Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Me....9 Months Later

I've always heard if it took 9 months to put on the weight then it will take at least 9 to get it off. This isn't always true of course, but for me, it was pretty much right. I haven't talked a lot about my postpartum journey. Mainly because I haven't done too much about it.

I'm not a runner. I hate working out by myself. Dieting just makes me want more of whatever the infamous diet know it alls tell me I can't have. So, basically the route I took was just to return to normal. No more hot baths with ice cream sundaes every night, no more excuses for eating for two (not that I really used that much). I did start walking once it warmed up outside, but stopped once the humidity hit. Sweating is not really my thing.

So, you see, I have no helpful hints. Therefore, I didn't find it necessary to post about what I was or rather wasn't doing about the baby weight I had gained. I feel like I should summarize the journey though, because even without working out and dieting, there was a still a journey.

Let's start with some numbers. When I got pregnant I was probably about 10 pounds heavier than I was on my wedding day. It kills me to type that, but I was. Somewhere during those two years weight started to creep up on me. I probably didn't eat the best during those years. There was a lot of Starbucks consumed with whipped cream and cokes multiple times a day. I had a desk job that I hated that led to lots of wine and as I've already mentioned I don't really like working out.

Honeymoon - Perfect Weight

When I got pregnant I was really hoping to only gain between 25 and 30 pounds. I gained 40. Oops. I officially weighed the same as my husband. Ick. I'm sure I can't blame all the weight on this, but I could definitely know the weeks I craved sweets were the worse weigh ins ever. I probably shouldn't have consumed all those ice cream sundaes.

Almost full term...weighing as much as my hubs

After I gave birth I was really hoping it would just come right off. I've never had weight issues so I had no idea what to expect. Unfortunately I also had a c-section that I babied a little bit in the beginning. My stomach looked like a deflated balloon and I had stretch marks on my ass. Yuck. No one told me stretch marks would be in that area so I didn't moisturize it. Now I know.

3 weeks postpartum

I was seriously depressed those first three months when it came to my weight. All the tucking and hiding was just....gross. I hated to sit down. I much preferred to stand...things looked better that way.

Three months after I had Ethan I weighed in at a mere 5 pounds over my starting weight. It did not look the same. Let me repeat. It did not look the same. At that point I thought I was going to have to weigh in at some emaciated number to look like I once did. I couldn't understand. I still don't understand. The numbers after baby mean a completely different thing than they did before baby.


I'm at the same weight in these 2 pictures.
I promise. I'm not lying.
I'm just as confused as you are.



I wish I could remember at what point I got back into my size. I don't remember now, but the overhang? Yeah...it was still there. Gross. I can tell you that it took me 8 months to feel good about myself again though. Eight months before I stopped pulling at myself in the mirror and thinking how gross I looked.

Now, I can finally say I'm happy. I weigh the same now as I did on my wedding day. Some days I even weigh 3 pounds less (I fluctuate now). I could still use some toning. I'm not going to lie there, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to actually break a sweat to do that.

1 Month ago - 52 pounds lighter
In the end? I'm happy. I'm satisfied. Next go around I hope to gain only 30 pounds and I'll remember to moisturize my ass.


28 comments :

  1. Oh my this was a funny post! I smiled and nodded on a few occasions reading through, you have a great sense of humour :) Visiting from Jenna's challenge, think I will come back!! Good luck, you look awesome btw :)

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  2. You look great girl! Congrats! I am reading this in my sports bra, shorts and running shoes as I just got off the treadmill from trying to get my last 3 pounds off...its hard but worth it in the end.

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  3. I can relate to this too! I think your body just changes after you have a baby. Nothing looks the same as it did before and that is something we have to embrace. I think we are constantly bombarded by celebs that look so good after having a baby and those are unrealistic. You look great and don't be so hard on yourself!

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  4. You look awesome. I so wish my weight just fell off that easily. But boo-hiss I had to do weight watchers. That's okay though, it worked. But you look awesome, girl. So great!

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  5. You look awesome. I so wish my weight just fell off that easily. But boo-hiss I had to do weight watchers. That's okay though, it worked. But you look awesome, girl. So great!

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  6. Loved this post! I totally understand the confusion over the two pictures...the same thing happened to me. Very weird. For me I lost all my baby weight almost immediately with #1, not so much for #2. SIGH. Lol! Stopping by from Jenna's journey! Great blog~i'll be back to read more:)

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  7. I'm 36.5 weeks today and weigh 40 pounds over my pre-preggo weight. I hate it - I weigh about 6 pounds less than my husband. Sad. I have always had a hard time getting my weight off so I'm scared about the aftermath of the pregnancy. But, I am going to try my hardest, give myself 9 months to do so...but, I fear that I will be defeated if after 3 months I don't look how I want. Thanks for sharing this:-)

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  8. It just makes you wonder where did the weight leave if my body doesn't look the same? My feet or hands? Doesn't make sense does it? You look great!

