Getting back into shape after baby. Is it really as easy as many celebrities make it sound? Heidi Klum did the Victoria's Secret fashion show just a few months after the birth of her third child. Denise Richards posed for Playboy when her daughter was 5 months old. I had a baby 11 weeks ago and gained a healthy (but not excessive) amount of weight during the pregnancy. I was also active and still running (okay, waddling) regularly the week my son was born. But am I ready to strut down the catwalk in my underwear for the whole world to see? Heck, no! I'm still struggling to fit into some of my jeans and hoping I can look a little more toned before the shorts and swimsuit season begins. It's hard to look in the mirror and not be happy with what you see. But for me it's not just about appearances. I'm also struggling to get my running back to where it was before the baby. Right now I'm slower; I don't have a lot of endurance and just want to feel strong again. I know it will all come back in time, but when you see the media's images of the fit and toned new mom, it's hard to be patient. Because I am a personal trainer and fitness professional, some people assume that I know all of the tricks to slim down quickly. Sometimes I feel like I'm held to a higher standard because of my profession. But I know that it's important to lose weight in a slow and healthy way. I'm also breastfeeding and don't want to do anything that's going to compromise my milk supply (like cutting calories too drastically). I'll admit that some of my food choices lately haven't been the best. Lack of sleep and the stress of a newborn make the chocolate temptations much stronger for me. But I'm trying. It's tough to find time to exercise with two little ones, especially since I'm the food source for one of them. I can't imagine how those of you with many children do it! I get a lot of help from my family, who knows how important it is for me to exercise--both physically and mentally. Sometimes I miss the days when I could spend an hour or two in the gym: running, taking a Spinning class or lifting weights. The reality is that I don't have that much time anymore, so I make the most of the time I do have. I might not be ready yet to pose in my bikini for a magazine cover, but eventually I'll get there. Honestly, I didn't have the "magazine cover body" before I had kids, so I don't really expect to have it after. But least I'll get to a point once again where I'm happy with my body and my fitness level, even if they aren't perfect. Did you struggle to lose weight and get fit after pregnancy? How did you do it? Do you think celebrities and the media make it seem easier than it really is?
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Thank you so much for letting us in on your journey! Report
Anyway, my son is healthy and I am doing ok. So I have to thankful for that. I know the weight will come off so I just have to keep going! Report
But still: what does my belly look like? Where are those muscles of steel gone? Report
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That being said, I don't look all that great right now. I've been obese my entire adult life and overweight since about the age of 8. I am still nearly 70 lb. over where I want to be.
After the second baby (who is now 10 months old), my belly is horrible. It just hangs there. It's much worse than before and I am amazed since my weight is the same and down nearly 40lb. from my highest pregnancy weight.
I guess I need to get started on toning. I've not done much exercise in years as I am so busy just working and taking care of my family. I'm trying to lose weight mostly by modifying my diet.
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I ABHOR sit ups and crunches even though fitness experts swear by it. Forget it! All those infomercials trying to entice us to buy their products was getting to me. The last time I ever bought anything was The Firm Fanny Lifter. I still have it and it has been rarely used. I can only take it one day at a time and eat sensibly. Report
I was doing really well the past week and half, and then last night my husband caught a mistake I had made - I thought I was eating 1 serving of popcorn, but it was actually 3 servings. So, as it turns out, I've only stayed within my calorie range 2 times since I've started tracking. I thought it was a little too easy...
I love my baby though - I would gain a million pounds to have him. He makes me so happy. Report
I don't think my stomach or boobs will ever be the same, but I just want to be more fit and healthy overall and want my eating habits and exercise to rub off on my daughter. I don't want to deprive her becuase I don't have the energy. Thanks for posting this. I really enjoyed reading the article and the comments. Report
As far as the question about the media making it seem easy to get back in to your pre-baby size, I think they do. They have set an unhealthy bar that "normal" women find it impossible to reach...unless you have the money for a personal trainer and dietician and would rather spend all your free time in a gym than with your new baby, which seems kind of ridiculous to me. Don't get me wrong, I do think that being healthy and fit is important, but to me it seems that these woman that are constantly in the public eye are pressured to look a specific way by a specific time. I find it kind of sad, like they can't truly enjoy being new mothers. Report
Yes celeberities makes it seem easy, I don't believe they are really telling us the real story on how they got back into shape.
If I had a one on one training coach and all the medication the use I to would be back in shape.
JUST SAYING. Report
I didn't gain as much weight as I or the doctors wanted me to. I quit gaining weight around the 6 month mark with both of my pregnancies. I also ended up delivering my daughter at 35 weeks and my son at 32.
Watching my baby struggle in the NICU for two months I would have given anything to be fat and pregnant worrying about how I was going to lose the weight. Now that my babies are home and (mostly) healthy I do worry about getting my pre-baby body back but on the other hand - why should any of us want that.
Our bodies performed miracles of strength and endurance growing and bringing a new life into the world. There are long term changes (some permanent) that come with that committment. Some things will go back to the way they were (hopefully my hair line) and some won't (stretch marks). Shouldn't all of it be a badge of honor? Shouldn't we be proud of what we have done whether we can run a sub 6 mile or bench press 50+ pounds after the baby? Isn't it more important to be healthy and balanced role models for our children? Report
I'm struggling with the weight now and i hate to see those celebrities that lose the weight to quickly it just seems so unhealthy to put your body through that Report
Now that I have had my son it is very depressing all this extra weight on my body, I had a c section for the first time with this baby, so I just got my ok last week to go ahead and start slowly exercising again. I have lost 46 pounds so far, and I have a lot more to go. I get upset about the fact that none of my own clothes fit me, and I currently have no jeans that fit me except my maternity jeans which makes me want to cry:( I am brestfeeding my son as I did with all my babies and I know that is supposed to help some, but I need way more help than that!
