How am I not losing weight??

[Samiam03]

Since 2 weeks postpartum I have been doing an hour-an hour and a half a day on the elliptical. I do that 5 days a week. On Saturdays we usually do stuff as a family and I usually do a lot of walking (last week we went to an amusement park and that equaled 6 total hours of walking). I have an iPad app that helps me keep track of my calories and I never go over 2000 calories...and ontop of it I am breastfeeding. I am having a really hard time losing my weight. I'm back in my prepregnancy pants but none of my shirts fit...my stomach looks 3 months pregnant and my hips and waist are wider than they ever were. Any tips on how I can safely speed up weight loss? Right now I'm lucky to lose one pound every 3 weeks!

 

[porkypig]

im not sure hun, what sorts of things are you eating? plus, ive heard when you breast feed, sometimes your body holds onto any calories as its needed for your milk supply and you. xx

 

[Pinkirish]

Try another form of exercise hun, kettlebells, exercise class, weight lifting (heavy as you can manage), workout videos at home.
Im using Fitness Blender atm https://www.fitnessblender.com/v/ex...ZUIxYTUxMmVCMWFLSm4_&searched=1#listContainer

Some great kettle bell work outs here https://www.myomytv.com/

You need to change things around, you body get used to same exercise and it wont have any effect after a while. Also make sure you are eating enough of the right foods, as pp said not eating enough will make your body store the fat so you wont loose any weight.

 

[DrGomps]

Since 2 weeks postpartum I have been doing an hour-an hour and a half a day on the elliptical. I do that 5 days a week. On Saturdays we usually do stuff as a family and I usually do a lot of walking (last week we went to an amusement park and that equaled 6 total hours of walking). I have an iPad app that helps me keep track of my calories and I never go over 2000 calories...and ontop of it I am breastfeeding. I am having a really hard time losing my weight. I'm back in my prepregnancy pants but none of my shirts fit...my stomach looks 3 months pregnant and my hips and waist are wider than they ever were. Any tips on how I can safely speed up weight loss? Right now I'm lucky to lose one pound every 3 weeks!

Hi hun...2000 calories sounds a bit low if you are doing 1.5 hrs on the elliptical...I am assuming you are burning about 900 calories doing that??? You probably aren't eating enough...depending on your height/age you need just a certain amount of calories just to have your body function properly...another 300-500 calories for breastfeeding and then incorporate how many calories you are burning with your workouts...if you aren't eating enough your metabolism can actually slow down. also, if you eat lots of small meals throughout the day (never let yourself get to the point of extreme hunger), that can help...I have lots of small snacks...fruits, veggies, nuts, protein bars etc throughout the day...when you body starts running on empty our metabolism slows...research shows that eating more meals more often is best to boost your metabolism.


Also, what pinkrish said is SOOOO true!! mixing up your diet AND your exercise is inducive to quicker weight loss...I was doing the 30 day shred and I plateaued at my pre pregnancy weight (I was already overweight)...I started doing this program called Insanity and then I lost another 30 lbs past pre-pregnancy...strength training is paramount to having a faster metabolism...the more muscle you have the more fat you burn. I lost 90 lbs since having my daughter a year ago so I have been through it all!! And would love to help you in any way I can!!

 

[bennet444]

There are many exercise and diet for lose weight and now we talk about exercise running,rope jump,swimming these exercise are helpful for lose weight and avoid the junk food and do exercise regular.

 

[JessPape]

drGomps hit it square on the nail, u got to remember breastfeeding is 300-500+ depending on how much ur baby feeds, so this puts ur calorie intact down to 1500, if u work out, ur going down to maybe a 1000... Your metablism is buring probaly anotehr HUGE chunk of that. You may need to work out less, change what ur eat..

 

[atalanta85]

I can't say for certain because I don't know your lifestyle, body shape, exercise history, food intake etc etc, but here are some possibilities:

I am NOT taking into account breast feeding as I don't know much about that time of life and weight loss, but this is what I get my clients to do

1. Change your diet - calories aren't the be all and end all of weight loss. You need to look at your macros (carbs, protein and fat). On average, you should be eating:
- Protein: your weight in kg multiplied by 0.7 to 1.0 - this is your protein intake in grams. Multiple by 4 to get the calorie value
- Fat: 20-25% of your total calories as healthy fats (divide by 9 for grams)
- Carbs: your remaining calories (divide by 4 for grams)
Aim to eat the majority of your carbs during the first half of the day and severely reduce this towards the end of the day. However, if you are exercising at night, have a protein based snack with carbs afterwards e.g. A protein shake with a banana.

