How I Lost 40lbs Postpartum

9 months pregnant

The Old Me

The old me would have laughed at the workouts I considered challenging now and the thought of it made current me so discouraged because I was starting back at square one. And it took years to reach the place that I now aspired to go back to.

I actually had never weighed as much postpartum as I have in my life.

I was never a naturally slim person, being overweight for some of my adolescence and gaining that freshman 15 during the first year of university.

After graduating, I transformed into a much fitter version of myself. I became a gym rat, religiously going to the gym at least 6 times a week. Going to the gym became a lifestyle for me and it was my BIGGEST stress relief.

Bundled up with my 2020 weight gain, I had reached an all time LOW in my fitness journey postpartum. Not only was my thin, toned physique gone, but I was so weak, lost my energy and I became severely sedentary due to working from home.

The Beginning

I know for so many mothers and people, situations are different. My husband worked from home so I did have moments of breaks and with those slivers of time I began to invest in me, finding hobbies I loved along with sneaking a workout in, during naps sometimes cut short, and cooking quick and healthier meals when I could.

This was all very challenging as someone who barely did a thing pre baby, seldom cooking, and only able to workout at the gym where there were no distractions. Home workouts were the worst for me, which is something I quickly realized during the 2020 quarantine.

Damn, having my son taught me so much about priorities, time management, self care, and not to sound 1950s, but also housework, cooking and cleaning.

Pre baby me would have left the dishes in the sink for days, with my only priority while at home being Netflix.

How I Lost the Weight

Let’s break down the timeline of how I went about losing weight.

Woman who lost 40lbs

6 weeks pp

I didn’t do a thing till this time. This is when I did do some home workouts. Here was the time I realized I couldn’t even do a push-up on my knees. The upper body and core strength I lost was RIDICULOUS. I started to invest sometime in diastasis recti safe workouts because I didn’t want my ab separation to get worse, which is what I read would happen if I did certain exercises. Most of the workouts I did were 10 minutes.

4 months pp

Up to this point I only did at home workouts. I did them when I could.

I was exhausted most of the time till this point, which is when my son started sleeping slightly better.

This is the time I JOINED THE GYM AGAIN. After a 2 year hiatus! The last time I had been at a gym was early 2020.

I started doing weighted exercises and walking on the treadmill using the 12-3-30 treadmill routine. But for me it was modified to whatever was challenging for me. Sometimes just 7-2.5-20 would be enough – haha.

This is also when I finally weighed myself and this helped me track my progress.

I dreaded doing this, but I joined Noom and this was suggested. I did see the benefit to doing the daily weigh-in because it does keep you mindful of your daily habits.

For your info I was never big on weighing myself even when I was at my fittest. I find it wasn’t the best indicator for fitness. But as someone clearly overweight and wanting to make a change to a healthy lifestyle, I started doing the weigh-ins reluctantly.

8 months pp

This is when I started incorporating Pilates workouts.

I would do them around two times a week and go to the gym once.

I got more strict with what I ate and stayed away from most sweets when I could. I had baked goods often before this time. If there’s ONE THING you take away from this, it’s that you cannot lose weight without MODIFYING YOUR DIET!

Make incremental changes to your life style. Make sure you have one habit down before taking on another. It’s all about baby steps to permanently create a new lifestyle.

Up to this point I had lost 20lbs since my initial weigh-in.

10 months pp

I lost around 10lbs during the next two months here by joining a challenge with my friends to who could lose the most body fat in 2 months. I didn’t win, but it was a great thing to participate in and was motivating for all of us.

13 months pp

I haven’t lost anything since the 11 month postpartum, but you know what, I didn’t gain anything either.

This summer I put more priority in enjoying by celebrating my son’s birthday, my cousin getting married, birthdays, and enjoying get togethers with my loved ones. It’s ok to live life the way you need to.

But I’m now ready to continue my journey to better health and fitness so stay tuned for more progress!

The Blushing Brownie who lost 40lbs

Bottom Line

Please don’t take this as the only way to lose weight (if that’s your goal). There are so many diets/lifestyles you can follow.

There are so many workout plans to follow. What you choose to follow depends on your priorities, time available and your interests.

I’ll say that I’ve seen so many influencers who seem to have it all figured out and the baby weight looks non existent after 3-6 months – sometimes 6 weeks postpartum.

I, on the other hand, was sitting at home watching these influencers wondering how I still looked pregnant after 6 months. What was I doing wrong?

I hope anyone who stumbles across this is put at ease if you are in the same boat and wondering why that baby bump never left? You are not alone!

Enjoy the Journey

The journey to your goals may not be linear, but you will get there eventually. Be patient and enjoy the process. It helps to keep in mind what you will be accomplishing on the way.

  • Building a long list of meals for your family to enjoy with every healthy meal you make
  • Finding a form of self care that makes you feel healthy and energized
  • Finding ways to relieve stress
  • Building self confidence
  • Creating a new healthy lifestyle for you and potentially your family to follow if they choose to

All of this may seem hard to picture when you are just starting out, and you may not see progress for months even though you may be working your hardest, but I promise it will pay off. You just need to stick with it and remember to take those baby steps.

And DO NOT FORGET to enjoy that baby you worked so hard to bring in this world along the way!

XOXO,

The Blushing B