How did everyone get *really* motivated to start losing again after their little ones came? I was doing so amazing and then I got pregnant and I just can't get back into the mindset. Of course I want to lose weight but it's not like it was before. I was 200% determined before and now Im just not into it but know I really should be.

Whats your motivation?

I use my son as my motivation. He is 5 weeks old I want him to grow up having a healthy momma and to have a healthy relationship with food himself. I dont want him to see me constantly battling my weight.

how old is your little one?

It took me 15 years and getting type 2 diabetes to get seriously motivated...and finding the right fit for me with diet and exercise. I wasn't ready to lose the weight back then. I wasn't ready to give up my indulgences and sabotaging behaviors back then. I've completely changed how I live.

Hard part is to not find the 20 year old underneath all the layers of fat!

Like you, I was losing before I conceived my last child. I continued to watch what I ate during my pregnancy. Yes I gained 45 lbs but heck I was thrilled since I gained 60+ with my other pregnancies!
After a couple weeks of his birth I weighed myself to see where I was at so I could track my calories from that point and had it set so that I'd lose 1/2 lb a week with zero exercise. Since I was nursing I didn't want to jeopardize my milk supply. Once I got the green light from my midwife, I started walking again.
I guess my main motivation to lose was thinking of how much I gained after the other pregnancies, I didn't want to make the same mistake again by just letting all the pounds come on without stopping it.

Well honestly, looking at my postpartum body in the mirror was enough motivation.

i am so insecure its ridiculous...i dont want my daughter to understand what it means to worry about her body, or to feel like if she is overweight she isnt good enough..i just want to regain my confidence before she is old enough to start losing hers...i hope that makes sense!

yeah, that's another thing. I have a picture of dh and I after we got married (in my thin days...well where I'm at now, FINALLY) I didn't want the day to come where my kids would look into that picture asking "Mom, what happened?! Why don't you look like that anymore?!" The thought of that just depressed me back then.

Ditto on losing weight before I got preggers, then packed it on. When DS around 6 weeks old my Mum had a heart attack and I realised that could be me - I had two little kids and was killing myself with food. That was 24th Jan and since then I've lost around 40lbs

My motivation is thinking about getting pregnant again and wanting to avoid what happened during my first pregnancy. My first pregnancy ended with severe preeclampsia and HELLP at 32 weeks and my son spent a month in the NICU. I almost died and considering how truly bad it was, I feel truly lucky to be here. I recently went over my hospital records with a pre-e specialist and he made it clear that what happened to me was really, really bad. It was awful and while weight wasn't the direct cause, it definitely made it a lot worse.

I really want to have another baby. DS will be 4 soon and I would love to give him a sibling. But I refuse to do it unless I'm at a healthy BMI. So there's my motivation. I wear DS's old NICU wires as a braid around my wrist as a constant reminder/motivator. It's what makes me get up and go for a run at 9:30 at night, or refuse dessert, or tell my husband to quit offering to take me out to dinner, or get up at 5am and work out.

How old is your baby?

I didn't get motivated until my son was 9 months old and I was just sick and tired of feeling fat. By then I had gotten the hang of my new life so I wasn't trying to do too much all at once.

^I agree, I think some women (particularly first timers) try to do too much too soon, soooo much pressure on themselves when really you are already going through a massive lifestyle change. 8-9 months was really when things settled down for me too.

Thanks for the responses! My LO is 3 months. I'm still wearing my maternity jeans though b/c all of my pre-pregnancy jeans won't even go over my butt. *sighs* I'm more motivated now than I was when I posted but I'm still struggling. I've only worked out a few times but have been tracking my calories for a few days now.

Now that Clara is 3 months I can take her to the gym with me so we're going to go get a membership in the next couple days (HOPEFULLY tomorrow!).

I definitely want to be healthy for her and be able to teach her good habits...and I don't want her to grow up with the fat mom. So I'm going to do this! I'll be 180 by her 1st birthday if I start NOW!

I'm not actually postpartum yet. But I was my heaviest @ my wedding so 1.5 years after the baby is born. My husband and I are planning our honeymoon/ re-wedding skinny with pictures i'm proud of