Okay so this is always a hot topic, and most mums will agree to at least feeling a little bit of pressure to drop the weight after having a baby, especially if your like me and gained over 20kg! Seeing social media darlings post photos only days postpartum looking just as, if not more amazing than they did before baby! Weather they are naturally blessed with skinny genes like Bec Judd, or they have worked their butt off like Rozalia Russian, most of us are guilty of stalking their Instagram accounts, wishing that was us. Unfortunately this was the furthest thing for me and just over 12 months post baby I’m still battling along trying to reach dem goals!
39 weeks pregnant!
So here is a little about my own weight lose journey post baby! During my pregnancy I gained almost 25 kilos, I’m not even sure how that happened as I couldn’t really eat that much but I did. I started out around 60-62kg and for the first few months I was pretty happy with my weight gain, only gaining a couple of kilos by the 20 week mark. Then slowly but surely the weight came rolling in and by the last month or two it just seemed i was sucking fat off people around me and it stuck to me like a magnet, before I knew it I was like 85 kilos!
Two weeks post Belle, so puffy!!
Granted a lot of that was fluid and I did have a reasonable sized baby (8p 1oz), but it didn’t just go away after birth. In fact, in the week or so postpartum I actually got puffier and it wasn’t until two-three weeks later this started to subside. I was worried they may have forgotten to take Belle’s twin out, because I still looked 6 months pregnant. Then over the next 3-4 months I slowly started to shed the water weight thanks to the hot sweaty flushes that felt like I was going through early menopause. I just loved waking up in the middle of the night in a pool of stinky hormonal sweat, mmmmm. During this time I dropped down to about 70-72kg and here I would remain for what felt like an eternity.
In the meantime, one of my best friends who was also pregnant, maybe 3-4 months behind me, was just about to have her little girl. During her pregnancy she continued to teach classes at the gym, take PT’s and was still looking amaze-balls right up until her labour. She literally took her last class a few weeks before her due date, and her daughter decided to make an early arrive a day or so later! She then was back on the bike (literally, RPM) 4-5 weeks after birth. This is point I made a decision to join the gym, because if she can do it, I felt like I really had no excuse.
To start it was hard to find a rhythm as I was still breastfeeding Annabelle and I found working out really effected my supply. Also timing around naps and feeds was hard to get used to but the girls at the gym crèche were amazing and it soon became apart of our routine. By the time Annabelle was 6 months old and I was mix feeding, I started to attend 3-4 days a week. And I will admit I’m pretty surprised that up until now we have continued to make a weekly classes and even pushed all the way through winter. While there have been the odd week or two we’ve missed due to sickness etc I have my 2-3 classes a week I never miss (mostly my GF’s classes cause I’m more motivated with a buddy).
As for food, there really isn’t much I can report there. I love food and I have never been on a ‘diet’ in my life unless you count the three weeks before my wedding where all I ate was chicken and took a bunch of laxatives (DO NOT DO IT). I have, however, tried to make a conscious effort to eat healthy and not indulge in too much naughty stuff. That being said I’m guilty of eating McDonald’s on the odd occasion because I have a weakness for chicken nuggets!
Few weeks ago in Palm Cove, getting there!
But anyway, here I am almost 13 months post baby and only in the last month or so have I started to lose a few more kilos, now happily sitting around 66-67kg. I have absolutely no idea where those few kilos went as I recon there was a week I stepped on the scales and that’s just how it was. And while I would be keen to lose a few more I’m not really stressing about it as I am totally happy with the way things are going. I think the most important thing is to create an environment for Annabelle that promotes a healthy and active way of living.
That all being said I have compiled a list of things I think will help you on your weight lose journey…
My tips & hints to helping you lose baby weight…
- Get a spray tan. Everyone feels better when there tanned, and it takes at least 5 kilos of in my opinion. It’s also great for covering stretch marks 😉
- When you having a shitty day post a Throw Back Thursday or Flashback Friday, that way people can flatter you with adoring ‘MILF’ comments on your Instagram saying how good you looked and then you’ll feel better about going to get Macca’s for lunch! But if it’s Monday don’t bother though, cause you’ll be flooded out by ‘i hate monday’ quotes and people are usually too emo to care.
Remember that big butts are in! Hello haven’t you been listening to Kim, Nicki or JLo? The booty is back so embrace it. But remember, Kim also showed us last week that the bush IS NOT back, so please don’t drop the ball on that one.
Treat yourself. I know it can be pretty depressing when your entire wardrobe doesn’t fit and you find yourself just schlepping around in your trackies and spew covered jumpers all day. Go out and buy some clothes that fit and that look good and just accept you might not be that size again, cause then if you do lose weight you’re over the moon about it!
- Don’t look at the scales. Okay so i’m guilty of this, and i’m always sad when the numbers don’t change. BUT have faith my friend, just because the numbers don’t change doesn’t mean you are not. As mentioned I’ve hardly had massive claim to dramatic weight lose but I feel better and I have noticed the physical changes to my body.
- Don’t let it consume you. These days I feel like there is so much aimed at new mums wanting to lose their baby weight quickly like fad diets, detox teas and pills but realistically there is no quick fix for any sustainable weight lose. Depriving your body of fuel and energy is only going to make taking care of a newborn harder as you will be tired and miserable. You made a baby, your body is awesome!
WE HAVE MOVED 