Losing the baby weight (again!)

Be gentle with me! This is my first ever attempt at an online diary although I've been 'lurking' on this site for a couple of years on and off - and it seems such a supportive community that I thought I'd join in properly!

Very briefly, I gave birth to my second daughter two weeks ago today, and I made the exact same mistake I made in my first pregnancy - packing on the weight. Usually I am slim and healthy - a size 8 to 10 who watches what they eat and is at the gym religiously. Effective, yet very boring, so during both pregnancies I've basically peed on the stick, then cancelled the gym membership whilst dialling for a takeaway! The result - I gained 3 and a half stone this time round, meaning that 2 weeks post natal I am a size 14 - 16. Not huge of course, but definitely big enough to make me feel very down about myself.

so.....it's time to pay the piper and buckle down and lose the weight. On the day before I gave birth I weighted 14 st 7lbs, and over the past fortnight, (with 1 week following slimming world) that has naturally gone down to 13st 4lbs, but Id like to return to my pre preg weight of 10st 7lbs. So in total I need to shift 39lbs! I'm following the rules of slimming world without attending classes- I just don't have the ability to go along to a 2 hour group, and to be honest in the past when I have done, I've just weighed in and left, I don't enjoy the body magic section at all!

So in lieu, I will be posting my progress here! I will weight myself every Saturday morning, and truthfully share the results! So for today....

breakfast: 1 apple and handful blueberries, topped with ff natural yogurt and 1 teaspoon golden syrup (2 syns)

lunch: homemade red pepper and tomato soup with 3 Ryvita (HExB) and 1 apple.

dinner: spaghetti bolognase with a side salad (1.5 syns for packet mix) and muller light

snacks: carrot sticks, white chocolate options drink, 2 mikado (3 syns)

I get my HExA via milk for coffee throughout the day.

so 6.5 syns for the day, plus we will be taking kids and dog for a long walk later - am due to start a 6 week intense boot camp 1:1 with a personal trainer in 4 weeks - cant wait!

lovely to meet you all!

So yesterday went pretty much exactly to plan - no extra munchies (although a box of Malteasers in the cupboard kept winking at me) and we went for that walk, despite all the thick sludge which meant I had to push the double buggy with all my strength!

So today I'm feeling ok, pretty tired thanks to a newborn and a toddler who decided to wake up at midnight and want to 'camp' in the front room! It's my mums birthday today, so we have my parents and aunt (who hasn't met the new addition yet!) coming for lunch. I figured its easier to have people over and control what we eat rather than go to someone else and stress! So I'll be cooking from the little book that came with the most recent magazine.

So....breakfast is half a mango and an apple, topped with ff yogurt and golden syrup (2 syns)
Lunch: chicken chasseur with mange tout and boiled new potatoes ( half a syn) and mint chocolate mousse (3.5 syns)
dinner: probably an omelette with some sf veg and 3 Ryvita (HExB)
snacks: hot chocolate ad 2 mikado (3 syns)

yesterday i also had Jillian Michaels 30 day shred delivered, so I'm really keen to start that - its just a case of finding half an hour in the day where I'm not dealing with one or both of the kids, especially as my little baby is at the stage where they just want to be held all the time!

Day three of my new diary!

Yesterday was a good day, kept totally to plan and had a lovely time with my family - which isn't always the case!!
Today is the first day my husband goes back to work after paternity leave, so my first day alone, although my older daughter is at preschool today. So far so goo, Lola and I have ventured out to Tesco (although I was gutted that I couldn't find the free chickpea Dahl) and she's currently snoozing in the car seat.

food for today is as follows -
breakfast: 1 apple and some strawberries with ff yogurt and golden syrup (2 syns)
lunch: homemade soup with carrot sticks, hard boiled eggs and 3 Ryvita (HExB)
dinner: SW Singapore noodles and a muller light
snack: hot chocolate and 3 Mikado (3.5 syns)

although scarily I've plucked up the courage to try the shiritaki noodles I ordered online before Xmas - they are the zero carb and zero calories noodles made from a Japanese root. I've heard really mixed reviews about them, so it's taken me a while to muster up the courage, but I've got some normal egg noodles in just in case! Wish me luck!

