Weight for Me!
This is week one of Mission: Lose the Baby Weight! Can you feel the excitement? It’s palpable, isn’t it? I know I’m pumped. I’m PUMPED!
All sarcasm aside, the single most annoying part of baby-making is post-birth weight loss. Plain and simple it sucks ass to gain weight for the vast majority of us, even if its “good weight for healthy baby making.” Especially when we know all too well we will have to lose it later. Ugh. Drat.
It too me a good six months to lose the forty plus pounds I needed to lose after Archer’s birth and I did it the old fashioned way: eating salads twice a day and hiking six days a week which I did every single morning until I could fit back into my skinny jeans. And I gotta say, I never looked better than I did that year after Archer was born. I OWNED motherhood, y’all. OWNED.
Of course the ebb and flow is such that eventually motherhood owned me, but in retrospect I am extremely proud of my weight-loss accomplishment the first time around. I *was* younger then which makes a big difference. It does. Not that I’m that much older now but I can already tell that it’s going to be harder for me this time around. My belly may have lost most of its bulge but its very obvious that I’ve carried childREN. The skin around my belly button is perpetually frowning, poor thing.
I also have far less time to focus on weight loss than I did the first time. My original plan was to drop Archer at school and head for the hills to hike with Fable in the BabyHawk every morning..
rockin’ the hawk
…Easier said than done. In one week I have hiked one time, mainly because I’ve been sick all week but also because I have work to do and the only time to do it is in the morning because that is when Fable sleeps. Otherwise I have to work with Fable in my lap, which I can do but it’s not easy. Am I making excuses? Maybe. But I’m also a mother of two who works at home with no help, which is a bit trickier time-wise than it was with one baby. Still, losing weight is very important to me. Mainly because I cannot deal with wearing black every day in effort to slim myself down. I went through my goth phase already and I have no desire to go back thankyouverymuch.
Of course, I have no idea what I currently weigh because I don’t believe in owning a scale, something that was instilled in me by my mother (which I plan to instill in Fable as well) who forbade scales in our house, thus saving my little sister and I from potential eating disorders. I only ever knew what size I wore growing up, of course, unless I stepped into one of my friend’s houses and OMG I weigh 130 pounds? Somebody kill me NOW.
Ugh. I was such an idiot in Highschool. I would literally kill to weigh 130 pounds, now. I don’t think its near possible but I’m certainly trying to get back down to 140. But I digress. Because of the no-scales-in-house rule I can only guesstimate I’m packing a good 15-20 pounds more than I usually weigh and most of it is in my hips, thighs and upper arms so I feel pretty confident that with some work and cutting out sugars and processed foods (best breakfast for losing the lbs? Whole grains boiled and served with soy milk and fruit — try it! You will be full well into the afternoon. Other weight-loss tips include: chewing gum after meals to avoid sweets and brushing teeth after dinner to fend off after-dinner snacking) I can lose it all by next summer. I mean, if I could lose 40 pounds working my ass off for six months, I can probably lose 20 pounds taking it slow, hiking a couple times a week, over an eight-month period, yes?
(Just say yes. It’s okay if you’re lying.)
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Yes! I’m in the same boat having gotten up to 200 pounds on my 5’2″ frame during my last pregnancy (I was on complete bedrest in the hospital for 6 weeks). I’m just getting into it and am slowly making my was back down. I’ve cut out soda and drink a lot more water. It’s going to be a long road with two kids, but we can do it!
Good for you for getting started so soon!
I’m so terrified that I’ll gain 50+ lbs again like I gained with my last pregnancy. It took me A YEAR to fit back into all my regular clothes. OY.
But you’re right. Slow and steady and within reason. Watch the diet. Lots of walks. Can you do home work out videos? That’s what finally got me back in action.
Keep us posted! You can do it!
Dear gawd I wish i had the faith in losing weight that you do. 10 years later here i sit saying..oh, I can lose it.. maybe you will be my new motivator!
my real motivation for losing baby weight is to be able to wear more than 2 pairs of ugly pants! i am one size off of my pre-preg. clothes. it’s only been 3.5 months, so i’m feeling pretty good about it. i can’t wait to wear my real clothes and start building a wardrobe since i’m done making babies. you can do it, dude!
Dude I need to lose some lbs to improve my self-esteem, so I don’t have to replace my whole wardrobe, and so my carpal tunnel syndrome will stop kicking my ass!
Let me know what your plan turns out to be and we can work it together even though I live 12 hours north of you.
Yes. You can. I need to lose a bunch of weight, too. Ugh.
Rebecca – good for you! I wish I had an excuse like having a baby to explain being overweight. Anyway, I admire you for trying to get out there with her and exercise – that’s dedication!
I’m starting my week 3 of the Couch to 10K training program today and I’m terrified about it! Ever tried running? You are welcome to join me. Right now I’m running on a treadmill because I live in Chicago and it’s too fucking cold outside, especially considering my motivation to run is already in the T.
Good luck – I know you’ll be successful.
YEP! You can do it. No doubt.
A few (importanto)things that will help you…
Drink water non-stop. I will give your internal system a little work-out and it will make you feel full.
Eat six small meals a day. No larger than your fist. (your fist is just as big as your stomach). This will greatly increase your metabolism.
AND last but not least eat fiber with everyone of those meals! (it will take longer to breakdown the food) and again it leaves you feeling fuller longer.
You CAN do this. Best of luck!
