Low Carb After Pregnancy

[Elena's Mommy]

I lost 50 lbs on the LC diet three years ago. The weight came off very quickly, and I was able to maintain a steady weight. Then I got preganant and fell off of the LC wagon. I never thought that I would gain more weight with my pregnancy than I lost, but I did. I waited until I was done breastfeeding to start my diet again, but I have been disappointed with the results so far. I lost 10 lbs very quickly but the scale has stalled since then, no additional loss in 6 weeks. I have good willpower and have stayed in a range of 20-30 carbs per day. I am wondering if anyone else has had this experience the second time around. I went to my Dr. recently b/c I still had not a period since my daughter was born, she is 6 months old now, and my Dr. put me on hormones to force me into a period, which worked. I have a friend who also recently had a baby and she read that your body does not start burning fat until 3 cycles have passed. Has anyone else had this problem? I am getting very frustrated. Any advice would be appreciated. I keep thinking that if I stick with it that it will work eventually. I am hoping that once my hormones are back to normal that the weight loss will continue.

[Shelleyg]

Elena's mommy,
Hi and welcome to LCE
Just a few thoughts...
How is your water intake? If you are drinking 8 8oz glasses aday, try and up that a bit.
Are you exercising yet? At some point during your weight loss journey, the body needs to start moving a bit more...burn more cals than you take in...we all know it, but sometimes we don't follow through(boy do I know that)
Do you feel you are in ketosis? Since you are no longer nursing the baby, you could do a week or 2 of induction level carbs to shake things up a bit...just a thought.
Have you measured? Sometimes, you will lose inches, and the scale not move. Other times, the opposite occurs. How do your clothes fit and feel?
Hormones can definitely play a part in stalling out your weight loss. I know it is discouraging, but STAY THE COURSE. Tweak your WOE a bit, and I bet you'll start seeing a downward trend on those pesky scales again

Perhaps Lawbooks will stop by and offer some more insight; she is always right on with her advice.

Hang in there!
HTH
Shelley

[motherto6]

I never had a period while I was nursing. It took a little while for them to come back too. The other thing I thought of was are you eating enough carbs?

I hit a stall on my first time down and the thing that got me moving was upping my carbs a bit. What worked best for me was to mix up higher carb days and lower carb days. I guess it keeps my body guessing. If I stick too low for too long I think my body gets used to it and figures out how to maintain with what I'm giving it.

Are you taking vitamins? Are you eating too much "diet" food? If I eat too much artificial sweetner then I don't lose a thing either.

Hope to have helped some and good luck figuring it out.

[BabyCups]

Welcome!

I agree with the above posts, I too stalled a bit after keeping my carbs close to 20-30 so I have increased them slightly and that helped my weightloss start again, you may want to try adding a few more good carbs like veggies and if you can (some people can't because it stalls them) possibly a piece of fruit or high grain low carb bread. Also if you are not doing so already exercise has been huge for me I started by walking 3 times a week for 30 minutes and have upped my exercise since starting 2 months ago, it may be difficult with a new baby, but try to get in what you can. Good luck!

[Hawaii]

Wow, I love the response of "Maybe you need to get moving more"! I don't know about you but I am the Mom of a 1 year old. I don't think I have ever moved so much in my life. Maybe not the right kind of exercise, but goodness. I too have had lots of problems losing the weight. It has been a year and I am the same size as when i gave birth. Well maybe a little lighter. Very disapointing. I don't weigh myself though. I do it by how clothes fit. I have been on the Atkins for a week and though I think maybe it is working, the clothes are still tight. I know I have a long way to go but I am in it for the long haul.

Hawaii

[MaryKay]

Atkins for me has been cycle-like.
I will lose some weight, but clothes still feel tight,
then the scale won't move, but the clothes start to fit better,
then after a couple weeks, the weight may move again.

I'm a turtle with weight loss. I've learned to accept it, but as long as it is going down slow, it isn't going up fast.

[Maggie]

Welcome.

Which low carb program are you following?

Hope you'll make yourself at home.