Guest post by Veena Crownholm
Some how, some way in my pregnancy I gained about 60 pounds. I started out at about 118 pounds and made my way past 168 pounds. Ok, so you are probably thinking I was indulging myself in craving after craving. Quite the contrary for the most part. I mean there is the occasional cookie and frozen yogurt cup that had be had but very occasional. I think it all started to go really wrong with my emergency appendectomy which I think led to pre-term labor and was put on bed rest at 29 weeks. This is when the weight went nuts.
Anyhow, the 60+ pounds i gained during pregnancy was a really hard pill to swallow once my little guy arrived. I held on to the hope that breastfeeding would literally suck the pounds off. I had friends say that no matter how much they ate they could not keep weight on and they were skinnier than they had ever been. HA! So not the case for me. Night sweats took care of the first 20 pounds, so that was pretty good. But the next forty were tough.
Between yoga, baby boot camp and circuit workouts at a local park after about 6 months, another 20 pounds came off. Holy moly! 20 pounds still to go and my little guy was a year old. What?!?! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine having this sort of weight problem. Extra weight was one issue but my confidence level was another. I have dreaded having any pictures taken. As I peruse my pictures online, I hardly having any pictures of my with little guy. Very sad! And then there is the “getting dressed” ordeal every day. I can never seem to find anything to wear that I feel good in. Inevitably, the muffin top seems to spill over the top of my pants and every shirt seems to accentuate my love handles. It doesn’t matter how many times my hubby tells me I look beautiful…I still want to cry every time I get dressed.
So in the last month. my girlfriend drug me out for a zumba class. I was skeptical about it, but willing to try anything that helped burn extra calories. As it turned out…It was awesome! I have taken 10 classes in the last month and lost over 7 pounds. AMAZING! I feel my confidence levels rising and feeling more like the me I used to know pre-pregnancy. Do I still sport a muffin top? Yes ma’am, but its much smaller and getting easier to hide. For the first time in 16 months, I have hope to lose my muffin top once and for all; however, while I write this post I am left wondering why I feel/felt so much pressure to lose the baby weight as quickly as possible. Why is that I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin with the extra weight?
Any other mamas deal with post pregnancy weight? Low confidence issues post birth?
Check out this special 3 part series on Pregnancy Fitness by pre-natal fitness expert, Sara Haley.
Getting your Pre-Baby weight back – The three C’s
Top 3 belly blaster exercises for new Moms
Top 6 exercises to prepare for pregnancy
Comments
I gained most of my weight post baby… I mean i gained like twenty or thirty with the baby, then when I was nursing, not only was the weight not going away I was ravished all the time! I staid hungry, so that added another twenty pounds. Then when My little one was nine months, and I started going out and walking trails again, BAM! I got pregnant with baby number two. Then gained with that pregnancy ten more pounds… (I basically plateaued with my weight gain, my baby was gaining but with all the running around with my little one i was losing so it evened out to a dead stand off) Then again with nursing (though i learned from the last time) i still gained another ten… so count it that’s 90 lbs.. when the second was born immediately went to depo shot but that was only a hindrance to the weight problem. So I went off depo, and lost ten. But now that weather is getting warmer, hoping to hit the trails again and walk the rest off. But i’m like you, I can’t stand getting dressed. I actually dread surprises from my husband like going to a nice restaurant because the only thing i’m comfortable in is jeans and a t-shirt!! i think it’s because of the women out there who can pop out a kid and be back in a bikini in less then a year is what puts pressure on the rest of us to do it. I watch these tv shows where people say “all i had to do was watch portions, and cut out sugar” I rarely have sugar in the house, and With two young kids, and a husband who when at home decides he needs just as much attention as the kids, I barely eat a full meal. It is a NIGHTMARE!!! ok i’ll stop venting.
Muffins tops are seriously NOT fun. I felt flabby for years and still do at times when though I am only about 8 pounds overweight now, it shows when you are only 5 foot 1! When I drink my shakes and eat a lot of veggies, I look good. Add some bread and I blow up!
It’s hard to have the confidence we want when we don’t feel attractive, I understand. Remember, you are beautiful on the inside, all Moms are Goddesses really….but lose it slowly and pound by pound, I’m sure you’ll feel better and be healthier!
That is so great that you were able to lose 53lbs! I’m sure you are an inspiration to a lot of moms who did not think that is possible for them. Way to go!
Congrats on losing 53 lbs. That is amazing. I’ve been writing about my challenges losing 17 lbs after my third kid. With the first two, the weight came off, but this one was a lot harder. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any better way than eating less and exercising more. The good news is that, over time, that does work. The “over time” is just hard to get through!