Is it Hard to Lose Weight after Kids?
March 11, 2008 by Eliza Ferree
Filed under Health
Some will find losing weight easier after kids, while there will be some that just can’t, no matter how hard they try. No diets and exercise don’t always cut it for some. Which do you fall in?
I sent some emails with questions to a few willing participants and was shocked by the response. As you’ll be able to see, some had issues during the pregnancy which made them gain weight while others just couldn’t figure out how to lose it, no matter what they did. Here are a few:
I had become very innactive, partly because I’d pulled a ligament in my belly at five months pregnant. After she was born, that inactivity had become a habit. I gained more weight – but didn’t realize it until I attempted to put on my jeans. I couldn’t get them up over my hips. I tried pair after pair, each one stopping at my expanded thighs. The one or two that made it over my hips were inches away from zipping and buttoning. Even my stretchy pants made me feel like a sausage, tight everywhere with my belly flab hanging over the waist band. – Dawn Hunt
Yes, I have. When I had my first child, I gained in excess of 60 lbs. Obviously this was not all baby. I think I used my pregnancy as an excuse to eat a lot of ice cream. After having my son, I found that I had a real weight problem for the first time in my life. It sucked. I had to eat because I was nursing, I couldn’t diet and I was too tired for much exercise, because Max was a pretty fussy baby. I finally lost a bit of it, but my weight still stayed a good 30+ lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. I also found that my body didn’t burn calories the way it did before I had children. My whole system seemed affected by having a baby. -Anonymous
For myself, I’ve yet to lose baby #3 or 4 weight, but I do have plans once the spring comes to start going on walks. Howevever, walking with a 4 year old and a 1 year old in a stroller isn’t always easy. While a baby can be pushed in a stroller, my 4 year old has short legs and won’t go as far as I need her to go. Currently I’m breastfeeding, which means I won’t be going on a diet anytime soon.
Do you have a story to tell? Share with us your story of how you couldn’t lose the weight, gained the weight or how you lost it.
Define “diet.” If you are eating and not crash dieting, you are eating right, and eating right goes a long way towards weight loss. That means no more gallons of dressing on salads, lots of fruits/veggies, lean meats, losing prepackaged and fast foods. Simple changes can make a big difference. That coupled with your walks have the potential to be rather dramatic. Oh, and don’t finish your kid’s food on top of eating your own portion.
I gained 55 pounds with ds, lost about 25 of that, then got pregnant with dd when ds was only 7 months old! Needless to say I regained the lost 25 pounds and have started walking almost daily with my super-heavy double stroller in an attempt to tone up and lose inches….it seems to be working! Ofcourse I am also cutting back my caloric intake by snacking on fruit and yogurt, cooking with skim instead of whole milk, and drinking water. I have a long way to go, it’s definitely not easy.