Hope to also get out with Lola and walk the dog before we have to collect Jessie from preschool, and I really wanted to try and start the 30 day shred today, but so far I've not found the opportunity to fit it into the day, maybe when the husband gets home, although then its panic stations o get baths, dinners and feeds sorted before I cook for us - and once we've eaten it's about half seven and I'm knackered!

Quick update -managed to fit the shred in before collecting from school - brutal!

Well, today is the first day that I'm at home alone with two kids! The morning was fine, we managed to get ourselves breakfasted and dressed, and went out for a nice long walk with the dog (pushing a double buggy is hard work!). Lunchtime was more of a challenge - sorting lunch for a demanding toddler, breast feeding baby and hungry mummy was difficult to say the least. But we got there in the end! So this afternoon I'm hoping Lola will have a snooze and Jessie and I can do a bit of baking together. Since having Lola I worry that Jessie's life isn't as fun anymore because she doesn't get my full attention 100% of the time - ahhh nothing like mummy guilt is there?!

the good thing about being so busy is that I don't have the time to be thinking about picking at food. it's been pretty easy to keep to plan because time whizzes by so fast I'm actually pretty surprised when its time for the next meal! So, the plan for the rest of the day is to bake with Jessie, then after my husband gets home attempt to do the Shred again ( although I'm soooo tired from Lola being awake from about 4am onwards with bad trapped gas) before possibly attacking the worlds hugest ironing pile. Sigh.

food for today is....
breakfast: 1 apple and 1 nectarine with ff yogurt and golden syrup (2 syns)
lunch: omelette with Ryvita (HExB) and salad, 1 apple
dinner: chilli con carne (1.5 syns) with rice and salad, 1 muller light
snacks: hot chocolate, 2 Mikado (3 syns)

and try not to pick at the results of the baking!

So today has felt like another good day on the plan. Been pretty busy - the three of us ventured out to 'dancing ducklings' which my eldest loves in the double buggy, then on the way back, stopped in to pick up the dog and walked on a little more. Then spent the afternoon at my parents house, where I had a little workout on the treadmill! Now, I'm usually a bit of a runner - always do the treadmill at the gym, and in 2011 ran a half marathon in just under 2.15. But this pregnancy I was so tired and so sick early on the I gave up the gym straight away. So I haven't done any exercise for lost 10 month....and it was seriously hard today. I walked/jogged (about half and half) for just 20 mins, and my god I felt unfit. But, to to remind myself that's the hardest it will ever be, onwards and upwards from here! In fact, on Friday my dad is helping me assemble my new treadmill in the garge, so ill have it right there to use.

Once we got home my husband forbid me from doing the Shred! His view is that the treadmill is enough for 1 day for someone who only gave birth 2 and a half weeks ago, and although I know you are meant to wait until 6 weeks after birth, I'm impatient and now feel stressed I haven't done the DVD. It's supposed to be done on consecutive days!!

weight and specifically weight loss has been/is a difficult thing for me. In the past I've struggled with eating disorders and exercise compulsions, and I'm very 'all or nothing' - I guess I'm in an all phase, and pregnancy was my nothing!

anyway, food diary today -
bfast: apple,strawberries, ff yogurt and golden syrup (2 syns)
lunch: omelette and 3 ryvita
dinner: SW recipe chicken chow mein and muller light
snacks: hot chocolate, 4 Mikado, 1apple, 1 pear (4 syns)

Ok, this is a tough one to write.

basically had a really tough day, kicked off by being exhausted from baby being up half the night, early start out the house for a play date, elder daughter playing up etc etc. got home early afternoon and was hit by major urge to binge. Resisted for a couple of hours,then crumbled just after 5 and ended up having a moderate binge on 3 big bowls of cereal, half a packet of biscuits, and a few bits of chocolate. Then felt like I'd ruined it all and didn't want my planned dinner - basically wanted to continue the binge by having a takeaway. Did pull it back and have planed dinner, but felt pretty sick afterwards, and basically purged it.

