^ If only all the fashion mags would promote mother's bodies, complete with stretch marks and sags and thicker bits, as the ideal to aspire towards, eh? I know it's very unhealthy to aspire toward the emaciated, pre-pubescent vision that is portrayed as 'womanly' in our society, I've been struggling with it since my teen years
Mine was a slow journey of weightloss too. I got quite depressed looking at everyone else and seeing how they were losing the weight and hearing "Oh all I'm doing is BF, the weight just drops off..." Wasn't the case for me. I BF for 12 months, around 8 months my weight finally started to drop, it coincided with DS dropping feeds. So it seems that I was hoarding the weight while feeding. Then around 9 months I went back to my office job, I was no longer walking regularly or as long as I was when I was off work. So I plateaued again. Then at 12 months, I got pregnant again, DS stopped BF and I refuse to weigh myself in pregnancy. So I have no idea how much I have or have not put on either pregnancy, but it is very frustrating when it doesn't just 'fall off' as is commonly misrepresented.
But the previous posters are right - be kind to yourself, it may take some time. And the body changes are quite a difficult thing to get past. I started as a size 10. Before this pregnancy I was a size 12. Just just after my DS was born I was a size 14-16..... very depressing for someone who is short and always been an 8-10. I know that I exercised well, I ate reasonably (no one's perfect though! ) and there is only so much you can do and still remain healthy enough to look after your precious baby.
Yeah, be kind to yourself. I am trying to be kind to myself about the weight but it's hard.
I lost about 10 kgs the week after the birth, which made me think I'd be back to my normal self in no time. But then I hit a few complications and won a year's supply of Tim Tams. I really tried hard not to eat the Tim Tams but ... geez they are addictive.
Then came rumball season (Christmas). I started gaining instead of losing.
Four and a half months after the birth I can fit into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes but I don't look the same. Amazingly, I don't have the sagginess that others complain of - Maybe that will come when I lose a bit more - but things are definitely different.
Anyway -- good luck. Healthy eating and gentle exercise are what I've been planning to do since day one... but my good intentions have remained only that.
My third child is now 7 months old and I am finally less than what I was prior to falling pregnant with her. I am still breastfeeding and am going to the gym. I started back at the gym when she was 6 weeks old. I work really hard at the gym. I was up at about 89 kg when 9 months pregnant with her then when she was 6 weeks I was about 79kg. So that initial weight loss was probably all the fluid and stuff coz I didnt do any exercises during those first few weeks after having a c-section . It has been hard work and I still have 6kg to go to get to pre-baby number 2 weight and 9kg to go to get to pre-baby number 1 weight. My hips did get wider after my first baby and I dont think they will ever go back to pre-baby width. I had no stretch marks after my first and my boobs went back to nice little perky ones, a few little stretch marks after my second and my boobs got bigger and droopy, and now, hmmmmmm lots of stretchmarks and saggy belly skin and droopy boobs, but I figure I can wear pushup bras and Im not really going to go out with my belly showing anyway so its cool.
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I know it's very unhealthy to aspire toward the emaciated, pre-pubescent vision that is portrayed as 'womanly' in our society, I've been struggling with it since my teen years
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