Hello Ladies!

Is there anyone else juggling mommy duties with trying to lose the baby weight?

They say it took 9 months to put the weight on so it should take at least that long to take it off. Well the little one is going to be one this week and I'm still working on it.

I have to admit that I didn't seriously start working on it till recently. I'm a single mama and with moving and adjusting to all the new changes that we've been through this year I really wasn't focused on me.

I've always been very weight conscious so when the scale went up to 215 around 8 months, I just stopped looking. So I don't know what I weighed on the day I delivered. I also don't really remember exactly what I weighed when I got pregnant, I'm thinking it was in the 160's. I'm gonna ask my doctor to check for me though.

I'm in the 170's now though but I just keep losing and gaining the same 5lbs.

What are y'all doing to drop the baby weight and how old are the little ones now??

Sort of! I'm still coasting a bit on dieting and trying to establish my milk supply, but I have about thirteen pounds to take off before being prepregnancy weight. We have our children quite close together and will continue that way, Lord willing, so I am always in a hurry to get excess weight off so it doesn't accumulate

You CAN get that baby weight off, it just takes diligence and action with whatever plan you choose!

My current baby weight accumulator is eleven days old. The sibs are 5, 4, and 2.

I just lost the 30 pounds I gained with my recent baby however I was at a low of 190 before I got pregnant and miscarried and as a result of that I gained 10 pounds before I got pregnant with this one so I guess I'm technically still working on 10 more pounds to get to my lowest adult weight. It is a lot of work so definitely harder than it was with the first, it took me 5 months

Yes, I am 38 years old now so it can't just be puppy fat any more like my mom used to tell me.

My daughter is five and I lost the baby weight within one year. I gained 80 lbs (!!) and 40 came off almost immediately. My mom dragged me to weight watchers about 6 months later and the additional 40 melted right off.

I lost my baby weight this winter. Nursing really helps but I had to work hard and plan to take the baby weight off. It is not easy but you all can do it!

I'm 22 weeks pregnant with my second and working on trying to not put on too much baby weight. In august, after the little one is born, I'll be working on taking off whatever extra weight I do put on.

It's hard to put the time and energy into yourself when you've got a little one running around, I can't imagine how much more difficult it is for you as a single mum. But it sets a good example for your children, and it's important for them to know that you value yourself (as much as they might not seem to appreciate that thought at the moment lol).

I have lost all the weight from baby #3, born last June, but there were 17 lbs I never lost from #2 (although I did get pg when she was 11 months old), so I am working on those right now.

I was 203-205 the day I delivered #3, and I am hovering around 154 right now. I have 12 more pounds to go to get to pre-pregnancy weight that I was at with my first 2.

I am crazy tired right now- I've never been sleep deprived before like I am right now. I get 3.5-6.5 hours of sleep most nights. This has a big effect on my weight loss, and my drive to lose weight. Its hard to get the motivation up to work out or eat well.

That being said, it can be done- I really like the 30 day shred, its a good workout, its only 20 min long, and it can be easily done at home.
As far as eating, I have started using myfitnesspal.com to count calories. I've never counted calories before, but it does make me aware (in a good way) of what I'm putting in my body, and it definitely helps with weight loss.

My 3 are 4.5, 2.5, and 9.5 months old. They keep me on my toes, and at this stage of life, very tired.

Surprisingly when i gave birth i was 140 pounds. When i fell pregnant i was 112. So i gained some but i was seriously underweight so it didn't show after birth. The problem was that i gained an extra 30 pounds the remaining four years!!!!!!!!!! That was not baby weight, that was brain malfunction on my behalf .....

I'm so glad to see so many mamas who have successfully taken off the baby weight (or close to it).

It's a challenge and its something that I'm constantly aware of.

I knew pregnancy would change my body a lot but I've never struggled this much to lose weight. I know that's in part to not being able to completely focus on my self but that's part of being a mom right?

