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LO was an extended nurser. It jacked up my appetite. I could never get full.
After I was done nursing, I ate less sugar and bread. A daily breakfast of a chocolate shake helped me curb cravings. Only fruits and healthy snacks. A super loaded (nuts, egg, avocado and/or chicken) salad for lunch and working out for 30 mins almost daily helped too.

I'm 7 months PP and having a hard time too. I eat so much! But I've started working out on my lunch breaks (the only chance I have) and I'm starting to see a small difference in my body (not the scale). We just moved and have been eating a lot of junk, but I plan on really getting my meals back on track. I get so frustrated when people are like, "the weight just fell off when breastfeeding"- um, NOPE.

@Ash: @youboots: I second the doctor thing. I was having trouble losing weight (the last 10 lbs, ugh) and I went to my doctor to have some blood work. I just called and said that I was driving myself crazy and needed to know if it was a thyroid problem or what.

Ended up I was healthy as a horse, but knowing that really helped motivate me. I started making myself really accountable for everything I ate and it's FINALLY working. I also cut out carbs and upped my protein.

@Ash: Unfortunately, with the increase in exercise comes an increase in appetite. Couple that with the fact you're still nursing, and it would be way too easy to eat calories in a day that are greater than or equal to what you're burning.

For some reason this statement is controversial to some people, but I've found that when I need to *really* lose weight, exercise is a no-go. I focus primarily on calories. Once I'm at a weight I feel more comfortable with, then I add in some exercise. Exercise increases my appetite ten-fold, and makes it super hard to stick to a restricted calorie diet.

Counting calories works for me every time. I mean, it *sucks* but it works.

What exactly are you eating? Since coming home from the hospital I have had a meal delivery service for lunch and dinner. Each meal is less than 550 calories and contains a 2:1 ratio of protein to carb. I was amazed at how BF plus eating better made me lose weight. Is a meal service something you could do? Tri.freshmealplan.com

@Ash: Hugs...I'm there with you! I am only 4mos PP but am struggling so much. I never lost 1# while nursing DD1...and then struggled to lose it even when I stopped nursing at 5mos.

Now with DD2 its even worse. I lost way less at the hospital but have managed to shed some weight since being home. I dropped 8lbs in 4 weeks by cutting dairy almost entirely and eating mostly gluten free (I dont eat blatant glutens - but dont go crazy if something has trace amounts).

I eat overnight oats for breakfast every day and have a shakeology shake for my sweet tooth. Lunch or dinner is almost always eggs and avocado (I eat a half at a meal), the other lunch or dinner is usually some other protein, the rest of the avocado and either a baked potato or rice. When I eat SUPER clean I see results.

I am back to work now so its harder - but I am managing to keep off what I have lost. I have 15lbs to go to be pre-preg...then I'd like to lose another 15 after that! I'm with you...

Losing the baby weight is no joke! I'd like to recommend a site that I only recently found out about - trendweight.com. They give you trend lines of your weight over time which smooths out the day to day fluctuations. I know when I was working hard on losing the weight, I would jump back up a full 2 lbs or so one day for no reason and sometimes it would really mess with my motivation. Having the trend over time helps me see that even with 1 or 2 days of jumps, I am still on a general downward trend.

I actually lost so much weight when I was nursing. It was until AFTER I stopped then the fat creeps up on me and doesn't go away....

I've been on the weight loss journey since last October because like you, I was disgusted with myself. I read a lot and I was on 21 day fix. I got a fitbit and I was counting calories. I have achieved my goal since earlier in the year, and am now in maintenence mode

Basically if you cut carbs and eat a lot of vegetables and protein as your main food source, that will be half the battle. Carbs releases insulin which makes the body accumulates and stores fat and sugar. Also, because you were recently pregnant, you may have been eating a lot more for months, and forgot how to get back to a normal portion of food! Or at least I think that's what happened to me. Pay attention to how much you eat, eat veggies, protein, and fruit and cut down on carbs, especially processed carbs (bread, pancakes, waffles, bagel...etc), you will see results. Better yet, do exercises every day for 30 minutes, which I think you are already doing with walking.

And yes I am like you, I used to drink so much coke and sweet tea and such, I only drink water and green tea now!

ETA: If you really want to see results quick, look into replacing one of your meals with a protein shake. I did it when I was doing my weight lost earlier in the year. I replaced my pop tart (yikes) breakfast with an english breakfast tea + milk and sugar WITH a protein shake with half a banana and some berries blended in it. My belly just slimmed down drastically in within a few days! I don't like that stuff and I do not drink it anymore now (I eat something else, just NOT pop tarts anymore), but if I need to go to a beach trip I may consider drinking it for a few days before going, haha. No matter what you do, do take note on the calories because you don't want to actually drink more calories than what you normally would eat for that meal.

Yesterday I came across YouTube this channel called "Live Lean TV", which is quite educational surprisingly on what to eat and how to eat right in order to lose weight.

Good luck to you! You can do it

The weight fell off with my first born (I was stressed and under eating). After the second was a whole different story, I went back to work much earlier and didn't get my diet in check until I realized I wasn't loosing the baby weight. I joined a women's only boot camp (HIIT) and cleaned up my diet a bit and things got better.

