postnatal weight loss

[Bo]

Any ideas how to safely shift all that post natal weight? 7 months on after having 2 very close together I am getting fed up with all my bulk, but I'm still breast feeding, so feel I need to be careful, especially as I am very low in iron (at least).

I know I could loose some weight when I stop breastfeeding, but that doesn't help me now! I hate cooking and preparing food, so I can't do anything too complicated. my husband had a fit when I even suggested something along the lines of slimfast. Any words of wisdom gratefully received. (Ireckon I need to shift about 15 Kilos)

The trouble is Pamina, I have to have a plentiful supply of crisps, biscuits, chocolate etc. in the house to bribe my little darlings to behave! (of course, they don't actually get much because Mummy always gets her hands on it first!). Also, I would do more walking because I quite like it (yes, honestly!) but in order to get them all to school/pre-school on time I have to drive. Perhaps I'm just destined to be the 'mumsy' type!

There aren't many things that I don't like to eat - that is my problem. I too detest marzipan, unfortunately so do the kids! I think my only hope is to exercise it off - back-packing around the world on foot should suffice! Seriously though, I 'like me grub' it keeps me buoyant (both mentally and physically!) also I've convinced myself that I must eat like a horse to maintain my stamina when looking after the kids. Also, I like a drink! Am I a hopeless case?

Well ladies(!!!) this post has just got hot again, and to think I was back therelike all of you trying to get rid of those post pregnancy stones. All I can say is stick at it. I did SW (Selja - tell your DH to stuff it!) nd I can honestly say hvaing thought I would hate to do a class, that it was the first time that I have ever dieted and reached the goal I set myself (infact less) This is due to a combination of things, but I think my main help was knowing I had to go to class, couldn't dance around on my scales as we all do (if I stand on one leg on tip-toe it always weighs light!). It also made me take responsibility for my eating that I never have felt before. 'It's not my fault, my Dh persuaded me' 'I couldn't help it, I had to have chocolate in the house' etc etc. I always made those excuses, I also used to be a yo-yo dieter, I aslso pu on 4 1/2 stone whilst being pg. I can only say what worked for me,

1. drinking masses and masses of water (BORING!) but after a couple of weeks it really helped and became a habit.
2. Getting rid of all that crap food from the house, sorry, the kids can suffer too. Perhaps bribery with a non food toy/magazine etc could be put in place.
3. Exercise, I started slow but am now planning on that marathon next year.
4. Goals, each half stone to start with meant a new nail varnish or lippy, a stone meant a meal out (and ate what I liked because I'm worth it!) and a target to be reache, by a certian time (BE REALISTIC)
5. STICKITIVITY. Basically willpower! It isn't easy, life sucks when you feel fat, life sucks when you feel you can't eat what you want but life feels great when you can be all smug as you take back a size 12 that you thought would fit, because it's too big!

I am off to my class on monday, so far I have stayed at target for nearly 3 months, but we went away this week to Centre Parcs and I ate and drank like a trouper, knowing that a week or two of SW plans will get me back on track, I think I put on a couple of lbs, but we are still 'on holiday' until tomorrow so I had a huge chinese takeaway this evening.

I would recommend a class for anyone who loves food, especially SW where you really can eat unlimited quanities of food such as pasta! I changed my cooking habits and learnt new recipes which are now the norm, this ensures I don't get bored and can stick to my target weight. Also SW has loads of 'free branded foods'. These are supermarket or brands like heinz etc, that you can eat as much as you like of. This means as long as your cupboards are full of 'free food' if you are hungry there is always something very quick to grab. I am now addicted to canned curries!!

Anyway as they say 'I was so impressed I bought the company' with SW I was so impressed I have gone for a job with them as district manager (a full time salaried position, but working from home), not because I am evangelical abut the company, but I want too stop the commuting (2hrs each way).

Seriously, I haven't been aound this week, but I am happy to help in any way possible, so I will be here, posting, hassleing you all, and doing a Christmas countdown! I was going to suggest we start a new post as this one is just soooooooooo long!

Great tips Pamina and Crunchie. LOL - you on those scales, Pamina! Crunchie - you know, I was thinking about trying SW as the idea of 'free' foods is right up my street! Can you have sweet free foods aswell, as I've got a bit of a sweet tooth? It's good to hear from someone who it has worked for, Crunchie, and does act as an incentive for me. I will ask around my friends and see if anyone will come to a meeting with me, otherwise I'll bite the bullet and go by myself - there is a group very near to me I think. Thanks for the advice, Crunchie, now I know where to come. If you start a new thread (ie. Crunchie's Dieting Clinic) I'll be there! Pamina - what do you think, shall we try to resist the lure of 'lardy' food and set ourselves the target of losing a few pounds before Christmas?

