So here's the post I've been a little bit afraid to write and definitely nervous to publish, because talking about weight is unpleasant in any case, but talking about it after pregnancy has wrecked your body is bad times a million.

But, when I was pregnant, I used to google these types of blog posts all the time, because I wanted to see what the postpartum journey is like. You hear so many things, like you'll never be the same, or that breastfeeding makes the weight melt off at warp speed (total myth, by the way).  And honestly, I still read about post baby bodies on a few forums that I follow (I used the Sprout app and still do - they have a great postpartum moms section). Anyway, what I know is this: some women lose all the weight in two weeks (but I'm not bitter) and some lose the weight in nine months. Some women never lose the weight. My guess is it depends on a hellish combination of motivation, genetics, and how much you gained in pregnancy.

Here's my facts:

• Pre-pregnancy, I typically weighed in between 115-120lbs, depending on how many kit-kats I ate for dinner. 
• On the day I delivered, I weighed 169lbs. 
• Overall, from January to September, I gained between 50-55lbs.
• Immediately, after delivery, I lost 15lbs. A quick 5lbs followed in the next week. 
• After the first week, it's been more of an effort to get the pounds off. Breastfeeding be damned.
• And for reference, I am 5'7". 

I gained weight everywhere. Just everywhere. I packed on a lot in the first trimester because I was so sick all the time and I always craved brown rice, so I ate a lot of it. It soothed the nausea and I thought it was healthy, so I ate huge servings. Boom, pounds.
My weight rose pretty steadily for the entire nine months, and eventually I just had to come to terms with it. I'm the kind of pregnant girl who just gains weight -- it is what it is. I had to remind myself that it was temporary and eventually my body would be my own again.

So here we are.


It's a pretty slow process. In my old life, I could swap out dinner for a bowl of broccoli a few times a week, kick out the soda, and still have a bowl of ice cream in bed, and somehow still manage to drop 5+ pounds. Now, I'm breastfeeding, so dieting is off the table, and while I don't gain weight, it doesn't just fall off either.

Around 5 weeks postpartum, I started walking everyday for about an hour and limiting white flour and sugar. I just was cleared to work out, so I've been mixing in some squats, sit-ups and wall sits. Slowly, but surely, the scale is going down and things are starting to go back to where they belong. All in all, I'm 32lbs down from my last day of pregnancy, and 18ish lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. I head back to work in four weeks, and ideally, I'd like to be around 125 by then so I can sort of fit in my old clothes, but we'll see.

So, that's where I'm at, and I'm pretty comfortable with it. I've set myself up with a few short term goals -- sneaking back into the 130's was the first one! Next stop is 135, then 125, and finally 120.  To be honest though, I feel decently good seeing the progress, all while maintaining a great milk supply for Duke which has been my first priority. And if all else fails, my whole array of shoes fit, so you know, be grateful for the small things, right?

See you back for another check in on the postpartum body in a few months. Fingers crossed the progress continues!