post-baby weight GAIN....

[ryedalema]

HI all - just answering a few of your Weight Watchers qs. Yes there's an iPhone app - which is v.popular. Hope it helps. Yes you have to input what you've eaten every day, but the beginner tools you get given at your first meeting list the Propoints in every basic food, plus if you do your inputting (tracking) online it calculates it all for you.

Obviously, WW being the long-standing establishment it is, it has tools to suit every type of person:

- already pointed ready meals if that's your thing

- recipe books full of already pointed meals if you want to cook

- calculators so you can work out your points based on the nutritional label of any food

- big books listing the points of every shop bought food (and restaurant meals too)

- online recipe books and calculators so you can find it all there too.

The website also has a 'what's in your fridge?' tool which I found really useful. Put in up to three ingredients you want to cook with and it'll come up with a load of recipes to choose from.

It's really not that hard when you start - I started my Peckham meeting a month ago now and out of the (now) 38 members we've lost 209 lbs. That's an average of 5.5 lbs each (and that's a really conservative average as the meeting has grown from 23 members at the start) , so it's working!

Maybe you'll join me tomorrow :)

All love xxx

[mima08]

Thanks again all

i can report a 100% increase in exercising, i.e. every other day between 30min to 1hr (incl. a killer session powerpramming - it was ace). The diet, however is going less well with takeaway food last night and a bit too much wine....

Trish, like you I am very fond of carbs... I will see if I can find the info from those programmes you mention, maybe that will help.

Sharls, could you expand on the low GI bit? I looked up GI online, and whereas I liked what I found, i.e. that chocolate cake, wine and ice cream have low GI, I cannot believe that a diet should be build around them ;)

Overall, I can see people have a lot success with WW, but I also found the idea of lots of inputting etc too much of a bother. TBH, I KNOW what healthy, nutritious, low calorie foods are, I appreciate the hidden calories in many foods and I am under no wrong illusions of what causes the weight gain - it is the motivation I struggle with! I don't even believe I need to change much in terms of the healthy meals i cook - just cut out 99% of the chocolate/biscuits/ice cream and tons of cheese on top of those meals, that should do it.

Anna- i like your suggestion about buying something to feel good about myself. I had stopped myself buying anything, with the thought that it won't fit, however then being depressed about looking fat in my clothes.

[bobby's bear]

Anyone have any reccomendations for a good cardio exercise DVD?

[bluesuperted]

Hi Bobby's Bear, I always loved Davina's DVDs - really good, tiring workouts.

Or alternatively chasing after extremely mobile 10 month old - leaves no time for DVDs but burns off plenty of calories :)

[supergolden88]

I am tempted by Wii Zumba although a/ am the most uncoordinated person I know b/ hate dancing and this type of music

Running is very good for keeping trim but I find it incredibly boring unless I run with a friend. The various running apps for the ipod are hugely motivating. I have the Nike one since I have itouch with no GPS but the I believe the GPS apps for running are even better

[bobby's bear]

Thanks, think I might go with Davina as my fat 9 month old doesn't yet know what her legs are for so don't think she'll be giving me a work out any time soon! Hubby works away from home alot so a DVD that can be done during nap time / evenings is ideal.

[alethea]

I plumped for the personal trainer [email protected] I always thought I was quite fit before. It's tough but just what I needed and for someone that has no motivation it was the only way for me. I have to say as well that exercise definately made me feel emotionally better as well. I've got some tone now which was sorely needed, think I had been in denial and after baby number 2 it was a lot harder.

It was probably not the cheapest option, but the one that I could have least excuses for getting out of.

Good luck

[Sol]

I can see you got lots of advice already. I agree with supergolden88, not keeping comfort food in the house is the key. I don't buy biscuits, ice cream, crips, cakes, sodas, juices to keep in the house, if I ever feel like it I buy it when I am out, I normally share dessert with my husband when we go out or share the cake when we go for a coffee. You don't have to deny yourself, just don't abuse it.

Yoga is also greet, I try to do at least 15min everyday, it is better to do a little everyday than do a lot on one day.

Also get yourself blood test and make sure there is not a correlated problem, like a thyroid problem that can cause anxiety and get you to eat too mucj

[mima08]

Hiya - I'd love to do the personal trainer, but financially and time-wise it's a no-no....:(

Have managed to step up exercising though, every other day, which will help (I keep telling me). Might try the library whether they have the Davina Dvd's in addition to the great pilates/yoga mp4s SG88 provided....

Sol - it is interesting what you say about blood tests: over the years I have had loads for thyroid issues as I keep having various symptoms which Drs think may indicate thyroid problems but they never come up in the tests - but I am talking lots of drs over many years...hmmmm, might try again!

[ryedalema]

I've got Davina DVDs by the bucket load (well a few anyway) that yuo can borrow if you want? xxx

[mima08]

thank you, have pm'd you,mx

[supergolden88]

I swear every time the thought of exercise crosses my mind when baby is napping or down for the night he wakes up. It's been an awful week of it.

Thought I would share this abs link. Hard work in only a few minutes and finally managed to do it!

oh and this - great ideas but somehow I don't see myself getting Cameron Diaz's legs no matter how hard I try...

Cameron's legs

[mima08]

ohhhhhh - these are good! funny enough, we were taught the Cameron's leg ones at powerpramming a few weeks ago too! If I now grow 7 inches.....

[Citrovie]

Didn't have time to read all the replies so I probably repeat some or all of the things already said. The only thing that worked for me after my first pregnancy was...

