Trying to lose pregnancy weight

[staceywilk]

This is tough! My daughter is 11 weeks old. I have 15 lbs to lose. I've always been in great shape. I wore a size 8 pre-preg. I always worked out and ate healthy, no problem. Since I've had my daughter it is really tough. I tried working out a 4:30 in the morning before getting ready for work and getting her ready, but that's not working out well because she sometimes wakes up at 3am or 5am. It's tough after work because I don't get home until 6pm. I have to feed her, clean up the house, return emails, cook dinner...etc. Not to mention I'm exhausted. I haven't been able to establish a routine. I just do what I can when I can. I am eating very healthy...six meals a day, high protein, lots of water. I've never had to lose weight before so this is new to me...I've just always maintained my weight and my body fat fluctuated. I've been walking about once or twice a week for 30 minutes. I do my best to get in an upper and lower body weight routine and occassionally I do the hour long tae bo video. I just can't seem to find the time.

My question is...if my time is limited what should I concentrate on? Ideally, I'd like to be able to workout at least 4 days a week for 30 minutes.

I have dumbells, barbells, resistance bands, universal gym that has a lat bar, incline bench, leg extension/curl and barbell (bench press) also tae bo tapes, reebok step, a torso roller thingy on the floor, stair stepper, stationary bike and exercise ball. I know I could rent out my gym. LOL. I bought all this gym stuff in the last year because I knew I wouldn't have time to make it to the gym. But now I don't have time to make it to my gameroom! I also try to go for long walks and bike rides with hubby on the weekend to make up for not working out during the week.

I consider myself to be fairly advanced when it comes to fitness. I just have never had to do quick workouts. I'm used to spending an hour in the gym 4-5 days a week.

I've also decided to get back on Ripped Fuel now that I'm not nursing, so that may help give me an energy kick.

Any advice?

Stacey

 

[tchersue]

You sound like you are in a bit of a panic, and at this stage you definitely should not be!! It took you 9 mos. to get the weight on... some of it was placenta and extra blood flow and uterus... some of it was baby... and, yes, some of it was maternal fat to keep you and the baby healthy during the pregnancy and to provide milk for the baby afterwards. The body you have now is still a somewhat pregnant body... this is normal... and you shouldn't expect it to go away overnight. After the birth of my son, I took off all 43 lbs. of pregnancy weight in 4 mos. w/ exercise & nursing, but it honestly took more like 6-9 mos. for me to look like some semblance of my old self. Even then, although I was in better shape than before my pregnancy, my body looked different... I have a more defined figure with hips now... and that is just the way it is, I'm afraid. I'm a mother, and I have a bit of a mother's body...

You should also forgive yourself for being tired... you've earned the right to be tired... and you probably won't really feel like you're on a schedule of any kind for some months because at this young age, the baby's needs are constantly changing. It DOES get easier, though... you'll find more of a schedule emerging as she needs to feed less often (and you will have fewer diapers to change as a result). It'll probably be a few more months before she gets into a regular sleep pattern -- but try to read some books on the subject. Dr. Brazelton's "Touchpoints" has a good section on working on getting the baby to sleep through the night
beginning at around 4 mos. Getting the little one to sleep takes
a little doing sometimes, but once they are sleeping well, it'll make a TON of difference in your day!

If I were you, I'd start by putting my right hand in the air and promising not to get back on the scale again until you're in a better frame of mind (this doesn't mean that you can't workout and eat healthfully, but there is no sense in beating yourself up over a handful of pounds). You have created a whole new human being -- the most important exertion of your life, and the 15 lbs. are NOT forever. Next, I'd make sure that I got enough sleep. You will only end up discouraged if you exercise when you are thoroughly exhausted. Nap if you need to... & eventually you won't need to, but if you do right now, it's totally understandable!! Then, if you are finding that you just can't get in an entire video or gym-type workout at one time, I'd either break it up into two or three mini-workouts until your time works out better, or else I'd get a jog stroller, and if your kegels are back in shape (i.e. you aren't leaking urine when you do high impact activities like running up the stairs), I'd get out jogging. My son would almost always fall asleep in the stroller... and even if he decided to cry, somehow it was easier to get through when we were outdoors. To me, outdoor exercise was helpful to combat the baby blues and to clear my head from all of the demands of being a mommy!

Better yet, if there are any stroller exercise classes or prenatal/postpartum classes around, enroll in one. It may not be the level of intensity that you are used to, but it will have other moms with the same issues as you... and camaraderie is awesome when you're a mom!

Either way, in time you'll be rewarded by the healthy eating & exercising, and you'll find your body again!

Enjoy this time with your precious baby girl!
Hang in there!
Susan Hyde
Healthy Moms Certified Perinatal Fitness Instructor

 

[Fitnik]

Take it easy!

I’m a bit of a hypocrite though as I am only 10 weeks along and am already having nightmares about losing post pregnancy weight and haven’t gained much at all so far- go figure!

