Myth busting - Having children doesn’t make you gain weight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah of course … why would child bearing in itself cause you to gain weight?

I have no idea but people post this here all the time. “Oh you’re a mom, you shouldn’t expect to go back to your pre pregnancy weight?” And it’s like…why not?

I say this as a mom to a five year old who has been at pre baby weight and measurements since my kid was 1.5.

People say that because they are being kind to a woman who feels bad about herself! Women, especially moms, have a lot more important things to do than worry about being 10 lbs overweight.

And as other people have noted, bodies change. It's more difficult to lose as you age, and with subsequent pregnancies. Having an experience of one kid isn't much to base an entire opinion on the ease or difficulty of post partum weight loss

I linked to a study in my original post…

DP - you can find a study for almost anything. Your study doesn't prove that it's universal. Your study was limited to Australia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah of course … why would child bearing in itself cause you to gain weight?

I have no idea but people post this here all the time. “Oh you’re a mom, you shouldn’t expect to go back to your pre pregnancy weight?” And it’s like…why not?

I say this as a mom to a five year old who has been at pre baby weight and measurements since my kid was 1.5.

People say that because they are being kind to a woman who feels bad about herself! Women, especially moms, have a lot more important things to do than worry about being 10 lbs overweight.

And as other people have noted, bodies change. It's more difficult to lose as you age, and with subsequent pregnancies. Having an experience of one kid isn't much to base an entire opinion on the ease or difficulty of post partum weight loss

100%. After baby 1, I was back to my normal weight in a month. Much harder after babies 2 and 3. The main thing, though, is how family food culture changes. I'd eat fish or another simple protein with veggies most nights if it were just me. But my kids won't eat that, so I have more cheesy pastas, breads etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah of course … why would child bearing in itself cause you to gain weight?

I have no idea but people post this here all the time. “Oh you’re a mom, you shouldn’t expect to go back to your pre pregnancy weight?” And it’s like…why not?

I say this as a mom to a five year old who has been at pre baby weight and measurements since my kid was 1.5.

People say that because they are being kind to a woman who feels bad about herself! Women, especially moms, have a lot more important things to do than worry about being 10 lbs overweight.

And as other people have noted, bodies change. It's more difficult to lose as you age, and with subsequent pregnancies. Having an experience of one kid isn't much to base an entire opinion on the ease or difficulty of post partum weight loss

I linked to a study in my original post…

DP - you can find a study for almost anything. Your study doesn't prove that it's universal. Your study was limited to Australia.

I found the study to be interesting. OP, you haven't seen the full study, have you? I was interested in the fact that they mentioned that "young women" were studied. What does that mean? I think it stands to reason that losing weight, whether before or after pregnancy, gets more difficult with age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah of course … why would child bearing in itself cause you to gain weight?

I have no idea but people post this here all the time. “Oh you’re a mom, you shouldn’t expect to go back to your pre pregnancy weight?” And it’s like…why not?

I say this as a mom to a five year old who has been at pre baby weight and measurements since my kid was 1.5.

People say that because they are being kind to a woman who feels bad about herself! Women, especially moms, have a lot more important things to do than worry about being 10 lbs overweight.

And as other people have noted, bodies change. It's more difficult to lose as you age, and with subsequent pregnancies. Having an experience of one kid isn't much to base an entire opinion on the ease or difficulty of post partum weight loss

I linked to a study in my original post…

DP - you can find a study for almost anything. Your study doesn't prove that it's universal. Your study was limited to Australia.

You don’t think a study done on Australian women would also hold true for American women? Interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah of course … why would child bearing in itself cause you to gain weight?

I have no idea but people post this here all the time. “Oh you’re a mom, you shouldn’t expect to go back to your pre pregnancy weight?” And it’s like…why not?

I say this as a mom to a five year old who has been at pre baby weight and measurements since my kid was 1.5.

People say that because they are being kind to a woman who feels bad about herself! Women, especially moms, have a lot more important things to do than worry about being 10 lbs overweight.

And as other people have noted, bodies change. It's more difficult to lose as you age, and with subsequent pregnancies. Having an experience of one kid isn't much to base an entire opinion on the ease or difficulty of post partum weight loss

I linked to a study in my original post…

DP - you can find a study for almost anything. Your study doesn't prove that it's universal. Your study was limited to Australia.

You don’t think a study done on Australian women would also hold true for American women? Interesting.

Not necessarily - depends on what demographic they followed, age, race, # of pregnancies. Just because a study concludes something, doesn't make it necessarily true or universal. Come on. Did you take any science classes or have any science background?

