re: http://lesleytupy.blogspot.com/2009/06/on-losing-your-post-partum-body.html
If you looked in my closet you would think there are at least 3 different women living here. One size 4, the other one size 8/10 and the chubby one who’s favorite color is obviously black – size 12. My husband says I am not fat, but my brain is. Indeed.
I always knew how to lose weight, I just never quite figured out how to keep it off. Like any normal teenager I did my share of body loathing and dieting. I am not going to blog about how half of my family died from heart attacks due to obesity, because I just do not need another excuse to eat a gallon of Ben&Jerry’s. I could totally be a poster child for all yo-yo dieters. I am your typical next door girl who loves food and hates exercising with passion. Who starts new life EVERY Monday and EVERY January. Who also knows that the true beauty comes from the inside and blah blah blah…. To make it short – intellectually I get it. I do not need Dr.Phil to tell me that I have a tendency to eat my feelings. Me and my fat (brain) have very unhealthy off-again-on-again kind of relationship.
The day I got pregnant I knew I will get out of control. And I did. I gained 50lbs and after I gave birth I had to ask the doctor if she was sure there was not another baby (or two) still left inside. I failed breastfeeding miserably, so burning calories while feeding the baby was out of the question. I am so sick and tired of my weight loss and weight gain that I was not even sure I want to blog about it AGAIN. But this is the first time in my life I am doing it gradually. And the first time I actually got some professional help, because whatever I was doing for the past 20+ years is clearly not working for me.
We set my goal weight to be in the middle of a healthy range for my specific height and BMI. I am shooting for the middle. Who knew mediocrity would feel so good?! I gave myself 9 months to get back in shape. There is no magic – I plan my meals a week ahead and walk 2 miles 6 days a week. I have been doing this for 4 weeks now and lost about 8lbs. So you could say that the first trimester of my postpartum weight loss has been a success. But I am not jumping up down mostly because I have been down this road many many times before… 10lbs down, 20lbs up just a mere week later. I hope to lose another 5lbs by the end of July. For that to happen I need to start running again. Good luck to me…
Since my family is so loving and tactful they always ask how fat I have gotten and how badly have I ruined my body with this pregnancy. So here is “the before”, “the after” and the “after the after” shots of my mid section.
This last one was taken this morning and actually does not look as bad as I have been seeing in the mirror. What I see and feel is more like this:
Fat brain. I have it.
Honey, your brain is seriously fat or I am seriously cross-eyed… The third picture looks very similar to the first one. But anyway, I know how pointless are others' comments, until you yourself are happy with what you see in the mirror. Good luck getting those tiny centimeters and pounds off whatever…
You seriously look great in all of the pictures! Give yourself credit for even putting together a plan and following it! That's great work! I commiserate with you in not being happy in the body I am in at the moment (post baby) but I figure that it took me 9 months to create this stretched out & softer belly, it will take me probably that long to get back to what I am happy with
Hang in there!!
What are you talking about? Do you want me to come up there and show you A REAL FAT MID SECTION? If I had your mid section I would wear shirts that stop just under my hot rack (that I hope to buy soon) to show everyone my very hot stomach! All while wearing wedge heels. Just like a hooker, but of course we know I'm not a hooker. I'm a mom.
Now I have mid section envy. The story of my life.
Hugs and Mocha,
Stesha
What?! There isn't even a stretch mark on that tummy! And anyway, your blogs were totally my inspiration to whip out my sarcasm and wit and flash it around to everyone on my blog. Good luck with your return to what you want your body to look like.
I have a fat brain too.
You're mid-section is lookin' good!
That roley dog is homely! You my dear are looking fab!
I am totally with the woman who said she'd come show you real fat. I have a few inches you can pinch to feel better about yourself! You look fantastic!! But, I hear ya…I am totally bummed about my THREE SIZES UP post-baby body, esp. since I gained 15 lbs. before pregnancy in the effort to get pregnant. Ugh. I need to buy all new clothes to go back to work. I am also giving myself 9mos to a year. My problem is ZERO time to exercise, on top of it raining here every friggin' day so I can't even take the baby for a walk lately! But I have embarked on a SlimFast plan. I kid you not. I do two slimfasts a day, then dinner, and whatever I want on the weekends (hmmmm… maybe not such a good plan!). We'll see. It's really all I can manage for now. At any rate, I think you look fabulous!! I am jealous!
Go view some of my pics on Facebook for proof of my fat self (and look at the much older ones for proof that I was once skinny… well, that is after I lost 30 lbs. after being mostly size 12 fat my entire young adult life! Then I was skinny for a few years, then pregnant, now back to fat!)
I don't have fat brain. I'm just fat. Sigh.
It is touch .. i do have fat brain!
Ahhhh crud….I must have seriously obese brain! My belly (after 4) looks like a deflated balloon that was once stretched beyond all conceivable limits. A road map of stretch marks…..trade ya!!!