I am now 2 years postpartum from baby 2 and am just starting to see some results from lifting weights for a year.

Hang in there mama and take it one day at a time!

I haven't read other responses yet but I'm at the beginning of a weight loss journey myself. And brace yourself because this will be a long post, sorry! The best BEST resource I have ever found is this Reddit: https://m.reddit.com/r/loseit

Before I found it I thought I knew a lot about fitness and nutrition and how those relate to weight loss. I was wrong. If you read the https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/index#wiki_quick_start_guide there's a ton of super helpful info.

Basically you should find a calculator to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is how many calories you burn at minimum (like if you were in a coma). Then you use that to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (this is how much you burn based on your lifestyle). In order to lose weight you need to consume fewer calories than you burn (usually 500 fewer calories per day than your TDEE is losing 1lb per week).

I also own a food scale and I weigh almost all my food in order to get an accurate calorie count. Because I'm still nursing I'm eating no less than 1500 calories per day (and if I work out I eat back my calories). I rarely work out. I play with my kid at the park and take short walks. I know from previous efforts that if I eat fewer than 1500 calories my supply takes a hit.

Okay so sorry I'm not great at explaining things. But I've been tracking my calories and I've lost 12lbs in 2.5 weeks, despite only having a deficit of ~300 calories per day. I'm sure this rate will slow but it's been so encouraging.

Basically finding that Reddit has totally changed my whole life. I've been overweight since I hit puberty and it wasn't because I was eating junk. I was just consistently overeating portions.

Basically this is what I did:
-log my calories for a week in MyFitnessPal to see how much I was eating naturally (for me it was usually about 1900-2100 per day).
-calculate my BMR and TDEE and decide on a calorie deficit.
-log all my calories and and weigh almost all my food to get a truly accurate number.

Okay. Again sorry if this is confusing (I'm not very eloquent) but I've learned that losing weight is all about diet. Exercise is great and essential for a healthy life but ultimately you can't lose weight unless you're consuming fewer calories than you burn. And unless you know how many calories you're eating and how many you're burning, you may have a lot of trouble losing weight.

I've basically been overweight for most of my adult life and this is the only thing that has left me feeling great, full, not guilty (because there's no "bad" foods, just calories you need to count), and actually helped me lose weight. I have bread every day and it's really easy for me to incorporate even a rich dessert (like a ~400 calorie dessert) into my daily calorie goal.

My kids were extended nursers and I was CONSTANTLY hungry and couldn't ever get full so it was hard to drop much while nursing. And once I stopped, I at least got full but not burning the extra calories made me put on a couple extra pounds. I feel like because you're working so hard at it you'll have more success after you stop nursing.

@Ash: DH used to make fun of my after dinner snacks, but I would literally be starving!

@Ash: Don't finish your kids' plate! It is easier for it to go into the trash than get into our butt and it takes 5 times as hard to get it off!

I did an "adjusted version" of 21 day fix because I can't adhere to their tiny containers the entire time. So I count calories with my Fitbit (I did a 500 cal deficit at first, but I was so hungry and mad the whole time then I adjusted it to 250 cal deficit per day) and I follow their work out routine religiously. It took longer than 21 days but I wasn't in a hurry, and it still worked.

My friend who followed the 21 day fix diet containers said, You will be hungry, very hungry the first 4 days, but after that your body adjusts and you'd be fine.

Just remember eating THAT little is not going to be forever. Once you meet your goal you can adjust and eat more normal (with the right foods).

Good luck!!!

@Ash: You've already gotten a ton of good advice! But I'll add in... I'm 8.5 months pp, still nursing also and have been trying (sorta) to lose the extra weight. I just finished 3 months of Weight Watchers (online only, no meetings) - I got a good deal on a trial membership so it was only like $19 for the 3 months, I was really good on it for the first 2.5 months, then fell off the last 2 weeks - but I did lose 9 lbs on it which was a huge win for me. I want to lose 15 total, so this really set me on the right track. The good thing about it is you can add that you're nursing so you get a lot of extra points a day. I think the norm is like 30-33 points a day, but I got 52 a day so my milk supply was OK, and I didn't feel like I was starving... well, a little bit at first

It was a great way for me to keep eating the same stuff mainly, but realize some of the bad habits I got into... especially the sweets - i was eating way too much sugar, and WW is BRUTAL on sugar & dairy... it's a very pro protein and fruits and vegetables...

anyway - i had a good experience with it! GOOD LUCK, its so hard... and I found that with my first, the extra weight that was hanging on eventually went away after I finished nursing my first, i think what helped was I finally wasn't so insanely hungry all the time!

@looch: Is that why there is still extra fat in my behind that won't go away????!! Grrrr!

I feel the same as you - but I just can't stop eating fruit! Cutting carbs is already huge for me I cant just keep snacking on kale and chicken haha

@looch: Argh! I eat like 6 servings a day LOL. How can you resist all the watermelon and catalope and strawberries and grapes and CHERRIES and everything that is out there in summer!!? grr! Now they are all in my bottom!

@Ash: I know, it's so hard!