Sound Off! How Did You Lose Your Baby Weight?

Jack Guy for PEOPLE for use on CBB

Every new mom has been there: You’ve just had your baby, you’re thrilled to be enjoying the first moments of motherhood, but you’re worried about how to drop those post-pregnancy pounds. Some melt off right away, thanks to breastfeeding, chasing active children or just settling back into a normal routine. But what about those pesky final pounds? Though celebrities have the money, time and resources to get the best trainers, diets and workout programs, some lose weight just like the rest of us: Poppy Montgomery (pictured) used a workout DVD, while Tori Spelling even advised new moms to lose weight naturally — and slowly.

So in the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, here’s your chance to Sound Off. Tell us how you lost your baby weight!

Comments

Amy on December 30th, 2008

I started to do water aquasize within 2 weeks of my daughters birth. I liked that it wasn’t too hard of a workout- I actually felt like I wasn’t working out at all. By my 6 week check up, I was 2 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. And by week 10, I was ready for my bikini. It was not hard getting my weight off. I was nervous when everyone told me how hard it was to get off. In reality, it wasn’t. I didn’t push myself. I am currently expecting number 2 and I hope the weight comes off jsut as easy. I would recommend water aquasize.

Jae on December 30th, 2008

Wow.. she looks fabulous! good for her!
The baby is adorable!!

Brianne on December 30th, 2008

I did a combination of just breastfeeding and eating right. My mom is a personal trainer so I had the advantage of having her. She stayed with us for the first week and showed me how to eat right. I watched what I ate for the first 6 weeks… barely giving myself any treats (every 10 pounds I lost, I ate a cookie. that was it). At my 6 week checkup, I was about 17 pounds away (I gained 57 pounds!) I lost all of it but about 5-8 pounds by the time I was maybe 10-12 weeks postpardum and when I stopped nursing around 4-5 months (I lost my supply) the last 8 or so just melted right off. My daughter will be a year old on Jan 14th and I’m about 4 pounds under what I was.

Amber on December 30th, 2008

I didn’t do anything special. I formula fed and just took walks every day with my child. The day we came home from the hospital we walked through the neighborhood. I had a Spring baby, so I had months of walking every day that helped me lose the 50 pounds I gained while pregnant.

angie on December 30th, 2008

I gained like 40 lbs during my pregnancy, but before i weighed 100 lbs, so everybody kept telling me that I hadn´t gained weight, that did bother me so much as I felt like a whale, I lost the extra weight by no sleeping,and brestfeeding my baby lol!

The first months were hard, but then I recovered from all that and now I have a healthy weight (120 lbs) and color in my cheeks .

momof3 on December 30th, 2008

I’m naturally heavy, but with my first son, my prego weight plus 20 pounds just came off breast feeding. But with my second and third son’s, breast feeding didn’t work. I just tried watching what I ate – in moderation.

Cheryl on December 30th, 2008

Is Tori Spelling no longer advertising NutriSystem weight loss shakes like she did after she had Liam?

Nancy on December 30th, 2008

I can’t talk about myself since I don’t have kids, but my bf has had three kids so far and with each child she always lost ALL of her gained pounds as well a couple that she already had. I was stunned thinking she would keep a few but she told me about doing some work-out on a daily basis and watch out for the food she was eating. Apparently facts say that it easier to loose weight if you breastfed – though I have no clue about this at all…

Poppy sure looks great!!!! Can’t wait for the new season to air over here in Europe! Love WAT!

Jen on December 30th, 2008

I STILL haven’t lost all the baby weight–and my little one is 4 mos. old. I plan on starting Weight Watchers at the New Year.

Kara on December 30th, 2008

I currently have a 7 month old who I am still breastfeeding. Quite a bit of weight came off initially, but I feel like I personally retain 10 lbs extra until I quit breastfeeding. This has been the trend with all 3 kids. This past month, I started working out with crossfit, and it is amazing just after 1 month the results. I guess I will continue doing this and eating as healthy as possible.

MIzMolly on December 30th, 2008

I lost all of my baby weight PLUS 30 pounds. It came off easily with sleep deprivation and coffee (my big vice). I also live in a city so I walk every where. (I didn’t breast feed.) I think if you eat sensibly, exercise, and don’t gain an outrageous amount of weight to begin with you will have an easy time. We shall see if I am so lucky with baby #2 due in Feb.

