not to lose the weight at all. I have started my core strength and functional training at 3 months only ( 2 times a week ) and diet is controlled ( with breastfeeding it’s difficult and am trying too).

Am I alone here? Did anyone else face this issue? Why am I not losing weight?

 

[heretoeternity1]

@kristalyn I right there with you. I gained 60lbs in pregnancy and I’m 5.5 mo pp , ebf, and not a single pound has come off. I’m not gaining any more (thank goodness). But not losing anything either. It’s tough on me mentally but I don’t know what to do, my body fat is not enough of a concern for me to diet and risk my milk production. But I can’t stand it anymore. I am walking 2-4 miles per day but doesn’t help. I had abs pre pregnancy and now I need to put Vaseline between my thighs so I don’t chafe when wearing shorts. I just try to reassure myself that this is just a season. I’ll get back in to shape when I’m supposed to. Good luck!

 

[kristalyn]

@heretoeternity1 Same here. I am not losing but am not gaining either. I dont get it. How are women losing weight?

 

[joemzkie08]

@kristalyn I didn’t start losing weight until I stopped nursing at around 21 months. It took about 3 months for my hormones to regulate, then I lost 20lbs barely trying over the next 7-8 months. I know that’s not super fast or anything, but I really barely changed my eating habits in that time. I still have a bit more to go, but I’m confident I’ll continue to lose weight a lot more easily. I wish I hadn’t stressed about it while nursing.

 

[bambus]

@heretoeternity1 This is me as well! I was thrown for a loop and it's been so difficult mentally. My first two pregnancies I lost all the weight by 2 or 3 months pp. This time around I lost 10 pounds and I am stuck with 30ish pounds of extra weight. I have been tandem nursing so maybe that has something to do with it. I weaned my almost 2 year old, but here we are almost 7 months later and my weight won't budge. I am hoping by the time my youngest weans I'll start to lose the weight. For now I just avoid the mirror.

 

[chance7]

@kristalyn I’m 6 mo PP. I have no idea if I’ve lost weight - looking at the scale was too depressing (haha) so I just stopped. While I don’t know if I’ve lost weight I am fitting better into my pre-pregnancy clothes and I have a waist again. Still have a little bit of a pooch! I’m not dieting but I am moderately exercising now.

What has helped me:
- Focusing on eating as much protein which helps me feel more full. If my husband and I are too tired then we will have boiled eggs and cut up veggies for dinner. Lazy but healthy.
- For lunch, I try to always have a hot soup before a meal (watch out for premade soups that might have added sugar)
- I try to drink a lot of tea (warm drinks help me feel more full)
- Deep core exercises recommended by my pelvic floor PT help with getting rid of the “pooch”, this is like dead bug exercises
- I am swimming for 30 min x 2 week, I do a CrossFit workout 1 or 2 times a week (strength training)
- if I can’t do a workout then I go for a long walk with the baby or I do a dance YouTube video while baby does tummy time
- I have a sweet tooth but I try to eat fruits when ever I have a craving and I do indulge 1 x week on a treat (but realistically more like twice )
- in general, I’m not focused on losing weight as much as I am on rebuilding muscle, hydrating, and getting sleep!

Some women I think just hold onto a little bit of weight while breastfeeding I think I’m one of those women I think. Don’t feel discouraged!

 

[dorset]

@kristalyn I lost the majority of my baby weight between 6 and 18 months postpartum! And I know many women who have followed a similar timeline.
I didn’t track my calories but I’m a fat loss coach so have a really sound understanding of what I’m eating without tracking. However if you’re inexperienced with this I recommend tracking, even if it’s for 2 weeks just to gauge what you are consuming.

To start, find the amount of calories your body needs in order to lose weight. I have a free calculator on my website

https://www.nichefitness.com.au/

Then download myfitnesspal and weigh and log your food, it’s a pain in the neck and there’s a learning curve but rest assured it gets easier over time. And often if you eat the same things regularly you won’t need to weigh stuff constantly, just log it.

Tracking is one of the most efficient ways to lose fat, but it’s not the only way. If the above approach isn’t suitable just try: choosing lean protein sources, upping your fruit and vegetable intake, minimise drinks other than water and sugar free alternatives, tea and coffee are fine but keep in mind milk and sugar add calories. Takeaway frappes and stuff can be calorie bombs but regular coffee at home or at cafes is generally completely fine. Minimise ultra processed food. And try and move your body in whatever ways you enjoy when possible.

 

[fishergirlusmc]

@kristalyn I lost the majority of weight gained by 6mo postpartum, but plateaued for the rest of the year while keeping my milk supply and energy up. After the baby weaned I had to put in extra effort to not only lose the few more pounds, but also re-tone and rebuild the muscles I lost.

A lot of it is genetic though. What does your mom look like and your grandmothers?

