I know some women are lucky enough to only gain the minimum weight necessary for baby and lose any little they gained right away. I unfortunately was neither of these.
First of all, at 13 weeks we had some complications which resulted in my ceasing working out hard and aside from teaching spin once a week, I rarely had time for any light walking as I worked 10-14 hour days in a new job and completed a course on finance in my spare time. Both of these were sedentary roles and my weight packed on (I gained 60 pounds!)
I tried not to let the weight gain stress me out and I did eat relatively healthy. I craved fruit, chicken wings and ice cream during my pregnancy. I did not like chicken or salads while pregnant and forced myself to eat those regularly.
After Julianne was born I pretty much lost 30 pounds right away. I then, and still do, struggle to lose the remaining 30 pounds. I thought with all this spare time I would be in the best shape ever by my 30th birthday (November 30, 2014). I wasn't. I weighed the same then as I did after the initial weight loss of having Julianne. Grrr! I knew the only one to blame was myself but I also knew that with struggling with milk supply, I had to put Julianne first and in all honesty I was too exhausted most days from feeding all night long and having a daughter that never napped to consider working out. I never understood sleep debt until now.
So its been 5 months now since Julianne was born and I have finally found my groove in fitness and nutrition. I use my fitbook to track food, water and workouts. I have set small goals. I have tracked Julianne's sleep to know when I can get a workout in every day. I have set my expectations as if I am new to working out (as I have to start back slowly to avoid decreasing milk supply and avoid injury to myself). I started teaching spin again in November and have worked myself up to now attending class as a participant (way more effort as a participant!). My typical day looks like this:
Julianne and I get up at around 730am. I eat 1/2 cup oats with 1 scoop protein powder and 1 cup berries and 1 tbsp flax. My alternate breakfast is 2 eggs, 2 piece toast, and a piece of fruit. I have a large glass of water and a coffee with cream only.
I then try to nap when Julianne goes down around 9-11ish. I then have am snack of yogurt, fruit and all bran buds. More water.
Lunch is usually leftover supper or a deli chicken and cheese sandwich with veggies and dip.
Afternoon snack is sometimes missed, or some kind of protein and veggie.
Dinner we skip the carbs usually and have a kale salad and chicken or some sort of protein.
I usually work out after dinner while Chad gets time with Julianne, and then have a protein shake with milk before bed.
I try and drink water at every meal, have my lactation tea in the evening and kombucha (a probiotic drink) sometime midday. My weakness is still ice cream and coffee drinks. I have enlisted the support of a coworker to track our weightless via measurements and try to stay active everyday. Some days are easier than others, and treats seem to still occur more that once in a while. But I finally feel empowered enough that I will reach my goal (to lose the last 30 pounds before returning to work). I have 7 months left of maternity leave so its an attainable goal in my opinion!