2. Change your exercise - the majority of women believe cardio is the only way to lose weight STOP.
Weight training is the way to go, and I'm not meaning pissy weak little weights, I'm talking about ones that challenge you. You should begin with an aim of 2 sets of 12 repetitions for 3-4 weeks, then up the weights and lower the reps to 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps. See a trainer for a program that is catering specifically to you and takes into account any medical/physical issues that may complicate exercise.
Now, I don't mean do no cardio at all, just cut it down. Unless you're training for a long distance event, 20 minutes of high intensity work or 30-40 minutes of moderate work is enough a few times per week. Add in 3 sessions of weight training and you'll boost your metabolism and turn your body into a fat fighting machine.

3. Take a break from the 'diet' - sometimes the body just needs a bit of a shock to get the system working again. If you've been on a healthy calorie controlled diet for a while now, add in a cheat meal/day. This means that you may have something that is less healthy for you without the binge. Personally, every Friday night, I go out for dinner and order what ever I like. I still avoid foods that make me bloat and feel sick, but I don't worry about the size of the meal or what is in it.

4. Don't weigh yourself - at my (measured) biggest, I was 76kg with 33% body fat (25kg of my weight was fat). When I got into the fitness industry, I only lost 2kg and was so disappointed at all my efforts, however, I had lost 8cm off my tummy, 10cm off my hips and 3cm off each of my thighs. Took my body fat and I was sitting at 28% meaning I had lost 5kg of fat and put on 3kg of muscle. Weight is not a perfect indication of health. You are better to measure circumferences than weight as muscle takes up less room - so you could be the same weight, but a dress size or more smaller.

Hope this helps. It will take a while to change your way of thinking, but once you do, the results start to speak for themselves

EDIT: I forgot to add that you should eat 5-6 meals per day (meals, not meals plus snacks) spread out about 2.5-3 hours apart. Also, when exercising, eat 1.5 hours prior and then a protein based meal/snack (i.e. protein shake/bar/chicken and rice) within 30 minutes of finishing exercise.

 

[lindsmom12]

the breastfeeding will only help with your weight loss. If it didn't kick it yet it definitely will. I wasn't even exercising for months after my pregnancy but just carrying the baby around and breastfeeding allowed me to lose 30 lbs just 5 months after I gave birth.

 

[mommy0629]

Strength training is SOOOO important, you have to build lean muscle to efficiently burn calories all day long. If you do all cardio and don't strength train to build up your muscles, you're actually burning muscle along with fat when doing the cardio and that slows down your metabolism. Muscle tone = fat burning. MAJOR point that so many women miss.

 

[aliss]

I can't say for certain because I don't know your lifestyle, body shape, exercise history, food intake etc etc, but here are some possibilities:

I am NOT taking into account breast feeding as I don't know much about that time of life and weight loss, but this is what I get my clients to do

1. Change your diet - calories aren't the be all and end all of weight loss. You need to look at your macros (carbs, protein and fat). On average, you should be eating:
- Protein: your weight in kg multiplied by 0.7 to 1.0 - this is your protein intake in grams. Multiple by 4 to get the calorie value
- Fat: 20-25% of your total calories as healthy fats (divide by 9 for grams)
- Carbs: your remaining calories (divide by 4 for grams)
Aim to eat the majority of your carbs during the first half of the day and severely reduce this towards the end of the day. However, if you are exercising at night, have a protein based snack with carbs afterwards e.g. A protein shake with a banana.

2. Change your exercise - the majority of women believe cardio is the only way to lose weight STOP.
Weight training is the way to go, and I'm not meaning pissy weak little weights, I'm talking about ones that challenge you. You should begin with an aim of 2 sets of 12 repetitions for 3-4 weeks, then up the weights and lower the reps to 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps. See a trainer for a program that is catering specifically to you and takes into account any medical/physical issues that may complicate exercise.
Now, I don't mean do no cardio at all, just cut it down. Unless you're training for a long distance event, 20 minutes of high intensity work or 30-40 minutes of moderate work is enough a few times per week. Add in 3 sessions of weight training and you'll boost your metabolism and turn your body into a fat fighting machine.

3. Take a break from the 'diet' - sometimes the body just needs a bit of a shock to get the system working again. If you've been on a healthy calorie controlled diet for a while now, add in a cheat meal/day. This means that you may have something that is less healthy for you without the binge. Personally, every Friday night, I go out for dinner and order what ever I like. I still avoid foods that make me bloat and feel sick, but I don't worry about the size of the meal or what is in it.

