Postpartum Update

Alright. The holidays are over and it's time to kick my postpartum weight loss into gear. Aden is eight weeks old now, so any weight loss that was destined to happen on its own has likely already taken place. The rest is up to me...

The normal (ha!) Heather usually diets by scaling back on food. I know. Sad, but true. It's not the healthiest way to lose weight, but I hate working out and it's the way I've lost weight in the past. Since I'm nursing, however, I need to keep my calories up and I want to make sure I'm passing along enough nutrition to my little guy so a slimmed down diet isn't in the cards. I don't feel the need to join a formal weight loss program either, so my plan of attack is to make healthier choices and eat sensible portions. We'll see how it goes.

The Details:
Baby was born at: 40 weeks, 6 days

Total pregnancy weight gain: 35 pounds

Total weight loss since birth: 22 pounds / 13 pounds to go

Back into your old clothes yet?: Yes, barely. All of my pre-pregnancy shirts and some of my pre-pregnancy jeans/pants are wearable, but fit tightly. Darn those giant breastfeeding boobs! I really should be wearing a size bigger in most shirts because of my chest, but luckily it's wintertime and I can get away with wearing casual pull-overs and hoodies most days. I do have two pairs of skinny jeans that still won't button but otherwise my pants/jeans fit with a little muffin top hanging over the sides.

Mental status: Honestly, I'm not expecting to drop down to my pre-pregnancy weight anytime soon. I dropped 10 pounds in the months after I quit my job and started staying home with Tory full-time. That was without even trying to lose weight; just a matter of more home cooking and portion control. That pre-pregnancy weight was the least I'd weighed since my sophomore year in college and I doubt I'll get back there for some time (if ever). I'm okay with that.

Goals: We're vacationing in Cabo in six weeks and I really want to feel confident in my swimming suit ... even if it's just a tankini. I'd also like my jeans to fit comfortably.

Reality check - Photo time:

8 weeks postpartum

...and just a friendly reminder it was all worth it ;)

So, healthier eating habits are here to stay. Tory and I have been into making smoothies lately, and I feel like that's a good way for both of us to up our fruits and veggies. I pre-assembled smoothie packets as mentioned here and that's been really helpful during the day. I've also been making quite a few Weight Watchers dinners for Andi and I and most of them have been quite tasty. Let's hope I see some results in the next few weeks.