Just had a baby-help me lose the potbelly, love handles, n get my body back ASAP!

[Khadijah]

hey yall...I just had a baby a few days before christmas, so of course now I am workin on gettin back in shape to my old weight and all that. I got put on bed rest in my 7th month and all my heathly exercizing went out the window and i just got fat even tho i tried to stay healthy and not gain no extra weight.

Anyways, I am makin this thread lookin for help obviously, and Ima make it simple and break it down into categories--my goals , the things i am doin now to reach those goals, and the things that i wanna add on or change to my current routine to better reach my goals. im lookin 4 recommendations from my diet to exercize and anything else too. so....

MY GOALS:

--Trim my waist back down to its original size or as close as possible.

--Get rid of the love handles and the muffin top in the back (ugh!)

--Get rid of the "pregnancy pooch", the lil potbelly jelly that i got where my toned abs used to be! (I dont want a six pack or hard-ass flat abs. But i always had a nice, flat stomach, that was soft and feminine without bein flabby, and thats wat Im lookin to get back to.)

--Overall lose weight to get back to my original weight of 140-145. (Im 5'5"). was 185 2 wks ago but lost weight since then aint got a scale so idk the# right now but will post when i find out.

THE THINGS I BEEN DOING TO REACH THOSE GOALS SO FAR:

--Makin sure that I dont eat over 2000 calories each day.

--Eating right. Not eating "diet" or "lite" food, or junkfood/processed food neither, just normal, basic, simple foods. Mainly single-ingredient or very few ingredients foods like (non-instant) oatmeal, fruit, eggs, non-processed meats, homemade chicken soup with vegetables and barley, whole grain bread with natural peanut butter, etc. The most processed thing I eat is breakfast cereal (wheat chex) and yogurt.

--Only drinking water, crystal light (I know it aint the ideal drink cuz I aint down with the artificial sweeteners, but it really helps me to stay hydrated and drink lots of water.) and a glass of milk each day. No fruit juices, sodas, etc. My one indulgence is my coffee every morning with half and half and a teaspoon or so of sugar.

--60 crunches every other day.

--100 leg lifts with 5lb ankle weights, 2x a week. (20 reps of 5 different positions/styles of leg lift.)

THINGS I WANT TO ADD TO THE STUFF IM ALREADY DOING:

--Do the crunches every day.

--Do the leg exercizes every day.

--add more intense, belly specific exercises to work out all areas of my abs and get a whole ab workout routine set up to have the most impact as possible--i know doin crunches everyday and nothin else aint gonna change much on its own. This is the thing i need the most help with , to figure out the best stomach workout for me, so if you gonna answer one thing in this thread, make it this one plz!

--Start walkin again. 2 miles every day. use ankle weights and gradually add pounds up to 5lbs to boost the workout power.

--Add more vegetables and fruits to my diet. (Any suggestions for good fruits thats in season in winter? All fall i ate like 5 apples a day, but now they all taste like shit when i buy them sice they out of season.)

--Switch to fat free half and half in my coffee, since the fats in half n half are saturated fats, and aint got no nutritional value like the omega 3 oil fats.

And, most important i want to add YALLS SUGGESTIONS! Anything you think would be good to add onto my list of shit to start doing I am down to hear it! Please I would love to hear any/everything that you guys can suggest to help me get this done.

*(Just for the record: when you are pregnant, your ab muscles get over extended and really weak n stretched out. I used to be able to do 100s of situps and now i am totally incapable of even doing ONE. Its crazy. So, some ab exercizes i just aint physically capable of doin yet. I need suggestions that are specific to post-pregnancy workouts to help me gently get back into shape in that area, cuz if you just give the standard ab routine I might not be able to actually do it.)

Well i hope this wasnt too long for yall. i would really appreciate any and all advice, tips, constructive criticizm, anything you got for me. I am willin to GO HARD! I aint beat for waiting 6 months to lose 40lbs, you feel me? I want this weight off YESTERDAY! I know I gotta be patient. just lettin yall know imopen to suggestions that would get the weight off quicker than the typical 1 lb a week slow n steady pace. I never been overweight before, so I just wanna jump outta my fuckin skin, i cant stand lookin in the mirror and seein my belly jiggle So, this is mad important to me and I appreciate any help you got. thanks 4 readin ....lookin foward 2 yalls replies

 

[addictivepersona]

First off, congratulations on the baby, Lacey! Boy or girl?

Secondly, read this before you switch to fat-free Half & Half for coffee.

One thing to try and increase vegetable intake is to buy frozen vegetables (sometimes healthier than fresh, depending on how long they've sat since being picked). When you go to make rice, beans, or pretty much any other grain (except oatmeal ), add in a cup or so of vegetables. I've found spinach to go very nicely with black beans and rice.

One way to increase fruits is to add some to your oatmeal--Dried raisins are awesome in oatmeal, as are bananas. I typically snack on prunes while cooking oatmeal. Three servings of fruit by 10a! As far as which fruits to get that are in season right now, I'm in the same rut and have just been getting dried fruits (aside from some organic apples and bananas). I find that's the best solution in the winter.

Oh, and if you eat beans a lot, consider switching from canned to bagged--A bit of a hassle to spend an hour cooking them, but they don't need to be constantly stirred or anything, so you can leave 'em to simmer and just check on 'em every 15-20 minutes. This way you're not getting all the salt and preservatives that come with canned beans.

I don't have any other suggestions because your diet already sounds very healthy. Most people eat like crap--Doesn't sound like you do. Hopefully these suggestions help a little bit.

