6 weeks post partum, breastfeeding, not losing weight

[MariahUCF]

I was 5'11", 152 lbs before getting pregnant and reached a max of 197 lbs during pregnancy. I weighed 179 at 2 weeks pp, 177 at 3 weeks pp, and 176 at 4 weeks pp. The scale has been stuck at 176 for the last two weeks. I have been working out on my Elliptical 5 days per week since 2 weeks pp. Some days I only get in half an hour because my daughter fusses and I have to quit early. Other days, I get in the full hour that is my goal. I started doing the P90x leg and back workout last week and managed to work out 6 days. I counted calories most of last week and got 2,200-2,400. At my current weight of 176, my maintenance calories are supposed to be 2,505, plus add another 500 for breastfeeding, plus another 250-500 for my workouts. According to my counts, I have a minimum deficit of 800 calories and some days over 1,200 calories. I should be losing about 1-1.5 lbs per week. I'm afraid to go too low with my calories because I need to keep up my milk supply, and I don't think I can add any more workout time at this point. What am I doing wrong? I know I should focus on my daughter, but I can't help feeling disgusting when I'm 24 lbs above my normal weight and still wearing my maternity clothes.

[sonti]

Is this your first?

You need to understand (and this was hard for me) that apart from decent nutrition and basic exercise, only time will help.

Here's a link to my 2 month progress.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...6908373&page=5
Picture 1 was 6 weeks post partum
Picture 2 was 12 weeks post partum

It's a decent difference, no? Not much on the exercise front but walking and keeping nutrition on plan. Tried p90x - doesn't work with a fussy baby, LOL!

[KaraPhoto]

What am I doing wrong?.

Having unrealistic expectations that have been fueled by the media that focuses on unhealthy celebs who seem to get back to prebaby weight before the poor thing is even a week old.

Really, cut yourself some slack. At 6 weeks your body hasn't even had a chance to adapt to not being pregnant. Relax. Enjoy your baby. You took 9 months to gain this weight and grow a baby. You're not going to take it off in 6 weeks ... or 12 or maybe even 18. Give it time.

Oh and congrats on the birth of your little girl!

[sonti]

And really, cut yourself some slack before you overwhelm yourself even more. 5 days/week elliptical at 2 weeks post-partum? In a lot of cultures, most women do not even leave their bed at that stage, they rest and focus on bonding with their baby.

I know you hate your body right now (believe me, I'm 12 weeks post-partum, I KNOW how this feels), but if you accept that your body is not the same it once was and that you are doing yourself more harm than good, you may get some relief. What does your body and baby need right now? Is your body desperate to get back down to 150-ish lbs, or does it need to slow down, rest, and produce milk? And it needs SLEEP above all. Whatever little sleep you can get!!

[MariahUCF]

Is this your first?

You need to understand (and this was hard for me) that apart from decent nutrition and basic exercise, only time will help.

Here's a link to my 2 month progress.

Picture 1 was 6 weeks post partum
Picture 2 was 12 weeks post partum

It's a decent difference, no? Not much on the exercise front but walking and keeping nutrition on plan. Tried p90x - doesn't work with a fussy baby, LOL!

Wow, that is great progress! I hope I can look like that in 6 more weeks.

Yep, this is my first. I'm actually getting plenty of sleep and I had a very easy delivery. I'm going really easy on the elliptical, so I don't think I'm pushing myself all that hard. I guess I should relax a little, but working out 5X/week and eating clean with no results is discouraging.

[Pinkpower5]

I know it is hard but be patient with yourself. Think of the fat as stored breastmilk. I do believe that is why we gain so much. I'm the same height and hit 197 with both pg as well and oh it was so hard to see thin people! Luckily, some were nice and told me it took them a year to get there! You will too.

[ilovethe80s]

Please don't beat yourself up over extra weight you are carrying while nursing. It took me a full year to get back to normal after my first baby, nearly 2 years for my second, and for my next I fully plan on being in mumus and saris for a full 3 years after. No matter what I did, my body hung onto extra weight while nursing and I still looked at least 6 months pregnant post-partum on top of that. As soon as nursing stops, I lose too much weight except for these new fat accumulation places and it takes like another year to get rid of that. Not sure if it is the nursing itself, or the cortisone produced from sleeping like 2 hours a day.

Keep on exercising when you can, I know it's hard but do what you can, just make sure your food choices are healthy and other than that, the best advice I can give is just try not to look - out of sight out of mind. Lots of black clothes, a rubber waist shaper (squeem makes a great one) and you might need to get a few new pieces for your wardrobe as you might have already found, putting on your old stuff will make you feel like crap. Maybe do some weight training in the precious moments you have to work out - circuit training or something so you get more bang for your buck and can shape your body. I think you can look great at 150 pounds or 180 if you've got the shape going on and the weights will help with that.

Agree with Kara that despite what the media says, 6 weeks postpartum is not going to be the time to shine. I can't believe how badly the media pushed all of that stuff - I have a relative whose whole life is those gossip mags, she reads just about every one. And after I had a baby she wanted to know why I still look like crap. She made it a point to show me a handful of celebs who looked splendid only weeks after birth and wanted to know why i could not do the same. Honestly, I don't know, I don't know what they do but in real life, don't see that happening much.

[TriGirl]

A lot of wise things have been said above.

The goal right now isn't weight loss, but to nurture the new baby. Others have suggested that you cut yourself some slack, and I agree. I know it's hard.

