I spent a good part of my pregnancy looking at my non-pregnancy clothes with longing, missing the pretty patterns, modern silhouettes, and of course, my heels. I’ve lost all of my pregnancy weight, but still have the extra pounds that came on during the process of trying to get pregnant. My maternity jeans are way too big, but my non-pregnant jeans are still just a tiny bit too small. I used to have a bit of tone in my upper arms and now they feel flabby and big. To focus on the positive, I am happy to have my feet and ankles back to normal size and my legs look pretty darn good since I do a moderate amount of walking with the baby.
I’ve never had a perfect physique, but have been a regular gym-goer for most of my adult life and I miss it! We ditched our membership to our last gym because we weren’t going during the latter half of my pregnancy and we wanted to direct the money to things we needed for Charlie. (Plus, it seems to have warped into an episode of Jersey Shore since we joined.) But we own a Wii Fit and an elliptical trainer, and a personal training facility just opened right near our house. I’m hoping to find a couple neighborhood friends to do some small group sessions with the trainer. I hesitate to start counting calories, since I am nursing and the extra calories every day are important to my milk production. However, I do plan to increase the quality of what we’re eating, which will be easier now that our summer CSA has started up again. More protein and healthy greens, less white carbs and desserts. I like to keep it simple.
Despite my Type-A personality, I welcome being ordered around by a trainer who can get me whipped into shape, or at least help me jump start a workout routine that will be work-able with a little one at home. I don’t want any miracles. I just want to be able to pull those pretty dresses and blouses off their hangers again.
What did you do to get back into your cool clothes after pregnancy?
Kristine
May 31, 2011It took me a full year to ge back to normal. I was nursing the first six months and was too uncomfortable to work out. Even now my body shape has changed. I can ft into the same size jeans for example, but they can’t be low cut anymore. I’m trying to tone up by taking aerobic classes.
Amber
May 31, 2011#1 rule – be patient! It takes awhile for your body to adjust to anything resembling normalcy after giving birth. I was walking a million miles a day to get Nate to nap when he was about 6-12 months old. That and the breastfeeding counteracted my almost all cookie diet and somehow allowed me to lose a lot of weight. Sadly, it’s coming back on now that Nate is only nursing a little and he’s napping better. Time to start working out!
Maman A Droit
June 1, 2011I definitely agree with the patience thing, and to not worry about calories while nursing as long as they’re healthy calories like fresh fruits and veggies and grilled meats and low-fat dairy! But my best tip is get a baby carrier you love-maybe an Ergo (I love my Boba but it’s for 15lbs and up only). 1.) an adorable baby on your tummy totally disguises any remaining pooch and 2.) walking around with an extra 8+ lbs all day burns extra calories and helps you build muscle strength. And babywearing tends to make babies less fussy, reducing your stress too which helps with overall health including weight loss! Good luck and congrats on the new baby!
Mama in VA
June 4, 2011No advice here, just encouragement. I’m in a similar boat. DD is 3.5 mo, EBF, so I have only 8 pounds to my pre-preggo weight, 18 to be where I want, but I have a diastasis to close and its at least 6-8 inches, before I can even think about a real work out. *blegh*