At 15 weeks postpartum, I haven’t kept it a big secret that I gained a whopping 55 pounds during my pregnancy. Despite working out four to six times a week and eating the healthiest I had ever eaten in my life, I put on pounds like it was my job. And let’s face it, to grow a baby, it is a women’s job to pack on the pounds. I never expected to be one of those women that barely gained any weight or would be back into her skinny jeans upon leaving the hospital, and I assure you I wasn’t. The day I found out I was pregnant I stepped on the scale and took a picture of it reading 123 lbs; I didn’t want to forget the body and weight that I had worked so hard for. A normal range for me was anywhere between 119-125 lbs, and just before giving birth, I was 178 lbs. I had never in my life seen a number over 155, so once I surpassed what I had weighed at my all time heaviest, my weight gain became increasingly more difficult for me to accept.
I loved everything about my baby bump and growing my baby girl; however, I hated seeing every other part of my body blowing up before my eyes. But despite gaining more than I ever wanted or expected to, I felt incredibly strong, fit and healthy throughout my entire pregnancy. I worked out right up until the day I went into labor. In fact, my daughter was born less than 24 hours after taking a barre class. My doctor assured me at each and every appointment that my weight gain wasn’t abnormal and that I was very healthy, and because I was at what was considered a low weight pre-pregnancy, it wasn’t overly shocking I was gaining a bit more. Did it make the increasing number on the scale easier? Not a chance. I’m a woman, and I don’t know many of us women that don’t care about our weight.
I was pretty much counting down the days postpartum that I could start exercising again. I couldn’t wait to take my baby girl for walks, hikes and to my beloved barre studio for mommy and me classes. I simply couldn’t wait to get back to some sort of fitness regime. By five weeks postpartum I was officially cleared to workout again and the same day I got the OK, I signed myself up for a barre class. I wasn’t wasting any time. Exercise is a huge release and is essentially therapy for me. It gives me time to think about anything, everything or nothing at all. I was pleasantly surprised at how great I felt when I started exercising again. Because I had an emergency C section, I had to ease back into it and continue to modify certain exercises, but none the less, I felt great. Although I felt like I was starting from scratch from a weight loss perspective; I was thrilled that my body didn’t feel like it was starting from scratch. My body felt strong, and sometimes it feels stronger than it did before.
Pre-pregnancy and pre-baby, I wasn’t a big walker. I preferred running, hiking and essentially anything high impact that forced me to push my body and endurance to higher limits. But recovering from a C section, I knew walking was going to quickly become one of my main sources of cardio. Not to mention, I was really excited to introduce the great outdoors to my baby girl. I was doing so much walking that I decided to order myself a Fitbit to track how many steps I take a day. A lot of my barre friends have one and love it, and I knew from them that we should all be getting at least 10,000 steps a day. With the exception of the mini vacation my husband and I took where I barely wore it, I’ve been a stickler about logging my steps daily. Actually, I’ve become obsessed with it. Because I’m currently a stay at home mommy and house wife, I find it practically impossible not to get at least 10k steps a day. I rack up a lot of steps between taking care of the baby, running around doing errands and cleaning. Then add at least one walk to that a day, and some days two walks, a walk and a hike or a walk and a barre class and it puts me way over my goal of 10k steps. On days where the weather is rainy or when I simply don’t have the time for a walk, I find other creative ways to get in my steps. For instance, last week we had a day that poured from morning till night. So every time my baby girl was napping, I did laps around the house, I ran up and down our stairs, my Fitbit counts floors which include stairs and hills, and I did an at home workout DVD. I’ve also become really good at walking while folding laundry. Yup, it can be done and now instead of sitting or standing, I either walk around the house or simply do exaggerated step-touches while folding my laundry. Thanks to rainy days, I’ve also discovered jumping jacks, high jumps, mountain climbers, squat thrusts and essentially any sort of plyometric exercise which scores me steps on my Fitbit. Most days I average anywhere from 14k-16k steps, but some days where I’m really active I log up to 20k+ steps. Truth be told, this little device won’t allow me to be lazy. It’s keeping me on track and helping me stay focused on losing my pregnancy weight. And I was thrilled that last week, at 15 weeks postpartum (when I actually started writing this blog), I was officially down 38 lbs. In less than four months postpartum I have lost more weight than what some women gain their entire pregnancy. So although I still have several more pounds and inches to lose to get back to where I was, I’m feeling incredibly fit, strong and proud with how far I’ve come in such a short period of time. I’m slowly starting to incorporate running back into my life and am pleased with how physically fit and strong my endurance feels. My husband continues to tell me how great I look and lately I’ve gotten a lot of, “You do not look like you just had a baby” comments from people who I’m meeting along the way. And I have to admit, the compliments are a huge boost of confidence.
Pregnancy and motherhood has by far been the most interesting, challenging and amazing journey of my life. It has changed me inside and out. On the days where I still get down about how an old pair of jeans still don’t fit quite the way they used to, or that my thighs are still thicker than they were before, I look at my daughter and am instantly reminded that she was worth every single ounce, and that I would do it all over again in a heart beat. She is a gift, a blessing and her and my husband are the loves of my life. I love taking her on walks, hikes and mommy and me barre classes. It not only allows me to get in a workout with her by my side, but it’s also introducing her to the active and outdoorsy lifestyle my husband and I live. Every day and one step at a time I’m regaining my “old” body back. Every day and one step at a time I’m learning how to be more patient, with myself and with my daughter. Every day and one step at a time I’m learning how to be the best mommy and role model I can be. And I’m thrilled that my baby girl is with me every step of the way!