Monday, July 16, 2018

DEAR BREASTFEEDING MOMMY | WHO CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT


Okay girls.

I’m so, so excited to finally be able to write this post. 

As a preamble, I have to first mention my epic fail of a weight loss journey after Haven’s pregnancy. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of those clinging postpartum pounds, but even though I worked out like a crazy woman, breastfed, ate almost nothing and researched constantly…nothing worked. 

During Hope’s pregnancy that knowledge niggled uncomfortably in the back of my mind. I’ve always dreamed of a big family (Like, I mean, a BIG one)…but I didn’t want to be “The big mama” by the time they’re all here either. The thought of that became a fear that nibbled at the excitement of my pregnancy and threatened me every time I looked in the mirror. 

WHAT IF NONE OF IT COMES OFF. EVER.

If you’re nodding your head and brushing away a tear, I’ll tell you right now: prayer is the best dispeller of fear. One day while I was praying, I promised that if God would show me how to get back to myself again, I would write a blog post about it in testament to His faithfulness in the little things. 

Here I am, to tell you He cares.



Waiting for Hope to come! (Swollen and feelin' big as a house.)
During Hope’s pregnancy I read THIS post that helped me tremendously. If you’re breastfeeding and struggling to lose weight, this is for you! They aren’t paying me anything to write this by the way, and actually, they don’t even know I exist (I’ve never commented on their site…which..I probably should, really. Comments are the food of Bloggers. **Yes, that was a hint.**)

Turns out that for a lucky few, weight just falls off and they actually get below pre-baby weight in good time. For others (particularly: dieting Mommas) their bodies cling to EVERY CALORIE possible perchance a famine should strike the land and there wouldn’t be enough fuel to feed the milk factory. (Has anybody else ever felt like a milk factory? Okay. Moving on.) 

They key to success for these ladies is actually to eat more. (SAPRISE!) When we eat exactly enough calories, our bodies realize that the imaginary famine isn’t a threat and will slowly release it’s hold on a little bit of weight at a time. (A pound or two a week.) 

If you click on the post that I linked, it will describe this process more in depth and also link you over to the calorie calculator that I used.

Counting calories is a pain; let’s just go ahead and get that out there. It stinks. But counting them anyway meant that I could look my very white, stretched-out self in the mirror and feel hope instead of complete frustration. 

I also discovered the KETO diet to be super effective for muscling through the plateus where I got stuck. The last ten pounds were pretty clingy, but a little determination and a whole lot of heavy whipping cream pulled me on to the finish line. (If that doesn’t make any sense, let me know in the comments and I’ll explain “KETO” in another post.)

By the time Hope turned six months old, all THIRTY POUNDS OF BABY WEIGHT was gone. These days, I’m slowly chipping away at what Haven left me. :D 




Wrapping it all up, I want to say that I’ve worked hard, but I really do attribute “my” success to the blessing of answered prayer. Never, ever underestimate the power of it, and the truth that no fear or concern is ever to little to bring to the altar. If you’re where I was six months ago, keep your chin up, pray without ceasing, and start tracking your calories, girl!

9 comments:

Bethany d said...

Good for you! As one of those annoying moms who did lose (waaay too much) weight breastfeeding, I’m always impressed by the gals who actually had to do the hard work to get there. And let’s be real, that leftover baby flab that shows up when I bend over...I ain’t got time to crunch that out. :P

Unknown said...

Very interesting and I think info like this needs to be shared more. I’m thankful you were sent to just the right place! I don’t know if it correlates but I never dieted while breastfeeding and the pounds did slowly come off. Makes sense that your body would be like “No Way! If it felt short on calories.

Anonymous said...

Can you tell us more about this? I'd want to find out more details.

Anna said...

Hahahahaha😂

It’s comforting to no somebody else has that too. Thanks.

I so get it though...I’m trying to “plank” mine out. Two minutes makes me want to lay on the floor and pant for FIVE. Working out is overrated. Or...well...we can pretend, anyway...

Anna said...

*know

Anna said...

Yeah. I read their post and I kind of felt like..”DAAAAAAAAAAAH.” It’s so simple, it just goes against the typical “weight loss rules.”

Thanks for stopping by!

Anna said...

Actually, if you check out the links in the post, they’ll direct you over to the original blog where I found all this out. They have in - depth explanations to help you out!

Thanks for your comment!

Unknown said...

No, No! That extra "baby flab" may not be fat. If you don't believe me, you can ask your doctor to check you for something called diastas recti, which means your abdominal walls have separated away from each other, usually due to the pressure of carrying and or giving birth to a baby. I believe so many women have this and don't know anything about it because doctors don't talk about it. I found out about this after our third child. You can look it up on YouTube. There are certain exercises to do if you have this condition. And if you do the "wrong" ones it could make the condition worse. I believe planks might be one of the no, no exercises. Text me if you want to know more. Helping mommy's out!
Making mommy's aware. 🙂💙
Abbie

Anna said...

Thanks Abbie! I’ve heard that a lot of Moms struggle with Diastis Recti. That’s a great reminder!

I actually did check with my Dr. before I started working my core again. She gave me the green light, thankfully!!!

Oh! And my old phone crashed last week...so I lost all of my contacts. I feel like a hermit now! 😂 If you could re-text me your number, I’d be grateful.