There are many factors that affect weight loss after pregnancy. Normal weight gain can be anywhere from 15 pounds for someone who was overweight at the beginning of the pregnancy, to 30 pounds for someone who was weight appropriate for their height. If you gained more than that it might take a bit longer to shed those extra pounds.

The weight one gains during a pregnancy is not just how much the baby weighs. The uterus increases by 2.5 pounds and the breasts by 3. There is an increased blood volume of 4 pounds, nutritional reserves for the growing baby may be 4-7 pounds, the baby at delivery is an average size of 7 pounds, the placenta weighs in around 1 pound and the amniotic fluid is around 2.0 pounds.

The majority of women experience the most rapid weight loss during the first two to three weeks after delivery. The body then shifts from losing pregnancy weight to fat store weight.
There are other factors that may be affecting your ability to lose weight. If you had any complication during the pregnancy that affected your ability to stay active, it may be more difficult for you to lose weight. A common complication after pregnancy is inflammation of the thyroid gland. If it is severe it can make it difficult to lose weight.

Another factor that affects weight loss is sleep deprivation. Postpartum is all about sleep deprivation. The University of Chicago has been conducting studies on sleep since 1953. Initially they focused on the brain, but since 1999 their focus has been on describing the metabolic and hormonal consequences of partial sleep loss.

One of their most significant findings is that even partial sleep deprivation alters the levels of two very important hormones. These hormones are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is made in the stomach and stimulates appetite. Leptin, produced by fat cells, tells the brain when we have eaten enough.