4. Don't weigh yourself - at my (measured) biggest, I was 76kg with 33% body fat (25kg of my weight was fat). When I got into the fitness industry, I only lost 2kg and was so disappointed at all my efforts, however, I had lost 8cm off my tummy, 10cm off my hips and 3cm off each of my thighs. Took my body fat and I was sitting at 28% meaning I had lost 5kg of fat and put on 3kg of muscle. Weight is not a perfect indication of health. You are better to measure circumferences than weight as muscle takes up less room - so you could be the same weight, but a dress size or more smaller.

Hope this helps. It will take a while to change your way of thinking, but once you do, the results start to speak for themselves

EDIT: I forgot to add that you should eat 5-6 meals per day (meals, not meals plus snacks) spread out about 2.5-3 hours apart. Also, when exercising, eat 1.5 hours prior and then a protein based meal/snack (i.e. protein shake/bar/chicken and rice) within 30 minutes of finishing exercise.

I appreciate this advice but the 5-6 meals & 2.5-3 hour advice has been debunked if you are encouraging it for metabolic reasons. 3 meals is fine and it is impossible for many breastfeeding new moms to get in 6 meals a day. There is no need for them to feel they must do that.

And the carbs at night thing has also been debunked too

 

[mommy0629]

I can't say for certain because I don't know your lifestyle, body shape, exercise history, food intake etc etc, but here are some possibilities:

I am NOT taking into account breast feeding as I don't know much about that time of life and weight loss, but this is what I get my clients to do

1. Change your diet - calories aren't the be all and end all of weight loss. You need to look at your macros (carbs, protein and fat). On average, you should be eating:
- Protein: your weight in kg multiplied by 0.7 to 1.0 - this is your protein intake in grams. Multiple by 4 to get the calorie value
- Fat: 20-25% of your total calories as healthy fats (divide by 9 for grams)
- Carbs: your remaining calories (divide by 4 for grams)
Aim to eat the majority of your carbs during the first half of the day and severely reduce this towards the end of the day. However, if you are exercising at night, have a protein based snack with carbs afterwards e.g. A protein shake with a banana.

2. Change your exercise - the majority of women believe cardio is the only way to lose weight STOP.
Weight training is the way to go, and I'm not meaning pissy weak little weights, I'm talking about ones that challenge you. You should begin with an aim of 2 sets of 12 repetitions for 3-4 weeks, then up the weights and lower the reps to 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps. See a trainer for a program that is catering specifically to you and takes into account any medical/physical issues that may complicate exercise.
Now, I don't mean do no cardio at all, just cut it down. Unless you're training for a long distance event, 20 minutes of high intensity work or 30-40 minutes of moderate work is enough a few times per week. Add in 3 sessions of weight training and you'll boost your metabolism and turn your body into a fat fighting machine.

3. Take a break from the 'diet' - sometimes the body just needs a bit of a shock to get the system working again. If you've been on a healthy calorie controlled diet for a while now, add in a cheat meal/day. This means that you may have something that is less healthy for you without the binge. Personally, every Friday night, I go out for dinner and order what ever I like. I still avoid foods that make me bloat and feel sick, but I don't worry about the size of the meal or what is in it.

4. Don't weigh yourself - at my (measured) biggest, I was 76kg with 33% body fat (25kg of my weight was fat). When I got into the fitness industry, I only lost 2kg and was so disappointed at all my efforts, however, I had lost 8cm off my tummy, 10cm off my hips and 3cm off each of my thighs. Took my body fat and I was sitting at 28% meaning I had lost 5kg of fat and put on 3kg of muscle. Weight is not a perfect indication of health. You are better to measure circumferences than weight as muscle takes up less room - so you could be the same weight, but a dress size or more smaller.

Hope this helps. It will take a while to change your way of thinking, but once you do, the results start to speak for themselves

EDIT: I forgot to add that you should eat 5-6 meals per day (meals, not meals plus snacks) spread out about 2.5-3 hours apart. Also, when exercising, eat 1.5 hours prior and then a protein based meal/snack (i.e. protein shake/bar/chicken and rice) within 30 minutes of finishing exercise.

I appreciate this advice but the 5-6 meals & 2.5-3 hour advice has been debunked if you are encouraging it for metabolic reasons. 3 meals is fine and it is impossible for many breastfeeding new moms to get in 6 meals a day. There is no need for them to feel they must do that.

And the carbs at night thing has also been debunked too

So it's not completely awefull to eat carbs at night?

