Getting your figure back after babies?

[Alanna1]

How long, and how much effort, did it take you to regain your figure after having baby/babies? What did you do?

[littleredmonkey]

Had ds in October and by new years day ballooned to 17 stone and size 22. After 5 months now 11 stone 12. And size 12. No snacking. No crap no sugar very very low carbs. No bread biscuits cake potatoes. High protein. Tons of veg. Little fruit. Lots of water and excersise was 2 hours pram walk every day and weight training in my garage every other day. Still like to tone up but chuffed what I have done. Oh I have treats at the weekend like cake. Life would be too full without cake! !

[littleredmonkey]

Sorry life would be too short without cake

[Nevercan]

Just ate healthily after DD's were born and took pram out for regular walks. After a couple of months got back into going swimming a couple of times a week but apart from that the kids keep me fit

[Nevercan]

Don't worry about it initially as you may be bfeeding which makes you mega hungry anyway or so I found...

[Bowlersarm]

Mine are teens now but.......I think your body does change shape so may not go back to how you originally were.

But before having children I was a size 12, and shortly after and still am, a size 12.

I don't know if it still applies, but the saying way back then was that it takes 9 months to put on the baby weight so allow at least 9 months to lose it.

[purrpurr]

Reading thread with interest. Was a size 10, 9 stone 8. Now a size 14, 11 stone 5. DD is 8 weeks old. I've not let myself have any chocolate or biscuits since she was born, I try to be 'good' and only have the occasional takeaway, make sure our meals include veg etc, so exhausted all the time I really thought my body would be using fat stores to help me power through but have actually gained a pound in the last fortnight. Made me go and peer at the recycling bin. Ahh. Yes. My 'oh good, another day done' celebratory glasses of wine may well be the culprit. I drank three bottles of wine last week by myself. Pre-pregnancy I didn't really do alcohol, just fags. Which don't have any calories. Lovely fags.

[jungletoes]

It took me 18 months-2 years with both of mine. The weight went down in stages through healthy eating and getting out for walks. I bf'd for three years for both of mine so wonder if that helped??

[Amazinggg]

I think a lot of it's genetic - did your own mum ping back into shape?

Fwiw I was back in my size ten jeans 3 months after, but piled on five stone during pg

[GiveMeVegemite]

I had DS in May and then was pregnant again with DS2 in December and was still 10kgs more than my pre-pregnancy weight! Really hoping I can shift the weight after having DS2, but found the first 15 kilos came off easily! I put on about 30 kilos during my pregnancy!!!

[PattieOfurniture]

Ime, nothing works better than pelvic floor exercises.

[Forgetfulmog]

I was a size 10 pre preg & am now a size 12 (dd is 10 mo). Still bf, walk about an hr a day & do c25k 2-3 times a week. I am v flabby around the belly (had c section) & hip/thigh area but overall I don't think I look that bad. I eat whatever (cake/biscuits etc every day) but also fruit & veg. I've been massively sleep deprived too so am not going to deprive myself of the things I like eating.

Well done to those who can give up choc etc but I just think life's too short

[PaleHousewifeOfCumbriaCounty]

My thrd baby is now 10 months, and through sheer blood, sweat and graft in the gym i am back in a toned size ten. Low carb dieting. If u like a drink, gin and tonic is most diet friendly.

Breastfed fir six months, which i thought would make me skinny. Not a chance.... I ate for england! Any loss plateaued from 2-6 months post partum. Once i stopped BF it started moving again so i hit the exercise very hard. Tons of cardio, then when i lost most of the weight i switched to weights. No point building muscle if its all under fat.

[cuppateaanyone]

I think being active before really helped me and breast feeding.....lost 20lbs in the first two weeks and the last 14 lbs took 3 months, lots of walking and not going overboard, that said, no sleep for 3 months must have also helped....too tired to eat and no time to really enjoy it

[CreatureRetorts]

After my first I went back to a size 8 by 12 weeks. But TBH I didn't actually put much weight on while pregnant.

