Gosh...I am SO overwhelmed....HELP!!!

Hello, I am 19, 4 months pp, and I would like to lose weight.

I was 120 prepreg, went up to 155, And I am 139 lbs now. At 5 "2'.

I want to lose 25-30 pounds, before my daughters first birthday, BUT I am so overwhelmed at where to start....

I have been looking at weight loss stuff on this site and I cant see how I will EVER accomplish losing any weight at all....

I am belly dancing about 30 minutes a day, and starting on tuesday, I will be doing belly dance classes at the college once a week- 2.5 hour classes, and I am going to cut out soda (not completely- I have soda in the house, and cant afford to waste it- so I have to finish what i have over the next couple months- spread out ofcoarse) And I am going to start Tae-Bo dvds again, and hopefully, i can get more done with Praise Dancing for church (i am trying to make dances for the kids to learn)

And I eat an average of 1,200 cal a day...

What else can I do?? I dont have a car, so i cant go to a park, and i dont have any sidewalks or safe places to walk/run/jog here, and all i have are stairs in my apt, and...well....dvds, thats about it. No equipment at all except an exercise ball...and thats all...

So what should I do??? help! I feel so bad about myself...I get sick to my stomach when i read things about women who went right back to their prepreg weight without even trying...and it seems like no other women here are struggling to lose so much baby weight like i am...Please help me....

Well, from what I gather, sometimes not eating enough can cause your body to stall at a particular weight, and apparently 1200 calories is considered to be very little. So hopefully there lies your answer. I suspect someone who knows a lot more about these things will give you a few tips fairly soon. Don't panic, you'll be fine!

just to say, there is HUGE pressure from the media on new moms to lose weight; IGNORE it. these hollywood women have access to trainers 7x a week, nannies to do all the babytime, and most likely have some lipo too! they arent representatives of real moms in the real world.

your baby needs a mom thats going to be able to care for herself and her (baby).

good for you for your determination, but 1200 is only going to set you back. If you are dancing 2hrs a day, your Very Active! not sedentary / lying in bed aaall day which is what 1200 equates to.

my advice would be not ever dip below 14-1500. get a small 45-60g portion of wholewheat pasta/bread/ a good carb at every meal and make lean protein the basis of every meal.

good luck! and dont kill yourself over this!xx

Just wanted to let you know that I am struggling away trying to loose the baby weight as well.... probably need to loose more than you. You are definately not alone!! All the best...

Atleast you're not in the same boat as me! I clearly had no self control when I was pregnant, because I gained 60 lbs!

I'm 11 weeks pp, and I still have 25 to lose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight. 

1200 cals are not enough to keep up with baby. Are you breast feeding on 1200 cals? 

Also, you're a teenager, which means your calorie needs are higher. Why don't you try posting in the Weight Loss section? I believe a lot of people don't look at the Pregnancy & Parenting section because it is not relevant to them.

Good luck!

You need to eat more calories.

Seriously. With your activity level and your age, you really need to be eating more. Also, if you're breastfeeding, that adds even more calories to the mix. I know that eating more in order to lose weight seems like a crazy notion but I know firsthand that it works.

I'm your height (maybe an inch taller) and I'm at 130 pounds at 8 months PP (I started at 128 and gained 40 pounds. Now trying to get to 118). It sounds like you're doing great at this point weight-loss wise.

Don't get discouraged! You need to do what's healthy for you and baby above all else. That means losing weight slowly and steadily. I know how hard it is but you'll get there!

You are simply not eating enough calories.  If you calculate your BMR base on your age, weight and height you need 1475 calories if you were laying in bed all day.  You are probably burning at least 2300 calories when you are exercising which means you have more than a 1000 calorie deficit per day.  The maximum you should have is 1000 and since you are not severly overweight, you should really only have a 500 calorie deficit a day.  Which means that you should be eating at least 1600-1800 calories a day. 

I agree that you should try posting in the weight loss forum.  There are a lot of people that have great information there.

Being a new mom is very stressful and an emotional roller coaster, you don't need to add weight loss to the mix!  Try to change your eating habits now and tackle your weight when the baby's 1.  You will be better motivated and better rested!