Lastly, give yourself grace. It took a year to put on the weight, it'll likely take a year to come off. Or it may not come off easily due to changes in lifestyle and hormones. Everyone's different.

 

[kristalyn]

@fishergirlusmc I come from curvy body family. My mom is a pear shaped women so am I. I saw her pictures of postpartum she gained weight in hips and thighs area where I have gained to. Her breast went back but she did not breastfeed us for more than 3 months. My sister held on to baby weight 4+ years. I am overall a curvy girl. I have become even more curvy. I look like a plump. Like have no shape

 

[fishergirlusmc]

@kristalyn My uneducated guess would be that your journey will be like your sister's then.

One thing that really helped me was that I tried to set a good example for my toddler for food once they started eating solids. We did BLW so there were a lot of vegetables or at least hidden vegetables, and we tried/try to minimize pre-processed foods. Also eating with a toddler and managing their eating/playing/exploration made me slow down when I ate, so I ended up eating less overall and being full.

Lastly, I didn't really start going back to the gym until 16mo pp as my son didn't sleep through the night until 14mo and so I was too exhausted to get up early or do basic stuff like talking my dog on long walks. Getting my waist back and toning my thighs only happened after months of strength training.

I hope you find something that works for you!

 

[cj]

@kristalyn Postpartum weight loss is unfortunately effected by both hormones and literally our bodies trying to return to normal. Even without these obstacles, weight loss and fat loss itself is actually really hard and takes quite a lot of work.

My advice is to give yourself a LOT of grace. Understand that everyone is different, and you’re also raising a baby on top of taking care of you.

You got this mama!

 

[1humblewitness]

@kristalyn I’m stuck with 10 extra lbs while breastfeeding and apparently that is normal. Your body will hold on to extra weight for “just in case” so that it can continue to make milk for you LO. Don’t feel discouraged. Your body is doing an amazing thing!

 

[petie1106]

@kristalyn I gain weight breastfeeding so I'm doing healthy things while I breastfeed and ignoring my weight until 1 year after I stop breastfeeding

 

[cathya]

@kristalyn Muscle is metabolically expensive tissue. Hormones are a piece of the weight loss puzzle. Sleep is important for both. If you can’t balance these along with managing diet and stress, I don’t blame you! You have a helpless little life that is depending on you. You picked core work. Good that’s one thing. Do that right. Be consistent. Feel stable before adding on anything else. If you can address sleep and non exercise activity, that’s low hanging fruit. Do that to support any exercise protocol.

Hi! I’m 5’2” and a cyclist. I started lifting casually in 2017 and 2020-2022 I took it more seriously. While I was able to do some exercise prenatally, I was nowhere near where I was beforehand. I’m almost 5 months pp. I’m about 138 right now and I weighed 176 a week before bb. I had an easy pregnancy. I had an easy labor. I’m 40. Although I was 132 when I got pregnant, it’s important to note that was September and again, I am a cyclist so that was not my leanest in terms of my life but a quite lean. I’d say I am pretty close to my “winter weight.” The big caveat here is I lost a lot of muscle and I will probably be able to start adding progressive overload in the coming weeks. This is because I was able to build slowly since 10 days pp.

I’m going to level with you. Sleep sucks right now. Baby needs her own room and while I hope that fixes most of it, I realize it’s going to be a while until bb sleep schedule doesn’t impact my sleep schedule. Hope that helps!

 

[dennid]

@kristalyn You’re not alone! I’m 7 months pp, I gained 100lbs, in the second and third trimester, lost 40lbs the first 4 months pp without trying, now no matter what I do I can’t lose the weight. I’ve been told it’s because I’m breastfeeding plus the sleep deprivation. We’ve got this!

 

[truthinlight]

@kristalyn I think there is a big misconception that weight gained during pregnancy will just melt away. Some of it will but to lose the rest diet and exercise are the only ways to move it.

 

[kristalyn]

@truthinlight I know it wont melt away like that. But why is the scale not moving is my question

 

[truthinlight]

@kristalyn Because you're eating more calories than your body is burning.

 

[cataline]

@truthinlight I have to hard disagree on this sentiment. Calories in and out are not the only factors in weight gain and loss. Hormone balance is huge. Personally even though breastfeeding around the clock (which burns calories), my appetite has reduced. I struggle to get 1500 calories in per day. Usually end up just having breakfast and dinner and skipping lunch because my body just doesn’t get hungry. I force in a banana with almond butter as a snack because I dont want to risk losing my milk supply. And guess what? Still at 4 mos PP have the extra 25lbs since week 2. I’m not stressing about it but it’s amazing how the body seems to hang onto fat while breastfeeding. It could be even more so in my case because I’m not getting ENOUGH calories. It’s not always as simple as “eat fewer calories”.

 

[truthinlight]

@cataline You must be miscalculating your calories or overestimating your caloric needs per day. I have heard of women you can't lose weight until they finished breastfeeding so that could be your case.