I bought a walk at home leslie sansone dvd to start exercising again, I also have an eliptical, and exericise ball and resistance bands that I use for strength training, but getting my stomach muscles back after a c section is not that much fun:) I just hope I am able to lose the weight, I want to feel ok looking in the mirror again. I don't want to look like a super model, I never did, I just want to fit into jeans, and feel comfortable with my body again. Report
I went back to taking slow walks 4 days after having my baby, and then was back in the gym with very easy workouts at about 2 weeks out. It took several months to get back to anything approaching the endurance and intensity of pre-pregnancy workouts, but keeping at it steadily, breastfeeding, and eating healthy foods was effective. I was down to within 1 or 2 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight, but not nearly to pre-pregnancy fitness level or size, by 4 months after having the baby.
Then I returned to my full-time job, and the weight loss stalled. I felt that I had no time or energy to work out, when I wanted to spend all my non-work hours with my new baby! I was not "fit" despite what the scale said and was 2 dress sizes larger than I had been at that weight before. I still had that extra 5 pounds from the pre-pregnancy weight gain, too. I spent 5 months stalled at that level, not working out consistently, then realized that I had actually gained back 1-2 pounds. I didn't want to let weight gain become a downward spiral, so when my sister told me about sparkpeople I joined up and started tracking my calories and workouts.
I had to start waking up at 5:30 in the morning to get the workout in before everyone woke up and before going to my job, but knowing I had to check the boxes on the fitness tracker, and admit to myself all the days I missed the workouts, was great motivation. Also, I realized that I had been overeating when I saw the calories and fat grams recorded every day. Waking up that early is great because you don't miss any time with the baby, who's still asleep. :)
With the help of consistent workouts and increasing intensity of the workouts, I've now lost the "extra" five pounds from pre-pregnancy, and am 4 pounds away from my weight of a few years ago, when I was at my lifetime peak fitness level. So here's the point: having a baby and a full-time job makes it hard to manage your time, but it is possible and you don't need a personal trainer or hours of working out every day - you just need to be patient, consistent and diligent, and don't make excuses not to work out (like I did for 5 months). Don't waste your time going half-heartedly through workouts - once you're recovered from actually having the baby, whenever that is for you (depending on the level of trauma you experienced during the birth), go to the gym regularly and work intensely at your cardio when you do go.
Good luck, ladies! Report
1) it must be nice to devote 3 hours a day to working out and not worry about who was going to take care of the kid or pay the bills
2) airbrushing was God's gift to Hollywood
3) what kind of life must it be like to have everyone always scrutinizing your every move, outfit, and everything that comes within a foot of mouth. Privacy anyone?
He also told me he was amazed at how much I could accomplish around the house in so little time...and still look smokin' hot! He's seen me at 115 pounds and on up to 178 and he still thinks I'm sexy everyday. [sigh] Knew I married him for a good reason :o)
I want to see more articles like this one that focus on REAL hot mamas--you know who I'm talking about: the ladies who get their butts up at 6 am (or earlier) every day to take care of their families, go to work, cook dinner, pay the bills, get everybody ready for bed, clean the house, go to bed late at night, and still find time to do something for themselves, be it exercise, a hobby, or a bubble bath. We may not be size 00's or even size 4's or 6's, but we wear our 'badges of honor' proudly as we watch our children grow into beautiful and successful people. We need to focus on reality and not the 2% that the media pushes on us.
I personally am grateful that I can focus on my daughter without other people trying to pry into my life with a camera or criticize my every move. Fame has it's own price tag. Imagine how those celebrity moms are feeling...can you imagine what their kids must be feeling!? No thanks! I'm content to be a size 8/10 and have a life where I call the shots; not the media.
One year after my baby girl made her arrival, I'm still losing baby weight. I'm not where I want to be, but at least I can do it in a HEALTHY way and on my own terms. And I'm going to focus on what makes me happy; not what I think will make everyone else happy. Report
Some people just have a tendency to shed weight and others don't. I also think it's a mind frame. I was confident that the weight would disappear and it did. That's why I'm having so much trouble dealing with this sudden weight increase I'm experiencing now, (it's downright scary) and am doing something extra to get rid of it before it gets to be a huge problem.
It's working.......slowly.....but it's working....so don't get depressed with that extra at baby time.....confidence and a little committment (mental and physical) will deal with it. Report
For those who are struggling with this topic who are TTC I would say go to the sister site babyfit.com to have a healthy pregnancy. And I will stress this my weight gain for pregnancy was for me and could not be normal for you. The thing with pregnancy is that your body will change termendously and will tell you what you need. Go with the flow, but remember you are not eating for two.
Those that have had the baby, been there and done that. What I struggle with today is fitting in the time to exercise on top of it all. I try to eat healthy and drink water and have my vitamins. But things will just not snap back into shape where they were. Due to enlarging and then shrinking back. The skin stretched out of shape and that does not go away. That is my biggest challenge. Report
My husband and I have been married for nearly 1.5 years now and we are considering TTC soon. I've been losing weight for about a year now and I'm still not to my personal goal.
I'm not even pregnant yet and I struggle with the thought of gaining weight for my baby. Then after I notice that I'm feeling that, I feel a tremendous amount of guilt for thinking so selfishly.
I hate that I'm already struggling with this issue and I haven't even conceived yet. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me through this?
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Then I try to take a step back and give myself a break. I am 44 now, work full-time and have a great husband and a great kid. I know in my heart of hearts I will someday be thin again, but I am struggling, like many of you, to come to terms with the fact that I may never have the same body as before the baby, thick or thin.
But is that so bad? Logically, no. Emotionally, yes. Report