What about "baby weight"?!

Getting active hiking San Tan

There are so many, many posts and articles out there that give advice on how to "lose the baby weight". I was confident, having been so active during my pregnancy, gaining on the low end of the weight spectrum, that this baby weight would be a small hurdle to overcome. I knew that breast feeding was a key in weight loss, so having made the commitment to breastfeed for Emerson's first year, I figured I would barely need to work out and that weight would just fall off. Then, there was maternity leave. What else did I have to do but go to the gym (after getting cleared to, of course). And last, we had already committed to healthier eating the year prior, so going back to that meal plan would feel natural, even after 9 months of hunger pangs or ice cream and smoothie cravings.

Here is where my blog post gets real, real fast. I promised you all that I wouldn't hold back the truth so that I could be of assistance to all of you who may need to know that you have an ally out here. The truth is, none of what I believed to be true about post-pregnancy weight-loss was accurate, just like nothing I thought about having a newborn was accurate, and nothing about balancing work and being a mom was accurate, and nothing about... well, you get the idea.

So, instead of writing you a long post that explains how I miraculously, with little effort, got back into my size 8 jeans 6 weeks after Emerson was born, I will instead give you the only advice I can.

How to Maintain or Even Increase That Baby Weight After Birth

1. Take a minimum maternity leave (6 weeks) and then throw yourself back into work full force, leaving you a very short amount of "free time" to work out.

2. Breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, leaving you with the daily tough decision of "Should I work out now?" or "Do I need to pump or feed now, or in the next hour or so?"

3. Give in to every craving just as you did when you were pregnant. You are actually HUNGRIER now that there is room in your abdomen for it.

4. Sleep, like, 5-6 hours a night, interrupted frequently.

5. Take up that drinking habit again. Beer. Especially beer.

6. Go to numerous baby showers, weddings, and birthday parties where there is plentiful cake.

7. Endure an Arizona summer where outdoor recreation and therefore, any beneficial and healthy movement, is impossible. This summer will last 5-6 months.

8. Assure your child cries, poops, or spits up every time you drop him off at the gym daycare, so that they will call you and interrupt your workout within the first 20 minutes and make you take him home.

9. Have a husband who is very active, 2-3 nights a week, but in a sport or activity that you aren't involved in and that starts after your little one's bedtime. This assures that you are definitely stuck at home with the baby at least 2 nights a week without other options. (Love you, dear).

10. On that note, have a husband that really likes Mexican food and pizza, oh, and beer, and consistently requests for these items for meals.

11. Get into the habit of eating out a minimum of 4 nights a week! I know! There is NO time to cook with that little one hanging off your leg, begging for milk or snacks, and then needing to be changed, bathed, put to bed...

12. WORK A FULL TIME JOB THAT REQUIRES AFTER HOURS ON A REGULAR BASIS.

13. While all this crazy change is happening in your life, decide it is a good time to move. Then spend all your free time for 2-3 months looking at houses, then spend all your free time packing, then spend all your free time unpacking, and then spend all your free time browsing for or buying things for new house, and then spend all your free time arranging things and decorating said new house.

14. Hit your breaking point for weight gain. That's right, after baby WEIGHT GAIN. Not loss. No, that didn't happen. You are now a full 15 pounds HEAVIER than when you GAVE BIRTH. What the heck has happened to you? Are you that lazy and out of shape? When is the last time you picked up a weight that wasn't in the form of a child?

All that being said, in January (so stereotypical, I know), we recommitted to our health, and for those of you going through the same year that my last year was, know that it has gotten much more feasible to find time for working out recently. Emerson's gaining independence daily, and I have found new outlets for activity and new ways to make sure I schedule exercise and meal planning into my daily routine.  It is NOT easy and takes sacrifice, but my health and happiness will be worth a few months of making hard choices between socializing and steaming vegetables.