Having babies made me fat. I wasn’t all that thin before I became pregnant, but I was severely overweight after Rylan was born. I gained more than 60 lbs while I was pregnant with Rylan; I was over 200 lbs when I walked into the hospital.
Everyone told me it would fall off after the delivery, but I waited a year and didn’t lose a pound after the initial 20 lbs of baby weight. I spent a year wondering why the scale didn’t change, I was stuck at 180. And then my biggest fear happened, the scale started to climb. Not much, but 5 lbs is incredibly disheartening, which added to my stress and depression. I had to make a change.
I started to walk, just an hour every few days. It was hassle getting out of the apartment every day with a toddler and driving to a safe area to go for a walk. I added more days and more time onto my walks until I was walking at least an hour or two every day. Then, I got a gym membership and added weight training exercises at home when I couldn’t get to the gym. I started to see a change.
I hit 150 pounds and was so elated. Then BAM!!! Positive pregnancy test. Yay? I was determined not to gain all the weight back that I worked so hard to lose. I succeeded and the second time I walked into the delivery room, I was a little over 180 lbs. I lost 18 lbs of baby weight and had to start the whole process over again.
I barely waited for my doctor’s okay to begin exercising; I was so ready to get moving. A year and a half after Roman was born, I hit my lowest weight since meeting Richard, 132 lbs. That is 70-something lbs lighter than the day I had my first child. Happy Dance!!!
One thing I’ve learned from this experience is that I’ll never be able to maintain a healthy weight without exercising every again. My body wants to go back to the overweight state and food is literally on my mind all the time. It’s become a running joke with my family; Tina always wants to eat. I count calories EVERY DAY. I run or do body weight training 6 out of 7 days a week. That doesn’t mean I don’t overindulge or binge occasionally, but I make sure I’m aware of the act by documenting it.
I made this unexpected journey without knowing how much I would change. I never knew how much I would love being a mother and I never realized how much work it is to take care of myself while taking care of others. I hope that I can inspire others to make a change in their lives. I hope that they know they aren’t alone when they stand on their scale and don’t see the numbers they were hoping for. Losing weight after kids is hard, but it is worth it to know that my life will be much longer and better at a healthier weight.
I’m prout of you. You are amazing.