[kimm4]

I was 5'11", 152 lbs before getting pregnant and reached a max of 197 lbs during pregnancy. I weighed 179 at 2 weeks pp, 177 at 3 weeks pp, and 176 at 4 weeks pp. The scale has been stuck at 176 for the last two weeks. I have been working out on my Elliptical 5 days per week since 2 weeks pp. Some days I only get in half an hour because my daughter fusses and I have to quit early. Other days, I get in the full hour that is my goal. I started doing the P90x leg and back workout last week and managed to work out 6 days. I counted calories most of last week and got 2,200-2,400. At my current weight of 176, my maintenance calories are supposed to be 2,505, plus add another 500 for breastfeeding, plus another 250-500 for my workouts. According to my counts, I have a minimum deficit of 800 calories and some days over 1,200 calories. I should be losing about 1-1.5 lbs per week. I'm afraid to go too low with my calories because I need to keep up my milk supply, and I don't think I can add any more workout time at this point. What am I doing wrong? I know I should focus on my daughter, but I can't help feeling disgusting when I'm 24 lbs above my normal weight and still wearing my maternity clothes.

You have to add an additional 300-500 calories when breastfeeding. But you don't add the additional 250-500 for your workouts. You're not supposed to eat back the calories you've burned, that's where you making your mistake.

[MariahUCF]

You have to add an additional 300-500 calories when breastfeeding. But you don't add the additional 250-500 for your workouts. You're not supposed to eat back the calories you've burned, that's where you making your mistake.

Oh, I'm not really eating back the calories I burned. I just mentioned that because I'm adding up the calories I burned (if Fitday is correct and my BMR is really 2,505 calories). I was just trying to make the point that I have a calorie deficit going, so at least mathematically speaking I should lose weight.

[KaraPhoto]

Using FitDay to calculate calories burned might also be part of the problem. In general those calculators are not very accurate and tend to overestimate. Unless you're using a HRM or a BodyBugg or some similiar device, you really aren't going to be able to get an accurate number of calories burned.

[MariahUCF]

Using FitDay to calculate calories burned might also be part of the problem. In general those calculators are not very accurate and tend to overestimate. Unless you're using a HRM or a BodyBugg or some similiar device, you really aren't going to be able to get an accurate number of calories burned.

Good point. I just tried the calculator on this site and it gave me a BMR of 1942 calories. I can't believe the discrepancy! So if I'm burning only 250 with my workouts and breastfeeding is only 300 instead of 500, that puts me at 2,500 calories burned and I'm eating about 2,200-2,400, plus there are 2 days per week that I don't work out at all. That would explain the weight loss being so slow it doesn't register on the scale for 2 weeks ...

[jenni130]

Good point. I just tried the calculator on this site and it gave me a BMR of 1942 calories. I can't believe the discrepancy! So if I'm burning only 250 with my workouts and breastfeeding is only 300 instead of 500, that puts me at 2,500 calories burned and I'm eating about 2,200-2,400, plus there are 2 days per week that I don't work out at all. That would explain the weight loss being so slow it doesn't register on the scale for 2 weeks ...

Your body will plateau at around 6 weeks postpartum. I am at 10 weeks post with my 3rd baby and like you the scale doesn't want to budge. It's taken me 4 weeks to lose 1 flippin pound. For me it doesn't matter how low I go with my deficit my body, like many other women postpartum, will hang onto that extra weight to make sure your young baby has enough fuel for the milk production. My body starts to lose more at around 6-9 months post. Yes it seems like it will be forever and I know how frustrating it is. But try not to worry. Your feeding your baby and thats what matters. Exercise and eat right and enjoy your new baby Congrats!

Jennifer

[carbonelle]

Your body will plateau at around 6 weeks postpartum. I am at 10 weeks post with my 3rd baby and like you the scale doesn't want to budge. It's taken me 4 weeks to lose 1 flippin pound. For me it doesn't matter how low I go with my deficit my body, like many other women postpartum, will hang onto that extra weight to make sure your young baby has enough fuel for the milk production. My body starts to lose more at around 6-9 months post. Yes it seems like it will be forever and I know how frustrating it is. But try not to worry. Your feeding your baby and thats what matters. Exercise and eat right and enjoy your new baby Congrats!

Jennifer

i totally agree^^^Give your body time to adjust and focus on the strength training. I found when I was bf'ing in the first few months, when I did cardio I was starving. i found the weights felt better on my body and energy levels--also, i'm sure I lost a bit of muscle during the pregnancy. So build those muscles again so you won't have to do so much cardio.
My story...
First baby 6lbs out from pre-preg weight when i was 2 weeks post-partum--by 9mths/ breast feeding a beginning walking baby--I was 8lbs lower than my pre-preg weight. I was so hungry all the time--I would eat a whole avocado in one sitting and dream of drinking cream.
2nd baby (3 yrs later)--2 weeks post-partum 20lbs out from pre-preg weight--nothing and I mean nothing happened with my weight for almost a year--my daughter didn't start crawling until 9mths and walking at 14mths which I think makes a difference as i was never hungry like I was with the 1st baby. I realized that the bf wasn't gonna do the weight loss thing for me this time. I ended up really counting my calories properly and 20lbs came off within 2 1/2 mths. I would like to blame it on gestational hypothyroidism but I honestly think I was hoping to rely on the bf'ing like I did with my first child.

Let your body find it's new bf'ing normal and chances are if you keep slowly losing the weight rather than expecting it to come off rapidly by the time your crawling baby is 6-9mths you'll be fitting into those skinny jeans with some nice muscle underneath.

[terracotta]

You're overestimating your caloric needs, I'd drop them to 2000-2200 and you should see some slow fat loss again. That is plenty to supply your extra needs for breastfeeding a 6 week old.

[judy9441]

I suggested someone else too that Roca labs formula can help in such cases. Give it a shot.