Weight loss stall after baby

[Sasmac2017]

Hi all. Just after some advice/help,if anyone can offer some please?
I gave birth to my DC2 four weeks ago. I gained 20kg and that was with 5-6x a week workouts (weights, hiking, swimming.....you name it I was there!). I've lost about 11kg as of 2 weeks postpartum and I haven't lost a bloody thing since. I am so keen to be back to normal, I want to wear my clothes! I am breastfeeding, started working out again 1 week after birth and this week I even incorporated some HIIT workouts again. I am eating very well 80/20 ratio for 'bad' foods and I'm not under eating (I know that can be a problem when breastfeeding). I gained 40kg 😳 With my first DC and lost it all very fast, about 5 months pp I was back to normal. I also started the mini pill nearly two weeks ago, although I didn't think that would be an issue as did that after first birth and the weight fell off.
Sorry to ramble, I'm just so pissed off. I want 'me' back! Please help xx

happy to help but need more info about you:

1. If you were to guess looking at photos (do a google search), what is your body fat %? And where do you want to get to?

2. typical breakfast lunch and dinner?

3. do you snack? if so how often? on what?

4. do you take supplements? Eg protein shakes, creatine, etc

5. do you know how to use MyFitnessPal?

6. Describe your workouts - times a week, duration, what do you do? HIIT and what else?

@sasmac2017:

7. how much do you weigh?

Your baby is four weeks old! Give your body a chance! Keep up with the healthy lifestyle and the weight will come off.

Hey Olivia,
I am sitting at 70kg. I'm usually 61kg at 5.7". I have a superfood protein smoothie for breakfast (time is an issue getting older DC to school). I'll have a piece of fruit mid morning. Lunch is usually a big salad with fish and good fats. I home cook dinner 99% of the time. Lots of meat, vegetables etc. I do have a few bikkies here and there, maybe a bag of chips once a week. Workouts, I'll do 40min of weight training 2x a week. 1-2x a week 45min power walk with buggy. Hiit is usually 20 mins 1x a week, sometimes I mix cardio and strength into the hiit.
@owlinatree - I know I do need to give myself a break but I really want to be in shape for summer (I'm in NZ) and I was very fit and lean prior so it is hard to accept these changes x

Oh and body fat, just by looking I'd say prob about 25% maybe a little more. I was very lean and muscular prior to this pregnancy

It is hard, I know. I gained a lot with my recent pg, a year later it's all come off and more, so it will happen.

Breastfeeding helps drop weight QUICK. Just take your baby out for walks. Eat healthy and even use your baby to exercise with. They love to be apart what mama is doing. Drink Mummy magic tea three times daly before your meals. It also helped me when I was in the same boat.

What is Mummy Magic Tea ? Sounds interesting!

@Sasmac2017 you situation was similar to mine a while ago. Lifting, HIIT and gaining weight. You have the added complexity of breastfeeding however.

I see a few problems in your food combinations - macros - and eating pattern which are making weight loss more difficult for you. Your hormones may have changed all of a sudden making old dietary habits unsustainable now.

In sum you are probably a glucose burning machine. Likely too much blood insulin to allow your body to access fat stores - it’s the way the body works. 9 kg is a fair bit to lose given you’re already in decent shape at 25% body fat so you have to use a few disciplined methods to get there.

The HIIT and weights present a challenge which we can deal with later given the fuel source for anaerobic exercise.

Right so I’d be happy to tell you how to do it or first give you some reasons why your body isn’t losing the weight then tell you how. Which do you prefer?

@Sasmac2017 : what is a superfood protein smoothie? What’s in it?

@lol2348 - yes breastfeeding does help, and I go on a few power walks a week plus weight training and hiit :)

@oliviad68 - I would say you're right about the glucose, my body would be burning sugars instead of fat. In saying that I weighed myself today and have lost another kg so down to 69kg. I was very pleased to be nearer to my goal weight! As for the smoothie....it's a sachet which I add to 25%whole milk and 75% water. It's got all the vitamins and minerals, zero sugar, it's a plant based protein thing. To be honest it's the only breakfast id be getting at all at the moment. I don't want to make the eating tricky as in no calorie counting etc, 1) every time I've done that I actually gain weight and 2) it's very time consuming and I have a four week old baby, 5yr old DS and 9 yr old DSD, my time is very limited. Ultimately my kids need to come first, but I do make a commitment to exercise (and I don't mean a leisurely walk, I workout HARD). I think the weight will come off, my breasts are ginormous too I wonder how much is in them!!??! 🤔

I was going to suggest counting macros not calories but it’s the same issue for you.

Getting lean is hard to do if you’re a glucose burning machine. Hard training helps but isn’t necessarily what makes you lean- many CrossFitters are super fit but not particularly lean bc they are on Paleo.