now feeling like **** TBH.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad day today but it will get better! I had a naughty weekend where I ate out 3 times and two of them didn't even look at the syns- but managed to lose 4lbs this week somehow :| which is high for me! So maybe your body needed a treat! Besides, looking over your food diary you've only been having 5 or 6 syns a day- they recommend you have all of your syns at the start as it doesn't slow down weight loss but people actually say it makes them lose MORE- and that then you can reduce the syns later when you 'plateau'. So in my eyes- you've had a binge, but whatever- you've had about 35 syns this week which is NOTHING! That's 2 and a bit days of syns over 5 days, so count the little binge as your other 3 days and move on no point dwelling on it. Have an easy day tomorrow with some speed soup if you're worried! But really- well done for not going for that take away! Maybe you need to treat yourself more though, it sounds like you've been having too few syns which people say is what causes the binges in the first place often!

It sounds like you have a hectic lifestyle right now with the baby and the young'un, so go you! Am impressed to hear all the exercise you have managed considering- babies are SUCH a handful! You should be proud of yourself also, I hear breastfeeding makes your stomach spasm in a way that's like doing sit ups- it's nature's way of getting a new mum back into shape or something?

We seem to eat relatively similarly- I too almost always have a fruit and FF yog breakfast with some honey on top, and I loveee the options white hot choc, I always top it with creamfields low fat whipped cream as it's about 6 syns for the whole cannister of whipped cream and, in my opinion, tastes better than the full fat stuff :S sweeter! I also put in a handful of mini marshmallows which melt so wonderfully. 1 normal sized marshmallow is 1 syn so I try to put the equivelant in small ones- when you see that whipped cream it really then feels like a desert and a well earned treat and with the cream and 'mallows it's about 3.2 syns for the whole thing!
It's my second month into this diet now and this month I'm losing more than last when I limited my syns intake (and didn't have many of my HEX's) so def go for it and indulge a bit more, there's no point trying to rush things- this plan works at it's own pace and really the only way to speed it up is with exercise, so don't hold back on the syns!

x

P.S. I'm not going to group either but doing it from home- tried two different groups and found it all rubbish and a huge waste of money to pay a fiver just to get weighed! Much prefer to do things in private and share the good news with my encouraging OH!

Hi Tetris,

thanks so much for commenting! Lovely to hear from you, and thanks for such helpful advice. Yesterday felt rubbish, but have decided to draw a massive line under it and just get on with things without thinking I've ruined it all so may as well give up entirely. That's my usual thinking pattern and I'm determined not to think like that this time.

thats really funny that our diaries are so similar - and the cream sounds lovely!

I've heard a lot of people say that when they've had a bad day they just draw a line, don't work out the syns, and just get on like normal but maybe lowering their syn intake for a couple of days- I think that's a really great way of going at it! Obviously not to plan to do that but to just keep going and forget about the mistake! Much healthier than just quitting all together. I hope your scales still show you a good weekly loss tomorrow morning

Is Lola the name of your new baby by the way? My little sister is called Lola, love the name!

How are you finding the 30 day shred? I'm a bit of a fitness noob (this is the first time I've ever exercised before, eek) so not sure I could hack it just yet, but am loving the wii fit and just ordered a bunch of other fitness games including the Biggest Loser challenge with Jillian love that show.

Yes, if I didn't say I was drawing a line I'd be tempted to say that I'd skip weighing this week, and as I weigh myself on a Saturday, I'd then say to myself that I may as well write Friday off too, and start again on the Saturday - then Id convince myself that sat is a silly day to start again, so eat everythingin sight all weekend and re start on Monday - meaning 4 days of self sabotage instead of 1!!

yes, Lola is my new baby, she will be 3weeks old tomorrow, and we also have Jessie, who is coming up two and a half, so yes, hands are pretty full! Getting on pretty well with the Shred - def gets easier as you go along, although you have to 'work through' the ache!! It's a great DVD though - I've quite into exercise (well, when I'm not pregnant!) and generally would consider myself quite fit, and I find the DVD a real challenge!

