I'd like to take the time to write an unusual post. Well, unusual for me at least. I talk a lot about my kids and even my pregnancies, but I only touch on the physical aspects of having kids. Specifically, weight. I do like the term "baby weight." It's not entirely inaccurate, the weight gain is due to the baby, but it also allows to disown the weight a bit. Like, this is not my weight gain, it belongs to someone else, I hold little responsibility. But the truth is, as the months go on, you can't blame the kid anymore. Darn.
As all of you know, I had my sweet Adalaide 6.5 months ago. This is my body's second go around for postpartum recovery, my second go around at getting "back to normal." I use quotation marks because I never felt normal, not at the time. Looking back at it, I was pretty fit and slender, but try to tell me that back then and I would have sincerely laughed at you and insisted it was all a carefully crafted illusion. Ah, those were the days.
Truth be told, I am uncomfortable talking about weight. Not just my weight, everyone's weight. I know my aversion is my problem, and everyone should share what they want, I just get squirmy with the details. I don't need to know your clothing sizes or the numbers on the scale. Heck, I don't even like it when people say to me "Hey, you've lost weight." To me, I hear "Hey, you're not as fat as you once were." But that's probably because I would have to admit to myself I had/have extra weight.
My weight gain is due to having kids. I am not passing blame, it is the truth. The weight loss (or lack there of) is due to me and my choices in lifestyle.
I gain 50 lbs with Lorelai. Yep. 50. Ouch. Just seeing that number makes me cringe. I fight the urge to scroll back and fudge the number and force myself to type on. I had some decent morning sickness from weeks 6-12. The only thing that sat well in my stomach was bread. Bagels, toast, crackers, tortillas, etc. That's a lot of carbs; a lot of calories. I got over the queasiness, but then sunk into "I'm pregnant, I'm going to enjoy eating anything I desire." I also quit my job around this point. So, I had a lot food going into my mouth and a lot of sitting going on in my livingroom. Don't misunderstand me, I didn't binge, I didn't just shovel in chips and ice cream; but I certainly didn't buy a lot of apples and celery. I also was exactly motivated to exercise with a huge watermelon tummy either. This went on for the remainder of the pregnancy.
I had my beautiful baby girl late fall and spent the next couple months adjusting to motherhood. I spent my days trying to catch up on sleep, snacking on food, snuggling my baby, and working hard on nursing. That was the winter I spent 3 days iced in at our apartment, even over my birthday. I got into a rut. I did kind of lean on the theory of "9 months to gain, 9 months to lose." Guess what, sitting around half-awake with your baby everyday doesn't equal weight loss.
I watched the 9 month mark come and go, and my baby weight still stuck around. I had to actively do something about it. Then, of course, I hid behind excuses. Well, I had to do something with Lorelai's Halloween candy, she's too young to eat it herself. Then there was Thanksgiving, LEL's first birthday, Christmas, my family's birthdays, and then my own, etc; and Lorelai "needed" my attention, I had no time for physical activity beyond gathering laundry and unloading the dishwasher.
I did get sick of myself and my attitude. I got my rear in gear in the spring. I decided I wanted to wear my old, cool, pretty clothes again. I wanted not to hide anymore. I was motivated. I was doing well for a couple months. I was...pregnant again.
Adalaide's pregnancy was not a repeat of Lorelai's. I felt similarly, if not a little worse, but I did not want to head down that road again. After all, when I got pregnant again, I still was carrying LEL baby weight. I was starting off worse the second time than the first. I did ok with Addy. I gained only about 35lbs. But I did not wait for the "9 months on, 9 months off" timeline.
When Addy turned 4 months old, I told myself I had had enough recovery time, and I needed to get going again. Finding time and energy to do any sort of exercise routine was (and is still) hard to come by, so I focused more on food.
I started buying so many fresh fruits and vegetables, I impressed myself. Sure, I missed a lot of my old foods, but I was adjusting, and liking my new foods just fine. I did this for about a month and a half, and I lost 0 lbs. That's right, it made no difference. Some motivation, huh?
