I have no secrets, I don't know if there are any mommy weight loss secrets really. All of the moms I know lost weight by breastfeeding and eating sensibly and it was the same for me. When I got pregnant in June, I was around 150 lbs. I'm 5'3 and normally, my heavy, after Thanksgiving and Christmas weight can get as high as 155.
By the time I stopped checking, which was at 39 weeks pregnant, I weighed 180 lbs. I went 40 weeks and 6 days so I estimated that I was close to 185lbs when I delivered. 35 lbs. is not a lot to gain while pregnant in my opinion. Some gain more, some less, and as long as baby is healthy, whatever weight I gained was fine with me.
This is one of the last pictures I took before having Maci, so let's call it about 185lbs.
When I was in the hospital, after delivering via C-section, I was encouraged to walk (slowly) and wear and girdle to reduce swelling, get rid of gas etc., so I did. When I left the hospital 3 or 4 days after giving birth, I looked like this. We're toasting to a healthy delivery and heading home. (My friend Lola brought me wine in a Gatorade bottle, what a great friend!) I was wearing an
adjustable hospital binder like this.
Once I got home, I was feeling pretty good, and eating normally (for a hungry, super thirsty, breastfeeding mom). I was drinking tons of water throughout the day and every time I woke up at night to feed Maci. I was trying to get the hang of things and I could feel my belly contracting, which means my uterus was shrinking and that's how your belly gets smaller. The day we got home from the hospital, my belly looked like this.
By day 6, I started swelling and retaining fluid and looked a hot mess. Like, I went from bad to worse. All of my friends and family pretended they didn't notice. They were so nice and didn't mention how bad I looked. I was tired, groggy and swollen but in new mommy bliss so I didn't even notice until I saw this picture of myself! Wtf happened! Bigger face than when I was pregnant and bigger than when I left the hospital.
After seeing that picture, I was ready to start walking again but I wasn't supposed to exercise for another 5 weeks. Fast forward a few weeks into mommyhood and feeling good enough to drive, I was running errands and looked like this. Not as swollen and belly going down. By this time, my hospital band was too big and I bought a
girdle like this. I bought a size medium but I couldn't pull it on until a month after delivering.
From day to day, my belly would fluctuate size with gas or fluid. These 2 pictures were taken only a few days apart.
With the girdle on at Marshall's :)
At 1 month exactly, I celebrated my birthday with friends at dinner and looked like this. I hadn't done any exercising other than the occasional walk. I decided that a peplum top would be my best bet for hiding my postpartum tummy. My flabby arms, however, couldn't be conceiled. No big deal I guess. My boobs were also gigantic and I had increased from a 34D to 36E.
After gettin the ok from my doctor to start exercising at around 6 weeks, I increased my walks by duration only. I still walked pretty leisurely, and it was only every few days on the greenway in my neighborhood. Here's my family taking a walk.
I looked like this.
My husband and I decided to take a vacation at the end of August with some friends and I really wanted to feel comfortable in a bathing suit. In the middle of June, we booked the trip. That meant I had 2 months to get into "shape"! I started walking more often but I knew that wouldn't be enough. I signed up for a bootcamp and this was me on day 1...sorta scared.
I
reluctantly woke up at 5am to pump before working out at 6am, then having a full day of mommy duties to do. It was really hard for me to get up early and devote that time to working out but it was only 45 minutes. The Burn Bootcamp classes were REALLY GOOD! I would go into detail about what we did but there was a lot. Basically, lots of squats, push-ups and jumping jacks...with weights. Very traditional workouts, no machines or crazy moves. The classes were full of people who just wanted to workout and not intimidating gym rats. The trainers were intense and motivating and were willing to help any time you needed a push. You can check out their website here to get specific class information. They also have a Groupon that makes it super affordable.I was really excited about my progress while in bootcamp and then I got sick and stopped after 1 month. I didn't go back to bootcamp but when the cruise came around, I looked like this.
I felt comfortable enough to wear a baithing suit and I was back to 150lbs. My body is shaped totally different now but I'm really liking my new mommy body. I have loads of stretch marks on my tummy but I'm slowly starting to get used to them. I don't go to bootcamp anymore because after we came back from the cruise, Maci went through a rough time sleeping at night so I just didn't have the energy to get up and work out. I still walk with Maci in her stroller so that when I decide to workout again, I don't have to start from square one :) Today, a month after our cruise, I weigh 145lbs. I'm going to go back to bootcamp soon to tone up and just stay in good health. Hope this helps anyone who's looking to loose weight, especially after baby. Walk, walk, walk and when you're ready, try a bootcamp or group session because I really believe being in a group helped motivate and push me.
**I'm not on any extra special diet, but if anyone is intersted in what I eat on a typical day, let me know in the comments and I'll do a seperate post on it**