 

[aliss]

I can't say for certain because I don't know your lifestyle, body shape, exercise history, food intake etc etc, but here are some possibilities:

I am NOT taking into account breast feeding as I don't know much about that time of life and weight loss, but this is what I get my clients to do

1. Change your diet - calories aren't the be all and end all of weight loss. You need to look at your macros (carbs, protein and fat). On average, you should be eating:
- Protein: your weight in kg multiplied by 0.7 to 1.0 - this is your protein intake in grams. Multiple by 4 to get the calorie value
- Fat: 20-25% of your total calories as healthy fats (divide by 9 for grams)
- Carbs: your remaining calories (divide by 4 for grams)
Aim to eat the majority of your carbs during the first half of the day and severely reduce this towards the end of the day. However, if you are exercising at night, have a protein based snack with carbs afterwards e.g. A protein shake with a banana.

2. Change your exercise - the majority of women believe cardio is the only way to lose weight STOP.
Weight training is the way to go, and I'm not meaning pissy weak little weights, I'm talking about ones that challenge you. You should begin with an aim of 2 sets of 12 repetitions for 3-4 weeks, then up the weights and lower the reps to 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps. See a trainer for a program that is catering specifically to you and takes into account any medical/physical issues that may complicate exercise.
Now, I don't mean do no cardio at all, just cut it down. Unless you're training for a long distance event, 20 minutes of high intensity work or 30-40 minutes of moderate work is enough a few times per week. Add in 3 sessions of weight training and you'll boost your metabolism and turn your body into a fat fighting machine.

3. Take a break from the 'diet' - sometimes the body just needs a bit of a shock to get the system working again. If you've been on a healthy calorie controlled diet for a while now, add in a cheat meal/day. This means that you may have something that is less healthy for you without the binge. Personally, every Friday night, I go out for dinner and order what ever I like. I still avoid foods that make me bloat and feel sick, but I don't worry about the size of the meal or what is in it.

4. Don't weigh yourself - at my (measured) biggest, I was 76kg with 33% body fat (25kg of my weight was fat). When I got into the fitness industry, I only lost 2kg and was so disappointed at all my efforts, however, I had lost 8cm off my tummy, 10cm off my hips and 3cm off each of my thighs. Took my body fat and I was sitting at 28% meaning I had lost 5kg of fat and put on 3kg of muscle. Weight is not a perfect indication of health. You are better to measure circumferences than weight as muscle takes up less room - so you could be the same weight, but a dress size or more smaller.

Hope this helps. It will take a while to change your way of thinking, but once you do, the results start to speak for themselves

EDIT: I forgot to add that you should eat 5-6 meals per day (meals, not meals plus snacks) spread out about 2.5-3 hours apart. Also, when exercising, eat 1.5 hours prior and then a protein based meal/snack (i.e. protein shake/bar/chicken and rice) within 30 minutes of finishing exercise.

I appreciate this advice but the 5-6 meals & 2.5-3 hour advice has been debunked if you are encouraging it for metabolic reasons. 3 meals is fine and it is impossible for many breastfeeding new moms to get in 6 meals a day. There is no need for them to feel they must do that.

And the carbs at night thing has also been debunked too

So it's not completely awefull to eat carbs at night?

No, not at all. This is popular myth which people still push in the fitness industry because of anecdotal "proof".

Most people aren't going to eat pizza, ice cream, and potato chips for breakfast for lunch, so suddenly they stop eating that high-calorie carb-based junk at night and then the myth starts that eating carbs at night (6/7pm or whatever) causes fat gain. It doesn't. Eating excessive high calorie crap at night (especially mindlessly in front of a TV/movie) causes weight gain.

There is no solid scientific evidence to show that carbohydrates at night is "bad". It is true that a slow-digesting protein at night (ie. cottage cheese) may help aid with muscle/workout recovery but that's about it...

Eat a plain popcorn at night, every night, with your television as long as you are within your calorie requirements for the day, you will still lose weight.

If you can't control your carb intake at night (ie you will binge on chips) then avoid them.

A carb is a carb, whether it is a potato chip or broccoli. Nobody claims eating broccoli at night causes weight gain, but that's what they are saying. Obviously one is much higher in fibre and nutrients, but a carb is a carb.

 

[mommy0629]

I can't say for certain because I don't know your lifestyle, body shape, exercise history, food intake etc etc, but here are some possibilities:

I am NOT taking into account breast feeding as I don't know much about that time of life and weight loss, but this is what I get my clients to do

1. Change your diet - calories aren't the be all and end all of weight loss. You need to look at your macros (carbs, protein and fat). On average, you should be eating:
- Protein: your weight in kg multiplied by 0.7 to 1.0 - this is your protein intake in grams. Multiple by 4 to get the calorie value
- Fat: 20-25% of your total calories as healthy fats (divide by 9 for grams)
- Carbs: your remaining calories (divide by 4 for grams)
Aim to eat the majority of your carbs during the first half of the day and severely reduce this towards the end of the day. However, if you are exercising at night, have a protein based snack with carbs afterwards e.g. A protein shake with a banana.