I knew what I was doing was healthier for me regardless of the scale, so I kept with it...and still have. After Adalaide weaned herself (I have the worst nursers) at 5.5 months, it became a lot easier to move around and exercise. I started doing routines and even bought a dvd recommended by my skinny mom friend.
Well, that didn't work out too well. It was a 30 day plan. I made it the first 4-5 days feeling empowered. Sure, the first 2 days killed my muscles, but they got stronger pretty fast, and I was determined to finish. By day 9 my joints were not doing well, specifically, my right knee. It was truly painful to do the more advanced routines. I wrapped it in a brace, applied ice and heat, and started taking daily painkillers to get through my exercises. I reached the 14 day mark, approx. half way through the plan. I weighed myself to see my progress. I think I lost 1 lb, even then I'm not sure, my clothes were pretty light. So, at this rate, it would take me a year and a half, knee surgery, and buckets of Tylenol to lose the baby weight. Not Cool. So, I reluctantly suspended my 30 day plan and did more of my own thing.
I pick my favorite low-impact exercises that focused on my problem areas, stomach and upper arms/shoulders. I bought even healthier foods and cut out even more "junk" from my diet. I did this for a couple weeks and made another appointment with my stingy scale. Sure enough, no change.
All my effort, all my planning, organizing, prepping, sweating, stressing, and deprivation made no difference. As I stared longing into the closet from my scale I could see all my cute fall clothes...mocking me. "HA! You thought you could wear me this year?" taunted my jeans. "You aren't even close to fitting into me." laughed my fitted, button-downs.
To be honest, I feel slightly defeated. I feel like I made all these smart, healthy choices, and have been dedicated and steadfast in my journey. I feel like all that effort was wasted. At the beginning of my adventure I lived a rather unhealthy life. Lots of frozen dinners, snacks, sodas, and sweet treats. I did no exercising outside of what I had to do to keep track of my kids and dog. Since then, I have done almost an 180° in terms of food and I have been doing what I can physically handle in the exercise department. I have almost no soda, very little sugar, little bread, lots of vegetables and fruits, lean meats, nuts, etc. I do 100 sit ups a day and spend about 15 minutes of weight training a day. My progress? I have lost 2 additional lbs...on a good day.
I'm not giving up, this routine of exercise and fresh food is good for everyone no matter the scale feedback, but I can't help but look back at old pictures of myself and wonder, will I ever look like that again? Maybe I was wrong to expect bigger results so soon. But we're going on 3 months here. 3lbs in 3 months. I fear that figure of a year and a half is looking more and more like reality. What's a real bummer with that is...I may be pregnant again by the time I reach my goal. Maybe not...though 3 kids suits me.
I don't really know what I wanted out if this post. Not pity, but maybe empathy? Have any of you all had such a difficult time with losing baby weight? I am starting to wonder if I may have a medical complication I'm not aware of...though, I was tested at the beginning of Addy and everything was normal. So, I think I just need to suck it up, put my head down, and continue to plow forward. Carrots, and spinach, and water...yay.
M.LEWIS
Empathy here! I gained almost 70 pounds with John, and there's a certain amount still hanging on.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that, through all my pregnancies, makes a huge difference is my sleep. My babies nurse frequently at night for eternity, it would appear. Until I start getting a solid chunk of sleep at night, I find the weight does not go anywhere.
And, since you are eating well, you probably have the drink lots of water part nailed. I do well when they're little, but not so much now. I feel better and snack less when I am hydrated!
You can do it.
You are not alone :). Postpartum hormones make it very hard to actually drop the weight (mine has been a very slow progression, with about 3-4 months where I lost absolutely nothing), but the healthy habits mean that as your hormones normalize, you probably will lose the extra pounds. Keep truckin' friend, I'm right there with you!
ReplyDeletePS I should mention that I actually do have a medical condition (thyroid), which many people can have pop up after a pregnancy, so it might be worth it to have them test that out again now that you are at the end of the pregnancy.