Have you thought about joining SW, Pamina? Don't you think the bit about 'free' foods sounds rather tempting?

Hope dd is feeling better this morning! I hate it when they get all phlegmy and it makes them sick (I'd rather change the worst, pooey-ist nappy in the world than clean up sick!) I too, had my Smirnoff Ice (x I lost count of how many!) last night, but feel ok this morning (that's the beauty of vodka!) Have also been pigging out on Maltesers this morning (yes, already!) An open packet of them to me, is like a red rag to a bull! Yes I know, that most decent people couldn't even look at a bar of chocolate at this hour of the morning, but the diet starts tomorrow so today I must cram in as much chocolate as is humanly possible! Have already got some cans of Slimfast in the fridge chilling in readiness for tomorrow morning (I can hardly contain myself ).

Here I am again, not doing well at all but excusing myself with 'the stress of life'. Dh and I have agreed to get fit together, as we are both exhausted by our toddler and worried that we are going to be burnt out before he is five!!!! On top of this I have health issues that are probably not being helped by the extra weight I am carrying! So, hopefully, having dh on board will make it easier. I have also decided that despite my previous hatred of scales they are a necessary evil. I am planning to loose a stone by Xmas as from today. Will let you know if I have any success. My main problem is, as you will know from previous posts, before I returned to work I really got into exercise and it helped a lot. Now however with two jobs I find it almost impossible to set aside time for myself to exercise. I know I am going to have to be ruthless! Good luck all, keep at it.

Yes, Good Luck to us all. I'm sure I wouldn't feel so tired if I wasn't carrying around so much extra weight, afterall, it is probably like the equivalent weight of a 2 year old child - and you wouldn't want to be carrying one of those around 24 hours a day! Yes Pamina, I do remember that e-mail, it was great, but unfortunately I took it as gospel! Enjoy your night out!

Well I will just give you the run down on SW 'Free' foods.

Firstly you have to choose whether you are doing a 'grren' day or a 'red' day. Green is mainly carbohydrate and red is mainly animal protein (meat etc). If you are on a green day free foods are: pasta (not fresh), rice (all types), couscous, other 'grains', all vegetables including potatoes, all fruit inc. bananas, eggs, tofu, quark, very low fat cottage cheese, vlf fromage frias, vlf youghurt, quorn. Also there are a massive variety of 'branded' foods such as supermarket curry etc. Red days free foods are: All meat (fat and skin removed, all poultry (not fat/skin), all fish and shellfish, vegetables excluding potatoes/sweetcorn/parsnips, all fruit inc. bananas, and dairy stuff as green day, eggs and quorn.

Then you add 'Healthy extras', these you have to weigh and they include breakfast cereals, bread and cooked fruits (only raw are free, don't ask why explaination is way to confusing), also milk or cheese and animal protein on a green day and carbohydrate stuff on a red day. (you confused yet!)

Lastly you have a limited number of sins. these are for all other types of foods. so you can choose to have a couple of glasses of wine, or 5 cadbury's finfgers or a pack of crips and a jaffa cake etc.

I kow the unlimited pasta idea is odd, but irt is really what you put on it. You can make suaces out of all the veggies (inc canned tomatoes) etc, but with only a little meat. Since I am veggie I found all this perfect as all I ate was tonnes of pasta, rice, couscous with healthy veggie stews etc and the weight dropped off.

Good Luck!

Well done, Suew! Any tips?

Oh God Suew you saying about losing the weight of your 4yo it made me realise I've got to lose my ds weight - he's 3 stone. That really depresses me how do you stop thinking about failure on a diet before you even start? Why does it take so long to come off? And why is everything that I enjoy (wine and chocolate) what you're not supposed to eat? I've got to start again tomorrow and I'm already depressed about it. I've got no willpower and I've got to stop talking myself out of failure before I start otherwise I'll never succeed. In this day and age of inventions isn't it about time they invented wine and chocolate which tastes good and isn't fattening?