I’ve worked out that if I did indeed only have 30 mins a day to work out 4 days a week, I would do 2 days of full on interval cardio (either a run or a walk) then the other 2 days would be upper body strength and abs. For my body type (naturally muscular) interval running/walking has achieved two things in the past - burnt more calories in less time than steady state cardio and given my legs the high-rep low weight work out they need to stay tight and toned. You could even try interval climbs/stepping on the stair climber which gives your legs a workout as well as combining cardio. That has been enough cardio/lower body strength for me in the past. I also made sure I keep my abs contracted throughout so they’re fully engaged and get a good workout.

For abs, I’ve recently bought a stability ball. The intensity of the workout is amazing and many people swear by this form of core training.

You could make up for own upper body routine or use sections from PH/MIS if you have them.

Just my 2 cents - I’m nowhere near trying to lose post pregnancy fat but know it can be done and that you are on the right track. Give it time.

Major weight loss for me will also be a new concept as I’ve never had to embark upon a major weight loss programme! I’m hoping I don’t gain much actual fat at all during this pregnancy and am eating sensibly now to help towards this!

Good luck - I can understand your frustration.


Your friend in fitness, Fitnik

 

[Hazel]

Susan is the voice of wisdom here!

Oh Stacey! Please, please don't be so hard on yourself! You are still so early on in the game -- your hormones may still be a little wacky, your baby isn't really into a schedule yet (and shouldn't be), and you've probably only recently started back to work (which is a huge drain on both your physical and emotional resources). It takes time for your body to recover and readjust to not being pregnant, and you shouldn't beat yourself up for not being able to do what you used to right now. You will get there, but you need to give yourself time.

You need to concentrate on maintaining your overall health, not just on what your body looks like, and that may mean taking it a bit slower than you'd like. And I say this as someone who had the exact same concerns and frustrations you've expressed when my daughter was an infant. I pushed too hard in the early months and got terribly run down and sick, which put me even further behind. And even with that, my body returned to its (mostly) pre-pregnancy shape at around 8-9 months.

To answer your question, I would also second the CTX series (I think someone suggested that, didn't they? Brain cells -- another casualty of motherhood). These were a godsend when Lauren was a baby because they were quick but intense enough to make me feel like I wasn't wasting my valuable time, plus if Lauren started to get fussy, it was easy to stop after the cardio ended and do the weights some other time.

My other suggestion, given that you have so much gym equipment, is consider doing the Body For Life program by Bill Phillips (I believe that's the creator's name). I haven't done this one myself because we don't have the equipment to lift heavy at home and I haven't had the time or inclination to lift in the gym since Lauren was born, but I know others have had great results with this program. You alternate three days of high intensity cardio (I think he recommends the stationary bike, and you do short intervals) that lasts only 20 or 25 minutes (if I'm recalling correctly), with three days of weights (2 upper body + lower body session one week, then 2 lower and 1 upper the next --I think the weight days are designed to be accomplished within 45 minutes). I know that some people think this guy is controversial because the diet part of his program recommends using protein shakes (and maybe supplements of some type?) and he is somehow tied in with Met-Rx, but the exercise portion seems pretty sound to me. If you need more info, you might post a question over at Video Fitness -- there are several ladies there who've had great success with BFL, and I believe they could link you up to a BBS they use to discuss the program amongst themselves.

Hope that helps. Try not to be so hard on yourself -- you'll get there!

 

[staceywilk]

RE: Susan is the voice of wisdom here!

Thanks for the advice. My husband and I the body for life program a few years ago. He had better results than me. I've been on a program that was similar, but didn't require me to purchase expensive supplements. I occasionaly drink protein shakes (I used to drink the daily when I worked at a gym). I plan to drink them as soon as I can get to the supplement store. I like EAS products (which Bill Phillips promotes). I've decided to use Ripped Fuel again so that I can get some energy. My daughter has been sleeping through the night, but with my stress from work and my grandmother passing away I've been pretty restless.

The one thing that frustrates me with the weight is that I don't fit into the clothes in my closet. I always bought my clothes tailored. I went to the mall this past weekend and couldn't find anything that was worth buying.

 

[tchersue]

postpartum clothes...

I bought just a few items right before my son was born that I could wear in the postpartum period... not enough that I'd get too used to the idea of being a bigger size... but I am really anti-maternity wear after having the baby...

I have a couple of pairs of pants from (of all places) Walmart that were perfect... I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on clothes I'd only wear for a few week, y'know? I got Bobby Brooks pants with elastic waist and drawstring, and some capri pants... and a couple of oversized shirts to wear until my milk production settled down. I also got a cute long skirt that has an elastic type waist w/ drawstring... and it has a matching vest (covered my postpartum belly and breastpads that look so awful w/ a t-shirt!) for dressup... I found that at JC Pennys... and it's an outift that is forgiving, so I can actually wear it whe I'm thinner, too. Other than that, I found myself wearing fitness clothes more frequently (and that was good when I was home because I was ready to workout whenever I had a spare moment).

I think I started to fit into more of my "regular fat clothes" (anyone besides me have a closet that holds a couple of sizes?) after about 3 mos., and my skinny clothes at 6 or 7 mos. postpartum.
Susan