Help me lose this 20lbs of baby weight for good

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone - tale as old as time. I have a 3 yr old, an almost 1 yr old, and a FT job (at least hybrid though). Gained 10lbs of permanent baby weight each time so I'm about 20 lbs heavier than I want to be. My son was born in February 2023 and the initial weight slowly but surely came off, but since fall the scale has plateaud at a number that feels like it can't be right. Is this just life now or is there really any way to get back to feeling good in my clothes and looking nice in pictures again?

I feel like I eat healthy enough, very low carb, lots of veggies, quality protein, get 10k+ steps/day, do weights 3x/week, what am I missing?! The scale will literally not budge no matter what. Aghghghgh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone - tale as old as time. I have a 3 yr old, an almost 1 yr old, and a FT job (at least hybrid though). Gained 10lbs of permanent baby weight each time so I'm about 20 lbs heavier than I want to be. My son was born in February 2023 and the initial weight slowly but surely came off, but since fall the scale has plateaud at a number that feels like it can't be right. Is this just life now or is there really any way to get back to feeling good in my clothes and looking nice in pictures again?

I feel like I eat healthy enough, very low carb, lots of veggies, quality protein, get 10k+ steps/day, do weights 3x/week, what am I missing?! The scale will literally not budge no matter what. Aghghghgh.

you need to track and check portions.

Start by tracking everything you eat for a week. You can just write it down on paper. This is for transparency and knowing where you are starting.

How many times a week do you drink alcohol? eat out? finish your kids food?

Tracking can be eye opening. calories can add up quckly and even "healthy" foods have calories.

[Anonymous]

How's your sleep? It's harder to lose weight if you're not getting good quality (and quantity) sleep.

[Anonymous]

If you’re doing all those things that’s probably just where your body wants to be now. Losing 20 pounds is going to mean eating less food and being hungry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How's your sleep? It's harder to lose weight if you're not getting good quality (and quantity) sleep.

OP here - terrible lately actually. I don't think I've gotten more than 4 hours of consecutive sleep since DB #2 was born. We just moved my 3 yr old to a big kid bed over the holidays and you can imagine how that's going, while my baby still randomly wakes up but is usually able to put himself back to sleep.

Hopefully this too shall pass!

[Anonymous]

If you are already eating well…just eat less. Cut your portions at each meal by 1/3 of what you would typically eat.

[Anonymous]

Try weight watchers!

[Anonymous]

Are you still breastfeeding? I didn't lose an ounce until I stopped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are already eating well…just eat less. Cut your portions at each meal by 1/3 of what you would typically eat.

Yep. Just leave 1/4 of your plate empty. If that’s too sad, fill that space in with a handful of spinach.

[Anonymous]

20lbs is only 5 months of easy slow weight loss. Start calorie counting now and you can be down 20lbs by bikini season!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How's your sleep? It's harder to lose weight if you're not getting good quality (and quantity) sleep.

OP here - terrible lately actually. I don't think I've gotten more than 4 hours of consecutive sleep since DB #2 was born. We just moved my 3 yr old to a big kid bed over the holidays and you can imagine how that's going, while my baby still randomly wakes up but is usually able to put himself back to sleep.

Hopefully this too shall pass!

Ok, that sounds terrible and very hard. Be kind to yourself! I have two kids who are even younger than yours (2 1/2 and 8 months), but they are good sleepers, and I’m still not back down to pre-baby weight. Even with 7-8 hours of sleep per night, working out 4-5 times per week since August (Peloton and weights), and eating super healthy. I’m just focusing on health and the weight will be what it will be.

[Anonymous]

walk at least 4-5 miles a couple times a week (at one go, not accumulating steps). Walking like that helped me get back down to my pre baby weight after I had my second kid. I would take them -- older kid in the stroller and baby in a carrier. It really worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re doing all those things that’s probably just where your body wants to be now. Losing 20 pounds is going to mean eating less food and being hungry.

Lol what a crock. Op, you need to start by counting calories. I thought I was “eating healthy” when I was trying to lose the baby weight til I started counting calories and realized how much I was actually eating. An afternoon snack here, a latte there, a couple glasses of wine…. It all adds up.

[Anonymous]

And don’t finish your kid’s plates! It’s okay to trash those bites of macaroni and cheese left on their plates. Really.

I know the cost of groceries is sky high, but it’s perfectly reasonable to not finish every morsel of food. You are not a garbage can!

[Anonymous]

Ok if you do the food tracking, calorie counting, and everything, down to a point where you can lose a lb a week on average, how much would it impact that progress to have a couple glasses of wine per night?