Selja, as you say in your post, you have got to stop talking yourself out of sucess. You say you have no willpower and that before you even start you feel doomed to failure. Well to be blunt, you will fail if you are dreading losing weight. I mean what is the point of living if you can't enjoy it. I wish I had a mgic wand to help you feel like you are sucessful, I don't mean to be a bore but that is why classes help so much (and others who have been to classes will back me on this one) When you start losing weight you feel so good, and get the support of the class that it lifts you for the coming week and helps you through the bad points. Also you know there are others who feel just the same who are alos struggling. I saw that your dh doesn't believe in classes and thinks that exercise will do the trick. Well yes in theory you can lose weight that way, but it is so slow, and difficult to fit into a busy lifestyle with children. I went for the 2 pronged attack of diet and exercise because that is the fastest way to get rid of those lbs. I am lucky that I lost the first stone quite quickly (within 5 weeks) and this spurred me on to lose the next 1/2 stone. Then I felt I was half way there, which was a great achievement which made me feel better stiking to the plan. Also with a class you can discuss things properly (I only know about sw) and we have flexible days that when you know you have a special occassion that there is no way you can stick to the plan, that you use. This way you are still in control. For example my birthday I wanted to go out and have a lovely meal, so I did. Knowing that I could eat and drink all I wanted without the gulit made me stick to the plan the next day and not go off the rials due to a bad day. Does this make sense? It is all about taking responsibility for yur eating and deciding that I wanted to eat anything I felt like, meant I was making a positive choice, not just bingeing and then feeling bad about it. So now I use this every day, I decide if I want to have something, and if I do i eat it without guilt. This way I enjoy my food, and when I think something isn't worth it I stick To the plan, keeping the weight off.

But hey there is nothing worse than a sucessful dieter, we are more preachy than an ex smoker!!

Good Luck

Oooo, goody I have been away for a few days (visiting my Grandma and her chocolate biscuit stash big enough to feed a small 3rd world country for a week!) and return to find this thread alive and kicking, just what I need to get me through the winter of discontent I am facing!
I had to weigh myself after being away and have not put anything on (or lost any but I'll live with that after the choc binge - actually I resisted more than you'd think, but then they were being offered on the hour, every hour with a steaming cup of tea, Grandma's are great!)
So back to the reality of Christmas approaching, I have been reading your posts with interest and am getting a great feeling of solidarity among our ranks again! I just hope this time I can stick with it

Good luck this week everyone

I'm sure I've suggested these before, but for anyone with a sweet tooth and no will-power (eg: me) stock up on Muller Light toffee yoghurts. They are scrummy, taste like they are full of cals but aren't and help take the edge off cravings.

The Weight Watchers yoggies are yummy too, pack of 4, two toffee and two vanilla. I used to save them for my sweet evening cravings.

Failing that, half sachet of chocolate options in low low fat plain yog, yum.

Yeah Suew it is the enjoyment of food that I think needs to be relearnt. This what I pfund so hard, I was too busy feeling guilty for eating whatever that I only ate more. No I make the choice, and have evenings where I eat and drink all I like, and then go back to the plan the next day. You need to lean how to eat like a thin person (!) By this I mean eating what you want, in moderation and enjoying it. This seems to stave off the binges because they only happen when you are feeling deprivied or denied. By allowing yourself chocolate or wine or crisps means you have a moderate portion, enjoy them and then move on. Eating eventually becomes a pleasure again. I am finally learning guilt free eating, and so I have a bar of chocolate if I want, just a normal sized one, not a family sized that I used to eat. Crisps are normal bags, again not jumbo packs and a bottle of wine will last a few days, because I know I can have it!

Does this all sound weird?

Well all I am saying is decide for yourself and take control of your eating. This doesn't mean strict diets, more a different mindset. If you fancy chocolate have a little, because we all snack through boredom, habit, stress etc not true hunger. Take your mind off food. I found long baths in the evening worked a treat. You can't eat crisps in the bath! Grab a good magazine, lots of bubble bath and lock the door for at least an hour (OK not easy, but once the kids are in bed, instead of slobbing in fornt of the sofa) I also found painting my nails (you can't eat with wet nails), going on the PC (suddenly an hour or three have gone). OK all silly ideas, but you'll have great nails, fab glowing skin from all the moisturizer you'll smooth on afterwards, and mumsnet will be really busy.

So today's tip is change your routine in the evening to avoid temptation/boredom!

Quick diet update - Day 2 - Not going too bad. Have kept myself busy, so haven't really had the time to be tempted and start picking. After being on Mumsnet tonight (that's very true Crunchie, going on Mumsnet does while away a few hours in the evening, especially at the speed I type!) have got a massive pile of ironing (school uniforms for tomorrow so got to be done) to do whilst watching telly. Not doing too badly avoiding the choc, but still have to have a little 'night-cap' in the evenings. Does anyone know how many calories a large G&T (with slimline tonic) has got in it?