Has anyone 'let themselves go' during pregnancy then successfully got their figure back.

[cuppaneeded]

I'm currently in my 2nd trimester of my 2nd pg. I am not feeling glossy and full of beans at all but just very sluggish, grey and crepey. After DS1, I worked out with DVDs and successfully shed all the wight and toned up nicely. Now, as I look at my spreading thighs (now with cellulite :( ) I am wondering how many of you have managed to get into really good shape after your baby's birth? I mean slim and toned not just fitting into an old pair of jeans.

What worked for me was carrying my baby in a sling and walking everywhere, once he was 6months I carried him in a backpack and did a brisk 30minute walk 5 times a week. It worked for all 3 of my pregnancies, now they are too big for the backpack so it's just the walking.

I ballooned during my second pregnancy.

Breastfeeding was brilliant for losing weight for me - I knew this after DC1 but got complacent very quickly and the weight crept back on. Besides, I was pregnant again by the time DC1 was 9 months old.

I decided to, um, 'harness' breastfeeding the second time around - lose the weight and keep it off.

I am 5"9' and was a good size 14-16 pre-DC. I am now a size 10.

Put it this way. DC2 is 21 months old. I hopped on the scales the day before I went in to be induced. Our combined weight now is 17 kgs (about 34 pounds) less than our combined weight when she was still inside me.

I'm the slimmest I've been since I was whippet thin in my early 20s, caning it clubbing every weekend, barely eating and doing a few too many class As.

I'm not on a diet of any sort and haven't cut anything out. I simply eat less, move more and - crucially - get on the scales every day so as to be able to maintain my weight. I don't ever intend to be a size 14, let alone a 16 again.

I started off a size 8 34-24-34 when I got preg with DS1. I was 15 stone by the end but within 5 MONTHS I had lost 6 stone and was back to 34-24-34. I did it all with the cambridge diet. Not remotely as toned as before but you couldnt tell with my clothes on! He was FF.

Now 21 weeks with DC2 and not intending on going into the 13 stones. Totally confident I can do the same again so not too worried about my weight.

Yep, before dc would hoover between a 12 up to a 14then would work on it to get back to a 12, went to the gym 4 times a week etc.

Ate whatever I wanted when pregnant with dd to make me feel better for missing out on alcohol!) put on 3 stone and when on holiday when she was 10 weeks and had to buy a new bikini as I was then a size 10. Lots of walking school run twice a day then for my sister and BF.

Went back to a 12 when finished bf when she was 15 months. Put a bit of weight on the next year and was pretty much a 14 but couldn't shift the weight - I was pregnant with ds. Put on 4 stone . No stretch marks though at least.

Lost a stone but then nothing moved. Joined SW and lost 4 stone which put me back to 10-12 by the time he was 7 months. Dd was at preschool so it was a half hour walk there, half hour back and same again 3 hours later. BF until he was 2. I have put some weight back on I think from finishing bf 3 months ago and going back on the pill so will concentrate on that.

Boobs will never be the same again though, I could swing them around like empty teabags and I has a cracking pair before dc.

hoover? Good for exercise I supose but meant hover!!

Shushpenfold - just a suggestion but if iys not what you are doing already try changing your fitness routine a little, introduce resistance training (preferably free weights) 2-3 times a week. Proper weights though, not the kind you can wave about for 20+ reps

After about the age of 40 muscle density reduces rapidly and it's muscle that burns calories, hence the increased struggle to keep weight down as women age. 25-30 mins of weights followed by with 15-20 mins interval training instead of 40-60 mins cardio should be much more effective at keeping you in shape and able to eat more, as well as a myriad of other benefits that resistance training brings.

It really is never the same.

Am the same weight (ish) after having ds as before but my chest narrowed from a 38 to a 34 and i gained boobs but my hips widened.

I used slimming world and zumba ( must go back soon - hurt shoulder and back and its to much. - must try Pilates or yoga)

But my stomach is mum Tum central - have crepey skin stretch marks the works so use control pants - not quite spanx but the trouser no vpl light control ones.

But my ds was a ten pounder so I look on them as battle wounds

yup, I got my fitness back to my early 20s level and back into pre ds clothes, but not till DS was 3 (cause at the start I was doing it wrong, WW vs proper healthy life long diet & exercise)

Sleepwhenidie - thanks for that! I've introduced some 'own body weight' exercises into the routine which is definitely helping (press ups, side plank etc) but perhaps I need to go further.

1st time round I put on 2 stone, lost it quite quickly but did no exercise so was flabby. 2nd time round put on 3.5 stone (sheer greed), have spent 10 months losing it, and have been exercising the last couple of months so in better shape, and certainly slimmer than I was pre pg. It is possible, but hard work. I do appreciate I am 27 though, so probably have it easier than if I were 37!

I was never weighed in any of my pregnancies so i have no idea how much i put on :). I think that was the best way to do it otherwise you can become fixated on your weight. I did do a lot of walking with the kids when they were little. Now I am doing pilates twice a week for an hour and it has made everything more toned, but I have to force myself to go. The only thing that has changed post baby is my rib cage, it has expanded and will never be the same again . With my first i was back in my jeans 6 wks after, 2nd it was months rather than weeks and 3rd was the months as well. My advice would be to try and eat as heathily as you can, keep as active as you can (walking) .