I Have Never Had to Diet...

I have lost my baby weight 3 times on weight watchers, never been to a meeting, just do it online. My baby is not 2 months old yet, and I only have 8 lbs to go! I gained 40!

Just wanted to mention, 80% of weight is based on what you eat. I have lost over 30 lbs and have worked out once. I will more to tone up, but you dont have to workout a ton to lose weight.

I am a huge believer in portion control. That is how I lost my weight. I still eat things I like, I just limit how often and how much. Our dinner plates look baron b/c I give small portions. We can always go back for seconds, but mostly we don't. I think seeing a clean plate helps the mind & stomach think it has had enough. It took a while to lose it, but I did it and it was worth it!

I'll tell you what worked for me:

A) When my second child was 6 months old and I still had 30 + pounds to lose, I became desperate and took up running. I was NOT a runner...(the first time around my block I got dizzy, saw stars, and tasted blood)...but I ended up finding the Couch-5K plan on-line which starts out VERY slow and it's VERY easy (although difficult at first if you're not in shape)--but by "very easy" I mean doable--as opposed to my initial run around the block! :-) If you start this plan (which I highly recommend!!--by the way it only takes 30 minutes, three times/week!) then make sure you believe in yourself. You can do it!

B) NO EATING AFTER 7 pm!!!!!! (Unless you're breastfeeding and STARVING then have something healthy like an apple or orange juice...but no empty calories.)

C) No fried food.

D) Drink 2-3 Nalgene bottles full of water/day.

E) Eat breakfast EVERY day, even if you're not hungry. It jump-starts your metabolism and gets your body out of "starvation" mode. If you're not a breakfast person, at least force down a banana.

Hope this helps!!!! :-)

(I lost 40 pounds and have kept it off!)

If portion control is your problem, just use a smaller plate and don't let yourself go back for second helpings, no matter how good a cook you are. :)

After my third child, after 8 months I thought OK this is my new weight and started to buy new clothes. Now 1 1/2 years after his birth, I am buying new summer clothes again since I lost more weight. Whenever I've actually tried to lose weight - it has never happened. When I finally just listened to my body, eating smaller portions of food whenever hungry which for me is about 5 times a day, then I finally lost more weight. Also, I stopped drinking soda, juice, etc on a regular basis.

The two super-easy things that help me: ditch all fast-/junk food and soda if you have not yet. As soon as I notice the weight is creeping up I stop buying chips/cookies/ice-cream and sure enough I will lose it again.
Also easy: drink a glass of water before every meal (helps you to avoid overeating due to being thirsty) and use smaller plates (helps with portion control), I use our dessert plates.
Oh and one very important thing: do not be tricked into finishing up your kids' leftovers... that's a big one for me since my daughter snacks a lot and half a string cheese here, a couple of crackers there really adds up a lot of extra "junk" calories.
Good luck.

Food may not be your problem. You don't seem to mention how much activity (exercise) you actually do. Even if it isn't something formal, like going to the gym. Jumping rope or dancing vigorously or even running in place or jumping jacks for just 5-10 minutes a day can help to jump start your weight loss. I would suggest getting more active before restricting food portions.

I've been having luck using the children's plastic separator dishes. They have the perfect portion sizes for adult meals. Seriously, check them out. They're the same size as the prepackaged weight-watching microwavable meals. I think they can fit around 8-10 ounces total if you don't fill each section completely up. I've lost 8 lbs this past month doing this.

It does depend on how much you eat? You also want to look at your calorie intake too! I had that same exact problem after my 3rd but eventually lost it -recently! I'll tell you wnat I do...when it's time to eat, I load my plate with more veggie's and less carb's, kind'a like the low carb thingy? Also eat things that have alot of fiber in it, alittle goes along way! Things that will keep you full for longer. With any meal drink water, the problem with me was that I HAD to have soda with everything I ate! I now only have a half cup of soda with my dinner and if I finish it I fill a glass with ice water, it seem's to work for me! But yes, you have to watch what you eat and the amount you eat. I have also been working out with all of Jillian Michaels work out dvd's, it's really not hard and you can actually feel the work out! I hope I was some help to your question! And believe me, it's going to take some time to lose it so just make it fun and take it easy! My daughter's 3 and ahalf and I just got back down to my normal size! When I had my other 2 i was back to normal with in 2 month's! It's gotta be something with having baby #3 I guess! Lol...Good Luck! Ohh yeah! And keep thinking positive!

Momma11 has it right.

The body is like a bank account. The more calories you put in it the bigger it gets.

You use a certain amount of calories each day. You use more if you are active. You use less if you are sitting on the couch all day changing the channel with a remote you don't use many calories at all.

I lost 20 lbs playing Santa Claus. I didn't have access to a frig. I didn't have much lunch time. I usually at an apple for lunch. I had toast and an apple or fruit for breakfast. I was lifting children on to my lap every 5 to 10 minutes. It wasn't much exercise, but it was constant for 10 hours a day. If I could have had more control over my dinners, I would have had to add a pillow for padding.

Good luck for you and yours.

WW online is WAY better than the meetings IMO. The meetings did nothing for me-I know how to eat and do not need any emotional support either. The online tools make it really easy to keep track of your points and the communities are really great for support.+

i'm fat and happy so don't ask me!!! maybe eat less, drink water and exercise more. i wish i only had 30# to lose! :o) good luck!!!

Weight Watchers has worked for me several times. I have never attended meetings, I just had the tracker and tracked how many points I was consuming daily. It is very similar to just counting calories. Weight watchers also has an online program which might work better for you. These days, I prefer to count calories because it is easier for me to calculate and keep track of. You can look online to see how many calories you need each day. 3500 calories = 1 lb, so if you eliminate 500 calories a day, you should lose a pound a week. If you have a smart phone, there are many apps you can use to help you. I have used Livestrong (which is also just available on the computer, and it is free). I also like Daily Burn (for Iphone). Both apps have a database of foods and their calorie count and make it very easy to log your calories, they have charts to chart your progress, etc.
I have also had success in simply cutting refined flours and sugar from my diet.
It may well be your portion sizes and snacking. I know that I personally eat very healthy foods; mostly fruits and veggies, but if I slack on the portion sizes I do not lose weight.

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