- having lots of healthy ready foods within reach (don't worry about the sugar in fresh fruit, it's better than a chocolate bar) -

- avoiding having those chocolate bars at home at all

- go for a run when your partner is at home - it's not so much about the calories you burn and the metabolism impact but doing some form of exercise is the best natural motivator to eat better. So I would go for five 20-minute runs a week rather than 2 or 3 major workout sessions. It's that feeling of lightness that you don't want to ruin with a chocolate bar.

(...and now after my second baby is nearly a year old I need to start doing this again NOW too!!! I lost a stone doing the South Beach diet in winter but since I am not much of a dieter I know that for the second and last stone I just need to get off my ass)

[reren]

With ww does anyone know how many points you are allowed when not breastfeeding? I signed up using the app while breastfeeding ans it gave me a huge daily allowance - want to adjust to give me the right number of points when not breastfeeding but cant get it to recalculate???

[catgirl]

Think moat ppl on 29 points but if you've a lot to loose then you get more. Fully breastfeeding is 14 extra points.

[Yak]

I?m just resurrecting this thread in case anyone is making any New Year's resolutions!

My old personal trainer is having a half price sale on his bootcamp at home programme. Every morning he emails you a little you tube clip of your exercise for the day. Most last about 5 minutes but some take up to 20 minutes. He?s a lovely chap and designed this programme particularly with busy mums in mind - he?s got a very cute 5 month old baby- so you can chose when to fit it your exercise for the day around everything else. It can get a little overly motivational at times, but to be honest it?s so good I tend to just ignore the bits that get too ?inspirational?.

No equipment is needed ? he shows you how to do the exercises from the comfort of his living room, sometimes with the help of his dog, Daisy. There?s also nutritional stuff and online support. I am lucky in that I naturally have a pretty fast metabolism but the programme really did do wonders for returning my tummy to pre-baby shape. It is pretty brutal though ?there were days when I literally could not lift one leg to cross it over my other leg!

Link is here

Edited to add: I should probably also say that I am a former client of Gavin's, and I am a member of his affiliate programme. I can't remember my affiliate link tho so I'm not earning any commission from this reccommendation! This is why I will never succeed in business....

Edited a second time to add my link here

[blackkat]

Thanks Yak! I'm really struggling with post baby weight and still not fitting into my old clothes. Depressing. I did lose some weight over the summer but now it's dark and cold I'm finding the motivation to head out for long walks ebbing away. Any winter tips out there mums?

[supergolden88]

Just a quick post to say that I was also putting on weight (long) after I had my son last November. I was eating a lot and not paying any attention to calories etc. Cake and pizza and wine every day? Yup!

Exercise was difficult to fit in around a baby and freelance work so I was not doing much of that either. I was a size 14+ and I am very petite so it did not look good on me. I was also very unfit.

In the end I just made up my mind to diet properly after our summer holiday. I armed myself with the Dukan diet book and jumped right in. It was pretty awfull the first couple of days but after that not so bad. The diet is divided into phases during the first of which you are only allowed lean protein. Then you have protein days and proteins + veg and eventually once you reach your goal weight you introduce carbs and fruit. The book is very funny - either a written badly or translated badly or both but there's no denying the diet works. At first I weighed myself every day and was very frustrated that despite changing my diet drastically (not just what but the amount as well) I was not losing much weight. Things turned around once I started doing exercise along with the diet. I just did exercise DVDs and at first I did 5 mins then stopped and started again I could not do the whole DVD in one go. I also have a powerplate machine which had been gathering dust for months and I finally started using it (only for 10/15 mins a day).

Anyway not go on and on about this I did manage to lose the weight gradually. I got rid of the scales in frustration but my clothes were a very good indication that I was getting slimmer. I am now a size 10 (months later) and I have not been this slim since my 20s. Maintaining this will be hard (and I did NOT diet over Xmas) especially since I am starting a new job which will leave no time for exercise but I am determined to try!

Good luck everyone.

PS: this blog helped with my Dukan diet just reading someone else going through it all http://mydukandiary.com/

PPS: am selling my powerplate if anyone is interested - look at the classifieds section. I want to get an even bigger one or a treadmill have not decided yet.

[dulwichyogini]

Hey Ladies,

My baby is nearly 6 months old and I've managed to get back to the same weight I was before, although I'm not as toned. It maybe that I'm a Yoga Teacher so therefore at a bit of an advantage. However, I stopped buying biscuits and ice-cream (which I ate loads of when pregnant) and continued to practise Yoga regularly once my son arrived.

I'm returning to my classes as of next week and I'm planning on setting up a daytime Vinyasa Flow Yoga Class on Tuesdays from 10-11am or 10.30-11.30am (time is yet to be decided). The venue is close to Sainsburys. I recently posted on the forum to see what level of interest there is for a daytime class and so far have potentially half filled the class. I didn't think to post in the Family Room until I saw this thread.

If anyone is interested please either reply or PM me.

For more info - www.dulwichyogaspace.co.uk

[gci5]

Just came across this thread and thought I'd post a quick message. My name is Gianni and I'm the owner of High Vibe in ED. We specialize in Vibration Training(I know you're skeptical) but check out some of the reviews here on the ED forum. Just search for High Vibe. We've had some amazing results with clients who've struggled to lose weight with traditional exercise and continue to help many to improve their fitness and get back on the right track to a healthy lifestyle. We also have an on site Nutritionist who can advise on diet and nutrition we always aim to keep you positive and motivated..And those in other threads on ED Forum who say that you don't burn calories while doing Vibration Training, obviously do not know what they are talking about. Sorry but true :)

www.highvibe.co.uk

020 8693 3955