Amanda on December 30th, 2008

I’m one of those most people hate. For as long as I am breastfeeding I can eat whatever I want, the weight just melts right off. I am usually below my prepregnancy weight by 2 months post partum. This is just one of those things that is different for each woman.

Betty on December 30th, 2008

I just ate right. I gained 28 pounds and it came off really fast. I ate what I wanted in moderation and the weigh just seem to slip off.

Monica on December 30th, 2008

Jazzercise and Weight Watchers! I also breastfed the 1st 9 months.

j on December 30th, 2008

Breastfeeding helped a lot but I gained an insane amount of weight and was left with a saggy belly pouch … yoga has been a huge help for that, and after 10 yrs of practicing yoga I’m now going for my instructors certification … but alas, I recently discovered I’m pregnant again.

Tricia on December 30th, 2008

Simple, breast feeding. I’m even smaller than I was before I was pregnant. It’s the best way to lose weight if you ask me.

Aitch on December 30th, 2008

I didn’t lose it…..

Elaine on December 30th, 2008

Breastfeeding, and walking with my baby in the pram, which is great for getting rid of bingo wings. I think pregnancy/breatfeeding must affect my metabolism as both times my weight fell to about a stone less than I was pre-pregnancy while eating pretty much what I fancy. It doesn’t last, however, so i have to start watching what I eat again!

Dana on December 30th, 2008

I gained less than 30 pounds with both pregnancies, so it wasn’t that hard to take it off. I even went 20 pounds lighter after the second was born within 2 months, just by eating healthy and going on mall walks.

Madison on December 30th, 2008

I gained 61 lb during the period while I was expecting. I am 100 lb, and I wanted to lose about 55 lb. My best friend is a personal trianer so she moved in with me for 2 months to show me what to eat, how to excerise etc. I already planned on breast feeding and luckly, I lost most of my weight from doing that. I lost all my pregancy wieght in 2 months!!

Liz on December 30th, 2008

Breastfeeding, eating right and working out. I gained a lot with my 1st and had a very hard time to lose the weight. It took a couple of years. But with my 2nd, I only gained 30 lbs, and lost them in a few months.

pia on December 30th, 2008

still haven’t.. lol

Melissa on December 30th, 2008

I nursed both my kids past infancy, until two years plus. Both times the weight started to fall off when they were about 6 months old and didn’t stop. With my second I lost 50 lbs between nursing and eating an organic diet free of refined sugars, gluten or dairy. I also walk about 3 miles a day, a few days a week when I’m not working. I’m in better shape now after two kids than I was before. I don’t look a THING like that picture (that’s an impossible ideal) but at 5′ 6″ and 145 lb (with a 4 yo and 2 yo) I am very happy with my body.

impoguemahone on December 30th, 2008

I breastfed my 11 kids(except the 2 with milk allergies) but I found it didn’t help me lose weight specifically. What I always have to do is go on a diet and then I lose the weight (30-50 pounds) in about 2 weeks. I typically lose 10-15 pounds at the delivery.I also need pitocin to control hemmoraging; they run it thru the IV for 12 hours following birth and it helps shrink my uterus down smaller quicker as a side-effect as well which also helps in weight loss.
With my first baby 19 years ago I was fanatic and even exercised (stomach crunches) in my hospital bed….after him I had no time for exercise, but I eat small servings of foods several times a day and the weight came off…..I also think chasing after so many kids helps,too!

rebecca on December 30th, 2008

I gained 23 pounds while pregnant. I lost it all within 2 months and now at 5 months Post Partum I am 5 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight. I did breast feed for 2 months but now I formula feed and am training to run a marathon in 2 weeks (that’s how I have stayed lean over the past few months). Oh and Poppy looks wonderful!

tracy on December 30th, 2008

I gained 20 pounds with my first son and by his 2 week check up I was 1 pound over my pre-prego weight. By the time he was 6 moths old, I had lost an additional 20 pounds. Unfortunately that didn’t happen with my 2nd child. I gained 20 but retained 10. Everybody and every pregnancy is different.

Dakota on December 30th, 2008

She looks great

I’ll probably be shot for this, but my eldest I gained 50lbs, I was back in my pre-pregnancy clothes by 10 days post-partum. And down to my normal weight by 6 weeks. (didn’t have a scale, so wasn’t weighed til my check)

My second I gained 28lbs and walked out of the hospital in my normal clothes. Once again back to normal weight by 6 weeks.