Today was a much better day, felt so much more in control - that's a huge part of the difficultly for me, I'm such an emotional eater. Spent most of yesterday completely over tired and stressed so of course binged. Today, my parents were here helping out all day so I was relaxed, hence I kept to plan. But knowing that is one thing, managing it seems a different matter.

Anyway, back to my day, got my dad to assemble my new treadmill and I bought some new post baby gym clothes (all my normal stuff is way too small ATM) so I can start exercising a bit ahead of starting with my trainer in a couple of weeks. I will get back to my normal body and fitness by May!! That's my target - mid May we are going to Center Parcs for my husbands brhday with some friends and all our kids. That pretty much necessitates lots of swimming costume wearing and I want to feel ok about that. So I'd like to be at my ideal weight of 10.7 (a nice size 10) for then. That's 35lbs away - hopefully doable in time?


The plan is to start on 20 minute sessions of run/walk 3x per week, although fitting that into my day around the girls might be tough - and I'm not a fan of evening workouts!


So today's food -
Breakfast: 1 pear, strawberries, ff yogurt and syrup (2 syns)
Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs and 3 Ryvita (HExB) and shape yogurt
Dinner: pork koftas with pilau rice (SW free recipe), salad and dressing (0.5 syns) and muller light
Snacks: hot chocolate, 2 Mikado, 1 pear (3 syns)

Ha- I won't be going near 30 Day Shred just yet then!

Another suggestion- if you're prone to binging (and I know it's hard with kids and their treats around!) get some easily grabbable nice things around that are low in syns. I have a packet of ready cooked chicken breast in the fridge to pick at when I feel like a nosh, love dunking it into pickle! Also love having rivita with pickle and cheese from my HEx (few syns for the pickle) or just a squirt (or 3!) of that low low syns but tasty tasty light whipped cream straight into my mouth also- get some Special K chewy delight milk choc bars (I think they're still on an introductory price at places like Sainsbury's and Morrisons) - 1 of those is a Hex B and they taste like SUCH a treat. Or Strawberry Angel Delight is 7 syns for 1/2 a pack if you use your milk allowance! And Velvet Crunch crisps are really nice and 4 syns a bag.

I think on this diet it's really necessary to surround yourself with tasty things and eat up some syns when you need to, syns are there to stop the binges, but obviously your life is hard work right now and pregnancy gets you into a place of comfort eating being OK!

My boyfriend is a chocolate fiend so I've given him his own cupboard (up and out of the way) in which he stores all of his nosh so it doesn't tempt me

Tetris said:

Ha- I won't be going near 30 Day Shred just yet then!

Another suggestion- if you're prone to binging (and I know it's hard with kids and their treats around!) get some easily grabbable nice things around that are low in syns. I have a packet of ready cooked chicken breast in the fridge to pick at when I feel like a nosh, love dunking it into pickle! Also love having rivita with pickle and cheese from my HEx (few syns for the pickle) or just a squirt (or 3!) of that low low syns but tasty tasty light whipped cream straight into my mouth also- get some Special K chewy delight milk choc bars (I think they're still on an introductory price at places like Sainsbury's and Morrisons) - 1 of those is a Hex B and they taste like SUCH a treat. Or Strawberry Angel Delight is 7 syns for 1/2 a pack if you use your milk allowance! And Velvet Crunch crisps are really nice and 4 syns a bag.

I think on this diet it's really necessary to surround yourself with tasty things and eat up some syns when you need to, syns are there to stop the binges, but obviously your life is hard work right now and pregnancy gets you into a place of comfort eating being OK!

My boyfriend is a chocolate fiend so I've given him his own cupboard (up and out of the way) in which he stores all of his nosh so it doesn't tempt me

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Yum - the Special K bars sound good, have to look for them!

