By no means am I a super skinny girl... I have a medium frame, so even if I starved myself, I'm sure I couldn't get 'super model skinny'. However, I do my best to live a healthy lifestyle. I workout, and TRY to eat right. I do watch my weight.
But there was a point in my adult life, where that was not the case. Before I got pregnant with my amazing first born son, I was on fertility treatments and taking a lot of hormones. Every time I took said hormones, I gained 7-10 lbs. It got really ugly, really fast. I got pregnant, and gained even more weight. And then I was blessed with a perfect baby boy, so it was well worth it. I got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight at one point, but never back down to my pre-fertility treatment-weight. Over the next 2 years or so, I managed to pack on quite a bit of weight. Ick.
Then I was blessed with another pregnancy. This time however, I did not intend to become the size of a house. I started walking with my sister on a regular basis. It seemed to help! Then... I found out I had gestational diabetes. THAT was a blessing and a curse. A curse, because the less pregnancy complications, the better, right? A blessing because it really made me look at my lifestyle, and make some changes. I had weekly visits with a nutritionist, and went on a special diet. And I did a darn good job of sticking to it! After all, the health of my unborn son and me both depended on it.
So, by the time I delivered blessing #2, I was super healthy! The day after I delivered him, I already weighed less than I did when I got 'knocked up' with him.
Then, I had a 3 year old and a newborn in the house. It was significantly harder for me to stick to my diet. But my sister and I did continue to exercise together... either walking our babes in the strollers or in the pool during summer. But, between the walking, the breastfeeding (burns calories, ya know!) and The Mommy Diet, I continued to lose weight. A few months later, when it was too cold to exercise outside, I joined a gym. Now, my non-pregnant weight is right about where it was when I graduated high school... give or take 5 lbs on any given week.
So, what is The Mommy Diet? Well, basically, you eat WHAT you can, WHEN you can. It often consists of eating standing up, and finishing what's on the kids plates. So, sometimes, you'll end up eating broccoli and green salad, while other times it will be the crust off of a PB&J and a few bites of Mac&Cheese, or some cut up hot dogs. In any case, your calories will definitely stay in check, LOL! If you can, sneak in some carrot sticks, fruit, and a glass of milk here and there. A good multi-vitamin will help with the stuff you aren't getting. Most likely, you're still on your pre-natals anyways. When the kids are fussy you take them out to play, or for a walk. You spend your days chasing children, and this is how you stay fit! So, when my friends and family ask me how I get the baby weight off... I don't give them some heroic tale of my hours at the gym and my strict diet (ok, yes, I do), I simply tell them about The Mommy Diet!
