Photo Friday: Almost Back to Normal!

So if you recall . . .

My pre-pregnancy weight was 131, size 6
My 40 weeks pregnant weight was 171
My just gave birth weight was 156, size 14
. . . and then I was down and up and down and up and down (but my sizes steadily fell). . .
Now at 6 months post-partum, though, I'm happy to report that I'm down to 141, size 10.

I actually have old pants (from before I was so skinny, years before getting pregnant, but still MINE) that I can wear now. I put on these size 10 jeans from college today and felt so MYSELF and comfy!!

It just feels awesome to feel more like my old self again.

Here's a comparison pic . . .

7ish weeks pregnant, 40 weeks pregnant, and today (in my jeans, ;-)!

OMG I LOST A POUND

So you'd think with my frequent weigh-ins during pregnancy I would have updated more about my weight loss. Here's the last thing I wrote about it . . .

And you haven't heard anything since because there hasn't been anything.

Before getting pregnant I was 131 lbs and a size 6.
Before giving birth I was 171 lbs. (Up 40)
After giving birth I was 156 lbs (Down 15 from pregnancy/Up 25 from before pregnancy)
One week post-partum I was 151 lbs (Down 20/Up 20)
One month post-partum I was 155 lbs and a size 13 (Down 14/Up 26)
Two months post-partum I was 159 lbs and a size 12 (Down 12 but 3 lbs more than when I gave birth, and up 28 from pre-pregnancy!)

And then I pretty much stopped paying attention because it was always depressing! I noticed here and there that I'd lost a few lbs but I thought it was pointless since I was still more than my all-time post-partum low of 151 at one-week . . .

Well FINALLY, I have an update! I am now less than I've been since having him!

At nearly five months post-partum I'm 149 lbs and a size 11! (Down 22 lbs)

That means I've lost ten lbs in the past three months, which is great!

My goal was to get down to 145 by May and I think I will get there! My next goal will be to get down to 140 by the end of the summer (still 9 lbs more than I was, but a great weight for me--if I lose any more than that I will just gain it back again the next time I get pregnant, LOL).

Anyway, I have a lot of pants in the 8-11 range so I'm getting more comfortable in my clothes again (even if they are old clothes, LOL), so generally satisfied!

My strategy has basically been not to eat. Only sort of joking. There are so few things I can eat and a lot of it takes time to prep which I don't have with a baby and when he's asleep I'm so grateful for my alone time that I just go online and forget about food. I generally eat a banana and/or and apple and some nuts and lots of water and green tea during the day. Then at night I pig out and catch up. Perhaps not the best healthiest diet plan, but it's what we're doing LOL, and yay for it finally working!!!

Wii Exercises

So James bought this new Wii workout game (EA Active 2), and we both started this nine week program that has you work out four times a week for 20 mins. It runs you through a warmup, workout, and cool down. It is pretty fun and definitely challenging.

So both of us are like a week behind (we've only done 3 workouts in a week and a half instead of 6 or 7), but still I can tell that we are getting into a better habit of trying to workout a few times a week. I have never in my life worked out at all, but the program is good, they have you do all kinds of games and activities and you don't have to remember how many times you've done different exercises, because it is recording it for you.

Between this and being quite strict about not eating gluten, I'm starting to feel a lot better about my body. As I should have predicted, my stomach became much flatter since I haven't been eating gluten and I even lost a couple pounds for the first time since James was born!

I Feel like a Fatass

I know I'm not really. But I was quite thin before I got pregnant and now I just feel like I have all this extra padding everywhere. None of my pants fit except for a few bigger pairs that I had gotten from my sisters and saved for just this occasion.

Before I got pregnant, I was 131 pounds and a size 6.

By the end of the pregnancy, I was 171 pounds and maternity size medium.

On the day James was born (after the birth), I was 156 pounds.

One week post-partum I was 151 pounds, and snug in a size 13.

One month postpartum I was 155 pounds.

Two months postpartum (most recent weighing) . . . 159 pounds, but size 13 is now a bit big on me, and I'm snug in size 11.

So while my waist/hips appear to be shrinking, I am three pounds heavier than the day he was born, and 8 pounds heavier than one week PP. I don't get it! :-(

I can grab a big roll on my tummy and jiggle it. I look significantly "more pregnant" than I did in the first trimester. 160 pounds, at 5'8", is NOT an unhealthy weight--but I don't feel good about myself. This is the heaviest I have ever been, save the last month of pregnancy.