[Anonymous]

All I know is everyone's body is different. It took me five months after giving birth to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight with zero effort. I maybe went running extremely slowly once or twice. I ate everything I could because I was ravenous from breastfeeding so it wasn't dieting. It's just how my body is. Regained a lot of the weight after I weaned and that's when I started to have to diet and now am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but it wasn't hard. I'm lucky, that's all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah of course … why would child bearing in itself cause you to gain weight?

I have no idea but people post this here all the time. “Oh you’re a mom, you shouldn’t expect to go back to your pre pregnancy weight?” And it’s like…why not?

I say this as a mom to a five year old who has been at pre baby weight and measurements since my kid was 1.5.

See this is where we differ. By the time my oldest was 5 I had three more kids.

Sure if I had one kid my body would look great. But instead I have an amazing body that produces children easily which I don't take for granted. I weigh now a bit more than before all 4 of my kids but my body doesn't look the same or carry weight in the same areas as it did before having kids. I love my body as does my DH and my kids. You should probably spend more time embracing bodies of all shapes and sizes instead of pushing your goals on others.

Yes, my body can also produce children. Go us, I guess?

Amazing how this thread has struck a nerve with some women. If you want to be the weight you are, and you feel good, that’s great! This is more about offering hope to the moms that want to lose weight.

NP - I did read the original post as "offering hope". It still felt like the judgment of moms and post partum bodies.

- average weight, mom

Agreed. And I weigh less than I did pre-pregnancy, so I’m well-aware it’s possible. But this post reads like shaming of moms who struggle with their weight.

Also, I may weigh less, but my rib cage and hips are undeniably wider. That happened after baby #2. So my body has fundamentally changed and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m fine with it, but there’s way more health and fitness and size than just weight.

[Anonymous]

All I know is everyone's body is different.

+1 to this. When I was pregnant, my mom used to love to tell me that I would come home from the hospital with <5 pounds to lose because that was her experience with all 3 kids. I gained 25 pounds with my first pregnancy, went into the hospital at 150 pounds, and came home with a 6.5 pound baby, while still weighing 140 pounds. I gained 35 pounds with baby #2 - I was expecting a larger baby and he weighed one ounce more lol.

For me, the key to losing all the baby weight once and for all and to keep it off was to wait until the younger kid went away to college and then really focus on myself. It just wasn't a priority to me before and I didn't care if I wore a size 10 instead of a 4.

[Anonymous]

It’s just an excuse. I’ve never as been as thin as I was in the year after giving birth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

All I know is everyone's body is different.

+1 to this. When I was pregnant, my mom used to love to tell me that I would come home from the hospital with <5 pounds to lose because that was her experience with all 3 kids. I gained 25 pounds with my first pregnancy, went into the hospital at 150 pounds, and came home with a 6.5 pound baby, while still weighing 140 pounds. I gained 35 pounds with baby #2 - I was expecting a larger baby and he weighed one ounce more lol.

For me, the key to losing all the baby weight once and for all and to keep it off was to wait until the younger kid went away to college and then really focus on myself. It just wasn't a priority to me before and I didn't care if I wore a size 10 instead of a 4.

You waited until your kids were out of the house to lose the baby weight??? Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s just an excuse. I’ve never as been as thin as I was in the year after giving birth.

Bully for you. What’s your excuse now?

[Anonymous]

This is stupid.

For the majority of people, they gain weight with pregnancy. Taking it off can be hard.

I easily maintained a low weight my adult life until I had kids, with my first at 35. Losing that baby weight was hard by it came off by 8 months (nothing melted away, it was cutting calories and being active). Losing the same baby weight took almost 18 months with DC2 and took four years with DC3.

Losing weight is much more work than maintaining weight - for me, it is something that takes dedicated attention on diet and exercise - dropping those last 15 lbs was hard work. I didn’t have the mental/emotional/physical bandwidth for it for a while after DC3 was born.

[Anonymous]

I worked out after each child and was back at my pre-pregnancy weight within two months. I have six children (5 adults, one teen), I am almost 50, and I have worn a size 0 for many years. Exercise and watch what you eat. When I say exercise, I am not referring to gym memberships. There are many ways to work out without paying. Be creative. Have fun. Kids are a natural weight-loss system. Get outside and play with them. Play with them inside. Make exercise/play part of your lives. I had FUN with my kids. Good memories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s just an excuse. I’ve never as been as thin as I was in the year after giving birth.

Right, because every woman's body is identical to yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was 5’4’’ 125 lbs when I got pregnant. I gained 30 lbs during my pregnancy and lost it all by the time DD was 6 months old. I’m now 5’4’’ 122 lbs.

Exact same. And i didn't do anything special either. Just didn't wear junk food and breastfed. I didn't even start back to doing any intentional exercising until my 3rd was in pre-school (10 yrs total). But i was young and in great physical shape pre-kids and while I lost the weight without gym, when I finally did go back to gym, it only took about 6-8 months to regain my previous endurance and strength.