When I was a brand new mommy, I lost nearly all of my baby weight via the magic of mastitis and a severe stomach flu. Gross and uncomfortable as it was, for the most part I dodged a bullet when it came to enduring a long painstaking weight loss journey. But recently, I had a holiday season positive pregnancy test (which of course led to extra cookies here and there “for the baby”) combined with a pregnancy loss five weeks later (which honestly led to an influx in calories that tasted a lot like my feelings – empty). While I certainly wasn’t 30+ pounds above my fighting weight, like I was after having Colin, I am now facing spring with a less than fabulous extra pounds clinging to my midsection. Whether it is after a loss or after a new baby’s arrival, no one wants to be walking around looking, “is she pregnant?” right?
So now, with spring supposedly on the horizon, I am forcing myself off of the couch, kicking myself into high gear and shedding those pounds that are sitting there as a constant reminder of what isn’t there. Here how I’m going to do it * :
1) Use the adorable twenty-eight pound weight who I am already responsible for chasing.
My child loves running, jumping, flying, spinning and more. Usually, since my days and weeks feel long, I am not always game for a game of chase. Now, no more excuses. He asks, I come running. He says jump, I say “how high?” When the weather dips above freezing and the snow thaws, we can step away from the vehicle and resume neighborhood walks. I just pulled the trigger and splurged on a used jogging stroller (we’re selling our other single stroller to cover most of the cost), so hopefully having the gear will help me actually use it.
And when it comes to resistance training, I can use Colin’s help for that too. On days that I can’t fit in a visit to the gym, I can lift Colin up in the air for three sets of 10 lifts. I can do wall sits with him on my lap. I can do “girly” push ups over him with belly tickles and kisses (or if I’m ambitious, I could have him sit on my back). When he was a baby, I would put him in the carrier and do lunges, squats and have cardio dance parties in front of the mirror. While I don’t think he will sit still for a ton of this at once, we can definitely fit it in in spurts throughout the day.
2) Make the most of my time at the gym.
I’m embarrassed to admit how many days since the holiday season I have gone to the gym to shower and have a little bit of peace while Colin was in Kid Care, skipping the workout portion of the visit entirely. Not anymore. I won’t come close to working out the full 2 hours Colin can stay with the child care providers, but I am going to use my energy and time wisely. For me, this means mostly weight training and high intensity interval training. My former trainer always taught me to do weights first before cardio, and in the past, I have gotten away with doing only weight training and have grown to love it. I have never been the type to get my groove on in the cardio area, so if I am going to torture myself over there, it is doing interval sprints (1 minute running, 1 minute walking, repeat. Over and over).
3) Get rid of all the junk food in my house.
Guys, it is Girl Scout Cookie season. I have so much trouble refusing the cute 5 year old Brownies at our local grocery store that I have accumulated a small stash. They have got to go, them and the tortilla chips and the other overly tempting snacks that somehow disappear from my house during nap time (?!?). The cookies will go with Mr. C to work, anything unopened will be donated and the rest goes in the trash. End of story.
4) Be more conscious about what goes in my mouth.
Living with a toddler leads to a ton of food waste. And after we are all done eating, I may or may not be known to graze on what has been left behind. Even though we generally eat healthy food, overeating is never going to lead to losing weight. Even without junk food in the house, I need to be more cognizant about eating healthy, balanced meals (and not a meal in a half, including Colin’s scraps). Oh, and I am going to drink lots of water (in theory, at least. I’ve never been so great at this).
*Disclaimer: I am not a trainer or a fitness professional. Consult with a professional, doctor, trainer or otherwise before venturing into a weight loss program.
That is my plan, and hopefully, by the time spring really feels like spring in the Midwest (if that ever happens), I will be well on my way to my goal weight. If you’re in the same boat, what is your strategy for shedding baby weight? Any tips you can share?
blogger / nectarine / 2608 posts
I love this!! I’ve always felt that babywearing is excellent, too, because our kids grow heavier as we get stronger. I stink at drinking water, but I can drink herbal tea like there’s no tomorrow. And, it also somehow feels like I’m pampering myself when I drink it (even if I have a grouchy Ellie asking me where her scissors are while Lorelei tries to do exploratory surgery on my nostrils with her fingers). Obviously the bar for my “pampering” standards is not set very high. Would that maybe work for you? Or adding a little bit of lemon juice to the water? I’ve finally added yoga back into my routine and have really benefitted from it. Thanks for being such a great inspiration to think about health, fitness, and conscious food choices.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
I use my fitness pal to track what I eat. It really helps me be accountable with what I put in my mouth. I eat lots of protein to keep me full while eating less, too! And same as you–lots of weights+interval training.
