Welcome back!!
I too have heard others say that they gained weight back once done with nursing. (I am in a similar situation in that I am nursing my 16 month old and after about 10 months, it became excruciatingly HARD to lose weight while nursing...the easy gravy train ended for me).
Warning: the following is an extreme idea and potentially controversial. I am not a doctor. I just play one on the internet.
I am wondering if you might benefit from doing a two week self-imposed boot camp of sorts (very Oprahesque). I say this because your body has just gone through a major change -- both in terms of caloric intake and outgo AND especially hormonally. Maybe if you eat super clean for 2 weeks and work out consistently, you might jolt your body into the change. Now, I know some might read this and think that I am nuts, but the fact is that the post-partum hormones and the nursing hormones are quite strong and fluctuate a lot. I have been told by formerly nursing moms that it took months and months for their hormones to straighten out after finishing (one mom still got nursing hot flashes 2 years later -- until she started working out). I guess what I am getting at is that you need to sort of kick your hormones in the butt a bit. The best way to straighten your hormones out is to eat really really well and to exercise consistently (this is how I got pregnant in the first place. My hormones were so messed up, I couldn't get pregnant. I did my own little boot camp for 2 months and --WHAM -- Knocked up). Now, this is not to say you should go run 10 miles and do 100 push-ups everyday. But you might consider removing all junk/sugars/processed foods/hormonal foods (like processed soy, non-organic dairy and non-organic meats) etc. for 2 weeks and also exercising daily for an hour (very gently if need be). I know this sounds extreme and it is obviosuly not easy and obviously just one persepctive. I just thought I would throw it out there because I am a person who likes some sort of quick result in the beginning to motivate me and because I have struggled with hormonal issues in the past -- and the only way I have successfully straightened out my hormones was by removing all junk -- without even counting calories -- and exercising daily.
Or just ignore this. Just wanted to offer another idea.
