It's hard to believe, but my twins are almost a year old! About this time last year, I was large...and I mean really large. It was difficult for me to get out of bed, let alone go up the stairs. I gained a total of 55 pounds over the course of my pregnancy. My weight gain had been intentional because I knew that the more weight I could gain, especially early on in the pregnancy, the bigger and healthier my babies would be when they were born. So I ate as much as I could, as often as I could, until my weight was teetering close to the 200 pound mark. It was a hard job, but someone had to do it. And it worked. My pregnancy was perfect, and the babies were born at 38 weeks (considered full term for twins) and at healthy sizes for twins.
These two were worth each and every last pound that I gained during pregnancy!
All along, as I would take another bite of ice cream, I kept telling myself that the end goal was worth all the extra eating and pounds. (And it certainly was worth it...just look at those little sweethearts!) I knew how to get the pounds off, after all. I knew it would be hard work...and it has been. In fact, it has been a bit harder than I expected it to be. The bad news is that it has taken me longer than I hoped, but the good news is that it is steadily moving in the right direction. Slow and steady wins the race, right? After almost a year of perseverance, I am now almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight!
I know this is a difficult job for so many women, and I known it's not uncommon for many women to never get back anywhere close to their pre-pregnancy weight. I don't want you to be one of those women. I want you to be in the best shape of your life so that you can really and truly enjoy being a mommy to your little munchkin(s). So I want to share with you what has helped me to keep dropping that baby weight. Here are some of secrets!
My Numbers
It's about to get real. I'm about to share with you (and the whole worldwide web) my weight, from before I was pregnant all the way through today. While I don't generally announce to the world what I weigh, I think it's important for you to see exactly when the pounds started dropping and the rate at which they were dropping (many months, like molasses on a cold day in January). But before I do that, I must remind you (and myself) that weight is not necessarily a number that should be focused on obsessively. I usually weigh myself once a week or so, just to make sure nothing strange is going on. I would much rather focus on inches, how clothes fit, muscle mass, strength, and stamina. After all, weight is just a number on a scale. It won't tell a person how many push ups you can do, how fast you can run a mile, how awesome your bow pose looks, how you make other people feel, what great hugs you give, or how much your babies love you. These items are much more important indicators for how you're doing. We are more than just a number. But since there's no way to measure some of these things, we'll stick with weight for now.
So here we go. My weight was right at 137 pounds when I found out I was pregnant. This was a little lower than normal. 140 pounds was probably my normal pre-pregnancy weight. I started keeping a chart showing how much weight I had gained in order to meet my weight gain goals (that's the first time I had that type of goal!), and then after the babies were born, I kept the chart going to document my weight loss. By 20 weeks pregnant, I was at 166 pounds (29 pounds gained). By week 37, I was at 192.8 pounds (55.8 pounds gained). I probably gained more weight than that, but the babies decided to make their appearance before I got around to weighing myself for week 38.
The day after the babies were born, my weight was down to 176.4 (the babies account for over 12 pounds of that!). One week later, I was down to 163.2 pounds. This is where it got difficult. My weight teetered right around 160 pounds for the next 15 weeks. That's almost four months. During this time, I was working out, nursing, and eating significantly less calories than I was before. Despite all of that, my weight would not budge (or sometimes it went up a pound!). I finally broke into the 150s at around 17 weeks postpartum. Then I was in the 150s for the next five months. It was difficult and sometimes disheartening, but at least it was gradually (very gradually) dropping. Here we are at one year out, and the last time I checked my weight, it was at 145.2 pounds. I have about five pounds to go.
Here's some of what I've learned from the past year.
1. Keep Nursing.
Before the babies were born, a friend of mine (also pregnant) discussed how everyone talks about how nursing helps you to lose the baby weight, but, in her experience with her other two children, it is actually what slowed the weight loss down. That made sense to me. Your body may potentially need those fat stores for milk, so it wants to hold on to it. This was also my personal experience. All those months when the scale was immovable was when I was producing the most milk for my babies. When the babies started eating solids (and therefore started drinking less milk), the weight started dropping at a faster pace. With all that being said, I still think nursing ultimately helps you to meet your weight loss goals because it uses up your fat stores created during pregnancy, albeit at a slow pace. It also increases your (and your baby's) immunity, which of course allows you to continue your exercise routine that will lead to weight loss.
2. Consistency is Key.
Repeat after me: Slow and steady wins the race. Through those four months where my weight hovered at 160 pounds without much budging, I still continued to exercise and eat well. I did not let the seeming lack of progress be an excuse for giving up. When my body was ready to start dropping pounds, I already had the routines in place that would allow it to happen in a healthy manner. Exercise is not something that will transform your body overnight. It takes time, and it takes effort. You have to put in that time and effort one workout at a time, but it's the consistency of one workout after another that leads to success. Don't give up if you don't immediately see results. Keep striving for your goals, and you will eventually end up where you want to be if you stick to a consistent and healthy exercise and eating plan.
3. Think Outside the Box.
It's already hard enough to find time to exercise without children. Throw children into the mix, and it becomes near impossible sometimes. If you don't have the option of going to a gym where they have childcare available, you can still exercise. You just have to be a little more creative. When I miss a workout, I love to use my babies as "weights." And they love it too. Hold your baby in front, squat down, and then as you come up raise the baby overhead. Revel in your baby's joyful squeals. Do you see what you just did? That was a squat to an overhead press, which works your quads, hamstrings, glutes, core, shoulders, and triceps. Do several of those in a row, and I'm sure you'll feel it just like you would if you were doing these at a gym. Try laying on the ground, holding your baby directly overhead like an airplane (your arms are straight, wrists above shoulders). Bend your elbows until they are at your sides. Straighten the arms and press the baby back up. Do you feel that in your triceps? Now, carefully roll you and baby up into a sitting position. Continue down and up, without using momentum. And there's a roll up, which is great for strengthening the core. My husband loves to put the babies into their carrier and use the carrier to do bicep curls and rows. For any exercise, try using the baby instead of a weight (making sure of course that it is safe for baby). You may be surprised at how much you feel the burn. Workout - done. Having fun with baby - done.
Stay tuned for the next two parts in this series where I'll share more of my tips for winning the battle against the baby weight!
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