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  9. You look great - way to go!!! I've been slowly working at getting the baby weight off and am actually 5 pounds below my pregnancy weight but nothing is the same! My goal is to get down to my wedding weight!!!

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  10. Girl you look great!!! I know what you mean about the numbers game though. I weigh the same as I did pre-pregnancy....but I'm wearing a bigger size. Go figure.

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  11. you look great! I remember feeling the same exact way as you. And I was a gym rat prior to getting pregnant - 3-4x a week in spin class or kickboxing. I was lucky to lose the weight pretty quickly - nursing helped me but it doesn't help everyone. I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight within 5 months, but it had definitely re-distributed itself. I stopped sweating it though, and work with what I have. I finally stepped up my workouts the past 3 months, doing the 30 Day Shred and getting out to walk with my son more, and trying to get myself to one spin class a week. It's never going to be enough compared to what I used to do, but I'm okay with that. Seriously, you look incredible...and you didn't even do anything!

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  12. woman you are one hot piece of stretched out ass. Haha
    I'm not there yet. And my kid is 7months old. I still pull at my stomach and wear over sized shirts to hide the extra skin. I'm not depressed over it, but I'm def. not happy about it either. I hope that soon, I'll be happy with myself once again, too.

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  13. you look incredible!!
    though as i was reading and scrolling i thought that about *every* photo :)

    xo

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  14. Seriously, you look great, but I do understand how you feel. I'm back at my pre-pregnancy weight, but that belly overhang? Ew. I won't be wearing a bikini this summer!

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  15. Hi! Stopping by from Jenna's Journey!

    Thank you for this post... I have a 6 month old and had C-section and I am having a rough time liking my body and getting back down to at least pre-prego weight.

    You look fantastic!!

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  16. Thanks for stopping by my blog. This post cracked me up. It sounds like my story, except instead of gaining 40 pounds I gained 55 and instead of 9 months to get it off it took me 2 years. (actually 10 months but I didn't start trying until Lucy was 1) Next time around, like you, I plan on gaining 20-25 and I'll remember to moisturize!
    Mary

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  17. How our bodies change during and after birth is amazing. I had also hoped to avoid stretch marks but they appeared within my last two weeks of pregnancy. I'm not a huge fan of working out either and it's hard for me to imagine dedicating my time to a cream for stretch marks two times a day for six weeks but maybe one day I will.

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  18. How our bodies change during and after birth is amazing. I had also hoped to avoid stretch marks but they appeared within my last two weeks of pregnancy. I'm not a huge fan of working out either and it's hard for me to imagine dedicating my time to a cream for stretch marks two times a day for six weeks but maybe one day I will.

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  19. How our bodies change during and after birth is amazing. I had also hoped to avoid stretch marks but they appeared within my last two weeks of pregnancy. I'm not a huge fan of working out either and it's hard for me to imagine dedicating my time to a cream for stretch marks two times a day for six weeks but maybe one day I will.

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  20. How our bodies change during and after birth is amazing. I had also hoped to avoid stretch marks but they appeared within my last two weeks of pregnancy. I'm not a huge fan of working out either and it's hard for me to imagine dedicating my time to a cream for stretch marks two times a day for six weeks but maybe one day I will.

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  21. How our bodies change during and after birth is amazing. I had also hoped to avoid stretch marks but they appeared within my last two weeks of pregnancy. I'm not a huge fan of working out either and it's hard for me to imagine dedicating my time to a cream for stretch marks two times a day for six weeks but maybe one day I will.

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  22. You look great! It's crazy how the same number looks different post baby. I know that from personal experience!

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  23. I have a similar post scheduled for tomorrow! I think you look AMAZING!!!!

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  24. hahaha, first off now one told me to moisturize that area either. Also I still struggle with loosing the baby weight and i had my last baby 2 years ago. But I am working on fixing that because I hate sitting down too. Yuck.

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  25. Sounds familiar! My philosophy is very similar to yours. I was back to normal after the 9 months (well aside from my hips shifting wider, ahem) and then went on some medication for my hip problems and it made me gain ~15lbs. So now I'm back to the losing again.

    Drat!

    ps- stopping by from Jenna's

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  26. I totally agree with you it is a journey! I think I gained 60 lbs with PB! but you look awesome now!! Great job momma!

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  27. Stopping by from Jenna's Journey. I agree with the whole "It does not look the same" thing. I lost the weight fairly fast with my son even though I gained almost 50 lbs, but my stomach never quite recovered :(

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  28. Oh you seriously look AWESOME!!!

    This is a great post :)

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