What is realistic after 2 kids?

[JMS]

I know this forum doesn't get much traffic but I need opinions. DH and I decided that we are 99% done having kids. So I decided it was time to get my body back. Finally I found the determination I needed to make a lifestyle change. I've been eating healthy and exercising reguarly for almost 2 months and I'm really liking the visual results, but more importantly, I feel great, both physically and emotionally.
Not to brag, but my body used to be pretty great. I'm 5'5 and just got back into a comfy size 10. I'd like to be a roomy size 6 (used to be a 2 or 4). However, on the scale I'm still about 30 pounds from what I once was. Can I ever safely maintain that weight again?
Is that even realistic after 2 kids? I know everyone is different.. just wondering if there are any thoughts or opinions on this out there or if anyone was ever in a similiar situation?
TIA!

[leeza]

I'm not sure if we're done having kids yet, but I also decided that I needed to get back into shape post-second child. (I didn't lose all of my ivf/pregnancy weight after the first, so I know if I have another child, I'm better off starting at a lower weight to have less to lose afterwards.)

I'm afraid I don't have answers for you from experience - but what I've heard is that it's possible to return to almost your pre-baby body with work. For some women that requires a LOT of work, some seem to slip into their old clothes without much intentional action. I have a SIL who gets back into her clothes by 9 months out or earlier, but she has always been thin and tends to forget to eat.

I recently heard that the key to getting back into your pre-baby clothes is to lose 10 pounds more than you previously weighed, to compensate for the changes that pregnancy has wrought on your body. I'm not sure if that's muscle laxness, spread of hips or what. I know that I have tried on clothes that fit when I was 20lbs heavier than I am now, during an up-swing in my weight pre-pre-baby, and they are too tight at the waist, so I think if you lose your 30 lbs you shouldn't have a trouble fitting into a size 6, though a 2 or 4 might require a 40 lb loss.

A bit rambly, but that's my way these days ;) Good luck to you and all of us fighting the post-baby bulge!

Leeza
DS1 6/05, DS2 3/07

[SnuggleBuggles]

After #1 I had a great body (except for that extra tummy skin).

My friend is 5'1" and I think 135 when her dd #2 was 1 year old. Her diet still isn't great but she really got into weight lifting (low weights, high reps for toning) and cardio. I think she does yoga too. I think she has maintained 110 for quite a while now. He has never weighed this little her whole life. She doesn't even seem to still have that extra tummy skin like she used to. She says she still has some sagging, stretch marks and cellulite but I think she looks great. :) Oh, and she also lost a bit when she weaned.

I do think that some of the key to her success though was no good...affair, near divorce, end of affair,...basically stress affecting her eating habits. She still has some major stress so I wonder if she can maintain this. She does love exercising though so that should help!

I don't expect to be able to maintain my high school weight but I should be able to hold at 5-10lbs more than that with normal (good) eating habits and regular exercise. Fingers crossed. :) I can't wait to see the scale go down rather than up!

Beth

[pb&j]

After 2 pg's in 2 yrs, I started running after DS was born. It took a lot of time and a lot of discipline, but I mostly have the pre-baby body back, plus a little extra tummy flab that just won't go away. I can't just exercise regularly - I need to have high intensity, long duration workouts at least once per week (and additional workouts 2-3 other days). Generally speaking, I'm talking about 5+ mile runs plus weights on big workout days (longer runs if I'm training for a race - 10+ miles), 2-3 mile run or 1500 yard swim plus abs and stretching on lighter days.

Also, I know the horse has left the barn on this one, but for me it also helped that I didn't gain a lot of weight during my pg with DS - I had gestational diabetes and really had to watch my diet. Since I didn't gain much weight, I didn't have much to lose.


-Ry,
mom to Max, age 1.5
and my girl in heaven

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/37124.gif

[val01]

For me, a size equals about 10lbs, so that seems pretty reasonable to think about another 20-30 lbs to get where you want to be. Also, your body shifts how it carries weight after birth, so that your goal scale number may change when you get closer.

The smallest that I have been in my adult life is 6/8. I am a lot larger than that now. My only goal is to get back into the single digits. Mainly because I have a ton of BEAUTIFUL clothes in my closet in the 6/8 size.

Valerie

[momofjandl]

Kudos to you for exercising and eating right!!

So you probably don't want to hear this, but noone mentioned it so I thought I would. You really can't focus on pound numbers. Looking good-great, fitting into a certian pant size-great. But everyones 110 or 120 is different. Even if you were a certain weight years ago, your body changes. And don't forget that with age it's harder to keep the pounds off as your metabolism slows.

I'm sure you know muscle weighs more than fat. You said you are eating healthy and exercising, which is fantastic. Make sure you do some sort of weight training too..whether smalls weights lots of reps or heavier weights fewer reps. If you don't exercise and weight train but lose weight, you are almost certain to lose muscle mass along with fat. Pound for pound, muscle burns more calories than fat so you don't want to lose any muscle weight.

All that being said, I think anything is possible. It's just a matter of what kind of work you want to put into it and what kind of lifestyle you want to have. Some of us have to work harder to keep weight off than others.

I think it's great how far you've come and what you are doing. I would say just keep it up and you'll continue to see results. Remember it's not very safe to lose more than 2lbs a week. So keep it steady and you're more likely to keep it off. And of course, it's a lifestyle change. You have to keep it up for life to keep the results you've worked so hard for.

I'm in a similar situation to you. I weighed 110 back in the day. I've been on WW for 3 months and am down 20lbs. I'm down 2 pants sizes. I really want to get back to 115 to 125. But if I get to the point where I'm happy with my body, how it looks, etc. I don't plan to foucs on the numbers because I know that at 115 while I had some muscle, I didn't have the muscle that I have now. If that makes sense.

Hope that helps, good luck, and congrats!
Ruth