43/50 Ain't Bad... Right?

I am not going to lie: losing the weight I gained while pregnant with Noah has been so challenging. I was drafted into believing the myth that I could eat what I wanted because it would "fall off" when I started breastfeeding and my hormones leveled out. Nothing anyone told me would sway me - it would take me experiencing the torment of post-pregnancy weight myself.

Not a week after Noah was born was it that I bought the latest copy of People and US Weekly featuring mom's such as Nicole Richie and Christina Aguilara on the cover. They had babies one month before me and they were already sporting big boobs and small waists. It was then that I started freaking out that only 30 had immediately fallen off and not the whole 50! Not kidding: within 6 days of Noah's birth, 30 pounds melted away. But for the majority of the year following those first 6 days, I was stuck with the rest. My sweet husband had to constantly remind me that my obsession with looking like the newest star moms wasn't going to happen right away because they had nannies, cooks, trainers, 8+ hours of sleep a night.... yet they all lie and say that the weight fell off through breastfeeding and through the sheer joy of just being a new mom.... What a load of garbage.

While my sister, Kelly, was here 2 weeks after Noah's birth, I made her get out with our new Valco jogger stroller to get my weight loss regime underway. Crazy? Yes, I was. But I was obsessed with being a super mom. Well, God had a lesson for me to learn in my first year of being a mom: I had a healthy, perfect baby boy in my arms and while I despised my new figure, I had to daily challenge myself to focus on Noah and the total blessing he is to our life.

The entire first year of Noah's life, I could have been classified as 'obese' by today's standards. But magically, when the first year of his birth rolled near, the weight started falling off. No matter the amount of obsession I had had, or how many miles I ran (I went through 3 pairs of serious running shoes since Noah's birth - that is how much I ran/walked/pushed myself to the limit) or how I watched my calorie intake, that weight was going to come off when it was ready and not a moment before.

Just today, I put on a pair of my favorite pre-Noah pants that only 2-3 weeks ago didn't fit, and they fit like a glove, perfectly. I was elated. I still want to be 10 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant with Noah but I have to admit, 7 left over from Noah's birth plus 10 extra ain't bad compared to the 50 I started out with! Whoo hoo!

I will never make the same mistake of eating all that I want in my future pregnancies - I refuse to go through the misery of the kind that I have experienced this first year of Noah's life. It is just not worth it.

Katie