Weight gain after kids

[Fistikfistik]

So I have just turned 30. Have 4 kids. Wldest is 9 youngest is 3. I am a size 16. Was a 12/14 prior to kids and want to get back to that but I can't keep it up. I managed to lose 1.5 stone in locldown by doing some workout videos daily abd watching my intake but because we where home I had the time. Once lockdown was over and life resumed to normal it wasn't sustainable as 4 kids and different activities, work and school collections I couldn't fit it in. So I went down to a 14 but now back to a 16.

I am about 13 stone. However I still breastfeed the youngest. Hoping to stop soon and I have quite large boobs. So I hold some weight there. And my hips are wider. But I don't think I look terrible. But I feel heavy.

Is this terribly big? I am 5 ft 6. Just about 13 stone. I'm hoping to lose some after breastfeeding ends. I am an hour glass shape. Can any one recommend a form of exercise that helps? I was doing steel City workouts and walk with Leslie and it hoped but I need to tone too. Any recommendations for little time in the day?

I held onto weight when I was breastfeeding. It fell off when I stopped.

1200 calories a day intake at 5'6 and 13 stone would mean you wouldn't even be eating enough to have the milk supply to breastfeed. Your calorie counting is way off.

I'm 5'8 and 10 stone 8, I need to eat minimum 1800 calories a day to maintain milk supply.

Ok thanks all. I mean looking in the mirror I don't look huge. But I'm not skinny, I know. My hips are very wide. But I guess that's normal after 4 kids. And my boobs are quite big. 34 f size. I have quie loose skin on my lower abdomen. Again. Pregnancies. So yes I need to lose some and I will take what you have all said on board. I'm not going to start weighing things though. Just going to aim to move more and more mindful of what I am eating. And not beat my self up too much. I'm sure once I stop breastfeeding and youngest is in nursery more I can start doing more long distance walks and that will help. Thanks again

I would read around the contribution exercise has to weight loss. It’s essentially been debunked. Exercise is great for health and weight maintenance but if want to lose, it’s basically all about diet.

Sorry, that sounds really negative-you really don’t want to feel disappointed when adding in a of long walks makes practically no difference to your weight. They’ll make you feel good though!

Thanks purple daisies. Yes I enjoy walking and miss it. I used to do loads before kids! That's it just want to feel good. I'm not going to go full swing into a diet. Just wanted some opinions and things to think about

Can you not stick the youngest in a buggy and go a long walk? 10,000 steps a day will make a difference, you don't have to do "official" exercise

We got rid of the buggy and she walks now but won't walk that far.

I think you maybe all need to just get out and about more? A 3 year old should be having 3 hour active min per day according to nhs, they can’t really do that alone, so if your out and about with them, even slow it will help.

It’s surprising how much distance they can cover. Ds is 22 months, we did a local wood trail this morning which was 3.6km. It says it should take 1hr approx, it took us around 1.30hr with Ds walking, but he walked 99% of it and that surprised me.

At 3 years, they don’t breastfeed that many calories any more compared to an infant, so I wouldn’t really add calories for that.

Here’s the nhs link
www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-children-under-five-years/

I would read around the contribution exercise has to weight loss. It’s essentially been debunked

Don't be so daft. Calories in, calories out. It would almost be impossible for anyone to run the miles I do (or most serious runners do - I'm not out of the ordinary!) and not lose weight. Eating all those calories back would take some serious doing.

But. The issue is that people can't go from couch to serious exercise overnight. It takes time and a proper lifestyle shift. And most people want quick results, so are unimpressed when they do something like c25k (where you burn prob 300 cals max per session) and don't immediately lose weight.

Low level exercise doesnt lead to huge amounts of weight loss, but has a whole load of other health benefits.
It's also the gateaway drug to high levels of exercise, which does lead to weight loss, increased muscle, a healthier heart, and all the other good stuff.

OP, weight gain can happen with only a small amount of extra calories every day. I suspect you are not counting up your calories properly. I would start off with small habits: increase your protein intake, your vegetable intake and replace half your carbs by a non-carby vegetable. Try to get a bit more of a routine going, it sounds like you often skip meals. This would be fine but needs to be done with some method. Maybe you could look into intermittent fasting? Go on your walks and fit in some mini workout videos even if it is just 10 or 15 minutes. Get dancing with the kids and stuff,generally increase your movement. Drink lots of water.

I'm not going to start weighing things though.

You don't need to do it for long, but I think you do need to be honest about how much you're really eating. My pitfalls were cheese and mayonnaise, I had no idea how much a "portion" from the packet was compared to what I was actually having.

To say it was an eye opener was an understatement.

Are you honestly considering everything that goes in your mouth when you say you don't eat a lot of food? Are the coffees milky? As that has calories. How many slices of toast are you having? I usually don't eat breakfast but if I do I will only eat one slice. If I have a latte I count that as food/breakfast and won't eat anything else. Are you having any snacks? A biscuit, square of chocolate, even fruit has sugar in it and needs to be included. I have met many people who don't seem to acknowledge a lot of the food or drinks they are consuming as having calories. I know a very very overweight woman who keeps saying that she only eats vegetables as she has so many allergies. I just don't believe her. I find that I start to easily increase my calorie intake if I am not careful. If I start eating breakfast regularly, or having two slices of toast, these make a massive impact on my weight. I have to experience audible stomach rumbling every day to maintain a size 10-12. It is easy to eat when that hunger sign isn't as strong.

Don't be so daft. Calories in, calories out. It would almost be impossible for anyone to run the miles I do (or most serious runners do - I'm not out of the ordinary!) and not lose weight. Eating all those calories back would take some serious doing.

I think you're underestimating the amount people can eat! 😂

Running a whole marathon burns about 2,000-2,500 calories. Less than a pound of weight. And probably less than one Saturday night takeaway....

@AndSoFinally

Don't be so daft. Calories in, calories out. It would almost be impossible for anyone to run the miles I do (or most serious runners do - I'm not out of the ordinary!) and not lose weight. Eating all those calories back would take some serious doing. I think you're underestimating the amount people can eat! 😂

Running a whole marathon burns about 2,000-2,500 calories. Less than a pound of weight. And probably less than one Saturday night takeaway....

When I was actively playing rugby - so training a couple of nights a week, in addition to running three or four times a week and three strength-training sessions in the gym - my calorie output was about the same.

I watched my diet carefully to make sure I was eating the right sort of food (especially as I am vegetarian), but I still maintained my weight (175cm, 73/4kg) on 1900kcal a day, which is actually slightly below the recommended average for adult women. If I had wanted to lose weight, I would probably have had to drop that to around 1650-1700kcal.

People massively overestimate the calorific outcomes of moderate exercise.

I am the first to stridently maintain that exercise is important, both mentally and physically, but you cannot outrun a bad diet, no matter how hard or how often you train.

In addition to the above, I should add that I was just a grassroots player with a non-physical FT job - not an elite athlete! - but I was doing a LOT of high-impact training compared to an 'average' desk-worker, for context.