Oh the wonderful time that comes soon after having your baby, realizing all the weight you gained during your pregnancy does not magically fall out along with your baby at birth. Sure, breastfeeding does help quite a bit but when you are trying to lose more weight, it seems like a never ending battle.
I have always been an athletic person. I enjoy running, working out, and being competitive. I have also always struggled with my weight. Shortly before having my first child, I ran in a half marathon and regularly participated in 5k and 10k races. I was in very healthy shape. When I found out I was pregnant, I tried to continue running. It was much harder and my breath felt shorter, but I was going to try and keep running, no matter how slow I was. Months went by and I allowed guilty comments from others to flood my thoughts that I should be taking it easy while pregnant. So, eventually I did. I only gained about 30 pounds during that pregnancy. After the first few weeks post-partum, I lost all the baby weight and then some while breastfeeding. However, as soon as I stopped breastfeeding, the weight seemed to come back on quickly. I knew that within the next 1-2 years we would be trying to get pregnant again, so I really didn’t focus much on losing the weight.
Fast forward to shortly after my second child. I actually didn’t end up gaining much weight. I think in total it was around 15 pounds. Again, I watched the weight come off as I was breastfeeding. As of March 2016, I am down all the pregnancy weight plus an additional 10 pounds, which is great but I’m still nowhere near where I once was prior to babies. I realized that in order to truly be motivated to lose the weight, I need to be accountable for it. So, I’m going to be accountable to all of you!
Even as I sit here, writing this post, it makes me very anxious to do this. I absolutely hate failing at anything so here goes…this is my plan:
- Use Weight Watchers as a source for portion control, healthy recipes, and community support.
- Meal plan like crazy the week/weekend ahead. This includes but is not limited to:
- Purchasing lots of fruit, making it bit size, and packaging it myself to supplement snacks.
- Preparing salads using the mason jar method.
- Planning out easy, healthy dinner recipes.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Continue the Couch to 5K program 3x/week.
- Participate in a local boot camp for fitness and nutrition.
- Find ways to be active on the weekends with family.
My ultimate goal is to lose another 30 pounds in order to get my weight back to a healthy range for my height. I not only want to be happy with how I look in the mirror, but I want to be happy with the healthy habits I am instilling in my family.
Are YOU working on losing baby weight, too? Share your strategy!