 

[Damien]

Congrats Lacey. Good luck with the weight loss. :D

 

[Khadijah]

addictivepersona--I aint one of those folks who thinks that low fat is good, fat is bad, sugarfree is good etc like they are talkin about in the article. Thats why i dont eat "diet" foods. In the end its just unhealthy and more processed crap puttin into your body. plus i am breastfeedin the lil man so i aint tryna be puttin bullshit into my system.

the thing is that i hate milk in my coffee. and i looooove my coffee to be suuuuuper creamy. saeriously i use like 1/3 cup of cream in my coffee. if i only used a lil bit it wouldnt be such a thing but the calories really add up when u use as much as i do. i want to "save"those calories for somethin thats actually food and nourishing u feel me. so that was my thinking behind that or id jusr use skim milk like the article says. I like my coffee extra extra light with just the tiniest bit of sugar. and nothin but cream/half n half will give me that nice light creamy taste that i like in my coffee. its only somethin that i was thinkning of since i use so much, so i think with as healthy as the rest of my diet is, IF i even can stand the taste ( aint tried it yet) i might allow myselfsomethin unhealthy-ish like nonfat half n half. well have to see. Iunno.

I aint got no problems with eating fruits/gettin my fruits in. i really love fruit and will eat the fuck out of a fruit salad or w/ever. i can easily eat a whole pineapple to my head. but its just that in winter all the fruit thats in season kinda sucks , like i dont like grapefruits and as much as i like OJ i never really been into oranges. i just love me some apples, strawberries, grapes, and pineapple and watermelon. which are all summer or fall at the latest. So it aint one of those things that i gotta force myself to eat like vegetables...just that there seems to be a shortage of ones i like around right now.

ugh, yo, its so weird to see myself talkin about calories and shit. I always just ate however i wanted, and was like "fuck that calorie bullshit! Gimme the steak!' becuz i always had a real fast metabolizim and could eat anything i wanted and not gain weight. so now i feel like such a lame diet-bitch always about "omg i cant eat that, TEH CALORIEZ!" 8( It aint that it sucks so much to be payin attention to the shit i eat , it is kinda beat to go from eatin it all , all the time, to actually havin to watch the food i eat, but it just sucks to feel like the superficial dieter chick that i always used to be so happy to not be.

Anyways , thanks for the tips...I did ask for all and any suggestions, but i should prolly just mention that when it comes to eatin healthy, i am pretty educated and know my shit for the most part, so I am mostly more interested in the best work out things i can do to lose weight especilaly in the stomach area.

Ill post a pic once i get my courage up too, maybe. =P

And damien..thanks!Much love!

 

[Fawkes]

would you be willing to substitute your coffee with green tea? it seems like i've read a ton of studies lately touting the benefits of green tea.

i think everything you have listed sounds good and it really helps you've got your goals defined and listed out. much luck to you new Mama!

 

[LoveAlways]

How I've been losing weight fast is by WALKING UPHILL. I read that you burn 3x the calories when you walk or run uphill! Plus no need for add weights if you just carry the baby with you!! Plus its great to help get the baby to sleep if he's ever colicy or fussy.

I also need help targeting the belly area!! Even before I got pregnant I would always gain weight in my belly first before anything else. I haven't done anything to specifically work on my stomach except just barely starting to strength train...but I'm only lifting 5lb weights right now due to a previous car accident.

Also Lacey have you researched exercising and breast feeding? I haven't really, but I think I remember reading in a parenting magazing something about the hormones you create when working out (I think more like hardcore working out) can affect your milk but idk for sure!! You seem really good about researching shit though so you probably already know whats up!

 

[LoveAlways]

Hey Lacey have u tried almond milk instead of 1/2 n1/2 for your coffee?? I think it tastes waaay better than regular milk and even could ad a tiny bit of flavor

 

[MynameisnotDeja]

Ditch all the bread, oatmeal, etc. Eat mostly raw foods and if you must eat grains, eat them sprouted. Go for at least 80% raw. Make that other 20% things like cooked greens, broccoli, etc. Get good protein from things like eggs, chicken, but keep it limited and in balance with the raw foods. Or go all out raw vegan if you want.

This diet will change your life and make you feel better than you've ever imagined. It has helped many people lose weight, end disease, fix skin problems, ease depression... the list goes on and on. I also imagine it would be great for a new mother because the energy level I feel doing raw foods is unmatched to anything I've felt in my life before, including the energy I had as a small child. There simply is nothing better than RAW!

Congrats on your baby!

 

[TakeItAll]

I'm just posting this as a general awareness note. Plenty of my friends have curt little kids and I'm sure I've read several times that there are specific sets of exercises for strengthening abdominal exercises after giving birth. They also have guidelines for how long to wait before starting things like abdominal crunches etc.

If you're interested I can find out more or a simple web search may find you what you are looking for.

For people that haven't recently given birth I think there are heaps of better abdominal exercises than crunches. Anything that will strengthen your whole core would be a good start so that you don't develop poor posture. In a trial of n=1 my abs have never been stronger/looked better in my life and I haven't done a crunch/sit up etc for more than a year.

 

[kaywholed]

Go for longer walks. Put the kid in the stroller and push it around for a long time.

Eat a healthy balanced diet.

Eat foods you love, but don't binge. If you love chocolate cake, don't deprive yourself of it. But eat it sparingly and eat SMALL portions. It is better to eat a small piece of cake every sunday, rather than binging and eating a whole cake one every month.