Six days ago, my baby boy turned 9 months. This once was a fitness blog and while I still make time regularly to exercise, my first priority is him. I set an unrealistic goal to get back to my pre-baby body. Then I pushed it back, and pushed it back some more.
These deadline extensions were all well documented on YouTube and self imposed for no particular reason.
I thought I’d be eager to get back into shape. I wasn’t.
I thought my hunger levels would somewhat resemble pre pregnancy. They didn’t.
Social media pictures of new moms with six packs didn’t bother me… a ton. I felt like it was irresponsible for these six pack new moms to show off unrealistic results so soon after giving birth. People thought my own progress pics were guilty of this. Point was taken so I stopped sharing.
I just didn’t feel any urgency to get back to any certain weight but I wanted to be strong and get back to a level of fitness I had pre-Tommy.
I worked out all summer and have been this fall about 5-6 times a week. I go to classes with babysitting, bring Tommy along in the jogging stroller or take advantage of a grandparent being present.
In July and August, I also ate ice cream sundaes and lobster rolls weekly. I wasn’t exactly dieting but I also wasn’t gaining weight with this plan. Even though the scale said I had 2-5 lbs to lose to get back to where I was, I felt confident in how I looked so I had no immediate motivation to change anything! That was until I realized my entire fall wardrobe was going to fit tight unless I lost the extra weight.
Then, things got real. I stopped drinking during the week. I kept my cookies and treats to one or two days a week, as opposed to daily and we stopped going out to dinner once September hit.
This coincided with Tommy’s new diet of solids. He now has a breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’m still nursing but it feels less like a full time job these days, just 4 times a day.
The weight finally came off. I am convinced this is because of the introduction of calories in Tommy’s diet coming from food versus milk. I hear when you stop breastfeeding then the weight really comes off which is counterintuitive from what you hear child-less.
“Breastfeeding burns up to 800 calories a day!”
Yeah, maybe… but it also feels like you ran 8 miles and want to eat like you are training for a marathon.
We shot the video above about a week before Tommy officially turned 9 months. My fitness still consisted of 30-45 minute workouts 5-6 days a week. Some spinning, a little running but mostly HIIT workouts which are high intensity workouts that are shot. I discovered I love burpees and jump lunges because they felt efficient.
Then last week, I got food poisoning or more specifically noro virus. Then I really lost my baby weight AND then some. Specifically, I lost 8 lbs in 2 days. Don’t worry, most were fluids and I gained back 4 already. So I guess the first trick is food and the second trick is food poisoning. 😉
I’m not judging anyone here who hasn’t lost their bodyweight. I get it. I do not have a 9 to 5 job where my child is in day care. I am able to exercise without sacrificing precious time away from Tommy. I only have one kid to look after. My workouts are my me time that keeps me sane and able to be present with him as much I am. I’m sharing my journey which is my experience. I thought I would have arrived here in March but I didn’t and I’m happy to say, I took my time. It was slow and gradual.
I guess this means, it’s time to start all over again! Kidding. Having food poisoning made me realize how not ready I am to have morning sickness and take care of a toddler. No thanks or rather… not yet. 
