...my weight.
From the time I became pregnant until the time Cooper arrived, I gained a total of 56 lbs! I'm only 5'3" tall (OK, I'm actually 5'2.75" but that's close enough). The doctors instructed me to stay in bed and gain weight. At each doctor's visit I'd get on the scale and want to cry because of the large gains I was making but then the doctor would come in, look at my chart and say "great job on the weight gain!" I would always ask him "are you sure about this?" and he would promptly remind me that I was high risk for preterm labor/delivery and that by gaining extra weight I was helping the baby gain weight and that the bigger/heavier a preemie baby is, the better chance he would have for survival if he were to arrive much too early (and that caucasion male preemies typically don't fare as well as female preemies so I had that added incentive).
So, I did my part and Bob and my Dad helped ensure I was eating and gaining too. I think I took it too far at times since my cravings were for sweets (cake, candy, cookies, chocolate - things that I normally don't eat when not pregnant - I know, I'm weird for not being big into chocolate). I also ate a ton of healthy food for my meals - and I think that's where I went wrong ("a ton") - big big portions of food at every meal. My body gains weight very easily and just to maintain a healthy weight I have to be on some type of program/diet which is frustrating. Somehow I forgot that - if I had just eaten normally (minus a program/diet) I probably would have gained enough weight especially since I couldn't exercise - and wouldn't need to overdo it the way that I did. Oh well. At least I really enjoyed the eats. There wasn't much else I could do while in bed so the indulgence was at least fun at the time.
The day I came home from the hospital I stepped on the scale and was horrified to see I was 5 lbs heavier than the day I walked into the hospital. I cried. Then I looked down and saw my ankles and calves were 3 times their normal size due to swelling and realized that it was fluids. But still, I should have lost like 10 lbs from having the baby. Thankfully, within a week I dropped 20 lbs. That left 36 lbs lbs to go.
Those 36 lbs have been very slow to come off. It's been 2 months and only 6 more lbs have come off, now I have 30 lbs to go.
I don't eat much - I don't have time. When I do eat, I find it's best to select cold items b/c anything that starts hot/warm ends up cold before it reaches my mouth anyway due to having a colicky baby in the house. I know that eating too much OR eating too little can cause a person to gain weight or at least not lose weight - it's metabolic.
So...I'm taking this bull by the horns. I can't start normal workouts - I'm still too weak from spending 5 months in bed. But I can keep walking as I have been doing this past month. And, I just placed an order with Nutrisystem and my food arrives this week. It's worked for me before (previous 2x using their system I lost 30 and 21 lbs) so it has to work again.
I have less than 3 months to lose enough to get back into some of the work clothes in my closet - thankfully I kept my "heavy" clothes from the previous time I'd reached a higher weight. Wish me luck! :)
2 comments:
Julie - I know your frustrated with your weight. I've been there. Just remember that your goal now is "not to let your 'new' fat get to be good friends with your 'old' fat" as my mother in law says. I have confidence in you that you'll drop the pregnancy weight. Stress doesn't help weight loss, and well untill Cooper's formula issues are worked out there isn't much you can do about it ;).
Look at it this way - you know what works for you so your going back to that. Atleast your doing what you need to do ;) Besides it won't be long till your chasing Cooper around the house ;)
Julie--It took nine months to put the weight on, so my doctor and a few articles I've read say to be patient and expect nine months to take it back off. I lost weight faster when I first started breast feeding, but guess what? While that may seem like an advantage, it really isn't in the long run as I can't diet while breast feeding whereas you can, you lucky duck! :) Walking alone has made a huge difference for my metabolism as it should- for crying out loud we were barely able to move for four to five months! I had to break down and purchase few pants and shirts for work that are a size larger. It was either that or sport my maternity bottoms which are too big now but look better than my "real" clothes that are still a bit too small! All mommies are BEAUTIFUL, anyway! :)AB
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