Everyone (well most people) said that the weight would just fall off after he was born but it just hasn't happened. James thinks if I stopped eating gluten again I would lose more (ahem, anything) and that is probably true, but I'm just not ready to do it.

Furthermore, I'm not even eating THAT much gluten. I realize that it really doesn't make me feel good when I eat bagels, fake meats (almost pure gluten), or other high-gluten foods. I have been eating whole grain breads and crackers (oh yea, and cookies) . . . maybe James is right.

I think part of it is the winter, too. I'm obviously much more active in the summer. Honestly I don't even need to lose it all. 140-145 is a pretty good weight for me. Hopefully I can get to at least 145 by May--though some kind of plan for making that happen seems to be necessary. I'll have to work on that. :-/

Weigh In

Well, I'm about 155 pounds now, which is 34 pounds gained. I honestly thought I would be more like a 25 pounds-gained-person, but I don't know why I thought that, since I was thin before getting pregnant, and I'm tall--both of these things would point toward gaining more, not less.

Oh well, I'm sure it will all be fine. My face has definitely started to look a bit fatter but hopefully some of it is water retention and not fat. I'm thinking after the birth and afterbirth and aftermath, LOL, that I'll probably have 15 pounds left to lose, which I can deal with, and hopefully breastfeeding will take care of for me . . .

And in other news, Salmun is actually on his way over here to see me! I haven't hung out with him in ages, it will be nice to catch up. :-)

Sleep is my Friend/Weigh In/Baby Belly

So my brief few days of insomnia have thankfully abated in direct relation to my success at washing, sorting, putting together, and putting away all of the baby things. Our living room is now nearly back to normal and I'm thinking it will be totally back to normal by tonight.

Now, delightfully, I am once again sleeping like (ha) a baby. However I am sleeping even longer and more contentedly than is normal (for me). I'm guessing, if left to my own devises, I am sleeping nearly 12 hours each night. I wake up feeling good, but I will sleep right up until 10:30 or 11 if I stay up late the night before.

In my opinion, this is awesome. The number one warning/piece of advice I get from people is: "Sleep now while you still can", and apparently my body has taken this to heart. I only hope that I continue to sleep this well right up until the birth and my body turns the stored energy into labor stamina. ;-)

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And my other update is my weight. After a month of holding steady (which I knew would NOT last), I am back to putting on weight. I am now up to 158 lbs from a starting weight of 131, meaning I've gained 27 lbs now. I'm fully prepared to go up to 30-35 lbs in the 6 weeks I have left.

Interestingly enough, my Mom weighed 131 lbs when she got pregnant with me, and went on to gain about 35 lbs during her pregnancy. Since she is still beautiful and in great shape at over 50, I am not at all abashed to be following in her footsteps. (She would totally deny being in great shape but compared to the average American she totally is.)

However, I would also be quite fine with staying closer to 30, though I really think I will continue to gain at least a pound a week, so I guess it depends on if he is late, early, or what.

Either way I'm not very concerned. I feel very lucky in that most of my pregnancy weight appears to be in my belly, which hopefully means it will be nearly gone between the birth and the week or two after. I guess my butt has gotten a little bigger, too, but I could have used some extra "junk in ma trunk" before. Hahahaha.

Anyway, I feel pretty lucky not to be one of those pregnant ladies that just gets generally fatter all over--legs, arms, hands, feet, face, etc. I actually always thought I WOULD be one of those ladies, so it has been a pleasant surprise to discover that that isn't the case.

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Along similar lines . . .

I have noticed for the last week or two that my stomach (ie, James David) seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. Suddenly it just seems SO much bigger than it had been, and (lil) James is starting to feel REALLY big and heavy in there. My belly button is still in, but it is seriously shallow. I guess it was pretty freaking deep before . . .

I keep trying to tell myself that it is still probably going to get like twice as big, especially if I go to full term. I'm at 34 weeks (yesterday), and he's supposedly 5 pounds in there now (according to the baby books). So obviously if he is born early at 37 weeks (3 weeks from now) he'll be quite a bit smaller than if he's born late, like 42 weeks (8 weeks from now). Then again I suppose how "done" he is probably has to do with his size anyway, so hopefully if he's a nice big baby he'll come a bit early and if he's a little baby he'll be more likely to need additional "cooking time".

Okay enough updates for right now, LOL.