I took an unpremeditated spring break from blogging the past month and BOY have I missed it!
It seems the old cliché that you can’t have everything is annoyingly right. There just isn’t enough time in the day for everything I want to get done and when one of those things falls to the bottom of the priority list {like blogging lately} it might as well just fall off the list, because it just ain’t gettin’ done today.
Ya feel me, sistas?
In this new life of late, momma’s been workin’ on her fitness, eating clean and trying to get rid of this leftover baby bump… because my baby bump AFTER the baby is no longer cute.
Especially when my baby turned 8 months old yesterday {*sniff*} and the scale is still screaming at me that I have 15 pounds to go to get back to my start weight.
YES, 15 POUNDS!
I’ve never really talked about my weight gain and loss on this blog. Weight is such a tricky subject that comes with lots of judgment and sharp comments, but it’s one I’m no longer avoiding. I know there are lots of other ladies out there trying to find a healthier lifestyle, post-baby or not, and as always – if I find something good in this life, I share it, HERE!
So today, I’m going to break it down for you so you know just where it is I’m starting from on this journey
:
- Summer 2010: we began planning and hoping for a little bundle of joy in our future. Earlier that year, I had begun working out and eating healthier after putting on 10 pounds since our wedding 2 years earlier when the fear of a too tight wedding dress was long since gone :)
I found these pictures a few weeks ago and it truly surprised me that my body had any amount of tone whatsoever just 2 short years ago:
- December 2010: Six month later we were elated to find out we were pregnant. At that point, I had gained a good 10+ pounds of weight back. I weighed in at 134 pounds to begin this pregnancy.
- After 40 weeks and 3 days of gestating the most beautiful baby boy on the planet, my total weight gain topped out at 42 pounds for my pregnancy, leaving me at 176 pounds on D-Day. I was hoping for 30 pounds total, but I definitely did not resist the urge to eat everything in sight, so I was actually pretty pleased that I didn’t gain much, much more! I was happy with my weight gain and felt confident about losing it after baby.
- When that beautiful baby boy was only 2 weeks old, amazingly, I found I had already shed 26 pounds of baby weight – down to 150 lbs. Granted, a lot of that included actually birthing a baby and TONS of fluid I had accumulated. But I was feeling pretty confident at this point that my previously high metabolism combined with the super powers of breastfeeding were going to make me the old Steph by the time my 12 weeks of maternity leave were over.
That was the plan.
Confession time: In this picture with Houston at 2 weeks old, I’m still wearing my maternity jeans – which is understandable, right? The fact that I STILL wear those maternity jeans and he is 8 months old is unfathomable!
The weight hit an early plateau and I continued living in my dream land, waiting for the fat to melt away on its own while I continued to eat like I was 9 months pregnant with triplets and did little more to exercise than walking the dog from time to time.
When maternity leave was up, I searched the mall, desperate for work clothes to fit my larger figure. It was a hit to my ego but one that I continued to brush off since those 12 weeks at home didn’t quite lend the time to work-out like I had previously thought that they would.
I finally woke up from my dream land when my baby turned 7 months old and I envisioned myself at his one year birthday, STILL the weight I was when he was only 2 weeks old(!)
I can happily camouflage the leftovers of my pregnancy with the right clothes and a good pair of Spanx, but my closet doesn’t have too many options at the moment at this size and I definitely don’t feel like spending the money on a whole new, BIGGER wardrobe.
The evidence: still wearing a dress I wore when I was pregnant. Though, if we want to get technical, it wasn’t actually a maternity dress to begin with!
It sounds a bit dramatic, but Pinterest seriously changed my life!
After pinning a few fitness routines and articles as well as a few healthy recipes, I was inspired to make the necessary changes in my life to become a healthier me.
Just a few weeks into this journey and I’m no longer obsessing over the numbers on the scale. I can feel myself getting stronger,my clothes are fitting much better already, my stamina increasing and the high of the endorphins coursing through my blood have put me in a daily, more positive mood!
I’ve added this workout to my daily walks/runs and I’m LOVING the results:
Recipes like this have me planning ahead – the KEY to making sure I eat healthy!
By the end of summer, I plan on running my first 5K. This schedule is extremely doable.
I’m pumped!
Hunger Games fans – how’s this for motivation?!
:):):)
I hope I can check in with you on a bi-weekly basis with my {hopeful} progress of a healthier lifestyle. Setting a good example by staying fit and doing better with the foods we buy and make isn’t just for me, but for my entire family.
Skinny is not the goal.
I want to be Healthier and Stronger.
and I will be :)
Now to figure out how to fit blogging back into this new, time-consuming, healthier lifestyle…
We’ll see!
XOXO
Stephanie
