Baring it All... Post Pregnancy

I am about to bare all (well not literally) on the battles of post pregnancy weight loss. It’s a touchy subject for most women, yet alone mothers who have had their bodies stretched to the limit over 9 months. Weight gain during pregnancy is essential to the well being of your baby, and while all the pregnancy books assure you – you don’t NEED to eat for two! – you end up doing that anyway. Those late night chocolate cravings and the endless appetite for almost anything doesn’t help.

But after the miracle of life has taken place, mom is left feeling rather insecure about her body image. You just don’t look the same anymore! The extra kilos, the new stretch marks and in some cases a nasty c-section scar are all constant reminders that YOU ARE NOT THE SAME.

The challenge is remembering that you are not going to get results over night, which can be very frustrating and demotivating. Even harder is that you are now taking care of your baby and hardly find the time to change out of your PJ’s yet alone take the 5km a day run you promised yourself during pregnancy.

We are not all built like HEIDI KLUM, who miraculously did a Victoria Secret shoot 6 weeks after her 3^rd child!! Seriously Heidi… you make us all feel like under achievers.

Respect to Kourtney Kardashian for acknowledging the photoshopped cover of OK was untruthful. See picture below. She went on to say that “One of those weeklies got it wrong again…they didn’t have an exclusive with me. And I gained 40 pounds while pregs, not 26…But thanks!” She was quoted in Women’s Wear Daily as saying, “They doctored and Photoshopped my body to make it look like I have already lost all the weight, which I have not.”

I am most inspired by Jennifer Hudson’s post pregnancy story. The star became motivated to lose weight after carrying her son, and has gone on to slim down to her smallest ever size! Now that’s a true Hollywood story worth believing.

So here is my story… I really have no idea how much weight I gained during pregnancy. Once I hit 10kgs, I burst into tears and swore not to look at the scale (around 6.5 months).  The fact that I couldn’t see over my tummy during Dr. appointments helped as well. All I know is that after birth I was 20kgs heavier than before (CRIES ALOUD). 

Somehow between not sleeping and stressing about my newborn, I managed to loose 8kgs by my 6 week appointment. This was all due to self-inflicted craziness, and absolutely no effort from my side. I had another 12kgs to get rid of, and with a suggestion from a friend tried the GM diet. I lasted a whole 2 days!! But managed to lose another 3kgs somehow. After my failure to commit to any diet or exercise regime my weight plateaued for a few weeks and I still had 9kgs to lose.

At around 10weeks post birth I was feeling demotivated and insecure about getting rid of those 9kgs which had attached its self to my midsection exclusively. I still couldn’t fit into my post pregnancy jeans, and was still in the ones with the elastic bands on the top (very unsexy). 

When I went back to work around 12 weeks, the tempo of my life increased. I was working 2 full time jobs, professional and full time mom. I was literally eating only oats during the day at work, and maybe a small snack for dinner at night (not advisable). Although this was tremendously unhealthy I managed to lose 7kgs within 4 weeks, and was close to pre-pregnancy weight. I finally fitted back into my ‘skinny’ jeans! The last 2kgs have come off sometime in between then and writing this blog – so I am back to pre-weight. Goal achieved at 26 weeks after birth.

Seeing that number on the scale is great, however I still don’t look and feel the same again. I may fit into the jeans but I have troubles with my mid-section. I have lost more weight in my legs and arms to compensate for the extra centimetres in the waist.

Now the new challenge is to 1. Get rid of the Belly Jelly and 2. I want to lose another 11kgs to reach my ideal weight goal. The pursuit for happy body image is on-going.

So, I really have no miracle diet or any healthy advice to anyone looking to lose the extra pregnancy kilos – I attribute my modest weight loss to stress and stupidity on my side. I am however going to try and set the record straight by attempting to lose the next 11kgs with a healthy exercise and eating programme. My hope is that by publishing this on my blog, I will be motivated by the pressure to get results. 

The new goal is to lose 11kgs by 20^th January. Wish me luck… will keep you posted with my progress on this blog. And to all the other mommies reading this, know that you are not alone - we all struggle to get it back and it takes time.