A couple days ago, I finally took a good long look in the mirror and tried to figure out how in the HECK I was still carrying this weight around my middle.
I realized that it didn’t happen overnight. This was a gradual weight gain. While I’m only 10 pounds from where I want to be, I’m also barely 5 feet tall. When you’re short, 10 pounds can make the difference between fitting a 12 or a 6. Yes, it’s that extreme.
I’ve retraced my steps and I think I can pinpoint where this all started…
February 2006 – Noticed I had packed on a few pounds. I thought it was because my boyfriend and I had having a really nice, romantic couple of weeks. Been on a few more dates. Eating at Red Lobster (biscuits!) a lot will do that to you. Weight: 130
March 2006 – Took pregnancy test and realized it wasn’t extra alfredo and cheesecake making me fat – it was a baby. Ooops. Weight: 133
November 2006 – I give birth to my daughter. Three weeks later, I realized all my maternity clothes are too big and somehow all my nonmaternity clothes no longer fit. I keep wearing the maternity clothes as the lesser of two evils. Weight: 158
May-June 2007 – Within this two-month period, I got married, graduated from college, moved, had my daughter’s baptism, and got my first post-college job. Working out was mandatory to handle the stress. Weight: 130
October 2007 – Got lazy after the honeymoon but finally decide to start working out with a venegance, attacking the last five pounds of baby weight. Lose two pounds. Enough progress to see a little bit of definition in my abs. I showed my husband my two pack and he promptly said, “Eh, you’ll be pregnant again soon enough.” Um, what, dude? Weight: 127
November 2007 – True to his word, surprise! I’m pregnant with baby #2. Gain those lost two pounds and then some. Weight: 135
May 2008 – Five months pregnant, I discover The Strawberry Delight Cake. Sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries? Sign me up. Since I’m preggers, I gave myself permission to inhale one of these a week. (They’re small cakes! Don’t judge me!) Weight:
*mumble, mumble*
August 2008 – Give birth to the 9 pound prince. Weight: 160
December 2008 – Still look pregnant. Let’s not talk about weight.
January 2010 – STILL LOOK PREGNANT.
December 2010 – Looking a little preggers. Final straw.
So I began working out in January, determined to lose the last bit of weight. But then I had a knee injury in February that knocked me out most of the month! But now I’m back, ready to get sleek and sexy for summer.
Biggest challenge? Avoiding those strawberry delight cakes. Damn.
What about you? What does your baby weight journey look like? Did breastfeeding help you lose weight? Did you gain weight after giving birth? Has your weight yo-yoed since becoming a mommy?
Breastfeeding did not help me lose weight like they make it seem. In fact, I lost weight as Moo breastfed less and I started walking more. Cutting out sugary drinks helped too. Plus, I started eating fresh veggies and more fruit.
With this pregnancy I have been watching my weight gain. I’ve been eating lean meats, fish, salads and lots of veggies. So, I’m a whole 34 pounds lighter this time around than I was last time! So, that is a great sign.
@YUMMommy – Breastfeeding didn’t really help me lose weight. It made me hungry…and then I would eat. LOL. But it’s all about diet and exercise. Period. *sigh* Congrats on the new kiddo.
I gained 17 pounds during my pregnancy and at my 6 week post partum I was 3 pounds under my normal weight. I attribute it to breastfeeding because I normally don’t loose much weight. I have had a diet change though since having the baby. (meat, sugar, and fat!). I feel pudgy about the stomach. I haven’t weighed myself but I feel a little gross.
I need to make some serious dietary and lifestyle changes!
I gained 27lbs with my first baby, and 12lbs with my second baby. Since my second baby came only 16 months after the first, I lost the baby weight but never lost the jelly belly. Now I have jelly belly x 2 and I’m getting married in 3 months. I began my weightloss journey in November 2010. I’m finding that my face, arms, legs, and butt are shrinking but that stupid gut of mine is persistent as can be! Glad I’m wearing a corset style dress that takes about 20lbs off of me!
I am fatter now than I was when I was pregnant with my 3 year old! I was taking that long, hard look in the full length mirror and was pretty grossed out. I weigh about 125 and I am short. I think my weight is not as much the issue as my cellulite. I refuse to wear a swimsuit where actual people can see me. I am older and I realize that I can’t be 102 pounds anymore. I am doing light toning exercises and we are talking about getting a treadmill. I look back at photos when I was pregnant at 9 months and I had the leanest body then. Damn all those yummy pastries and bread. I am trying…one day at a time.
Man I think it depends on age also I’m 33 & when I had baby #1 @ 22 the pounds dropped now with. Baby # 2i actually gained weight after for the 1st kid o went from 119lbs to 135 after birth kid #2 from 135 to 165 after birth. …kid #2 is 9. Months now & I’m 175 I breastfed with both kidsbut # 2 eats way more sooo when he turn 1yr in june it’s diet time n gym time I’m 5-6 height n hubby loves the extra meat so he claims but I feel fat with huge boobs (36c to 44d) any weight losss suggestions?
My weight was at it’s best the summer of 2008, it had been an up and down struggle for years and I finally got down to 127 (I’m a short one too and was so happy to not be so “busty” anymore). But that was also the summer I found out I was pregnant – the irony… I gained about 125lbs over my pregnancy, and had my son in Jan…
Breastfeeding helped to get my stomach down a little, but a lot of my weight was always in my chest area, so it didn’t help much. Then I got on a strict portion control and exercise plan, along with my academic stress and lost a little over 20lbs (I got down to 135, it took me about August 2009-January 2010).
Now I am back up to 148. And it’s just because I looooove to eat (especially cake haha) and can’t stand the idea of dieting….along with med school marathon study sessions that include lots of late night junk food and little exercise…I’m hoping to get my act together soon, because I am really trying to be sexy for the summer LOL….
I wish I could blame pregnancy for my weight gain but I have been struggling with my weight all of my life …. I came into this world at 11lbs and 10 oz and continued to grow and grow since then … By eighth grade I was wearing a size 26/28 (3x) from lane bryant and weight well who knows …. Pregnancy hit me July 2007 and until April 4, 2008 I fluctuated with 10lbs but by January 2011 I was 402lbs and that was it …. NO MORE …. Here we are March 31, 2011 and Im down 20.4 lbs and put on my first 2x pair of pants in probably 13/14 years ….. Lots more to go but since it took me 29 years to get here Im sure its going to take me a few years to get it off …. Wish me luck!
I gained 50 pounds while prego with #1 (and only) boy!! At only 5′ as well, it was a HUGE shock to my system. Took 6 months to get it off (but the first 30 pounds just fell off about 6 weeks pp, the other 20 took MONTHS of 5am workouts since I am working full time teaching.) I am willing to workout that much harder if it means still being able to eat what I want
which is mostly healthy but I definately have at least one treat a day 
at 8 months pp, I am still struggling with maintenence, its almost as much work as getting the weight off!!! I am NOT looking forward to #2…. but I am kicking it into high gear for summer time!!
love your blog! brilliant idea!
good luck!