Nursing, Weight-loss, & Weight-Watchers.

The response to my last post was so overwhelming. Thank you to everyone for all your encouragement and kind words. I am glad that I could inspire some of you and relate to others. This post is a sort of part two to my last entry, as I am still on my journey to lose the baby weight. I hope this will help those of you also on the post-baby weight-loss track or who will one day be on that path.

Baby girl will be 5 months old on July 6th, and I am still not at my pre-pregnancy weight. WHICH IS IS OKAY!!!!! Ladies - some of us don't lose it in the first month or even first three months! After my last post I was SO close to my goal, but then two weeks after I was on a little mini-vacation and I just ate whatever I wanted. I lost so much motivation (to eat well) and my usual "look at pinterest to keep going" wasn't doing what it use to. Along the way I have looked to other Mom's in the blogesphere to help me keep going. Here are a few of my favorites:

http://www.lindsaybrin.com/2012/01/i-think-im-there.html

http://www.simplysadiejane.com/2013/02/60-pounds-gone-peace-out-baby-weight.html


Something kind of scary (ugh I hate that word) happened just as I was making headway and gaining momentum. As I was trying to count my calories (which I have ALWAYS done in the past to lose weight and been very successful with)  I was A.) exhausted by it mentally B.) physically exhausted. A BIG halt came in this journey when I woke up one morning with the shakes. I was dizzy, lightheaded and could barely lift my daughter. After nursing and changing her I put her in her pack & play and immediately ate some high carb food for instant energy. It took about three hours for me to feel "normal" again. Though my calories from the day before were on target - my carb count was NOT. I use Bodymedia.com for tracking and so I could see my fat, carb & protein (and much more) percentages for the day. I felt very discouraged and frustrated - not sure if I was getting enough calories in general and also not really sure how to balance WHAT I was eating while nursing.

The one thing I found is that YES nursing can be a miracle worker - i.e. I literally ate half a pan of brownies over a 24 hour period and did not gain a single ounce. NEVER in my life could I do that, but I have taken advantage of this in my weakest moments (clearly). Some Mom's also express, that while nursing, it is hard for them to lose weight and they hang on to those "last 5 to 10 lbs". I could totally relate to this. Not because nursing wasn't burning calories, but because I didn't know how to eat while nursing - you truly do need MORE calories, and more of certain kind of calories. Pre-pregnancy I could do low-calorie, high protein eating, but now I can feel my body has different needs. I also noticed that some of the women I looked to for weight-loss inspiration STOPPED nursing around 4 months, and so I couldn't necessarily relate to them and their weight-loss experience. Nursing IS more important to me than getting back into my skinny jeans.

After a breakdown, feeling frustrated, tired and annoyed. I did something I thought I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER do.... I joined weight-watchers. I have been doing WW for almost two weeks and I love it. The reason I joined is because they have a program for nursing Moms and they were having a huge summer promotion. It has been great for me because I am used to measuring and counting calories - so the transition to points worked, and it in fact it is easier. I am not starving, I can have the food I enjoy and it's all on my iphone too since I am doing the online version. If you are a nursing Mom who is having trouble with loosing the pounds try it! I will keep you all updated with how it's going.