My body has been through a wild transformation this last year and a half. When I got pregnant, I gained nearly 80 lbs and I was already overweight to begin with. Pregnancy was rough on my body. My feet and ankles swelled an incredible amount, not even half way through the pregnancy. The swelling spread to my calves, all the way up to my knees. Before I was pregnant, I walked a good amount, which helped me maintain my weight (though I was still a bit on the heavy side) even though I had some unhealthy habits. But once the pregnancy swelling made walking for more than a few minutes uncomfortable, I got lazy. And to make matters worse, I gave into every pregnancy craving I had. It was the perfect storm for rapid weight gain. I had been told by my obgyn at the beginning of my pregnancy that a woman at my weight should gain about 25 lbs during pregnancy but I gained more than double that. I knew the weight gain was excessive but I was convinced that it would be easy to lose the weight after I gave birth so I didn't restain myself.
It has been 10 months since I gave birth to my daughter and I have lost 60 of the 80 lbs that I gained. About 30 lbs of that came off without too much effort, though I suppose some of that weight my daughter can account for. Once I stopped breastfeeding, the weight loss slowed and I had to start making an effort. More of an effort than I had anticipated. But I was determined to lose the weight so I started logging my food and measuring my portions to make sure I was at a calorie deficit every day. I began walking again (but this time with my daughter strapped to my chest) and finding ways to be more active. I have been losing weight at a rate of about 1 lb a week for the last 3 months.
I am 20 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight and I'm just now feeling a sense of acconplishment. For the last few weeks I was really struggling. I was alternating between feeling frustrated/impatient that my results were taking so long to be noticeable and feeling disappointed that losing weight doesn't work like Photoshop to magically sculpt the perfect body. I had this silly expectation that if I got to my pre-pregnancy weight I would have the same body as before, as if my body hadn't just gone through this wild journey. It has taken some time to let go of that expectation.
Even though I have adjusted my expectations, I still have moments where I find myself wishing my weightloss journey looked more like Adele's. I have to remind myself I should be proud of my progress. I kept pushing forward, even when my confidence was low. I stuck to my plan, even when I couldn't see the results. I didn't turn to food for comfort and I didn't use my disappointment or struggles as an excuse to throw in the towel. I have lost 60 lbs! Everyday I am making the choice to eat better and live better and to be a good example for my daughter. I still have more weight to lose, but now that I have a better attitude, I am more eager than before.
I am not trying to just pat myself on the back (though admittedly I am doing that too) but I want to encourage anyone who is frustrated in their weight-loss journey to keep moving forward. The fact that you haven't given up despite the fruatrations is something to celebrate! We can do this!
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