The Post I Haven't Written - Losing the Baby Weight

I wrote this post and erased it a few times, both in my head and on the blog.  Not that I really had time to write a lot (little people are needy), but I just couldn't find the words.  I think I was just mostly disappointed.  A little disappointed that it was taking too long, and disappointed that I wasn't able to put my full effort into taking care of myself. 

Something happens when you have a baby- it's a bit consuming and for me, it was all consuming.  When before, I could work out 7 days a week, I was now left with 3-4 days tops, if I could get out of the house with a little guy who needed to eat every 2 hours and I was his food source.  Between a very stressful job, my commute, and adjusting to life as a new mom, weight loss was not my top priority.

Slowly but surely, Levi became a bit older and finally stopped eating in such short intervals and I was able to get away a bit more.  I really hit my stride with workouts at about 8 months after the baby and really only did one yoga/pilates class a week, one Zumba class, and 2 sessions by myself combining cardio and strength training. I also walked the dog with the stroller at least 5 times a week, sometimes twice, and we always had family hikes.

Now looking back on the pictures, it's not a big deal and I know a lot of my feelings were influenced by a lot of outside pressure. My body grew and nourished a baby for 2 years and I'm really proud of myself.  My next mini goal is getting to a healthier and stronger me by my 30th birthday (just a short 6 months away).  As always, I'm open to any questions.

Here is my story in pictures:

Almost 42 weeks pregnant (that means really, really late), and up 35 healthy pounds

Home from the hospital, down 23 lbs by the time I came home. The baby was 8 pounds of the weight I gained 

About 3 months post-baby. Weight stood still with 12 more pounds to lose. I had to go to a wedding and felt pretty icky, but found a dress to hid the bump remnants, kinda.

About 7 months post-baby. I was down 5 pounds and had 7 more to go

9 months after baby- down another 2 pounds, with 5 more to go

About 10.5 months later, almost at goal weight, but a lot of toning to do.

My last official belly shot, about 1 year after baby- back to starting weight.

13 months after baby on the left, and 15 months on the right

Weight loss

I was really nervous to put this up because these aren't the most flattering pictures...but I'm positive it will be ok since this is the point of doing a weight loss post!

Here is the history:

I was a normal size kid then started gaining weight when I was about 10. My mom is an amazing cook and I ate what I was served. I was pretty heavy during the wonderfully awkward period of 10-13. I think I was under 5 feet and wore a size 7- quite large on a 6th grader! By 8th grade, I started paying attention to foods and nutrition and started exercising at the local YMCA. I called the Y my 'exercise entry drug' because I loved it so much.

Through high school, I went up and down from 115 to 135 and back down to 120. I still exercised, but my nutrition was horrible. This brings me to what I consider my adult weight problems.

During my last couple of years of college I was enjoying the drinks, working, studying, and working out sporadically. As you can see from these pictures, I was having a great time and definitely enjoying myself. I have to say that I knew my problem areas (booty, legs, and arms) but I was never totally unhappy.

Around November 2004 ~130

January 2004 ~130

August 2005~ 135

September 2005 ~ 130

October 2005 ~130

By October 2005 I was in my last year of college and I was back to exercising on a regular basis. See the black and white picture above? I met my hubby-to-be the day after that. (It was the day after Halloween!) As we started dating, we started exercising together and I lost some weight- I guess I am opposite of the happy relationship gain. I got a little too into exercising and started losing a little too fast for my own good. I was happy with my look, but my diet wasn't the most balanced and I was exercising too much. Here is the loss:


June 2006 ~122



July 2006 ~ 120 (Bellydance performance)



November 2006: ~115



I'm not too sure what happened after that, but I must have hit the 'comfortable stage' and started eating more. I also got an overuse injury in my knees and was really afraid to run again, so I took my exercise down to less intensity. The chocolate treats were adding up and I wasn't doing enough to counteract all the calories. I went up from 115 to about 127 in the next year. I was strong and healthy, but not really happy with how I looked.


Here is our picture right when we got engaged. It was one of the happiest days in my life and what I needed to get moving again. We were in Eastern Europe for 3 weeks and by the end of the trip, I was losing again.


July 7, 2008~ 127


End of July 2008~ 122



Here I am now- in the last few months. I am at about 115-120 pounds, depending on the week. I now know that this is a good weight for me and I don't need to lose more, but I would like to tone up my arms and legs. I think the difference between now and the past is that I am happy and realistic about what my body looks like and what it can do. Here are a few pictures from the last year and thank you for reading my story!