For the first two trimesters of my pregnancy, I was really careful about diet and exercise and was right on track to gaining somewhere around the recommended 25 lbs. But the third trimester was a doozy and before I knew it, I had gained a whopping 40 lbs. seemingly overnight! I think much of it was water retention as I sported Miss Piggy feet and some pretty sweet Kielbasa fingers for the last few weeks, but it was still pretty discouraging.
Thanks to breastfeeding and a baby who had to be walked to sleep for what felt like hours each night, I lost every single one of those 40 pounds within the first few weeks without expending any extra effort outside of normal new mommy duties. As someone who has always struggled with my weight, I was thrilled.
But then the unthinkable happened… I REGAINED my pregnancy weight. Not all of it of course. Ha. That would be amusing (not really). But after baby started sleeping through the night and I started to get the hang of this mommy thing, I actually gained BACK 5 lbs. of my pregnancy weight. What the!?! I mean seriously, who DOES that?!
Has anyone else experienced this unthinkable phenomenon? I tried Googling this: “Regaining pregnancy weight.” No results found. “Gaining pregnancy weight back after losing it.” Still nothing. Great, it seems I’m the only moron who has allowed this to happen. I was given a free pass and I blew it. Enough is enough. I have to stop this from spiraling out of control.
I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, but this is a great time to commit to making a big change. I’ve always hated running, but have learned to just do it anyways because it’s the only way I can keep my weight in check. I was running 6 miles a day when I found out I was pregnant, but then stopped cold turkey because I was afraid to hurt the baby. Time to pound the pavement once again. My goal is to lose those last pesky 5 lbs. plus another 10 by the summer. I figure if I commit to this publicly, then I’ll have to stick to it!
Wish me luck.
Congrats on dropping that 40 lbs! And don’t kick yourself about gaining 5 lbs back. I’m still about 8 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight, and it’s been 18 months. A LOT of women are in the same boat, so don’t beat yourself up. It’s easy to regain that weight, for me, because I don’t eat as well and don’t go to the gym NEARLY as much as I did before & during pregnancy. It’s my NYR to go to the gym at least once a week, and maybe, just maybe drop 8 lbs. Good luck! Can’t wait to read your journey!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. Please know that you are so not alone in this issue. I gained 80lbs with my 1st pregnancy & have not lost all of it (sadly I have only lost about 30lbs & my son will be 4 this year). I too have fluctuated in my weight, gaining some of the ex-preg weight then losing, so on & so forth. I too am trying the new years resolution of learning weight. Here’s hoping we’re both successful in this venture.
Thanks for the encouragement. Here’s hoping we’re both successful with our NYRs!
I gained only 20 pounds (but, also had a preemie at 31 weeks, so don’t be jealous) and haven’t been able to lose more than 5 of it (my son is 16 months old). In January, we rejoined a gym. In February, I bought new running shoes. And, in March, I will embark on a running program to reintroduce me to running on a regular basis. Point being, most moms deal with weight issues after baby, some bigger and longer lasting than others. If you’re only 5 pounds heavier than your pre-pregnancy weight, I’d say you’re in a great place!
Can’t wait to read about your progress in the running program on your blog! I’m at the buying new running shoes phase! It’s funny how I think that somehow buying expensive new running shoes will be the magic answer…I can’t explain it, but I honestly believe it will help.
When I read your post I couldn’t help but wonder if I had written this myself and just forgot. I like you ate ridiculously healthy while I was pregnant, I was in complete control and bet rarely did I break from it ( totally not how I normally am, but felt I had to do it for the baby). I never felt better in my life than i did while i was pregant. also like you searched for similar topics regarding gaining lost weight back and was unsuccessful until this post. I worked out my entire pregnancy teaching aerobic classes and gained 23 pounds. I lost all my weight within the first two weeks of having my baby, and then 8 additional pounds by the third week. At around the 6th month post delivery is when I started gaining weight back and now 11 months post delivery I am 10 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. That is about the time I stopped breastfeeding and am not sure of that is a big factor, however I definitely know that I am not eating nearly as well as I was when I was pregnancy. It’s as if I couldn’t eat bad forthw baby but if it’s for me it doesn’t matter.?!?! Youre not alone!