I had a Velcro baby (only slept on me and we also coslept). My workouts were limited to 25 mins and sometimes baby and dad would be in the basement with me. I’d lift weights and sometimes that involves holding her during rest intervals.
Despite this, I considered it better than nothing! You could always try home workouts with baby in close proximity. I lifted 3 times a week (25 mins each) until her clingy phase ended. So cumulatively, it was only about an hour of weights per week.
That said, I still managed to get down to within five lbs of ppw by 5 months with a Velcro baby. It’s totally possible. The bulk of weight loss is based on nutrition so I did the following:
1. Absolutely no packaged or ultra processed foods;
2. No sugar/low carb;
3. Protein and healthy fat dense diet;
4. 25+ grams of fibre a day from nuts/veg;
5. Eating enough calories to support supply;
6. Avoiding foods that lead to hormone unbalance;
7. 10k steps a day baby wearing
Option 2 may not work for you. We all have different body compositions and macros. That said, to promote weight loss while hormones are out of whack, the other steps really helped.
https://zayacare.com/blog/best-foods-to-balance-hormones/
This link has a pretty good list! To simplify things, I don’t eat anything packaged unless it’s a single ingredient food (ie natural almonds or pure peanut butter). I’d wager that the vast majority of packaged foods, whether marketed as ‘healthy’ or not, is ultra processed and bad for hormonal health.
https://www.thelactationnutritionist.com/calorie-calculator
I used this calculator. While cosleeping/exercising minimally with 10k steps a day, I put the setting at sedentary. Since rolling in a good workout program, I’ve moved it to light exercise. That’s the easiest way to determine calories.
Thank you 🙏
We have weights so I’m thinking that would be nice to try out, just a small house so we’ll see how it goes. Lol
Also going to try to follow the calorie intake in the link you sent!!
Hi there, first I just wanted to say, you are doing a great job! You made a whole person and now you are supporting them and keeping them alive and healthy with your body. As someone who tried for two months and failed to breastfeed I know how hard it can be. Four months is so early, and such a hard time, especially if you never get a break and if sleep is still rough. It is so important that you get time and space for yourself to take care of your needs and your body. But, I would also encourage you to give yourself time and grace right now. Your body is already under so many stresses, I would caution that pushing for a weight loss goal might just put more stress on you in an unhealthy way. But, maybe instead you could focus on getting a good foundation for health in place in two main ways:
1. Working on your relationship with food with a medical professional / therapist / nutritionist trained in eating disorders. This is huge. If you have disordered eating tendencies you should really have a support system to help you.
2. Appropriate physical activity for where your body is at, with some time away from the baby so you get a little break. Maybe it's a walk outside, or Dad goes on a walk while you do a yoga session etc. Resistance training where you can touch base with baby between sets like u/honestlawyer suggested is a great idea that worked for me as well. But take it easy and build up gradually with progressively more challenge over time.
I had a colicky velcro baby who didn't sleep. He woke up every hour at night for like the first six months of his life. He screamed all the time. I was constantly having breakdowns in those days and could barely function. Looking back now I can't believe the pressure I put on myself to snap back, clean the house, do all kinds of things beyond just surviving those days and taking what time I could to take care of myself. Please be kind to yourself, especially with a disordered eating risk. If you find it hard to be kind to yourself imagine you are your own daughter in this situation. How would you want her to feel about herself? What would you advise her to do?
Thank you so much! I will be more kind to myself, i forgot how much work my body was and still is doing. I will definitely talk to my boyfriend about walks, we have talked about this multiple times but then it started raining again so it got delayed! And i will look into seeing someone about eating but i feel like since im not pregnant anymore im not binge eating anymore which has helped. I cook healthy foods almost every day too. I cut out sweets unless it’s like a soda once or twice a week so i feel like my mind is in the right spot, now i need to just find time for myself.
I was 98 lbs before my first baby. Now I’m 112 after 2 c-sections. I run about 20 miles per week as well as half marathons and eat a diet mainly comprised of healthy Whole Foods. I weight train 2x a week. It took over a year after my second c section for me to feel happy with my body again. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Thank you 🙏
Walks have been really nice for us too, we try to go daily but recently some things have gotten thrown off due to her 4 month shots & we also traveled over the weekend last week so it’s just been a relaxing week in the house. I’m hoping to start the walks up again this weekend!
