How Nutrisystem Helped This Courageous Mother Lose Weight After Pregnancy

When it comes to losing weight after pregnancy, there’s usually more to the story than lowering a number on the scale. For this mother, her story is much more—it is about taking what life throws at you and courageously making a positive change.

After giving birth to her second child, Kari Kirtley saw a change to her body that many mothers experience after pregnancy. Having one child can take a toll on a woman’s body—having two can make it even harder for the body to bounce back.

While she knew she was overweight and wanted to make a change, Kari’s number one priority was to care for her new baby boy, not go on a diet.

One of her main concerns was what any breastfeeding mother in her position would be: If dieting would deprive her baby of vital nutrients.

One day, she decided to reach out for help.

“I needed to make a change… After my baby boy turned about six months old, I reached out to Nutrisystem,” Kari says. “I asked if there was anything I could do to lose weight as safely as possible because I am a breastfeeding mother and the most important thing to me is that my baby would be getting all the proper nutrients needed to keep him healthy.”

That day, Kari discovered that Nutrisystem was able to uniquely tailor a weight loss plan specific to almost anyone’s needs—even a breastfeeding mother’s.

“I was ecstatic to hear that they had a specific plan just for breastfeeding mothers after pregnancy whose infant is four months old and has been introduced to solid foods,” she says. “I signed up right then and there.”

This was a courageous decision for Kari. Even with the life changes she was already enduring, she decided to make another. Only this time, she knew there was the potential to proactively transform her life.

Kari was comforted by how Nutrisystem eased her into the program after the big decision.

“I was ready to start my weight loss journey,” Kari says. “Nutrisystem made it so easy for me to get started with a Quick Start Guide to get me going and a Daily Tracker, which allowed me to log all of my food, water and daily exercise.”

As a busy mother, Kari says it was helpful that the program allowed her to stay organized so easily.

“The daily tracker really did help me stay on track,” she says. “I found that writing everything down taught me what and when I should be eating, as well as keeping me motivated while logging my weight each week.”

After just 16 weeks, the busy mother of two was able to lose 35 pounds* and hit her goal weight. Kari attributes her success not only to the convenience of her personalized Nutrisystem weight loss program, but also to the motivation it has given her.

“Nutrisystem made it so easy for me by giving me the proper tools and resources,” Kari says. “I want to keep my momentum going and set a new goal weight.”

Kari says she “has never felt so good about myself, so proud or so happy.”

Already feeling unstoppable and on her way to accomplishing another weight loss goal, Kari got even more good news when she visited her doctor one day.

“Back in 2011, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroid disease and had been taking daily medicine,” she says. “I went to my endocrinologist appointment and she told me that because of my significant weight loss, she was going to adjust the dosage of my medicine.”

Hypothyroid disease is significantly more common in women. To learn more about this disease and how you can treat it, click here >

By reaching a healthy weight, Kari was able to change the effect the disease had on her body—and that was life-changing. As the positive results of the program kept coming, she maintained the motivation to keep going.

By the end of her Nutrisystem journey, Kari had reached her next goal weight and lost a total of 48 pounds.*

Losing weight after pregnancy is no easy task and she owes it to herself for maintaining the motivation, but notes tremendous gratitude to the program for giving her the tools to make it possible.

“Without this program, none of this could have been possible,” Kari says. “Nutrisystem has changed my way of thinking, it has educated me in portion size, what is good for me and what is not, as well as making me an overall happier and healthier person.”

*Real Success story. Weight lost on prior program. Expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.