I breastfed each time, but truth be told I think a lot of it is genetics and how you took care of yourself, even prior to pregnancy.

I’m currently pregnant with #3 so we’ll see if I get as lucky this go round or not.

victoria on December 30th, 2008

man she looks fantastic-
I found tht each pgy it gets harder- this time i am in my pre preggo clothes and weight now (at a year) but my body is so different it looks diff even at the smae weight-
i am bf and i walk and do yoga and wear my baby a lot– i think that your body lets it go when it is ready!
mind you being hold up in the house with a snowy winter ment that i was eating and not moving-
so what can you do?

dawn on December 30th, 2008

she looks awesome!! my kids are now 12,13,4 & 2 1/2 and I’m still battling with my weight.

Nika on December 30th, 2008

I never did anything special to lose the babyweight. I gained 25 kilo’s during my pregnancy and now I weigh 59 kilo’s, the last time I saw these numbers on the scale was when I was in high school.
So after the birth, a lot of it had gone already and I have been breastfeeding for the last 10 months, I still eat a lot, not only healthy things (I eat more chocolate than ever.) So I guess I’m just lucky, I do have to start excercicing though, because I notice my muscles are not all that anymore.

robin on December 30th, 2008

After I had my first 2 children, I didn’t think I would be able to lose the weight I had gained. My husband had bought all kinds of pills from GNC and we tried several different low carb diets which helped but I gained it all back.

Then I found a program ( http://www.rapid-w8-loss.com )my friend was doing who had lost over 20lbs in 1 month. My husband and I jumped on it since it cost less than a bottle of those stupid pills did we just bought.

It was unlike any program we done. We were able to create our own menu based on foods we liked and followed it every week. I ended up losing over 30lbs in 2 months and my husband lost a little more than me.

Since then, every time I want to lose a few pounds, I go back and create another menu.

~ Robin

Leah on December 30th, 2008

With my first I lost all but the last 5 pounds or so just by breastfeeding and walking/doing yoga. I toned up in the gym with a personal trainer (had a c/s so I had NO stomach muscles left!). During my pregnancy with him I was on bedrest for 6 weeks and didn’t work out – so I gained 35 pounds and was crazy out of shape. When my son weaned at 17mths I lost the final 5 pounds and an additional 5 within 2 weeks.

My second is 2 months old – I’ve lost just about all the weight (maybe a few pounds lingering…I don’t own a scale but I’ve been in my prepregnancy jeans since 6 weeks pp, that’s my marker). I worked out fairly often, ate better and had a 2 year old to chase, so I only gained 24 pounds with her. I do need to shape up though – I was all belly with her and now after having her my stomach is yucky!

Manda on December 30th, 2008

I gained around 50lbs with my son (but, I still had 15lbs I gained from a miscarriage a few months before I got pg with him) and I lost almost all of that weight in 9months by eating normally (no pigging out, but I didn’t “diet” either) and I took lots of long walks with him. Before I could really get working on losing more weight I got pg with my daughter. Again, I lost a ton of weight within the first couple of weeks, and the rest slowly came off naturally (breastfeeding, eating normally, taking walks). I got serious when she was 6months and (while still breastfeeding) started training for a half-marathon. I was a few weeks outs from the race, and down 15 lbs from my son’s prepregnancy weight when I found out I was pg again.
Now, 5 months along with my 3rd baby, I’m just a few lbs over my starting pg weight from my son and daughter’s pgs.

Its individual. Some people don’t gain any weight during pg (Nicole Kidman) and some do (like me). Some people lose all their pg weight immediately (again, Nicole Kidman), some people lose it all gradually but without too much effort (me-I’m lucky), and some have to work their butts off to lose nearly all of their pg weight (a lot of the women I know).

I wish society and ourselves would stop putting pressure on moms to lose ALL of the pg weight IMMEDIATELY. My favorite line of thinking is it takes months to put the weight on so it takes months to return to prebaby form (or something close to it!).

Angel on December 30th, 2008

I lost all of my pregnancy weight by breastfeeding (well in my case, exclusively pumping). Once I hit my pre-pregnancy weight, my weight loss stalled for six months! I finally decided to join Weight Watchers and then lost another 35 before becoming pregnant again.

