New Mom seeking new body:

Hello All –
I’ve posted a time or two a few months ago and I’m an avid reader of everything here so now I thought it’s time for me to bite the bullet and ask for some guidance and help.

A little history first: I had a baby boy about 2 ½ months ago – it was a premature birth after spending 2 weeks on hospital bed rest, he was 9 weeks early, spent 6 weeks in NICU and is now home and doing great. Since he was so early I never had a chance to get really big during pregnancy, but I gained enough to see it in the mirror and know that I have a lot of hard work ahead of me.

I’m 5ft 1” and 123 lbs on a good day; I was 117lbs pre-preg. Not sure what my body fat is and I don’t think I want to know at this point, it depresses me to think about that right now. Before pregnancy during I was diligent about going to the gym, so I’m not a stranger to weights and cardio and I love pushing myself and lifting heavy and it showed.

So, my dilemma now is where on earth do I begin? My goals are to lose body fat and rebuild the muscle that I lost on bed rest. I know my diet is most important for fat loss so I’ll post a sample menu below and I will ask that you all just ruthlessly tear it apart show me what needs to improve what I need to do differently.

For my workouts, since I am back at work my only opportunity to get to the gym is on my lunch hour providing I don’t get saddled with something at work that prevents me from going from time to time. So, I have at least 5 days a week that I can devote to the gym on a hopefully regular basis.

Please be honest, I can take it:
Diet: I am tracking this on Fit Day – I hope I’m doing it right as I’m averaging 1350-1450 cals per day.
Meal 1: ½C egg whites, fat free yogurt, banana, coffee with 2Tbs creamer

Meal 2: ½C cottage cheese, 10 almonds, few carrot sticks or snap peas

Meal 3: large spinach salad with chicken or tuna, veggies, 1-2TBS dressing

Meal 4: Piece of fruit (orange, apple, pear), almonds

Meal 5: Usually consists of grilled meat (steak, chicken, fish, pork), mixed veggies and ½C pasta or brown rice.

I’m fairly certain you all will tell me that I need another meal in there, but I’m not sure where to work it in. This is just a sample, some things change day to day of course.

Workout:
M: Legs, Abs
T: Chest, Triceps, Cardio – 30 minutes elliptical or stairs – whatever I feel like doing
W: Calves, Abs, Cardio – 40 minutes
Th: Back, Biceps, Cardio – 30 minutes
F: Shoulders, Abs, Calves, Cardio – 30 minutes

OK, so there it all is. Thanks in advance for any comments, assistance and honesty. I look forward to hearing from any of you.
Best,
LL

sounds pretty good to me. I know alot of people eat more meals, but
if you are happy and not hungry eating like you are I think that is what you
should do. I only eat 3 meals a day and maybe a snack if I feel hungry.
You should be able to get back into shape pretty quickly if you can get
to the gym 5 days per week. Be patient - have fun with the new baby

Thanks 98Shadow - I know patience is also key, that's a daily reminder for myself as well.

Anyone have comments?
Thanks,
LL

[QUOTE=LitheLioness]
1350-1450 cals per day.
[b]This is NOT enough food for a woman breast freeding. I'm not sure what your bmr is, but if you're active, I suspect much higher. While you are breastfeeding, you typically burn an extra 500 calories a day, too!! [/b]

Meal 1: ½C egg whites, fat free yogurt, banana, coffee with 2Tbs creamer
[b]Ditch the banana, and the fat free yoghurt. If you can, try fat free skim or soy instead of creamer. Go for oatmeal, egg whites are AWESOME with oatmeal. Make sure it is REAL oatmeal, not that Quaker junk. Have some flax or fish oil. [/b]

Meal 2: ½C cottage cheese, 10 almonds, few carrot sticks or snap peas
[b]More snap peas!! More veggies are better. [/b]

Meal 3: large spinach salad with chicken or tuna, veggies, 1-2TBS dressing
[b]Excellent. Throw in some EFA's!! [/b]

Meal 4: Piece of fruit (orange, apple, pear), almonds
[/b]Don't combine carbs and fat, like this. Save the fruit for IMMEDIATELY post workout. Find a different protein source, instead. [/b]

Meal 5: Usually consists of grilled meat (steak, chicken, fish, pork), mixed veggies and ½C pasta or brown rice.
[b]Don't bother with the pasta, but the brown rice is great. [/b]

[b]Meal 6: Slow digesting protein and some fat. [/b]

[b]You need accounting for your pre and post workout meals. Post work out, you need a quick digesting protein, like whey, and some dextrose, like your banana. [/b]

Workout:
M: Legs, Abs
T: Chest, Triceps, Cardio – 30 minutes elliptical or stairs – whatever I feel like doing
W: Calves, Abs, Cardio – 40 minutes
Th: Back, Biceps, Cardio – 30 minutes
F: Shoulders, Abs, Calves, Cardio – 30 minutes[/QUOTE]

I'm not such a fan of your work out schedule!! I'd get two sessions of cardio in on the weekends, rather than clump weights and cardio together, and jeapardize the lean muscle you are trying to build. I don't have time to go through the workout schedule right now, but calves, back, and shoulders are too small to make that the muscle group de la jour....I'm hoping somebody else will chime in and help with that!!

Gotta run!! Good luck!!

Thanks TricepGirl for the constructive criticisms - one note however, I am NOT breastfeeding anymore so is my caloric intake still ok? Looks like I need to add a protein shake P/W along with your other suggestions.
The reason I do cardio and weights in the same session is, as I stated above - my lunch hours during the week are my only opportinuties to hit the gym so I have to make the most of it at these times.
I look forward to your additional comments on my workout routine when you have the time to post again.
Thanks again.
LL

Hi there :) Congratulations on the baby!

You should read through my basic nutrition info [url=http://terracotta2.googlepages.com/eatingforbodybuilding]here[/url].

There is nothing wrong with bananas and yogurt. I believe what tricepgirl was trying to get at, is that you have piled your breakfast with simple carbs. You want to spread these over your day. Also, at breakfast, you want to get complex carbs in you right away, such as oatmeal.

I also eat pasta often, and I don't see the harm in it. However, you have to be very careful with serving size. If you aren't weighing or measuring your foods, it would be a good time to start.

There is an article specifically on post-partum fitness [url=http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=72]here[/url].

[QUOTE=LitheLioness]Thanks TricepGirl for the constructive criticisms - one note however, I am NOT breastfeeding anymore so is my caloric intake still ok? Looks like I need to add a protein shake P/W along with your other suggestions.
The reason I do cardio and weights in the same session is, as I stated above - my lunch hours during the week are my only opportinuties to hit the gym so I have to make the most of it at these times.
I look forward to your additional comments on my workout routine when you have the time to post again.
Thanks again.
LL[/QUOTE]


I only say to watch out with the pasta because people do NOT measure a lot, and Terra's right, it would be a GREAT time to measure if you don't already.

Your post wo shake can just consist of your banana and a whey, it's pretty easy!! No excuses not to feed yourself properly!!

The work outs....I realize you only have time on your lunch hour....that sucks....but, it is NOTHING you can't work with!! ;) I'd really suggest that rather than do a little cardio and a little weights, you do weights Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, full force for an hour, and then Tuesday and Thursday you do cardio, high intensity intervals. Do you know what kind of weight lifting program you are following, now?? Perhaps PM more details, if you wish. Off for the weekend, but Terra's link is really, really good, and that post partum website looks great, too!!