I love that we feel the same way about this. I wanted to be exactly where I left off before I got pregnant as soon as I was done labour! Not happenin’! However, I am down to 141 and counting (I was 130 pre-preg) and it’s been 4 months to the day today. Luckily, no baggy skin or stretch marks to deal with, just the hips/thighs/arms thing like you. My best advice is to BREASTFEED! I haven’t started working out again yet but I’ve lost 15 lbs breastfeeding and eating healthy. I love your children’s names by the way
YES! Good luck, girl!
I went into this pregnacy obese, and I’ve only gained eleven pounds (week 36 over here). I lost 22 the first five months because of morning sickness from hell. I’m just copying down tips to keep myself on the right, healthy track now, which was where I was trying go when I turned up pregnant anyways. Thanks for the tips, and good luck! You can do it!
I’m almost nine months pregnant and I’m just waiting to have my baby so I can lose all this weight. I was telling myself that if I just went back to being vegan and took her for walks all the time it’d come off in a few months but after reading your post and all these comments I realized I’d be wrong.
YOU people are AWESOME! Thanks for your support!!! I’ll keep you all posted! And Jaclyn — your plan sounds pretty kosher to me. An all vegan diet should absolutely do the trick teamed with daily walking. Good luck and congratulations!!
Make sure you bring the dog(s?) with you if you can. I had never really been a regular dog-walker pre-baby (my two guys have a yard to romp in, so they got plenty of exercise already). But when I started taking the dogs with my on my shedding-baby-weight walks, I turned them into motivators. They came to love the walks as much as we did, and would look mournfully into my face if I was tempted to be a slacker.
Rebecca, you’ll do fine, I know you will. You’re still in your mid-twenties, for god’s sake! And I’ve met you and you’re really tall (like 5’9?), so 140 is nothing. You were six months pregnant and looking really hot! Good luck and do keep us posted, though, peer encouragement is the best.
My son is nearly 2 and I’m still 8-10 pounds over, wondering how this happened. I’ve never been huge to begin with (I’m 5’6 and now 135) so people usually don’t believe me when I say this and have zero sympathy (I’m not asking for it either) but I still feel yucky (I’m 33 and I’ve never been this big). I only want to fit into my clothes and feel like myself again, want to not spill over pants and wear skirts that hike up because they’re too tight. It’s also a matter of not letting myself go in the long run…
Anyway I’ve finally decided to do something about it in September, and started to exercise the way I used to pre-baby. While it was a fun, carefree hobby before, it now means I wake up at around 5:15 every morning because it’s the only time it fits. Well, I’m really feeling better, of course, but I haven’t lost ONE friggin’ pound. I’ll lose 2-3 pounds during the week, then have a couple glasses of wine and some chips and salsa during the weekend, and it cancels out everything. I didn’t think trying to go back to my own self meant I would have to stop living, and I find it hard. While being perfectly aware that there are many worst and more important things in the world, I’m pretty discouraged right now.
I’m 4.5 months post partum with baby #2, so I feel your pain. I broke down and joined Weight Watchers last week and it’s the bomb. Good luck in the weight loss endeavor – I have about 35lbs to drop and it’s not going to be easy, but I’m gonna do it. I never dropped the baby weight from my son – I always had it in the back of my mind that I was going to have another kid and gain it all back, so what was the point? I’m done carrying spawn now, so no more excuses….
Hmm…I’ve always looked at you and figured you were about 130 now…I also have about 40 pounds to lose…I lost all my weight after the first 2, and now that I’ve had 2 more I have to start all over. I hear you about finding the time, I walked and did excercise vidoes at home last time and plan to take that route again. Good luck.
First off, you look fab in the pic with baby fable. But, if you’re determined to lose weight do you have any room in your house for an exercise bike? You could break up the workouts into 10 minute intervals whenever you had the time to fit them in: get up 10 mins early before the kids wake up. bike 20 mins while fable naps, 15 mins while hal gives the kids a bath etc. Breaking up a workout might be the only way to do it with your schedule.
You get the picture. Team that with your walks and healthy diet and you should be golden. Add some pushups and squats to the mix and you’ll be ready to kick ass and take names.
God I’m so sick of gauchos. I want REAL LIVE PANTS.
Sigh. No hikes for me, yet, but the whole work at home when to work out thing is a bit difficult to manage. Maybe my body will be so shocked when I do actually work out that the pounds will just fall right off…
I want to bop you with a Nerf bat. You look awesome.
When I lived in MI I used to hike 6 miles every Sunday. Then we moved to Hades.
I’ve been doing the NYC Ballet Workout, but I’m having trouble achieving proper form because my thighs are so much fatter than I was when I actually did ballet.
You’ll get to it, Bec. & if you don’t? Well, we still love you.
I don’t know if it’s “cheating” but it couldn’t hurt – I’ve been seeing this Belly Bandit in magazines and on TV. It’s supposed to help get back to your size pretty quickly…
I’m totally impressed that you were able to lose all the weight the first time around by Archer’s first birthday. My little man is going to be 1 on Monday, and I’m still packing an extra fifteen pounds…at least. It’s incredibly frustrating.
It sounds like you have a great plan–plus the knowledge that you’ve done it before, and you most certainly can do it again!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16214666
i’m reading this and thinking to myself… no way she weighs as much as i do! you look great and did throughout your pregnancy. i know it’s easier said than done, but you can do it! but seriously, no worries, you look great. everything in moderation.
ps tia! i was going to buy that dress off etsy the other day. is it your site?