Weight Loss After Pregnancy

Weight loss had always been an objective of mine right after my pregnancy. After all those days of fattening up for the sake of my baby, it was finally my time to get back to my pre-pregnant weight. I started off with a weigh-in and a long look in the mirror. I had so many problem areas to deal with and I had a deadline to meet. I had psyched myself up to lose as much weight, the safest way before my son’s christening which was in 4 months time. Since all our friends and family will be attending, I had promised to look my best for that day.

I forgot to mention that during the entire pregnancy, I was pretty much in hiding, not because I was ashamed of how I looked but because I was very easily fatigued and the edema in my legs gave me a hard time walking for long distances. I was very much overweight during and right after giving birth and my road to recovery took longer than expected because I gave birth via C-section. Resuming daily activities and now, Mommy duties proved to be a herculean task for me. But still I was determined to not look like a mom and of course to be healthier and leaner for my age.

A big concern for would-be dieters who just had a baby is the breastfeeding. I must stress out that for breastfeeding mothers; it is a definite NO to dieting. Any type of alteration in a mother’s diet, directly affects the baby. And drastic weight loss leads to body fat being burned and turned into an excreted substance that is harmful to the baby. So how did I go about dieting then? It was an unfortunate yet inevitable choice for me. I had to stop breastfeeding after a month because of the demands of my work as well as the treatment I was undergoing through for a medical clearance which was also job-related. It was a sad decision but with this I had nothing to hold me back to start losing weight.

I grew up in a health-conscious family, which was an advantage for me because I get to eat vegetables and fruits almost everyday. The pantry was stocked with healthy options and I had no trouble following menus for certain diets. Yes, I had to start with decreasing my intake and eating the right kind of food. I wanted to try different “fab” diets but I was too weak to resist cheating on the menus and also most were too confusing to follow so I had to find one thing to give up and stick to it. I gave up eating carbs. I didn’t eat anything sweet, white, and starchy – that meant no rice, no bread, potatoes, and corn. If my family ate together, I ate small amounts of viand and drank lots of water. I ate only little portions of red meat. I didn’t eat junk food or drink soda. I didn’t eat at fast foods. I resisted eating sweets and dessert. A few days into my diet and I felt like I wanted scream. It was very difficult at first but eventually my body adapted. Every week I trained myself to eat as little as possible and only when I was very hungry. Coupled with daily exercise, an hour and a half’s worth of aerobics, I was finally getting a routine set.

A month of doing my routine, I didn’t notice much change. I kept weighing myself and in the end get very disappointed at only a few pounds lost. It was a good thing, my parents and my husband kept encouraging me. At that point, I thought I should’ve just given up, but I persevered. My patience and endurance for resisting good food were put to the test almost everyday. It didn’t help coming from a family who loves good food and I also have very good parents who can cook up such delicious and mouthwatering goodness during every meal. I was very deprived during my weight loss journey.

After a few more weeks of doing my routine and focusing on taking care of my baby, I finally noticed my shirts and pants getting loose. I could wear my old clothes again. I could feel my body getting lighter, and I had more energy. I felt good. People started to notice and I couldn’t believe it. It was because at this point, I stopped looking at the weighing scale for fear of being disappointed once again. After 3-4 months of diligence, I weighed myself that day before my son’s christening. Lo and behold, I lost 39 pounds amazingly enough, and I managed to lose that much with the method I chose. My friends and family gave me such good feedback that I really am very proud of my achievement. My husband too, he couldn’t help but ogle at how good I looked during the celebration. I really am so happy I found the strength and diligence to stick to my diet and exercise routine. So, from a huge 182.6 lb weight to a fair and fit 143 lbs, its safe to say that diet and exercise definitely work and people who support and encourage you during the process, play an important role to keep you motivated. If I can do it, so can you!

Welcome to Motherhood

When does being a mother start for a woman? Is it at the time you missed your period? Is it the second your pregnancy test reads positive? Is it the first visit to your OB-GYN? Or is it only at that point when you hold that precious bundle of joy in your arms for the very first time? For me, it started that night when I told my husband that I wanted to be a mother. It was a joint decision for us, since it definitely was a huge step for any couple. I didn’t have any regrets and at that time I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. But despite having a very good grasp of reproductive and women’s health, experiencing the whole process throws whatever stock knowledge you have into disarray.

It’s the whole nine-month waiting period, wherein for every mother the only thing that mattered was the health and well-being of their developing baby. It’s true that there’s a lot of material that helped in understanding what’s going on but to be honest, no matter how many books you read, no matter how prepared you think you are, each pregnancy is different, each experience unique in its own little way. I have proven most of the information to be either true or not applicable in my own situation.

Let me tell you, it was an emotional, psychological, and physical rollercoaster for me. The physical part was very obvious since the characteristic trait of a pregnant woman is the big belly. The inevitable weight gain was definitely a very big deal to me – but its safe to say that even if you’re not pregnant, your weight matters a lot. From a weight of 65kgs, I weighed a whopping 83kgs during my ninth month. It really felt like I was carrying a very big person inside of me. I kept wondering how my husband could stand to look at me since I got so huge and so ugly with all the darkened areas, and don’t get me started with all those stretch marks and cellulite. I couldn’t even recognize myself in the mirror.

Now comes the emotional part. Oh boy, the mood swings were terrible. I felt sorry for the people around me especially my husband. I cried about every little thing. I got mad about trivial things, I was almost always in a foul mood and I would get overly depressed or emotional over things that normally wouldn’t have ignited a simple, “meh” or “huh” from me. I was almost impossible to console when I’m having a tantrum or hissy fit. I always found something to argue about and I easily get mad with my husband, my parents, or my in-laws for the simplest reasons.

Psychologically speaking, I was a mess. I was stressed and utterly almost always on the edge of insanity. A lot of things kept crossing my mind with each passing minute of every day, week and trimester. I kept myself busy thinking about the baby, the cost, my job, my husband, my family, my health, the bills, literally everything that I usually trouble myself with plus the concerns accompanying the would-be addition to our family. I would space out and stare off at a distance just thinking about how to handle each and everything once I was about to give birth.

I was sure I wouldn’t be able to handle it since another problem I had was that my husband was away most of the time doing overtime and doing his best to save up as much as he could in preparation for our baby. This meant a lot of time I was going crazy was spent without the most important person in my life. I would often talk to my unborn baby to voice out my sadness and frustration, but I guess it was a definite blessing for me that we still managed to see each other and be together during those critical moments that I was feeling so helpless and alone even for a few days at a time. I was grateful I had family and friends visit me during the very difficult moments. Throughout the entire span of the pregnancy, I could sum up the ordeal as unpleasant since I was definitely agonized and shocked by all the changes. I was never really prepared for anything. But after those whole nine months, my entire perception was changed. At that moment in the delivery room, when I was so close to feeling like I was going breathless, the sound I heard was the most important and unforgettable sound I have ever heard. At that second, time stood still and every nasty feeling that I had, every worry, every concern seemed to have magically disappeared - that moment I had heard my baby’s cry. God’s perfect blessing our lives was born that morning, healthy and perfect.

It was then that I was truly welcomed into the ranks of motherhood. The whole process was indeed arduous and paved with pain and worry but every mother knows that the reward is beyond any measure, the moment you hold that precious newborn baby in your arms for the very first time. I knew everything was worth it, and at that time nothing else mattered but the feel of his tiny hand grasp my finger, the throb of his fluttering heart and the warmth of his body against my breast. I was now a mother.