body after bump: 1 month

Ugh, how is my baby girl already 1 month old?!  I’m not liking how fast the time is going by and I’m doing my best not to think about going back to work in January.  I guess the good thing is that I am off through the holidays… #brightside

I am slowly but surely making progress back to my pre-pregnancy size, but it is going much slower than I expected.  People have been telling me that as long as I’m breastfeeding, the weight will just melt right off.  Well, after a month of breastfeeding, I’ve only lost 2 pounds.  I wouldn’t exactly say it’s melting right off.

I think breastfeeding is turning out way different for me than most people.  I haven’t had that uncomfortable engorgement feeling everyone talks about.  I have used the nipple cream maybe 2 or 3 times.  I’m not ravenously hungry every day (some days I am, but most days I’m not).  And I definitely don’t feel like my throat or lips are any drier than usual.  I guess this is just another way that each woman is different.  Or, I’m just strange and everyone else is normal.  But, I really think my body is going to tend to hold on to that weight as long as I’m breastfeeding.  I tend to hold on to weight when I need it most, like marathon training, etc.  It’s just how my body functions.  So, we’ll see in a few months what happens when/if I’m no longer breastfeeding.  OK, end of tangent.

However, I’m doing my best not to focus on the number on the scale.  Would I like to get back to my pre-preggo weight?  Of course!  But, it’s not my ultimate goal.  My number 1 goal (besides caring for my precious baby) is getting back into running, which I’ve luckily been able to do this week!

I am starting off extremely slow.  I only took a month off of running, so I’m sure I could jump back in pretty easily, but I know my body is still trying to heal and I tend to get injured fairly easily, so I want to take my time with it and do it right.  I am following Run University’s 10-week Couch to 10K training plan since it’s a bit more aggressive than other plans.  I chose it because it seems to fit my training level and ability, but is still a bit conservative on how quickly you get back to just running (no walking) and how many miles per week you run.  And I am feeling pretty good after completing the first week of the plan.  (I’ll be reporting back on Monday to tell you exactly how it went.)

Let’s take a look at the numbers, shall we?

	1 week postpartum	1 month postpartum	Total lost
Weight:	-16.2 lbs	-2.2 lbs	18.4 pounds
Arms:	-0.75 inches	-0 inches	0.75 inches
Chest:	-1.75 inches	-0.75 inches	2.5 inches
Waist:	-3.5 inches	+1 inch	2.5 inches
Stomach:	-1.25 inches	-2.75 inches	4 inches
Hips:	-0 inches	-1.25 inches	1.25 inches
Thighs:	-0.25 inches	-0.5	0.75 inches

 

[I’d say there some postural changes that account for some of the differences in the 2nd picture.]

My biggest concerns are my hips + stomach, as that’s where I tend to carry most of my weight and gain easily in those areas.  (Although the fact that my waist went up an inch makes me think otherwise.)  I am pretty lucky to be back in most of my pre-preggo clothes, although I wore most of them throughout pregnancy.  The one clothing item I would really like to get back into though are my jeans since I hate my maternity jeans with a flaming passion.

Unfortunately, I tried them on this past weekend and still couldn’t get them over my hips.  Boo.  But, I’m happy to see that I actually lost some inches on my hips, so hopefully I will be telling you next month that they actually fit!  Until then, I am going to buy another pair of jeans a size bigger until those jeans fit.

I am happy to be back running (ish), but I know that all the exercise in the world isn’t going to get me back to where I would like to be.  I really have to crack down on my eating in order to get there.  I’m finding it really difficult to go from the pregnant mindset of “I can eat whatever I want because I’m pregnant” to “I really need to start eating much better because I’m not pregnant anymore.”  Like I said, breastfeeding is not helping me in this department.  I’m trying to really focus on eating healthier food with the occasional indulgences (handfuls of M&M’s probably are a little too frequent in my diet), thus the weekly What I Ate Wednesday posts to keep me accountable.

So, there you have it.  I’m happy to see progress, although it’s much slower than I expected.  But, I feel really good with how I look and am ecstatic to be back in my running shoes regularly again!