I figure a blog entry (although not technically about veganism) will help hold me accountable, motivate me in some way and hopefully will be helpful to someone as well :)
Tell me this face isn't worth a few extra pounds!
I want to say that I've personally always struggled with body issues like a lot of women, and I think if you're happy the way you are then more power to you! I wish that was me but I know I'm not content unless I'm fit and can feel good about myself. No body shaming here though I promise you! Carrying and delivering a baby takes a lot out of you and I'm glad my OB always told me I was gaining the right amount of weight cause I would have worried about it if I'd known I'd gone over.
Unfortunately I was not blessed with a flowing milk supply and was put on medication. The medication works but it has side affects - one being depression. I've lowered my dosage so i'm not depressed but I am still numb-ish and unmotivated so I have to push myself extra hard!
This is 2 days after baby, looking 6 months pregnant
This is 4 weeks after baby (no exercise)
In the weeks after I got the OK to exercise (after my 6 week OB check up) I started going for walks with baby. I soon discovered how out of shape I was, I was exhausted. I tried going a few times a week. Now my challenge in the last few weeks (weeks 8-11 post baby) was to do at least an hour of walking a day or its equivalent such as 20-30 mins of cardio/running. I've been able to get that walk in most days but then we had rain so I started up on my Beachbody Challenge again since I have the DVDs and can do it from home. It killed me so I realised I was too out of shape to do that everyday. I've done a couple of sessions though with breaks in between. On days when I really didn't want to do anything and I actually got some time when the baby was asleep (which is the challenge when baby isn't included) I did yoga or pilates. I did one workout on YouTube that included baby but only half of the exercises he liked, the other half he was not having at all but it might just be an age thing. I tried going to the gym to run on the treadmill but baby kept getting upset so it didn't work out so well!
I have an apple shape, I carry all my weight in my belly so post pregnancy jelly belly is what I'm trying to lose the most. It won't ever be flat and I'm ok with that - as long as I'm fit and healthy.
We are moving from Utah to Florida in a couple of months so I'm hoping the weather improvement will mean I get outside more. I'd love to start running again which I really enjoy.
At week 10 these are my measurements;
This is me at 11 weeks post baby after starting to get back into an exercise regime.
Here are my stats for week 11;
So I've already lost a few pounds and some 1/2 inches from around my body so I'm happy with that progress! I've been avoiding refined sugar as much as possible as well, mainly in the form of sucrose but trying to avoid simple carbohydrates as well.
Hiatus!!!...
OK full confession. I'm at 5.5 months post baby now and have done little to no exercise but I do have a fairly good excuse. I had a string of overseas visitors who I did a few road trips with, we moved across to the other side of the country and still have not moved into our new home (living with a friend, who's kids are on summer vacation so home all the time and all our things still in storage). I only just started walking again - the Florida summer heat is a killer! I have to go fairly early in the morning if I want to go and to top it off the used jogger I bought for baby had a bad tire so I'm still waiting on a new one to arrive. I am currently at 162lbs, but I am completely motivated (especially once we move to our new home) to get my butt into gear. I have a trip back home to Australia planned in 3 months so I definitely need to loose some weight before then - I refuse to wear maternity clothes for another year!!
Recent road trip to Key West.
Me at 5.5 months post baby, weighing 162lbs and trying to hide it with a very un-enthused looking baby.
My son turned 6 months old the other day, we have been moved into our new place for over a week and finally unpacked. Walking into my wardrobe is pretty depressing when I know I can only wear 2% of it! The kids have just gone back to school this week and I do get slack when they are in the house all day cause it's harder. So I have exercised the past three days in a row doing jogging/walking, spin and weights (5lbs hand weights) plus I've been eating very healthy so I'm hoping to see some results in the next couple of weeks that will motivate me to keep going! My plan was to also incorporate either yoga or pilates in each day too but haven't yet. I'm only working out the 5 days a week that the kids are in school, trying to include cardio, weights and core/strength training. Time to be held accountable!
