Pregnancy time is not the moment to start dieting. You should eat right but some like myself just could not stop eating. I was starving all the time. If I did not eat, I felt sick. In 9 months I gained 70 lbs. No joke! In one week I gained 10 lbs. I tried to lose the weight with everything. I tried weight loss pills like Xenadrine and many others. I went to the gym four times a week and had a trainer. I went on the Atkins diet, South Beach, and I even became a vegetarian (never a vegan though.)
Yes, I lost weight with the exercise and the diets; however, it always returned. I was able to lose 25 lbs with exercise but I could not lose the rest. This is when I decided that I was going to change my life by stopping the cycle of diets and pills. I realized that I was extremely depressed not just from my weight but from my life. I was a stay-at-home mom and I was in a miserable marriage. I stopped the cycle of my personal, mental beatings and took a good look at my life and where I deserved to be in 1 year.
I went to see my doctor and expressed everything. He recommended that I go see a psychiatrist. Once a week, I just talked and talked about my sadness, anger, resentment, and guilt for what I had become. My daughter was so beautiful but it hurt to get down on my knees and change her diaper. I felt tired and exhausted all the time. The diet pills made me irritable and gave me stomach problems. The Atkins diet tired me while making me feel like I was missing nutrients. I suddenly started dying for fruit. The vegetarian diet bored me and the South Beach Diet became too much with all the recipes and rules.
So what did I do? I went to a doctor and joined an on-line group that helped me socially. Being a stay-at-home mom had secluded me from people and I had lost a lot of friends. I was lonely and depressed. The doctor prescribed me anti-depressants and I started going to a local mommy’s group. The on-line and mommy’s group made me leave the bed, the house, basically my confinement. I realized that I was dying to get out of the home with my daughter. After my first meeting with the mommy’s group, I left feeling like a weight had been lifted and removed from both my shoulders and heart. I became a better mom and suddenly I realized that for my daughter I had to get better which meant taking care of myself.
Once I realized this, I began to watch what I ate. I slowed my eating down and made sure to cut the fat out that was unnecessary. For example, I love sour cream and butter on my baked potatoes so I chose no butter and just fat-free sour cream. I made compromises and only ate when I was hungry. If I felt hungry when I knew I had just eaten then I would drink 2 glasses of water and wait 15 minutes. After that 15 minutes, if I was still hungry I would have a small bowl of cereal, pre-packaged slices of cheese with fruit, yogurt, ect. I never skipped breakfast and I made sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. I stopped the pills and found myself just exhausted so I just walked my dog. I realized I didn’t need to spend hours at the gym. I saw the weight start coming off slowly at first then faster as I felt myself feel lighter. My knees stopped hurting and I started feeling better.
I think that the following were the reasons that I eventually lost my lbs:
- I started taking care of myself- getting out of bed, getting out of the house, and deciding to make friends and meet other’s like me.
- I actually bought a 48 oz. water bottle and made sure to drink all of it every single day. This made a huge difference in my skin, appearance, bloating, and overall feeling of wellness.
- I suddenly realized how much I ate when I was not even hungry. My portions became smaller and I lost weight.
- I got rid of a scale. I judged my progress by how my clothing fit.
- I set realistic goals and involved my daughter. I also involved my new friends and never deprived myself of something I suddenly desired. It was OK to have a piece of chocolate cake but not the cake!
- Take your vitamins and get involved in your community. When you are bored, chances are that you will eat. Keep yourself busy and make yourself feel better.
- Remember that it took 9 months of scarfing food down to gain all that weight so do not expect any miracles.
We are human and our bodies go through a lot of stress during pregnancy. Do not stress yourself and enjoy being a mother. Also keep in mind that if you are breast feeding then you are burning approximately 500 calories. Be kind and keep in mind how amazing your body is. I lost the weight once I relaxed and let myself live.
