Interested in losing baby weight? As a mom of three, I have been working hard to shed those post-pregnancy pounds so I can get back in shape!
Losing Baby Weight
You see, for 5 months now, I’ve been going headstrong in a weight loss challenge. It’s a challenge I told myself I’d do after we were done having kids.
While I was in the midst of having kids, I didn’t really keep up with my fitness because I knew my body would be wrecked each time I got pregnant. I kept telling myself, “I’ll get in shape once we’re done having kids.”
Well after having baby #3 in 2012, I came to a realization that I better get with the program in 2013 or admit that I’m a liar and was just using kids as an excuse all along. Munchkins are cute as heck, but they certainly don’t do any favors for your figure!
Losing Weight After Baby #3
In January 2013, I joined Weight Watchers and committed to a strict training schedule. After several long months of counting points and busting my butt at the gym, I’m proud to say I’ve lost 40 lbs to date!
I still have 27 lbs to go until I reach my ultimate goal, but now that I’m over half way there, I feel confident about announcing my intentions on the blog and confident that I’ll get there by my original deadline of October 2013.
What Every Mom Dreads: The BELLY
I wanted to share this publicly because every single mom I know struggles with weight issues. Even thin women who’ve had babies struggle with losing the belly that inevitably won’t go completely away after birth. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about…then you are too perfect and I can’t talk to you right now).
Finding Time for Health & Everything Else
The biggest thing I’ve had to come to terms with over the past 5 months is the fact that I can’t fit in all the things I used to do AND keep up with my diet and fitness goals.
I used to spend many hours each weekend working on my blog. Now a good part of every Sunday is spent planning weekly workouts and shopping for plus cooking many of my weekly meals ahead of time. Friday night was historically my night to stay up late and catch up on to-dos. Now I go to bed a couple hours earlier because I’m so exhausted from a hard day or working out and chasing kids.
I also used to blog a couple hours most nights. Now all I have energy to do is prepare my breakfast for the next day, quickly check my email, and tuck in early because I need all the energy I can get for my morning workouts.
My life is definitely different now. I realize getting to and maintaining a healthy weight will take many hours each week. Right now I exercise between 6 and 10 hours per week to lose weight. From what I understand, I will still need to exercise between 3-6 hours per week once I reach the weight and fitness level I’d like to maintain. I like eating too much to rely on the diet part of the equation alone.
Is There a Magic Formula? What’s the Fastest Way to Lose Baby Weight?
I figure I should address this now because I get asked this question all the time – what’s the secret to losing weight?
Truthfully, there is no secret. It’s just a lot of sweating in the gym and eating clean. I’ve immersed myself in reading material on bodybuilding and good nutrition. I’m learning as much as possible about the optimal way to fuel my body. I change my diet frequently as I learn new, better things to eat or methods of preparing food. I also try new foods and experiment with what I eat on heavy workout days to keep my energy levels high.
As I have time, I plan to document my food journal on the blog. I am also willing to share workout routines and general rules about food and exercise that I’ve followed to get me where I am currently.
Update: Here’s my Sample Weekly Workout Calendar
Questions? About Weight Loss in General? About Being a Mom and Finding Time to Exercise?
For now I’m cool with answering any questions you have about my weight loss journey. I’m finding every person is interested in a different aspect, so I won’t presume to know what everyone wants to know. I’m happy to share, though, so ask away!
Don’t be surprised if I give you some tough love, though. One thing I’ve learned over the past 5 months is that where I used to be was 100% due to laziness on my part. Laziness about planning my meals and laziness about not working out. I’d love to have you on this journey with me, but I don’t have the time or energy to deal with complainers! LOL
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krantcents says
Congratulations on the weight loss. I lost 35-40 lbs. 35 years ago and kept it off. The solution is eating reasonably and exercise. Sounds simple but it takes an effort.
Mandy @ MoneyMasterMom says
Way to go on getting more then half way towards your goal. I watched an interview with Jillian Micheals once and she said “I can’t believe I’m still selling you guys books; eat less, move more – that’s pretty much it.” I thought it spoke to our tendency to hope reading a book, going to a conference, and dreaming about something will be enough to get you there. You’ve proven that the hard part is the day in and day out action. Congrats!
Lena says
Thanks, Mandy! Yes, it’s amazing what I see people doing despite knowing what’s bad for them. However, when you are knee-deep in weight loss mode, it’s easy to see what you should be doing, but when you’re not, you kind of go into “I’m going to ignore these bad habits” mode. Sometimes it’s a matter of education. I’ve learned so much over these past 5 months, things about nutrition and fitness I had never heard before.
Most people who ask me how I’ve done it all don’t want to hear the truth. Like you said, they want to know what the super easy secret was! 🙂
Jenny -- your "little brother" says
Hey Lena and congrats! I’ve been motivated, then not-motivated, for sometime now and I’d like to just stay motivated for good! I’d love to see your food journals and exercise routines. Also with WW, are you doing it online or go to meetings? I’m considering doing it online. Thanks!
Lena says
Sure thing – I’ll start posting stuff first chance I get. I still have 28 lbs to go, so I’ve been intensely focused on that right now, which doesn’t leave much time for working online. However, it’s on my radar! I did WW online only. I considered going to the group meetings, but that just seemed like a time commitment that I’d rather use on taking a fitness class. 🙂