7 months old and we had a two week spat where we were both sick (fun times) but still tried to keep to eating healthy and only had a few comfort items! So I only gained back a pound then. I'm back into it now doing running or cycling for 30mins, 3 sets of weights and just recent;y started up Pilates again which I had missed. It's made me feel great doing it again. So far I've lost 5 lbs but have not taken any measurements in a while so that's still to come!
Baby & I out for a jog!
8.5 months postpartum;
I've lost 10lbs now which really motivates me to keep going. I'm still trying just the weekdays of cardio, weights and strength. I've been trying to eat oatmeal for breakfast, lentil soup for lunch then eat dinner with the family.
UPDATE
It is now January 2017, my baby is nearly one year old!!! So we are at 11 months post delivery and I was doing very well with exercise etc until I went to Australia in November! I didn't do any exercise while I was away for 3 weeks and ate out a lot! You can read about that here! Beautiful jacaranda and jasmine were in bloom - gorgeous time of year to be back!
In Sydney
In Coolum Beach (Sunshine Coast)
Then when I got back there was the craziness with the three immediate family members birthday's that plague us every December and then Xmas (which we had all our relatives come and stay). So it was hectic and I know it's no excuse but I did lapse. I also hurt my foot in Australia and it's still no better 3 months later so I'll see what the specialist has to say but for the meantime a walk is about all I can manage.
I started a sugar cleanse on January 1st so I'm currently in week 3 of that. You can read about that here. I am at around 153lbs and hoping to get down to around 140lbs, or enough to fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothing!
I've been walking almost every day for around 30-40 minutes and I just started back doing yoga and weights so hopefully it will pay off...especially since I'm not eating sugar ;)
May 2017 Update (16 months postpartum)
After not having that much luck with the sugar cleanse I did a Wholefood Cleanse based on the Daniel Fast. I lost 3lbs in 21 days so I was happy about that. Currently at 147lbs, I've felt like I've had more energy too so I started stepping up my walks to 1 hour, 5 days a week plus 20 minutes of yoga and some weights if I feel like it.
It's a slow journey but I'm getting there ;)
July 2017 Update (18 months postpartum)
Been jogging or walking for at least an hour a day and trying to fit in yoga and weights if I can. Being sticking mainly to whole foods. Currently at 144lbs so only 4lbs off my pre-pregnancy weight! (There was even a day when the scales said 142lbs and threw a small party for myself on the inside but it was short lived - thanks scales!)
Here is my original measurements;
July's measurements:
144 12 22.5 31.5 39 39.5
So no difference in stomach area which is kind of sucky but hopefully more jogging and yoga will change that. I should get back into pilates, that was always great for my stomach! Still no stretch marks though - so yay cream!
After a wholefood cleanse and some running and yoga I'm down to 140lbs but I was down to the late 130's before I went to Australia in November. I had been so good about running around 4 times a week and eating helthy and my holiday threw me back into old habits. Not to mention Aussie's drink a lot of alcohol... a lot...so I was gaining plenty of empty calories. I'm back to running and yoga and "trying" to stay on a whole food diet. My goal weight is a still 132lbs (60kg) which although isn't the slimmest I've been but it's a good weight for me and easy to maintain.
POST BABY HAIR
Post baby struggles are about lots of things, not just body shapes. My hair, that I hadn't even realised had been falling out while I was pregnant, started to grow back. About the time my little man was 9 months old I noticed a mane-like mullet growing around my head...gross! (Sidebar - I don't use shampoo...more on that here.)
So I waited until it had grown out a bit to this... (baby about 15 months old then)
Decided since it was long enough to donate then it was time to get the chop!
Nice list here someone put together of the best places to donate hair (USA). I chose Children with Hair Loss.
I was surprised that after losing my curl during pregnancy it almost came back again when I got it cut!
Also the hairdresser had only vegan products and gave me some samples...winning!
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