I came home from the hospital post-partum 60ish pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. Yes, I was a waif before (I see now how I was too skinny in a gross way) but still 60 lbs is 60lbs. I would show you a photo...but I was so embarassed I made sure there would never be any documentation!
In the beginning, I paid little attention to the extra weight because obviously I was trying not to punch someone in the face busy taking care of the new baby. But then, people at convenience stores starting asking me when I was due. I felt horrible about myself, hated that I still looked pregnant, hated the plantar fasciitis, loathed that I couldn't even fit a thigh in my old jeans and scorned maternity clothes. More than that, I was feeling really down already due to the the crazy hormones and healing process...I was near (if not clinically) depressed and emotionally/physically/spiritually spent. Being 60lbs overweight was the cherry on top of a really rough season of life.
So after one particular Target clerk asked me when I was due weeks after the baby was born...that was it. I had to do something about it, I had to do something for myself.
I started to diet. And I started to exercise. That is how I lost 60 lbs in four months. Nothing magic. Hard work. That's the magic. Keeping it simple.
My Diet:
I was still breastfeeding, so I had to diet very carefully. Essentially, I just cut out the late-night snacks that characterized my entire pregnancy, cut out most sweets completely, and ate fiber throughout the day. I also drank copious amounts of water, to keep my milk supply coming. Also, this is super-important to do if you start working out. I also incorporated peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches to my every-other-daily diet. Because frankly, I love am obsessed with PBJ and with the nixing of my old-I-know-I'm-not-pregnant-but-I've-been-eating-this-way-for-9-months diet, I needed something small to make my day happier. The hardest part about losing weight post-pregnancy is changing it from a Pregnancy Diet to ....well diet. It's that switch from eating what you want, to counting fat grams. (I never count calories--too much math!)
I will summarize my diet regime at the end for those who care.
My Exercise:
I hate the gym. Even now that I am becoming a personal trainer, I hate the gym. (I will say however the gym I'm being certified at is a small, private gym with no mirrors and no spandex and I looooove it there) Anywho--I had no intention of stepping into a gym to lose the baby weight. And considering that I felt like my whole world was a giant, spiraling sinkhole of distress, I needed a low-maintenance activity. So I chose running. All I needed was shoes, and a time slot when my husband could watch the baby, which was easy enough. I could pick the time. I could pick which direction I ran, the distance, the speed--it was the only thing I felt I had some control over in my life.
So I started with four squares of concrete slabs. That's as far as I could run in the beginning. I tried the next day, and the next day, until I was running a quarter of a mile non stop. I did that for awhile, then gradually increased the mileage. I decided to sign up for a half-marathon, but here is a post that is about that process.
The point is, I just made myself go out there and do it. In the beginning, I went every other morning. As my distances got longer, I would go the day after my soreness was gone, or every 3 days.
I started to lose weight...it was fairly gradual but at the same time occurred over a short amount of time. My pooch gradually and gradually decreased. Better than that, however, was that I was feeling happy again. I noticed energy levels increasing (contrary to common sense, because you're not sleeping if you have a newborn!), and exercise also fought off my 'depression' entirely. Entirely. And I felt better starting the very next week after I started.
Here's a before picture, not done growing, still got a month before my due date!
6 months post
13months post
And I will say, I had weight loss results with running plateaued after 3 months. From the time I ran a half-marathon (13.1miles), to a full marathon (26.2miles), I had no weight loss, and absolutely no muscle mass increase. Fact, from a superficial standpoint, I was "thinner"and more muscular before I ran a full! But my goal in running after a few months was not to lose weight, it was in love for the sport.
It was not until triathlon training (12 months post-partum) that I started seeing healthy body contouring, which I am still working on.
I don't think every woman should be a size 2. I don't think every woman should be a size 6. I think every woman has an optimum that is perfect for them, and that should be their goal. (Size 2 looks gross on a gorgeous woman built to be a size 8, it makes me so sad when I see boobies disappear!) This blog is about being active, and being inspired to be a healthy. And I write about the weight loss for those of us who don't feel healthy and want to get rid of the extra weight. Because I want women to know that if I did it,and I thought I never ever could, having no athletic gifting-----
it. is. possible!!
So--end of soapbox---back to my story--- I don't know if what I did would work for every person. I do believe 90% of the time comes down to simple hard work in the areas of diet&exercise. When I was looking for info on weight loss for moms I was really having a hard time finding success stories with some detail. When I wanted to lose weight I wanted to hear that someone had done it before. And that's why I'm sharing.
The summary points for my regime:
Diet:
--Eat small amts of dried fruits/fiber source throughout the day
--Decrease cheese&oil in cooking overall
--Desserts only once/week if running (it used to be every day while prego right.)
--NO eating past 7-7:30pm (the kicker)
Exercise:
--Highly regular basis
--Drink lots of water
--Don't work out while sore or you could ruin two workouts
--For quicker/better results mix weight training w/cardio and don't always do the same cardio
