Baby Weight

[Purple04]

I’ve just gone through a cycle of IVF had a lot of drugs pumped into me including steroids for the first 3 months of my pregnancy, had Gestational Diabetes and was high risk for Preeclampsia, have put on over 2.5 stones... baby was born 4.5 months ago and I feel like the weight loss journey ahead is going to be a long tough one...

I’ve started eating better, smaller more frequent meals but due to my caesarean I’ve found it tough to exercise much as I wasn’t strong enough and still have pain in my tummy. The weight on my shoulders is depressing, every time I look in the mirror I just want to eat some chocolate 🍫 I don’t know where to start!!!

Has anyone been through something similar and have an inspirational story advice to share.....

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Hello and welcome, Purple04

The first thing I want to say is be kind to your body as it's just done a wonderful job for you and, if you're feeding your baby, you need to be well nourished.

That's not to say you can't start to make changes. I suggest you put the emphasis on real food, home cooked, avoiding processed foods - and that includes anything labelled low fat or light or diet as they are all highly processed. That is going to stand you in good stead for the future and will be a great foundation for your baby's diet, too.

Re smaller, more frequent meals, that's likely to keep you feeling hungry and focused on food. Every time we eat, our body produces insulin, one of the jobs of which is to store fat. For that reason, the whole idea of frequent snacks is now falling out of favour. You may find this interesting dailymail.co.uk/health/arti... I'd say go for three filling meals, think long term (yes, I know, we all wants instant results ) for yourself and your little one.

This Welcome post will help you find your way around the forum healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... I recommend joining a weekly weigh in on the day of your choice and using the Daily Diary for sharing your meal plans and ideas.

Please also read our post about online privacy and security, especially as you have left your post unlocked healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

I hope you'll become an active member of the forum and we'll see you around

[Purple04 in reply to BridgeGirl]

Hi and thanks so much,

This is true I guess I keep forgetting that I carried and bought a child into this world, thank you.

Ok will definitely look at cooking more at home although I only really have one take away a week normally, and will try and avoid these low fat diet items as that’s all I’m trying to buy all the time!! 3 larger meals it is then, although the breastfeeding does make me quite hungry and i tent to grab a cereal bar or something to keep me going on the go.

Many thanks for all the links, I’ll check out the welcome post and chose a weigh in day. I didn’t realise about the privacy too thank you.

Thanks again,

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Purple04]

You're welcome 🙂 A few nuts or a piece of cheese or full fat Greek yoghurt would probably be a better option than the cereal bar. They usually have a fair amount of sugar in them, including the "healthy" ones.

[Purple04 in reply to BridgeGirl]

Oh dear really. Ok I’ll try and carry those around for when I go out. ☺️

[Pineapple27]

I'm so pleased that baby arrived safely Purple04 as I had problems getting pregnant, so know just how stressful that whole process is. I too had to be treated with steroids in case the baby was premature.

You will lose that excess weight if you start to look at your portion sizes and try to concentrate on getting some high quality foods on board.

[Purple04 in reply to Pineapple27]

Thank you this gives me hope 🙏🏽

[Blue107]

I found your post as I'm having a cesearean in a few weeks, so if you have any tips re recovery, as well as what the whole experience would be like I'd love to hear your thoughts.

In regards to weight loss I've found low fat, high protein foods to be key. This could include a big bowl of black bean chilli, with homemade potato wedges or chickpea and lentil curry. To keep me on track I'm better with three healthy meals a day with water, plus one treat, which is usually a chocolate bar. When i'm not heavily pregnant I also run 5k three times a week.