The wife is on Beachbody. What can I do to help it out FOR HER after pregnancy and birth?

Okay, this is a bit of a vent and some advice seeking. My wife and I had a baby about 7 months ago. Before pregnancy she was about 5'2", low weight, and moderately built. She had a bit of tummy fat but she has a medical condition that causes some of that.

Anyway, after the baby she's now having trouble with some tummy fat and she feels unhappy about it. It's also difficult for us because our daughter is having troubles weening which means she can't leave the house for more than a few hours without the kid to hit up a gym or something like that. So she resorted to buying up almost everything beachbody has to offer. She had luck staying toned with one of their programs (insanity I think) so she figured they'd be the best route. She's now spending over $200 per month on something called shakology and a bunch of other workout stuff.

My question is does anyone know if this stuff works? She lost an inch over two months on it and when she quit she gained back a half inch so she refuses to quit it again. We have the money, well sort of I mean I'd rather spend it or save it somewhere else, but that's a lot of money for something that makes her gut sore and doesn't seem to shed the pounds fast. She became a coach for them (pyramid scheme if you ask me) and seems to buy a new workout program every couple of weeks that just costs more money. Any advice on anything she could do at home that would be better and maybe more cost effective that I could show her?

 

When I was in boot camp I lost a bunch of weight and we didn't touch anything except water, healthy food and alot of running.. If anything actually worked everyone would know about it and use it lol. Also, is she breast feeding? If so what is this stuff she's taking doing to the kid? Eeeek scary. Hope all goes well and everyone stays healthy. Good luck

 

I've been over that with her but the doctor cleared the stuff apparently, even though beachbody hides the exact specifics of the stuff. I think it's just basically slim fast with whey powder. A big part if the problem is that she isn't dealing with the stress of being a stay at home mom for the first year well. I come home at least twice a week to her on the verge of tears for whatever reason. To deal with the stress she started eating chocolate, she's always been a bit of a chocolate fiend, and that just made the weight worse. Anyways, she finally weened herself off of the chocolate but now she eats ready made rice meals all the time because our kid screams when she leaves the room and she can't leave her alone for emotional reasons (she had a rough upbringing). Anyways her diets about as good as it's going to get and, yes, she still does about half of the feeding via breast. We do eat okay for dinners but not great, mostly things we can prepare and eat without leaving the kid for too long. Not much fast food, maybe once a week pizza, and lots of veggies.

I'm hoping someone knows another good source of workout material that doesn't cost a pile of money but mostly I'm venting. It's frustrating to see that money disappear with such minimal results. Whenever I bring it up she flips out so I've left it alone for a few weeks now.

 

Has she had any blood work done after the baby was born. Seems to me she might be fighting some post partum depression.

 

get rid of the rice meals. bring in chicken, veggies, and fruits.

get a stationary bike and a heart rate monitor. focus on cardio. or a bike and kiddie trailer. bump up the endorphins, get some vitamin D.

 

She is fighting with post partum a bit. She's seeing someone for it and she is on a program for it too that seems to help, but like anyone who suffers depression and then suffers post partum depression sometimes there are just bad days. I'll be honest, she has had some issues that she's had to overcome in life that have been pretty tough. Don't get me wrong, her parents were great people and did their best raising her, but she was that awkward non athletic super skinny girl growing up and had a bit of a tough time. Her parents also split for a bit over alcohol when she was young and her dad blamed her occasionally for it. Her dad got help and they came back together but it still hurt her. She still has blanks in her childhood she can't recall due to the depression during those times and that scares her.

That's a big part of the reason I stopped bugging here about the beachbody program. It at least gives her a break everyday to workout and some quick meals when she needs the energy. I just keep thinking there must be a cheaper way to do this. Maybe some workout we've overlooked or program that has had good success she could add on or substitute for some of the videos she does now.

BTW I'm not saying any of those issues make her case worse or better than anyone elses. I know lots of people have the same sort of story.

 

Thanks. I'll pass that along. We have an elliptical and a treadmill, would getting a bike be better than those options?

