HOW I LOST 60 POUNDS POSTPARTUM WEIGHT IN 10 MONTHS.

Weight gain during pregnancy is something every woman has no control over and it wouldn’t disappear overnight after the baby comes.  Now that the baby is here, that’s where the non-stop chore begins.  Caring for a new born can be very stressful especially if you are breastfeeding or had a C-section like I did. It can even become more stressful if you have other children at home. You have to take care of the baby, the siblings, yourself, your spouse (if married) and there are many other chores that would require your attention so the last thing you want to think about is weight loss.

A time would come when all the chores would become manageable, meaning, you would have gotten used to it that you would be able to plan your time wisely. This may be the time to evaluate to see if you are ready to get your grove back. I advise that this should be way after you have gotten clearance from your doctor. While there are no set time of when you should lose your baby weight, please be aware that the longer you wait, the longer it would take. 

I got so depressed with my weight during my pregnancy that I was so eager to start. I was trying to lose weight before I got pregnant and I gained 50 more pounds during pregnancy but lost a total of 60pounds 10months postpartum.  I started as soon as the doctor cleared me at 6-8 weeks postpartum. Being my third child, this weight loss was harder than when I had my other two children.

Tricks and tips I used:

Start Slow and don’t stop: 

Remember that your body just housed a human being and though you may think that you are completely healed, it is advisable to take things slow. Listen to your body and take things slow. I monitored the baby’s sleeping pattern. I would feed him during this period and as soon as he sleeps, I would lay him down in a comfortable spot while I do my exercise. I also changed my workout time when I went back to work. At times I would wake up at 4am to get it out of the way or at times in the evenings. You may also need to change the kind of exercise you do until you find a suitable one. All you need is 15-60mins of exercise for a start. A good 30 minutes of exercise is better than nothing. Pick what you enjoy doing and be consistent

Be Realistic

Although your goal is to lose weight but don’t be too hard on yourself when this doesn’t happen as fast as you want. Keep in mind that you were pregnant for 9 months and it may take you about the same or longer to lose the weight. Celebrate every weight loss and celebrate the times you don’t lose weight. Keep in mind that the effort you are putting in goes a long way and that is what progress is about. 

Eat and Drink

A lot of people think that the only way to lose weight is to stop eating or doing some detoxing/fad diets, this would do nothing but slow down your process. Eating the right amount of food your body needs is required because this would help you and help your baby especially if you are breastfeeding. Your body needs lot of energy to carry you through the day so limiting your food intake can actually hinder you more than you think. You may even find out that you are gaining weight instead of losing weight. Drink lots of water. Cut back on your sugary drinks and drink water. 

Buddy/Accountability

Weight loss is challenging and can be a very lonely road especially if everyone around you is focusing on totally different things. I would encourage that you reach out to other people that can help or encourage you. Look online for support groups for moms who are like minded. Having a buddy would help you so that you don’t get easily discouraged. You can bounce ideas off of them and you can make yourself accountable to them and they can be accountable to you.

Use what you have available:

This should not be the time that you want to drive to the gym that is 45minutes away, this could stress you out. It wouldn’t be long before you would be exhausted from driving too far away that you would totally give up exercising.  Make use of what you have at home. YouTube has lots of videos you could use, be consistent and the results would come. Going up and down the stairs is workout by itself. Create a little space in one corner of your house, your garage, your living room, your backyard, etc. are places you could use. 

Strength or Cardio 

Do what you enjoy the most but for me, though I lost weight with HIIT and Cardio, my body transformed and I lost more weight when I started focusing on lifting heavy weights. My workout normally would consist of 15-30HIIT twice a week and strength training 4-5 times a week. Remember that I didn’t start this in day 1, you have to train yourself to this level, with consistency. If you truly want to see dramatic change, lift weight and address your nutrition. 

Embrace your new body:

Happiness comes from within. You can’t be happy with anyone if you are not happy with yourself.  Though we want to snap back immediately, but we have to embrace our new body in order for us not to get depressed. Try not to focus on what you see in the mirror but focus on the new strength you are gaining every day. Focus on the inner beauty you have and let it radiate to the outside. Dress up, pamper yourself, rest, and SMILE.

Next week, I would share some at home exercises with you. Stay tuned.