Thursday, September 8, 2011

War on Baby Weight

The Bean and Jen at the pool. Do you love the swimcap?
 Eight months after giving birth and I'm in the position of many women.  I've lost a lot of the baby weight by not doing too much except for nursing, but I'm down to that last pesky five or ten pounds and I've plateaued.

And it's starting to weigh on me. (Sooo bad, I know.)

Yes, it took me ten months to put on the weight so I need to be patient in losing it, and I have been.  My pre-pregnancy buffet pants do fit me with a little muffin-top action, but I'm ready for my pregnancy spare tire to be dumped for good. 

So, I'm taking action in three ways. 

 1 - Eating

I've started watching what I eat and what we prepare as a family.  I've been trying to curb my cravings for sweets (and boy do I crave sweets!) by eating fruit or greek yogurt instead of chocolate.  I've also tried making sure we get very balanced dinners with a protein, a carb, and a veggie.  I'm also trying to switch to more vegetable based proteins and whole wheat carbs, both of which are difficult for me because I have IBS.

2 - Using The Bean

Throughout the day I'm trying to do body weight exercises with The Bean. I hold him and do squats.  Or lie down on my back and do "baby bench presses."  He loves the movement and it's good for me.  I'm also trying to go for lots of walks with him.  He's been a bit fussy before his naps and the fresh air really helps him fall asleep so when it's getting close to his nap time, I've been putting him in the ergo or the stroller and going for a 15-minute loop around the neighborhood.  We both are enjoying the walks in the cool air.

3 - Taking an Exercise Class

A mom friend of mine found an H2O Fit class and asked if I wanted to join her and her son.  Our first class was yesterday and it was great.  Half an hour of the class focuses on water aerobic activities for mom or dad while the babes have a grand time bouncing around in floaties.  The second half hour focuses on activities with baby and caregiver: splashing, floating, making swimming motions, and even getting dunked underwater!

After yesterday's class I was super-tired but it forced me to go to bed earlier last night so I'm also doing a fourth thing for my health which is to stop doing other things at night and go to bed!

Is anyone else struggling to lose a few pounds or start some healthier habits?

4 comments:

  1. me! but im almost 2 years out from giving birth, so my excuses are wearing out. now that the weather is cooling off some, i've been walking more & trying to eat healthier. it just doesn't melt off as easily as it did before! :(

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  2. Yeah, I can definitely tell a difference from when I was in my 20's and trying to drop a few pounds. Harder!

    I'm trying to slowly change how I eat, but not give myself a hard time if I start slipping.

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  3. My baby is about to be 8 months old. I wasn't able to breast feed after 6 weeks, so the weight I initially lost doing that came back. Talk about an unwelcome visitor! Now, I'm on a good one pound loss per week but I think the baby may be in college before it comes off at that rate!! And it was SO much easier to lose weight in my 20s.

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  4. Losing a pound a week is great. A lot of what I've read over the years encourages that kind of a pattern for weight loss. I think it's most likely to stay off that way.

    Is there anything special you're doing to try to lose it?

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