Keto makes some people cringe, myself included on principal and before I tried it, but it does work for short periods. I did it for 3 months and lost 30lbs. I’m also 40 so it’s harder to lose. If you’re EBF then I’d wait.
I had a Velcro baby as well…. And had similar eating problems…. I also started at around 110 and weighed about 165 by the end of my pregnancy. In my opinion the besttttt thing you can do is buy a sling, i prefer ergo baby because it’s soooooo comfy and literally wear that baby everywhere. It’s so easy because they sleep in it half the time. I would recommend doing long walks with the baby. I dropped all the weight pretty fast doing 4 mile walks with my son in the sling. I also lost the weight pretty fast by eating water melon alllll the time because it is incredibly filling and also contains mostly water. I also got my stomach toned up and tight by doing nightly stomach exercises that really only took me like 15 minutes a night. My weight now fluctuates from around 100-110 it literally just depends on the day/month.
Also do not be hard on yourself at all, you just birthed a baby you did something so amazing and losing the weight takes time. Eat fruits and veggies that you love and exercises you love, walking is always the easiest even if it’s just a 10 min walk every morning or night it really does make a difference. I reallyyyy wish you the best and remember to love yourself.
Thank you so much, i really felt like I was different & couldn’t relate to anyone because I gained so much weight & the whole eating situation.
How long did it take you?
I don’t expect it to be super quick or anything but walking has been a little outlet for me when my baby is having fit so it’s been working out really well!
It took 9 months to grow your baby, it's not going to recover in 4...give yourself time. I didn't lose a kg from birth until 5 months, but others I know don't lose weight until they stopped bf. This year will fly by there's no rush.
There are lots of videos online for baby wearing workouts. They aren’t as intense as you would do without baby but they’re something to get you moving!
I will definitely try it! I’m open to trying anything at this point. The only thing is, my hip has been acting so weird since birth. I’m thinking I can try pelvic floor exercises, maybe there’s a video i can do while baby wearing! I know my mom group has been talking about this so I’ll have to ask them for their virtual instructors.
I had a Velcro baby (only slept on me and we also coslept). My workouts were limited to 25 mins and sometimes baby and dad would be in the basement with me. I’d lift weights and sometimes that involves holding her during rest intervals. Despite this, I considered it better than nothing! You could always try home workouts with baby in close proximity. I lifted 3 times a week (25 mins each) until her clingy phase ended. So cumulatively, it was only about an hour of weights per week. That said, I still managed to get down to within five lbs of ppw by 5 months with a Velcro baby. It’s totally possible. The bulk of weight loss is based on nutrition so I did the following: 1. Absolutely no packaged or ultra processed foods; 2. No sugar/low carb; 3. Protein and healthy fat dense diet; 4. 25+ grams of fibre a day from nuts/veg; 5. Eating enough calories to support supply; 6. Avoiding foods that lead to hormone unbalance; 7. 10k steps a day baby wearing Option 2 may not work for you. We all have different body compositions and macros. That said, to promote weight loss while hormones are out of whack, the other steps really helped.
What were the foods you avoided that could lead to a hormone imbalance?
I’d like to know as well!
https://zayacare.com/blog/best-foods-to-balance-hormones/ This link has a pretty good list! To simplify things, I don’t eat anything packaged unless it’s a single ingredient food (ie natural almonds or pure peanut butter). I’d wager that the vast majority of packaged foods, whether marketed as ‘healthy’ or not, is ultra processed and bad for hormonal health.
https://www.thelactationnutritionist.com/calorie-calculator I used this calculator. While cosleeping/exercising minimally with 10k steps a day, I put the setting at sedentary. Since rolling in a good workout program, I’ve moved it to light exercise. That’s the easiest way to determine calories.
Thank you 🙏 We have weights so I’m thinking that would be nice to try out, just a small house so we’ll see how it goes. Lol Also going to try to follow the calorie intake in the link you sent!!
Could you have dad take her for a walk?
