How I Lost Weight After Twins
Oh, the twin baby weight! I debated whether to share this story publicly. Every story I put into the world includes a touch of vulnerability, and talking about weight is such a personal story. However, I know that stories like this were so helpful to me when I was pregnant with twins. After having gone through postpartum with twins, I wanted to share how I lost weight after twins as a resource to help other twin moms.
Also related to this was the week-by-week twin pregnancy experience where I recap what every week of twin pregnancy feels like (at least for me) and the twin pregnancy week by week belly photos.
If you found this article helpful, please consider sending me a note. I’d love to hear about it!
One last thing to note – your journey is your journey. It does not need to be mine, and this is not a guide on what you should do. It’s my personal journey, that I took a vulnerable leap in sharing. Please consult your medical professionals regarding your own weight journey.
Twin Pregnancy Weight Gain
Finding out I was pregnant with twins was a shock. True, sheer shock. After the dust settled and we started wrapping our heads around the incredible journey we’d be taking, I jumped to work.
I scoured twin blogs, purchased some twin books, and started reading twin articles. One interesting thing I found was some studies referencing that higher weight gain in a pregnant twin mom was correlated to higher birth weights and decreased stays in the NICU.
I decided that would be me! And after having made it to 37.5 weeks and delivering 6lb and 8lb twins, I believe it worked for me.
- First Trimester: No significant weight gain
- 12th Week: +4 pounds
- 15th Week: +7 pounds
- 16th Week: +10 pounds
- 19th Week: +15 pounds
- 20th Week: +19 pounds
- 25th Week: +26 pounds
- 29th Week: +34 pounds
- 32nd Week: +38 pounds
- 34th Week: +46 pounds
- 36th Week: +48 pounds
- 37th Week: +55 pounds
A Whopping 55 Pounds
Yes, you’re reading that right: I gained 55 pounds while pregnant with twins. The recommended weight gain when pregnant with twins is generally around 37-55 pounds. I just scraped by, coming in at the very upper end.
I was that typical pregnant woman they show on TV. Food permeated my thoughts. I dreamed about it at night and woke up so excited to eat. A meal would be over and I couldn’t wait for the next one. And while I didn’t crave pickles & ice cream, chocolate was on my mind daily.
My body was truly doing what it was supposed to do, demanding extra food for my two growing babies. I listened to it, tried not to go too overboard, and tried to enjoy this window of time.
After all, with all the discomforts of twin pregnancy, there has to be some perks, right??
I dive deeper into the topic of food and calories in my week 24 twin pregnancy recap, where I talk about how many calories were recommended each day, what I clocked in at, and how it felt. These week-by-week twin pregnancy updates share a raw, unfiltered perspective of what a twin pregnancy can really be like – both the pregnancy perks and pregnancy pains.
Post Twin Pregnancy Weight Loss
So, if I gained a whopping 55 pounds in my twin pregnancy, did I lose the twin baby weight?
You bet I did!
It was not, however, overnight weight loss. It took around six months to lose the twin baby weight and was a slow and steady process.
Here’s the recap of how I lost weight with twins and at what pace:
- Twins’ Birth Day: +55 pounds
- 1 week postpartum: +25 pounds (that’s 30 lbs dropped in one week)
- 3 weeks postpartum: +17 pounds
- 1 month postpartum: +13 pounds
- 2 months postpartum: +11 pounds
- 3 months postpartum: +10 pounds
- 4 months postpartum: +3 pounds
- 5.5 months postpartum: 2 pounds under pre-pregnancy weight
- 6 months postpartum: 1 pound under
- 8 months postpartum: 8 pounds under
- 9 months postpartum: 8 pounds under
- 10 months postpartum: 8 pounds under
- 1 year postpartum: 5 pounds under
The Twin Baby Weight All Came Off
If you’re reading that correctly, I not only hit my pre-pregnancy weight, I ended up 5 pounds under it at the one year postpartum mark.
I was still doing a couple of breastfeeds per day at that point, so weight naturally continued to adjust after that. About two years postpartum, I’m still usually within a couple pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight.
