Advice needed, please.

  • Hello ladies and gents.. i'm new

    I had a baby on Nov 10th, i weighed 175lbs. Today, as below i am 143. i know i lost alot of weight quick, but it was due to baby/fluid weight. anyways i have hit a stall. i am excercising and have been for 3 weeks 7x a week 25-30 cardio sessions eating 1200-1600 cals a day. if i restrict to 1250 each day will it jump start my weight loss? ive gotta get this scale moving again. I am 5'4 but i have a muscular frame. so realisticly my PRE preg weight was 149 so anyways i have "worked" off 4 pds but thats it.

    any opinions welcome..... TIA
  • I would try alternating calorie intake with alternating food types. If you eat more proteins and carbs with a larger calorie intake then lower your calories and switch to veggies and fruits another day it should help fluctuate your metabolism. There are a lot of names for it but you can look it up the most generic name is calorie shifting. Hope this helps! ^^
  • thank you!
  • Are you breastfeeding???
  • I had my son a month before your birth, losing weight post-baby can be a bit of a challenge. If you are breastfeeding, that can often ratchet up your hunger a bit, and your body needs more calories (about 500 a day extra) to maintain your health and milk supply. If anything, you may be eating too few calories for your activity level, if milk production is in the mix.

    I'd stick to around 1500-1600 calories a day for a few weeks, with some moderate activity, and see if the scale moves. You don't want to underfeed your body when your metabolism is ratcheted up post-baby. Going down to 1250 seems like a very bad idea, given how much you may be losing to breastfeeding.


    I weigh a lot more than you, but with nursing I can eat 1800 calories a day and lose 2.5-ish pounds per week. If I ate much less than that I'd be painfully hungry, as well as seeing my supply drop off. It's not worth it for some pounds lost!

    Be aware, too, that breastfeeding hormonal changes will cause some extra abdominal fat to stick around until you are done (generally guessed to be about ten extra pounds for buffer), so if you are quite close to your body's optimal weight you may not be able to shed those bottom pounds for a few months. If that turns out to be the case, I recommend focusing on strength training instead, and that will likely give you a visual change, even if the scale hasn't changed.

    Congratulations on your baby, good luck with the loss
  • Quote: any opinions welcome..... TIA
    I know this is probably not the opinion you want to hear, but, as a 4 time baby making veteran, I would STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST such significant calorie restriction during the immediate (~3 months) post-partum period. Your body needs to heal right now, not lose fat. Eat a healthy diet, get in tune with your hunger signals, avoid processed food (especially sugars, they interfere with healing) and exercise modestly*.

    It takes the majority of women at least 6 months to do what you did and lose the weight put on during pregnancy, so it's admirable - downright miraculous - that you've lost it so quickly. Speaking as someone who has BTDT it's best for your body, in the long run, to chill out and do what you can to heal fully before jumping into losing the last 20 pounds.

    *The best exercise you can do right now, if you aren't already, is baby wearing. When you do housework/take a walk/go grocery shopping, wrap the baby up on your chest. This will apply the right kind of load to your muscles to get them back in shape and help with the hormone releases to speed uterine healing. It will also reduce colic, fussiness and improve baby's sleep. Win-win, all around. =)
  • Oh yes, a +1 for babywearing! With a preschooler and toddler as well, I could get nothing done without it!
  • thank you ladies! no i am not breastfeeding but i have been eating good and slowing down on all the excercising and not stressing and ive started loosing again. i'm 133.6 now
  • Hi Ashley

    I think our current/goal stats are practically identical, mine was born June 8.

    from this point on, its' a very slow steady race. You are already a normal weight so do not expect too much too soon. I personally sit at 1500-1600 calories and am losing steadily (I am not nursing either).

    And please, don't overdo yourself! It can take several months just for your uterus to shrink back. You gain 9 months, you lose 9 months. Don't burn out in an attempt to re-achieve your pre baby body too soon. Good luck

    ps If you are interested I recently did my goal photos
    http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/goal...st-partum.html
  • Quote:
    I would STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST such significant calorie restriction during the immediate (~3 months) post-partum period. Your body needs to heal right now, not lose fat.
    Big HUGE ditto!