I've also noticed that my body has lost a lot of tone and it seems like a fruitless effort to get it back. Will that change with the more weight I lose? I've been at this weight before, and I definitely fit into smaller clothes than I do now.

I just took off the weight of my second pregnancy, now I'm working on getting back to my pre-1st pregnancy weight.

I was 160ish when I got pregnant with #1. I got up to 184 during that pregnancy, lost quite a bit of weight when I gave birth but then started to gain again so I was 180 when I got pregnant with #2. I got up to 204 during that pregnancy and was around 190 after giving birth. Then I started gaining again so I put a stop to it when I got to 193.

My babies are now 2 years old and 5 months old.

Hey, I was/am a single mom too. I was about 165ish and got down to 143p by eating smaller portions. I would put my baby in the stroller and walk briskly twice a day for an hour, about 2 hours total a day. Early afternoon and again after dinner before dark.

ETA: This was 10 years ago, not how I lost weight recently.

No, it's not fruitless, it's vital! My muscle tone isn't apparent in 'cuts' of muscle, sure, but it absolutely affects how I look in clothes (and makes me several sizes smaller at the same weight as many other, less strong women). More than that, it gives me energy, flexibility, AND stability all at once.

Having a strong core and pelvic floor is incredibly important with four children in less than six years. It's crucial when I'm lifting, twisting, playing, or even just standing and cooking. It's the difference between huffing up the stairs and springing up them - weight, alone, is almost irrelevant compared to a strong body day to day. Especially once I got out of morbid obesity territory, every bit of strength makes an appreciable difference in my overall health.

For me, I do fifteen-ish minutes of Ttap DVDs four or five days a week and it made a huge difference in my size (I dropped multiple inches from my waist, bust, thighs, etc). It also made me much stronger for my delivery and my healing has been quicker postpartum, too. I'm less than two weeks out and can proceed with my normal daily schedule without issue (I don't, because I still need to take it easy to let my insides heal, but I have to REMIND myself to sit and rest, because I feel so good I just bounce around the house and forget!).

I hope others have input on this as well - for me, the difference in staying fit in pregnancy and postpartum vs. just dieting, alone, is incredible.

Absolutely! I will add that other women my size that don't have kids can't lift/carry my 50lb child as easily as I can. As a single mom, I completely understand how overwhelming it can be, but if you find a way to take a little time out of your day to exercise (and have time to yourself), you'll find it's well worth it.

For me, that means working 8:45-4:45 without a lunch break, changing in my office and running to our on-campus gym, lifting for an hour (including a cardio warm up/cool down), and rushing so that I can pick up my daughter from after-school care by 6. She has dance class/girl scouts and homework/dinner/bath depending on the day of the week, and by the time I put her to bed, take a shower, and eat dinner, it's well after 8.

I have more energy and I'm happier because I feel better about myself. I often have so much energy that after her bedtime and before she gets up in the morning, I'm cleaning, doing laundry, and doing other household chores. This morning I was folding laundry at 3am! It's great because we get to spend our weekends focusing on having fun with each other and visiting family and friends instead of all of the tedious tasks that we used to do. Usually on weekends, I get up early and start batch cooking for our freezer. With the busy weekdays, it's a savior for us to have an arsenal of dishes and quick meals already prepped.

Our household runs like a well-oiled machine, but that's only because I'm taking care of myself so I can take care of everything else.

If I ever get re-married and have another baby, I will definitely try to stay up on the exercise. I would love to have a quick recovery like Arctic Mama. It wasn't easy for me the first time because I wasn't taking care of myself as well as I should have, but it didn't take long to get into a routine. It's very possible to get your body to a place where you are comfortable again after having a child.

Exercise is definitely important! I swam laps every day during my pregnancy and my recovery was very smooth, even after a super long labor and episiotomy. And my LO is used to my workouts. He thinks it's hilarious when I do jumping jacks.