Counting macros could help identify if you’re eating too much protein. You may need more than average but be aware your body converts any excess it needs from aminos to glucose.

The other thing I see wrong is snacking. Not that the food intake is bad just that it spikes insulin ... again making it hard to access fat.

Athletes like you who want to get very lean tend to use a targeted keto or cyclical keto approach in combination with intermittent fasting. How this would dovetail with breastfeeding is more complicated and you’d have to find a solution that works there.

Hi Olivia, thanks for the reply. I had no idea that protein, in excess, turns into glucose! I've just learnt something, so thanks for that! And yes that is the ultimate issue with trying to 'diet' (and I use that term loosely on the basis of our conversation), when breastfeeding as I don't want to compromise the quality or supply of my milk. In the 4 short weeks my son has been around he has gained nearly 1.5kg!! I don't want to hinder his growth or our bond by ruining the feeding.
I have tried IF in the past, it personally did nothing for me, just turned me into a hangry bit*h. As for keto, I have read about this. Is it a high fat low carb eating plan?
Also what is this bloody mummy tea? So many people on these kind of threads rave about it. Sounds like a scam....

Oh, also,should I only be having 3 meals a day with no snacks?

Oh, also,should I only be having 3 meals a day with no snacks?

It’s v v difficult to go on a IF plan if you’re not burning your own body fat. Of course you’re going to be hungry and nasty!

But IF done well - with keto - is great. Growth hormone production and testosterone go up so muscle mass is easier to build.

Keto is indeed LCHF. Lots of veg for nutrients. Carbs to under 30g per day, protein to about 1.4 or 1.5 g per kg of lean body mass only. Rest in saturated and monounsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated and trans fats are horrible.

One big caveat with keto I’ve found is for anaerobic fuel. You really do need to restore glycogen wherefore the TKD or CKD tactic. Apparently it’s possible to restore glycogen without getting out of ketosis. I’m still experimenting with that.

Must say I love the mental clarity, the complete lack of hunger, clear skin, lack of bloating and a whole host of other advantages of being in ketosis. Only drawback is the glycogen point I mentioned.

And yeah limit the number of meals. I’m at two a day.

You do this to reduce blood insulin levels bc every time you eat you get an insulin spike which blocks fat metabolism. It’s Human Physiology 101

PS protein turning to glucose is called gluconeogenesis. The body is so damn clever. Most people only need about 0.8g protein per kg of lean body (muscle) mass. You need probably as much as 1.4 but that’s still not a whole lot.

People tend to get very emotive with food.

But the body doesn’t care. It views food as information. Given the combination of fats, proteins and carbs it produces hormones which signal to organs to do certain things.

So as far as the body is concerned food consumption is really about endocrine hormones and how these make organs like the liver and gall bladder - mainly - do their work.

Gosh...it can all be so confusing. I am very interested in nutrition and exercise etc I have read many books and web sites etc etc and it just seems everyone has a different answer! You are probably right in that I need to find what works best for me and my body.
I agree on the polyunsaturated fats .. Gross. Think margarine 😒
Also on the protein, I really don't think I eat too much of it to be honest. Aside from the smoothie, I'll have some tuna or eggs at lunch and usually white meat at dinner like a chicken breast/fish. Occasional steak type dinner. I'm not going OTT on the protein 😊
Thanks for your advice, it's given me something to think about. I'll see how the next four weeks go in terms of fat loss. I am aware that the scale can lie, but my jeans sure don't! I can fit some of them but the muffin top ain't pretty. I have stored fat around the middle, backs of arms and I've always had problems with my butt and thighs. Ugghh. All that hard work prior to pregnancy to end it like this. Bums me out. 😟

Agree. Lots of misinformation and poor advice. I was completely clueless and confused when I first started.

Then I decided step one was to learn about physiology so I did that. And good news ... the body only works one way!

Also It turns out much of the complexity of human physiology is not needed for daily life but that still means one should know the basics which I did not. The interplay of hormones on the various food macros is the essence of it. You discover why a calorie from a Coke is processed completely differently from a calorie from chicken. Then that calories are not so important ...

Once you know this it’s easier to challenge all the non-scientific advice out there and identify what works best and adapt.

Good luck!

Thanks Olivia, I will give it another 4 weeks. If there in no real progress I may have to reconsider what I am doing. It's hard being a new mum and having to worry about this shit as well 😣

I feel your pain. Life is about compromise. Things are rarely perfect and priorities change.

Happy to help if you don't see results and want them fast. There's a way to do that but if you have time there's no need for extreme measures

@oliviad68 - hey it's me again 😊 So after a week of hard workouts and eating good I'm still not seeing progress. Ok maybe a little, jeans I couldn't do up the week before I can now zip and button hut the scale is NOT budging.
Please help.
Can you give me a sample meal thing or something? Bearing in mind I am breastfeeding :) thanks so much x