Kidding! My 18 month old son is the light of my life and to be fair I can't legitimately blame him for all of my extra lbs. I've been struggling with the needle on the scale for years. The post-baby body is just a bit...lumpier than what I was previously accustomed to.

I am 32 years old and as I said, my son is 18 months old. Due to a hearty case of preeclampsia, I gained 60lbs during my pregnancy, 40 of which I lost in the hospital due to all the water weight. That left me with about 20 to go plus the 10 I was working on when I got pregnant and since I haven't lost much of anything since then, my goal is to shake off a total of 30lbs overall.

I breastfed for 14 months and lost a total of 0 lbs in the process, dangit. After more than a year of poor eating habits and very little exercising, I have finally decided to take charge of my health. I joined a gym and signed on with a personal trainer who, to be quite honest, scares the crap out of me. He swears that by keeping my eating habits under control and doing my sessions with him, I should have the weight lost by early May. I am counting on it because I want to get pregnant again and I am terrified of adding new pregnancy weight on top of what I still need to lose.

My biggest problem area: eating. No matter what my intentions, I constantly fail at keeping my 'snacking' under control. I can seriously tell myself that I am NOT going to eat anything and then five minutes later my (rather prominant) backside is poking out of the pantry as I search for something else to shove down my throat. I need help. I need accountability. I need some suggestions of what I can do to keep the noshing to a minimum.

I also wouldn't mind hooking up with some buddies who are interested in touching base daily and discussing tips and trials, daily menus and exercise routines. Hook me up??

Good luck and good health to all! Hope to see all the new mommies on the other side of your weight loss goals!

~T

age: 32
current weight: 165
goal weight: 135

Hi Tallulah

I totally understand your frustration, I am 35 yo struggling like 6 years with this overweight and actually just the same thing happened to me, I was already overweight when I got pregnant but the experience teaches me that if you lose fast, you gain fast, specially doing crush diets and i am not talking about crush, my favorite soda hehe

I also need to lose like 30Lbs to get to my at least healthy weight: 130Lbs even though my dream weight is 120 Lbs

My Plan:

1.- Meal plan 1200cal a day
2.- Workout DVD's: Zumba, Slim in 6, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs, The Perfect Postnatal Workout, Core Secrets,.... I plan to use them as my mood goes but the idea is to workout 45min/day at least 4t/week

I am so glad I will get the help of a baby sitter in 2 weeks, why? because I need to study hard and sweat my booty off not by just working out but also studying hard to take the US Medical License Exams. If everything goes ok my daughter can say that she has a doctor mom by next year, I am crossing my fingers and plan to stick to my plan. I know that recovering my energy and a healthy weight will also help me to believe on myself.

I also need support from you mommies, please let's support each other. By the way, I am a latin mom so dancing is my favorite exercise to do

Hang in there T, we are here to help

Charito.

For daily encouragement and accountability, I'd start a diary in the diary section (if you haven't already). There you can talk about anything you want and others will befriend and encourage you. It's also important to stop in other people's diaries to do the same for them.

We're all in this weight loss thing together (well, I'm still preggers, but will soon be joining you again..lol)--best wishes!

I'm a snacker, so I just make heaps of healthy snacks and have them ready to go. My cupboard is stocked full of different herbal teas, there are frozen healthy homemade meals in the freezer if I run out of time to make something fresh or the rest of the family is eating naughty food, and always homemade dips and raw veges cut up in the fridge.

If you need a snack try a small bowl of salad, or something you have prepared and ready in the fridge. Or try a cup of herbal tea or a glass of water. Before meals try to start with a salad and then the rest of the meal.

I try really hard to plan what I can so I can stay really healthy. I also try to include my children in my exercise as much as possible. It can be more difficult some days but I have learnt to be patient and change my preferred way of exercising to suit my family.

The great thing about it is that you are giving your children such a healthy start to life by living this way. And it is valuable family time.

Oh, they are definitely worth it! I have DD 4 1/2 and DS 8 months and they are everything to me.

I have been luckier to you and have managed to lose all my babyweight and another 10lbs or so by now. Although I have been keeping an eye on my diet and walking 5-7 miles each day too. I am now battling with the last 15lbs (well, 12 after this week's loss). Then end is so tantalisingly near!

What really gets to me is how easy losing weigh is when I am in the right frame of mind. I have stuggled with my weight for year, and been on the cubby side since I got my puppy fat aged 12. Going away for college and uni did not help, nor the two pregnancies. In fact, I am only 4 lbs off my lowest weight I can remember - certainly in this millenium.

I used to always think I would start the diet tomorrow/next Monday, but now I think I have waisted enough time not being happy with my weight and that I am not going to waste another day! I try not to snack at all, eat eggs or other protein for breakfast (keeps the 11am snack at bay!) and never go back for more dinner when I used to sit and pick and chat to DH. I use a site called foodfocus to track everything I eat and stay within the calorie allowance they recommend for me. And so far, it seems to be working.

So don't give up, seize every day and make the most of it! I have a diary (my username is on the tilte) which I will try to update regularly if you want to stay in touch!

Good luck!