2. Change your exercise - the majority of women believe cardio is the only way to lose weight STOP.
Weight training is the way to go, and I'm not meaning pissy weak little weights, I'm talking about ones that challenge you. You should begin with an aim of 2 sets of 12 repetitions for 3-4 weeks, then up the weights and lower the reps to 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps. See a trainer for a program that is catering specifically to you and takes into account any medical/physical issues that may complicate exercise.
Now, I don't mean do no cardio at all, just cut it down. Unless you're training for a long distance event, 20 minutes of high intensity work or 30-40 minutes of moderate work is enough a few times per week. Add in 3 sessions of weight training and you'll boost your metabolism and turn your body into a fat fighting machine.

3. Take a break from the 'diet' - sometimes the body just needs a bit of a shock to get the system working again. If you've been on a healthy calorie controlled diet for a while now, add in a cheat meal/day. This means that you may have something that is less healthy for you without the binge. Personally, every Friday night, I go out for dinner and order what ever I like. I still avoid foods that make me bloat and feel sick, but I don't worry about the size of the meal or what is in it.

4. Don't weigh yourself - at my (measured) biggest, I was 76kg with 33% body fat (25kg of my weight was fat). When I got into the fitness industry, I only lost 2kg and was so disappointed at all my efforts, however, I had lost 8cm off my tummy, 10cm off my hips and 3cm off each of my thighs. Took my body fat and I was sitting at 28% meaning I had lost 5kg of fat and put on 3kg of muscle. Weight is not a perfect indication of health. You are better to measure circumferences than weight as muscle takes up less room - so you could be the same weight, but a dress size or more smaller.

Hope this helps. It will take a while to change your way of thinking, but once you do, the results start to speak for themselves

EDIT: I forgot to add that you should eat 5-6 meals per day (meals, not meals plus snacks) spread out about 2.5-3 hours apart. Also, when exercising, eat 1.5 hours prior and then a protein based meal/snack (i.e. protein shake/bar/chicken and rice) within 30 minutes of finishing exercise.

I appreciate this advice but the 5-6 meals & 2.5-3 hour advice has been debunked if you are encouraging it for metabolic reasons. 3 meals is fine and it is impossible for many breastfeeding new moms to get in 6 meals a day. There is no need for them to feel they must do that.

And the carbs at night thing has also been debunked too

So it's not completely awefull to eat carbs at night?

No, not at all. This is popular myth which people still push in the fitness industry because of anecdotal "proof".

Most people aren't going to eat pizza, ice cream, and potato chips for breakfast for lunch, so suddenly they stop eating that high-calorie carb-based junk at night and then the myth starts that eating carbs at night (6/7pm or whatever) causes fat gain. It doesn't. Eating excessive high calorie crap at night (especially mindlessly in front of a TV/movie) causes weight gain.

There is no solid scientific evidence to show that carbohydrates at night is "bad". It is true that a slow-digesting protein at night (ie. cottage cheese) may help aid with muscle/workout recovery but that's about it...

Eat a plain popcorn at night, every night, with your television as long as you are within your calorie requirements for the day, you will still lose weight.

If you can't control your carb intake at night (ie you will binge on chips) then avoid them.

A carb is a carb, whether it is a potato chip or broccoli. Nobody claims eating broccoli at night causes weight gain, but that's what they are saying. Obviously one is much higher in fibre and nutrients, but a carb is a carb.

Thanks for that info! If I don't have a snack at night I literaly can't sleep because my stomach will just keep growling and then it'll turn into that yucky churning feeling and some carrot sticks don't exactly help this lol. I usually try to stick with either pretzels or, like you said, light popcorn, but I still thought I was doing a bad thing LOL.

 

[aliss]

You might be interested in this article by Alan Aragon who is a respected nutritionist in the fitness industry (and has multiple degrees in nutritional science, rather than just hearsay).

https://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/06/15/why-nutritional-dogma-dies-hard/

 

[aliss]

Also (Dr.) Layne Norton, probably the most respected Nutrition PhD in Bodybuilding

Carbs At Night: Fat Loss Killer Or Imaginary Boogeyman? Written by Layne Norton
https://www.simplyshredded.com/carbs-at-night-fat-loss-killer-or-imaginary-boogeyman.html

 

[annmc30]

I found slimming world helped me I lost 3stone in 8 months its a whole new way to eating and I was exercising loads and the weight never came off

 

[Dragonfly]

Are you eating often? if not eat often it starts off your metabolism. Dont eat less, eat so little your body will store fat and you wont lose weight.