You’ll get there, keep at it!
cantaloupe / 6086 posts
I just started back with myfitnesspal. TTC #2 and fertility drugs have put an extra 10 lbs on top of what I already needed to lose. it’s an uphill battle right now but my only shot at keeping my pre-BFP weight as low as possible, even if that’s not as low as I’d like. I’m hoping I can lose 10 lbs just by cutting out the extra snacking and cleaning up after LO. hopefully warmer weather (someday??) will help too.
coffee bean / 35 posts
I’m right where you are. I had a MC about a month ago and I’m still carrying about 10 lbs of pretzel fueled nausea prevention weight from the 10 weeks I thought I was pregnant and feeling sick. Right now, I’m just trying to be more aware of what I’m eating. I’m ready for winter to be over here in Chicago so DS and I can get outside and run around more.
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
I cut snacks and that helps. Snack and it comes back. The treadmill has been great this winter. I’ve given into Sesame St and will put it on while I run for 4mi and M watches. If I don’t get it done first thing, it doesn’t happen. I wish M would tolerate the child care at my gym. Right now it’s a giant waste of money each month.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Right now I’m trying to do the Insanity DVD to get myself back into shape. I need to tone up!
blogger / pomelo / 5361 posts
Ughhh…I’m definitely still working on dropping a lot of post-baby (and post-wedding, for that matter) weight. I’m doing Weight Watchers and I’ve been thinking that I need to get back to running consistently. Hopefully, now that it’s warming up, I can work a jog into our routine and get the boys some additional outdoors time, too.
grapefruit / 4671 posts
Gah, if I could stop drinking 3 glasses of wine a night I would be fine. This is a good reminder to keep plugging.
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
My post-baby weight isn’t even from a pregnancy, but just from a lack of time to eat well and exercise! These are very good practical tips!
kiwi / 538 posts
We’re having a “Biggest Loser” contest at my office so I’m using that as my motivation to lose my remaining baby weight. I’ve started working out after my son goes to bed- that 1st week getting back into the swing of things was a killer! I already eat fairly healthy but this year I gave up all sweets for Lent to keep me from giving into temptation :). I really think the weather changing (I’m in the Midwest also) and being able to go outside and play with my son is going to help also.
grapefruit / 4923 posts
what good ideas! wow, there is no way i could lift my LO for three sets of 10 reps and he weighs less than colin–that is impressive!
blogger / cherry / 192 posts
If only the weather would cooperate – I miss running outside! I would get up, run a couple miles before anyone was up. Otherwise it’s so hard to find the time.
blogger / pomegranate / 3300 posts
I use my fitness pal and I signed myself up for runs. I have done a 5k and a 10k and plan to sign up for a 1/2 marathon. Signing up keeps me doing it because I don’t want to waste my money for the run registration and I don’t want to be embarrassed by not being able to complete a run.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@blackbird: I love fitness pal! I always use it when I workout to find out how many calories I’ve burned.
I dropped the weight with a lot of work, and wrote a post on it too – but since having him I realized my weight keeps wanting to creep up and the set point has become a lot higher than it used to be, so maintaining weight, much less losing it, has been a battle!
blogger / kiwi / 675 posts
I need to start something… ehh…. I really let myself slide pp, I just try to nurse it off… which kinda works for me but it takes a long time. I need to get moving more. Start running again. :)I have a gym membership but literally haven’t gone in a few years!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
I need to start figuring out steps to help me get more in shape and be healthier in general
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
I am just starting out on my journey of post baby body… now that I’m done with kids it’s really time to focus on myself because every day I am getting older and older, and it’s only tougher to shed those pounds and firm up that muscle and skin. Ugh. I am starting out with My Fitness Pal and seeing some good results of a few pounds a week. But it’s so hard to not snack!
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
I need to strengthen my body post baby….I need to get on it!