Weight Loss: 2 Months PP with Jace

This is me on Anthony and my honeymoon a month before I became pregnant with Jace.  I weighed 138 pounds. 

You'll have to excuse the lovely face I'm making.  We were deep sea fishing and that face could mean any number of things! :)

This is me ten months later, forty weeks and one day pregnant, 176 pounds, and heading out the door to the hospital to welcome Mr. Jace into this world.

From point A (our wedding day) to point B (Jace's birth) I gained a total of almost forty pounds.  Many of you have been wondering how I seemed to lose the "baby weight" so quickly after his birth.  I'll quickly fill you in on how I gained it, then catch you up to where I stand today!

When Anthony and I got married (a year ago today--how ironic) I lost ten pounds right before the wedding due to stress.  All through college and even after I graduated my weight was always somewhere between 140 and 155.  Lets just say I put on the "freshman fifteen" without any desire to lose it. Oh, and let me also mention I'm only 5'6".

In September, the month after we got married, we found out we were pregnant!  Our joy was short lived when we learned we had lost the baby at five weeks gestation.  My emotions (and weight) were all over the place.  Dealing with trying to learn how to be a wife since I was newly married, finding out just a few short weeks later we were going to be parents, and then realizing not long after that we were no longer expecting and had lost our little blessing.  I can't tell you how much weight I gained up until this point, but it was somewhere around ten pounds.

The very next month after we lost the baby we conceived Jace!  What a blessing and total surprise.  It wasn't until my six week prenatal visit with him that I learned how much weight I'd gained since the wedding and all that had been going on.  I weighed in at 149 pounds on my very first prenatal visit but know that my weight gain at that point had nothing to do with my pregnancy with Jace.  I actually didn't start gaining weight while I was pregnant with him until at least my second trimester!

I gained a total of twenty-five pounds while I was pregnant with Jace.  From time to time towards the end I would gain a few and then lose them again.  I hate to exercise, and even while I was pregnant I didn't exercise much--I just walked a ton!  

The day I came home from the hospital after having Jace I weighed somewhere in the mid 160s.  I thought for sure I would automatically lose more weight than that since I hadn't put on much in the first place, but I guess I was wrong.  Gradually over the next few weeks I'd shed a pound at a time.  At this point I didn't have the OK from the doc to exercise, so any weight I lost was from breastfeeding and just watching what I ate (sorta.)

Fast forward to my six week check-up where I am free to start exercising again.  Remember the part where I said I hate to exercise?  Well, that hasn't changed.  The only exercise I have done is run around taking care of Jace and the occasional walk around the neighborhood after supper.  In three days I'll be two months postpartum and I currently weigh 153 pounds; four pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight (but by no means where I'd like to be!)

This isn't the best picture to tell any progress, but its all I've got right now.  This was taken yesterday at 8 weeks postpartum before celebrating our anniversary.

I attribute my weight loss to breastfeeding and a change in my diet.  With a newborn, even if I enjoyed exercising I think it would be hard to find time in the day to do any kind of serious working out, but that's just me.  So, Anthony and I decided we would just change the way we were eating so we at least had that part on track.  I say Anthony and I because it was mainly his idea.  He is such a big support person and has really helped keep me on track with my eating since we started this whole shebang a few weeks ago.

So what exactly does "change the way we eat" mean?  Well we both love soda and I especially love my sweets!  Instead of going crazy all-out and eating only baked chicken and brown rice we just decided I'd stop buying junk snacks and start buying more fresh fruits, veggies, and other healthy snack foods.  We cut out soft drinks (meaning we don't keep them in the house, but will have the occasional soda if we are out to eat, etc.) and try to drink water, juices, or soy milk. We only buy whole wheat pasta, bread, rice etc.  We also limit the amount of sauce/dressing we eat on foods and monitor the portions of food we eat.  It has been so much easier than I thought.  I think because we don't deprive ourselves of sweets or treats, we just limit them tremendously.

Now I am by no means a profesisonal dietician and neither is Anthony, this is just what we decided to do for ourselves and it has been working wonderfully.  Since we started this little change two and a half weeks ago I have lost six pounds!  It is amazing how much better I feel!

I mentioned previously I am by no means weight-wise where I'd like to be but I am trying to have realistic expectations and just take this whole thing day by day.  I can't expect too much without much effort in the exercise department!  My goal is to get back down to the 130s, ideally around 135.  That is a healthy weight for someone of my height, and I'm content with that.  I'm not trying to become some supermodel after all!

I'd like to do weekly updates between my blog and my YT vlog channel so check back if you're interested in my weight loss journey!  Thanks for stoppin' by!

-Megan