Kelly on December 30th, 2008

I held on to that “last 10″ for well over a year – yeah some people don’t just melt pounds by making milk
Last year around the holidays, I discovered Holly Rigsby and her Fit Yummy Mummy plan – after 12 weeks I was in better shape than before I had baby #1 and stayed that way (till getting pg with #2! heehee!) I highly reccomend checking her out- she is the REAL DEAL – she is super supportive and is someone who has truly helped women perform miracles on thier bodies!!! http://tinyurl.com/fitandyummy

Beverly on December 30th, 2008

I gained around 35 to 40lbs and returned to my pre-preggo clothes within just a couple of months. I’m continuing to breastfeed (the baby is almost 8 months) and I plan to stop when she turns one. That being said, I don’t think breastfeeding is the sole reason I returned to my pre-baby weight. Before she was born I walked at least 4 out of 7 days of the week. After her birth I’ve continued to stay active by walking and doing some light jogging, as well as by monitoring my meals. And even though I’ve returned to my pre-baby weight and fit into my old clothes, my belly region is now soft and squishy-looking. Any thoughts on how to get rid of that?

Nicole on December 31st, 2008

Three weeks after giving birth to my last child, I used Phentermine. About a month into taking that, I started doing The Firm videos as well. I’m smaller than I was when I got married! I’ve lost 50 lbs. since coming home from the hospital.

Although medication isn’t for everyone, Phentermine was the only thing that was ever able to help me with my overeating…whether pregnant or not, I tend to do that.

Rebecca on December 31st, 2008

I’ve lost 45 lbs with Weight Watchers. I’m 2 lbs from goal and I’m excited. I’m at a lower weight than I was when my husband and I got married.

Layla on December 31st, 2008

I gained about 50lbs when I was pregnant with my triplets. I had an exercise routine and healthy eating style before I got pregnant and I made sure to continue that all the way through my pregnancy. Though I must admit I did give into some of those late night cravings of a peanutbutter and fluff sandwitch. After having my boys 3 weeks later I was back in the gym and the pounds just seemed to melt away. 8 weeks after having them I was back at my pre-pregnancy weight. Now with 3 active 5 yearolds and pregnant for the second time and even less time for the gym then before I’m hoping after having this baby my boys will give me the work out I need to drop the pounds just as fast.

jaQ on January 1st, 2009

i am lucky enough that i never had to do anything special to lose the 50 and 65 lb. i put on with my kids…

Kirstin on January 4th, 2009

I lost most of mine (still have a 1/2 size or so to go) by starting an exercise regime after I stopped breastfeeding 6 months after her birth. I did the elyptical machine for 45 minutes or so 3/4 times per week with some weights and walking as well (power walks). I also did a diet “by accident”…meaning my husband found out he had high cholestoral and so he was on a very strict diet of no fats at all, nop flour or sugar etc. So, we ate the same and the weight seemed to fall off. I ate all i wanted, just changed the fat (especially saturated fats) contents I let into my body and tried to eat as much whole grains, fruits and veggies as I could. Oh I only eat Who Sprouted wheat bread and it’s great! Also, Kraft now does afat free chedder in a bag and it;s a life saver for times when you need melted cheese on things! I used it lots. It is not a processed cheese either, just made with nonfat milk. Good luck! It’s hard, but easy if you enjoy it!

kateydid on January 14th, 2009

I lost most of the weight by eating sensibly and reducing cookies, treats, and the like to one occasion per week. But for me, breastfeeding makes me hand on to that last 10 pounds. With my other two children it was the same in that when they stopped breastfeeding (around 2 years) then final 10 pounds came off. My body holds it for whatever reason…I figured it must be necessary, so I never worried about it.

homebirthingtwinmama on February 19th, 2009

I guess i’m one of the lucky ones because my pregnancy weight just fell off. I had twins, but i only gained 27-30 pounds while pregnant. ALL of it was belly (when i had my homebirth i was 39 weeks and they were 5lbs 7 oz and 6lbs 7 oz). I was still wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans all throughout my pregnancy, i was even wearing them while in labor! A week after my twins were born i was 5 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight. I do still have a lower belly “pouch”, but i’m physically smaller elsewhere and under the weight i was when i got pregnant and i’m now at 7 months post partum. Breastfeeding has helped me keep the pounds at bay since having the twins. I plan to get rid of the pouch by bellydancing, breastfeeding, and walking.