Why vitamin D if you don't mind me asking?

 

I'd say stick with whatever keeps your wife happiest. I don't mean that in a dickish way either. PPD is extremely common
I personally do not have experience with insanity. My ex did it though. At first he didn't lose weight. He did everything to the T. He got frustrated. I would watch him do the work out every day. He just wasn't losing it. His friend convinced him to stick with it. After about a month and a half he started to lose weight. Then he decided he didn't want to stick with the meal plan. He ate "healthy," just not what the book suggested. He started to gain it right back. Seemed like if you strayed from it a little bit, it became a lost cause.
Shakeology is something my body builder friend does. Seems to be way too much money.
Stress/Depression can make weight loss hard.
From a woman's point of view: find an exercise/outdoor activity you can do together. In all seriousness it helped a ton of people I know who are going through what you are. You guys will motivate each other to do better. Even if its just jogging around the block a few times with the stroller. Be involved with her exercises. Eat the healthy stuff she does. Do it as a team, like the majority of other things you do as a married couple

 

My girlfriend pulled this same stuff on me. I explained it's a gimmick. Nothing beats a healthy diet and moderate exercise. She's never looked back, but now I'm responsible for her gym time. I'm her "motivator"

 

Yeah, we try to take the dog out once a week together but she's still a puppy and too energetic to walk as a group sometimes.

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking about getting into swimming again and there is a parents and tots/lap swim that shares the pool a few times. Maybe I'll suggest that.

 

Yeah, I don't want to insult her anymore by calling it a gimmick. I agree with you and the poster afterwards that they don't work long term for a variety of reasons.

At the end of the day it comes down to putting more work in at home myself I think. I work a lot, travel a lot, and I have hobbies. Maybe I'll try shunting things and force her out of the house to the gym or for her alone time. We used to walk sometimes, that sounds like a good together activity to start.

 

cardio (bike or treadmill), no processed foods or added sugars. Plain and simple. Cardio doesnt even have to be that strict. I tried many "diets" over the years, but the only thing that worked was eating real food. I lost 30 lbs without doing much in the name of cardio, though i did lose more if i did. Disclaimer, most women dont have the same results, its easier for guys.

In short, exercise is one thing, but its what you eat that matters most. My opinion

 

Nature's mood booster. It works wonders!

 

Thanks.

 

BTW I just want to emphasize that I have no problem with her current weight. It's on her side that she's unhappy. I'm not pushing her to lose the weight at all though I would like to see her stay happy and healthy. I think I forgot to mention that.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need some perspective. Give her a break for Christ's sake. It's been 7 months since she had the baby. Bodies get stretched the fuck out, shit does not return to what it once was that quick. You need to be patient and supportive. If she is still breast feeding leave her alone with the weight business. And if you suspect post pardum depression, get her in touch with the pros with quickness.

 

Be very careful with what you say and do. I agree there may be some PPD going on. You need to be supportive if nothing else. 7 months ago you had a child, not all women can bounce back like some super celebrity that has teams of people to help do everything. Breast feeding will help shed the weight, that's mine and my wife's experience.

 

This is all I've been 99% of the time for basically everything. For the other 1%, when she asks my opinion on her program, I give in to skepticism. I take care of the kid when I get home so she can have some break time and we team work on chores. The reason I'm venting here and seeking other options is because I know it will be more productive than just talking it out with her because I risk offending her about all of this when I bring it up if I don't have a plan to add on to what she's doing to maybe give her better results.

I think the comments about trying some activities together exercise wise might be a really good idea. We've both talked about doing that but we let it slide when time is tight. It's easy to make the time though when it's a priority.

She is getting help for her depression.

 

There's no silver bullet man. It's burn more than you take in...that's the only way. I eat really healthy and do limited work out/cardio and hang around 150lbs at 5-9. I try to buy only healthy & organic and limit my intake of processed foods, eating out or other unhealthy shit.

IMO, all the other shit, other than healthy food and reasonable activity, are just gimmicks to trick your mind into doing what could be done anyway but, if it works and it's the only thing that works and doesn't cause a negative...