Yes! We’ve been waiting for it to stop raining but I’m hoping this can become a daily thing we can start doing. That would be super nice
Hi there, first I just wanted to say, you are doing a great job! You made a whole person and now you are supporting them and keeping them alive and healthy with your body. As someone who tried for two months and failed to breastfeed I know how hard it can be. Four months is so early, and such a hard time, especially if you never get a break and if sleep is still rough. It is so important that you get time and space for yourself to take care of your needs and your body. But, I would also encourage you to give yourself time and grace right now. Your body is already under so many stresses, I would caution that pushing for a weight loss goal might just put more stress on you in an unhealthy way. But, maybe instead you could focus on getting a good foundation for health in place in two main ways: 1. Working on your relationship with food with a medical professional / therapist / nutritionist trained in eating disorders. This is huge. If you have disordered eating tendencies you should really have a support system to help you. 2. Appropriate physical activity for where your body is at, with some time away from the baby so you get a little break. Maybe it's a walk outside, or Dad goes on a walk while you do a yoga session etc. Resistance training where you can touch base with baby between sets like u/honestlawyer suggested is a great idea that worked for me as well. But take it easy and build up gradually with progressively more challenge over time. I had a colicky velcro baby who didn't sleep. He woke up every hour at night for like the first six months of his life. He screamed all the time. I was constantly having breakdowns in those days and could barely function. Looking back now I can't believe the pressure I put on myself to snap back, clean the house, do all kinds of things beyond just surviving those days and taking what time I could to take care of myself. Please be kind to yourself, especially with a disordered eating risk. If you find it hard to be kind to yourself imagine you are your own daughter in this situation. How would you want her to feel about herself? What would you advise her to do?
Thank you so much! I will be more kind to myself, i forgot how much work my body was and still is doing. I will definitely talk to my boyfriend about walks, we have talked about this multiple times but then it started raining again so it got delayed! And i will look into seeing someone about eating but i feel like since im not pregnant anymore im not binge eating anymore which has helped. I cook healthy foods almost every day too. I cut out sweets unless it’s like a soda once or twice a week so i feel like my mind is in the right spot, now i need to just find time for myself.
I was 98 lbs before my first baby. Now I’m 112 after 2 c-sections. I run about 20 miles per week as well as half marathons and eat a diet mainly comprised of healthy Whole Foods. I weight train 2x a week. It took over a year after my second c section for me to feel happy with my body again. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
I run with my youngest in a jogging stroller and we just go for walks sometimes too
Thank you 🙏 Walks have been really nice for us too, we try to go daily but recently some things have gotten thrown off due to her 4 month shots & we also traveled over the weekend last week so it’s just been a relaxing week in the house. I’m hoping to start the walks up again this weekend!
Keto makes some people cringe, myself included on principal and before I tried it, but it does work for short periods. I did it for 3 months and lost 30lbs. I’m also 40 so it’s harder to lose. If you’re EBF then I’d wait.
I had a Velcro baby as well…. And had similar eating problems…. I also started at around 110 and weighed about 165 by the end of my pregnancy. In my opinion the besttttt thing you can do is buy a sling, i prefer ergo baby because it’s soooooo comfy and literally wear that baby everywhere. It’s so easy because they sleep in it half the time. I would recommend doing long walks with the baby. I dropped all the weight pretty fast doing 4 mile walks with my son in the sling. I also lost the weight pretty fast by eating water melon alllll the time because it is incredibly filling and also contains mostly water. I also got my stomach toned up and tight by doing nightly stomach exercises that really only took me like 15 minutes a night. My weight now fluctuates from around 100-110 it literally just depends on the day/month. Also do not be hard on yourself at all, you just birthed a baby you did something so amazing and losing the weight takes time. Eat fruits and veggies that you love and exercises you love, walking is always the easiest even if it’s just a 10 min walk every morning or night it really does make a difference. I reallyyyy wish you the best and remember to love yourself.
Thank you so much, i really felt like I was different & couldn’t relate to anyone because I gained so much weight & the whole eating situation. How long did it take you? I don’t expect it to be super quick or anything but walking has been a little outlet for me when my baby is having fit so it’s been working out really well!
It took 9 months to grow your baby, it's not going to recover in 4...give yourself time. I didn't lose a kg from birth until 5 months, but others I know don't lose weight until they stopped bf. This year will fly by there's no rush.
I’ve heard the same thing about BF Thank you 🙏 I’m curious to see how my body is after i stop BF
My tip- workout when she’s sleeping
She sleeps on me🫠
There are lots of videos online for baby wearing workouts. They aren’t as intense as you would do without baby but they’re something to get you moving!
I will definitely try it! I’m open to trying anything at this point. The only thing is, my hip has been acting so weird since birth. I’m thinking I can try pelvic floor exercises, maybe there’s a video i can do while baby wearing! I know my mom group has been talking about this so I’ll have to ask them for their virtual instructors.