But there’s an important piece of the puzzle that I don’t want to gloss over: numbers don’t tell the whole story.
In the picture on the right, I was only three weeks postpartum. From the twin pregnancy weight loss tracker above, I was still up 17 pounds. Your uterus is still only halfway through its shrinkage and your organs are not fully recovered from the pregnancy.
What you don’t see here, is the stretch marks, the exhaustion, and sucking it in as hard as I possibly could. I had to work every last ab muscle in my body and turn to just the right angle to get that perceptive.
I say this so you know that if you do not have a flat stomach within a few weeks or months of giving birth to not be hard on yourself – that is the norm.
In fact, even though my weight is around the same as pre-pregnancy, my body is most definitely not the same. There are stretch marks that will never go away. There’s a softness that was never there before. I can have a big meal and look a couple months pregnant – the elasticity just doesn’t hold things as tight anymore.
My body will never look the exact same as it once did. Yet it gave me life – two incredible lives that now have the ability to go on and change the world.
How Did I Lose Weight After Twins?
I know you’re probably curious at this point. HOW did I lose twin baby weight?. I’m here to share!
Breastfeeding
The first thing that really helped lose weight after twins was breastfeeding. Breastfeeding in itself can burn up to 500 calories per day per baby. With two babies, that’s 1,000 calories burned every single day, just by sitting down to feed them.
Granted, my appetite will increased as well. I was ravenous, and could easily eat double portion sizes if I let myself. I had to learn to find the balance between eating to produce enough milk and not going over board.
Naturally, though, when I stopped breastfeeding, my appetite adjusted back to normal.
I Tracked My Nutrition
I’m a big fan of being aware of what you’re putting in your body.
When pregnant with twins, I tracked my food intake via My Fitness Pal. Not so much to ensure I wasn’t eating too much. If anything it was to make sure I was eating enough calories for the babies to thrive, as there’s some research out there that adequate weight gain with twins can lead to a longer pregnancy and healthier birth weights. I also used it to ensure I was getting enough vitamins, protein, etc.
It was helpful to use after having twins as well. I could make sure I was getting enough food to produce milk, yet not go overboard. You can’t modify what you don’t measure, and knowing what I was eating helped.
Guzzling Water
Think about how much water you need postpartum with twins.
Consider that adults generally need 64 oz or 2 liters of water per day. Then consider babies drink approximately 19-30 oz of milk (570-900 mL) EACH per day. Then consider any other fluids you may be losing throughout the day (I cringe remembering the time I had the stomach flu while breastfeeding twins!).
All in, I aimed to drink at least three litres of water or about 100 ounces of water per day. I would fill up a one litre bottle every morning, lunch, and dinner time, plus have a glass in the bathroom to drink during every middle-of-the-night feed.
Strolls and Strollers
Real talk, I was so not into hard core workouts after having twins. I attended a few mom & baby yoga classes (yes, with twins), but I also made sure to sign up for postpartum nurse’s classes, visited library story time, and would meet up with friends for coffee.
It can be hard to get out of the house with twins (heck, even alone!), but having 2-3 things in the calendar helped give me motivation to throw on a fresh outfit and get some Vitamin D on my face.
In my personal story of how I lost weight after twins, simply walking and getting outside did a lot more for me in the 4th trimester than the weight loss did.
What Has Your Pregnancy Weight Journey Been?
What was your twin pregnancy journey like? Did you struggle to lose the twin baby weight? Was how I lost weight after twins similar to your experience? Let me know! I love hearing from other twin parents.
Whatever journey you take, remember this: your body sustained life. If went through a monumental change carrying two babies at once: something few humans get to experience. Be kind with it, be kind with yourself.
And, as always, if you need twin tips, I’m here for you. Check out some of these posts to get you started, or drop me a line.
10 Things To Do Before Twins Arrive to Make Things Easier
Week By Week Twin Pregnancy Experience
Follow Along on Social @TwinWinning
