How I lost All My Pregnancy Weight

Lately I have had some of my friends ask me about my secret to loosing all my pregnancy weight. So how did I do it? How did I loose all 35lbs of my pregnancy weight? Well first let me give you a little background of myself before I got pregnant.

Three years ago I moved to Florida to pursue my career. I was unhealthy, I drank, I ate whatever I want, partied till the light of day, and was in the worse shape of my life. Moving to Florida gave me a wake up call, and I decided to pursue a healthier lifestyle. I gave up drinking, eating out, and even entered myself in a bodybuilding competition. I was probably the fittest I had ever been in my life.

Two years late I moved back to Texas, fell in love, and got pregnant. I gained 35lbs in pregnancy, and lost 20lbs of it within the first couple of days after giving birth to my son. I had a healthy pregnancy, took my vitamins daily, and was active and on my feet till I gave birth.

So what is my secret to loosing all this weight? Well if you know me, it isn’t a secret at all. I owe it all to just being a mom. Here are my reasons why I lost the baby weight.

1. Breast feeding – I breast feed for 3 months while I was on maternity leave. It was the hardest and most challenging thing I had done as a mother. It wasn’t easy for me, and it was very stressful having to feed a child every 3 hours. I was exhausted and I never had time to eat full meals. I ate what I needed to survive, because when I did have free time I was sleeping. Also when I breast fed I was more conscious about what I ate and drank, I tried to stay as healthy as possible for my baby.
2. Drink water – Because I was breast feeding I didn’t drink anything with caffeine or sugar. I was scared it would keep my son up, and all I wanted was for him to sleep lol. Drinking water helps keep you hydrated, helps flush out your system, and keeps you from drinking unwanted calories and sugar.
3. Staying active with my baby – I think maternity leave was the longest 3 months of my life. I wanted nothing but to get out of the house, so I took Jayden for walks at the park, at the mall, wherever we could go to get out of the house. Staying active is important to keep your metabolism going. I was actually worried that I wasn’t going to be able to keep active and fit when my baby was older. I thought I was going to be way too busy dealing with him to fit in the activities I wanted to.
4. Not working as much – after having the baby, as much as I missed work, I knew I would miss being able to be there with my son more. Luckily I was able to workout a position with my job that allowed me to come only 2 to 3 days a week when I had family to watch Jayden. It allowed for me to have more free time to focus on my fitness. I know for some moms who work 40 hours a week it is stressful, trying to manage work, time with the family, and then make time for yourself to workout. Also, it doesn’t help sitting at a desk 40 hours a day.

Being a mom has kept me on my toes. I usually have my food to go, and most of my meals are cut short with the needs of my child. When you become a mother there is no time even think about food, food is a necessity and no longer a want or a craving. Your craving becomes sleep, structure, and sanity. Those three things prevail over food. I am not at my fittest. I’ve have lost a lot of muscle. I struggle like all moms out there to make time for myself and to prioritize my health. I don’t diet or go to the gym every day, but I do make a conscious effort to eat healthy and stay active.

So there is no real secret out there ladies, we all know what it takes to get to where we want to be. But we just have to learn to be patient, and learn that every journey will be different. We aren’t all blessed with the same metabolism, body type, pregnancy, or child, and there is no one right way to get there. The only solid advice I can give you is don’t quit. Because no matter the obstacles we may face, or whatever stage we are in life just remember this, you created life, you carried it for nine months and then labored for 15+ hours to deliver your precious child. YOU can do anything.

:)Dawn