So, on to day 6 of my new diary, and I'm pleased with myself for carrying on with it despite the blip on Thursday. Usually I would have discarded this after a binge like that and not faced up to how it made me feel, but trying to do it differently this time. So, I weigh on a Saturday morning, and I gritted my teeth and weighed in despite - and I was really pleased to see that I've lost 2lbs this week, which is great considering.

that gave me the encouragement to carry on today, even though my usual self sabotaging style means I usually struggle on a Friday night or Saturday - for some reason it makes me feel that I'm 'entitled' to eat badly?! But today I've not only kept up with the eating plan, but I also did 25 mins run/walk on my new treadmill, and we all went out for a good hour long walk this afternoon. My husband went to Morrisons this morning and managed to track down chick pea Dahl, so I was able to make the chickpea muffins/loaf recipe that I often see on here - and my god its delicious! Now we've got those for lunches in the week.

so food for today -

Breakfast - 1 pear and blueberries with ff you and syrup (2 syns)
lunch - 2 hard boiled eggs, 3 Ryvita, shape yogurt
dinner - beef casserole, 'roast' potatoes and broccoli, muller light
snacks - hot choc, 2 finger kit kat (7.5 syns)

so a total of 9.5 for the day - pretty good for a Saturday (for me!)

Hey- wow! Congrats on 2lb loss! You should be very proud for not caving- clearly it paid off, great lesson learned methinks

9.5 syns- and you still could've had more!

End of another weekend! Spent a couple of hours in kid heaven/parent hell (a packed out soft play centre!) this afternoon so feeling exhausted. Good job DD1 is at preschool tomorrow so that makes the day a tiny bit easier and as husband am take her in the morning that means Lola and I could go back to sleep in the if we have a rough night!

Managed the treadmill again this morning - pleased I'm doing it but it makes me feel so unfit compared to where I used to be with my running before the last pregnancy. I was so proud of how high my fitness levels were, and now a gentle walk-jog is killing me off...just trying to remember that I can build that back up, but it really feels an insurmountable task at the moment :sigh:

food been ok again, although I've felt hungry, and I'm trying not to pick at bits now as I sort dinner...l

breakfast - more of the usual pear, blueberries ff yogurt and syrup (2syns)
lunch - homemade soup with 2 chickpea dhal muffins
pre dinner snacks - apple, 1 rice cake, 1 chickpea muffin (1.5 syns)
dinner - pork burger in whole meal roll (HEXB) with SW chips and a muller light
post dinner snack - hot choc and possibly a kit kat (7.5)

so 11 for the day - which feels a bit dangerous - I don't know why, but I feel much more confident keeping it to just 5 a day, anyone else feel like that?

update - i substituted the kit Kat for 4 syns worth of munchies instead, ans also had salad with 0.5 syns worth of dressing - so 10 syns today - but still felt very 'munchy' whilst doing dinner! In bed now, hoping Lola gives us a good night!

Clare7dd said:

so 11 for the day - which feels a bit dangerous - I don't know why, but I feel much more confident keeping it to just 5 a day, anyone else feel like that?

update - i substituted the kit Kat for 4 syns worth of munchies instead, ans also had salad with 0.5 syns worth of dressing - so 10 syns today - but still felt very 'munchy' whilst doing dinner! In bed now, hoping Lola gives us a good night!

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I know what you mean- it feels naughty but it really isn't I'm going to challenge myself to eat more syns next week as it's way more fulfilling and everyone on here seems to say they have better losses when they do! This morning I challenged this by having a big bowl of coco pops (a double portion so 10 syns!) which was scary as it uses up 2/3rds of the day's syns- but I didn't need them later so was glad! I think most days I save them expecting to want them in the eve and then don't have many at all in the end.

When I did go to group the consultant said she barely EVER didn't use all 15 of her syns each day!

(Also doesn't help that when I started SW my BF would tut at me whenever I had something that seemed naughty, even though it was within my syn allowance- and then he'd applaud me for using less syns! I told him off about this my first week I had a pretty tame loss compared to recent weeks, so think using syns may actually help :S!! )

Great diary Clare. You sound like supermom, it's great that you don't use just having a baby as an excuse not to exercise. I was really lazy it took me at least 6 months to get motivated after I had my children.

Keep up the good work, your doing fab.