With my second, I'm a size 10 - I piled a couple of stone on after I went back to work.

[Kizzit]

I stayed in hospital for a week after DC1 and went home in my pre-pregnancy jeans. I only put on a stone all together,baby was very small and I just happen to be one of those lean wiry types naturally.DC2 was slightly bigger,put on a stone and a half but was back in my original jeans a week after his birth possibly due to the fact that when I came out of hospital after 2 days I went straight back to full care for my 2yo and all household chores as my DH was too occupied with sport and work......

Ridiculous,I know,and I would never do that again but hey I'm a coper and with no family around what choice do you have....

[PeanutPatty]

Dc2 born late July, two plus stone to shed. Bfing wasn't shifting it. Joined Slimming World and haven't looked back. Hit my target in March.

[monstergoose]

Size 10-12 pre-pg and back in favourite jeans after 2months, would probably have been sooner but section scar too sore! But tummy still very flabby and no real tone to it after 5months, although I'm now smaller than I was pre-preg thanks I think to being dairy free whilst BFing

I've done the odd buggymovers class and quite a bit of walking with dd in a sling but still eat loads incl cake and biscuits when I make them myself with fake butter! I think being summer helps as we eat loads of salad and stir frys and other healthy stuff

[Librarina]

My baby is one month old and weirdly I weigh less now than I did when I got pregnant. My tummy is squishy of course but I've never been happier with my body. I think part of the reason I lost weight is that I couldn't eat the cheese and drink the wine that usually makes me fat and also maybe because I'm running around after a new baby and not having time to snack. Either way, I think making babies is amazing and we should love our bodies afterwards, however they end up!

[QTPie]

Most important thing is to be sensible during pregnancy - if you don't put on a lot of "unnecessary excess" weight during pregnancy (and keep fit/active) then it can be fairly straightforward to loos afterwards.

Breastfeeding made things a lot easier too (for me at least, it was like full body liposuction).

Doing lots of walking with the pram. Try and get a session or two a week doing some sort of exercise (it is possible, even after a CS and breastfeeding). Just eating sensibly and avoiding too much cake.

It is possible to get back into reasonable shape pretty quickly, but don't expect to feel 100% until you finish breastfeeding or about 9/10 months. My tummy has remained softer: doesn't show standing up, but when I sit down there is definitely looser skin (DS is 3.5 years).

Age will effect how quickly you "bounce back" too.

Nothing says that you "should" bounce back quickly - so don't feel under pressure.

[Lion5711]

Breastfeeding and baby wearing helped me. I also found it far easier just to accept body changes, as soon as I even hear people talk about dieting I feel hungry! Go easy on yourself, enjoy baby, lots of outside time, walking and playing and if will shift naturally. All in moderation!

[ithaka]

I think the 9 months on/9 months off is about right. I do think your body changes shape - although I am a size 6/8 & the same weight I was, my waist size has stayed bigger - mind you, it used to be teeny, I look at my former belt holes and gasp.

[ceeveebee]

I went from 9st to 13.5st when pregnant with twins. Was down to 10st when I went back to work when they were 10 mo, got down to 8.5st after another 3-4 months.
Found it very hard to lose weight when on maternity leave, too many coffees and cakes and no time to exercise! Once I went back to work I had time to go to the gym at lunchtimes, and could control my food intake a but more so combination of diet and exercise has worked.

[BergholtStuttleyJohnson]

After ds1 I stopped breastfeeding after a few weeks and had a stone to lose, I tried really hard to shift it but it wouldn't budge, it started to slowly come off by itself after about 10 months but I got pregnant again when ds1 was a year old so was still heavier.
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During my second pregnancy I only gained 6kg (no idea how as I ate crap and had spd). Giving birth made me 2kgs lighter thN pre preg and the rest came off slowly over the next ten months just from breastfeeding. I'm still breastfeeding but stopped losing weight once I reached mu pre dc1 weight. I'm a size 6 and look similar to before but with a slightly larger waist and back fat. I also have stretch marks and a tiny bit of loose skin.