Body After Baby & Whole30 Results

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

I started out 2017 at the top of my normal weight range in the high 150s.  I had enjoyed ALL the Christmas cookies and I was trying to get pregnant, so when my gym announced a nutrition challenge and there was some chatter in our Whole30 facebook support group, a January Whole30 was an obvious choice.  Things were going really well... until morning sickness took over and we ordered a pizza on Day 26!  Then, as you all know, I ate everything my pregnant little heart desired and gained approximately 60 lbs!

8 Weeks Pregnant (2/16/17): 158 lbs

39 Weeks Pregnant (9/19/17): 216 lbs

I lost about 30 lbs in the week after birth.  The human body is incredible!

39 Weeks Pregnant vs 10 Days Postpartum

I easily lost another 10 in the first month and wasn't feeling too bad about my body.  I mean don't get me wrong, there would be moments where I'd look in the mirror and question if I was ever going to like my stomach again, but then I'd literally say some affirmations out loud like "you created a human, you are strong, you are beautiful" and I'd feel better.  Overall I was happy enough with how things looked and I felt great physically.

1 Month Postpartum - RIP my beautiful long hair!

I think breastfeeding really did me a lot of favors.  For the first few months I was eating whatever I wanted and a lot of it and I was still losing a pound here and there.  I was doing some walking for exercise, but nothing super consistent.  I finally returned to the gym in January but only made it there once or twice per week at best.  It was some time in March that I finally decided I need to clean up my diet a little bit and I started trying to make some more Paleoish/low carb meals but we were still mixing in bread for BLTs, taco shells, etc. and not being strict at all.  The pounds were consistently coming off, slowly but surely.  I always had the 9 months on, 9 months off mentality and never wanted to risk jeopardizing my milk supply.

February // March // May // June

When summer came along, I plateaued.  I think it was a combination of my body trying to preserve the last 10 lbs to make sure my baby would always be fed, all the food centered fun that summer brings, and also knowing that my 1.5 year eating free-for-all was soon coming to an end.  I knew this Whole30 was coming and I had a lot of "last" indulgences that peaked during our 4th of July vacation down the shore.  I had been weighing in around 164-166 since May, but after pigging out and drinking all week, my Whole30 starting weight ended up at 170.

And then it was finally time!

Start Weight (7/9/18): 170.6 lbs

End Weight (8/8/18): 156.8 lbs

Weight Loss: 13.8 lbs

 

Other results:

• It's a lot easier to get my rings on and off
• I fit into some of my pre-pregnancy pants
• So much energy!  I never felt tired during the day at all!
• I somehow avoided the cold that Dave suffered with for over a week
• I went to the gym twice per week consistently and PRed my overhead press

I though this Whole30 would be so hard, I mean Whole30 is hard enough but doing it with a baby would have to make it my hardest one yet.  But it honestly wasn't.  I think a few key things really contributed:

• Keeping it simple: I stuck to easy meals that were quick to get on the table to avoid my usual mid Whole30 cooking burnout.
• Setting myself up for success: If I wanted to do something more elaborate or I had plans to go to the gym after work, I would prep some things for the next day after the baby went to bed.
• Having support: Dave was an awesome partner and always helped get dinner ready or keep the baby entertained while I was cooking.  He is also the master of dishes!
• Waiting for the right time:  Things are really smooth with the baby in general right now, she's sleeping through the night and we were already in the swing of getting dinner on the table before she goes to bed.  I'm really glad I waited until the right time and didn't push myself into it too early postpartum.

A side note on weaning:  I dropped my pumps week by week and then got down to just nursing first thing in the morning and right before bed, but Sunday morning was my last session.  My boobs are super full and I'm still hoping that once my body figures out that I'm done, my giant milk jugs will calm down and I'll lose another pound or two.

I had amazing Whole30 results, but I'd be lying if I said I was 100% satisfied with my body right now.  I'm down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm right at the top of my range where my pants barely fit and I'd be thinking about doing a Whole30.  I am really proud of all the hard work I've put in and losing 60 lbs is no small feat!  And maybe I just need to accept that my body may never look the way it did before I grew a human inside of it.  But I'm going to keep pushing to eat the way I know I should and rebuild my strength so I can be the best momma I can possibly be!

Someone go back in time and tell me to look at the camera...

It's Time: My First Postpartum Whole30!

Over the past year and a half, my body has grown and nourished a human being.  How incredible!  During that time I had given myself a free pass to eat ALL the things... and boy did I!  Now that's coming to an end!

I've been thinking about dieting for a few months now but I didn't want to do anything that would risk my milk supply.  Breastfeeding has been a wonderful journey and did a pretty good job taking off most of the 60 lbs I gained during my pregnancy.  But now I am ready to wean Vienna, kiss my pump goodbye, and drop the last 10 lbs of the baby weight.  And Whole30 seems like the perfect tool!

My eating habits have been based on feeding two people for a while now, so the Whole30 will truly be a reset for me.  I need to get back to the basics, focus on food as fuel, and kick my intense sugar cravings to the curb.  I am starting tomorrow 7/10 and ending 8/8!  I hope to blog a little, but I'll probably share more on my Busy, Bold, Blessed facebook page.

It's going to be SO HARD!  This will probably be my hardest Whole30 yet!  I know I am going to feel like crap while my body goes through a sugar/bread/alcohol withdrawal in the next few days.  I also know I am going to be tempted by fun summer events and free food (there's literally a free lunch at work on my first day tomorrow). Oh and I have a baby now!

So I'm taking steps to set myself up for success.  I'm rereading It Starts With Food to put the science behind the program fresh in my mind.  I've rallied the troops and I've got a group of 10 people doing it along with me in my private facebook support group (please let me know if you're interested in joining)!  I am meal planning simple things and trying to think of how I can do as little work in the kitchen as possible.  I ordered some sauces and other Whole30 staples from Whole Foods using the new Amazon Prime delivery service.

I am so excited and a little nervous.  But I am ready for the amazing changes I know I am about to experience!

Even More Whole30 Results

Thank you for all the thoughtful comments on my last post <3

In other news, I received this message over a week ago, but it kind of got lost in the shuffle.  Mary did the The Whole30 with us in April and let me tell you, she has 8 kids, ages ranging from teenagers to toddlers.  If she can do the Whole30, anybody can!  Here's what she had to say about her experience:

What a great experience the Whole30 was!  I must not consume a ton of sugar and carbs, because I had no issue cutting them out.  I lost 18 lbs, and inches as well, but the best thing is the increase in energy!  I had always gone to the gym 3-4 times a week prior to starting.  Now I do an hour of cardio every other day and on non-cardio days, I do an hour of strength training and weights.  I feel healthy and strong!  My skin is glowing, I sleep like a rock at night... it's just been amazing!

Congrats Mary!

Interested in more results?

My January Whole21 Results

My April Whole30 Results

Sarah's Whole30 Results

Heather's Whole30 Results

It's so weird to think that this time last year I was in the thick of my half marathon training!  When I signed up for my half, it was the beginning of January.  I had New Years resolutions swirling around my head, I wanted to take my fitness to the next level, and I thought "man, I will look amazing this summer!"  Well, running the half was an amazing experience and I was in top cardiovascular shape, but as for slimming down for summer... well, that just didn't happen.

In July, I even wrote this post about my body.

I know that we've been conditioned to think that if we can just hit the treadmill hard enough, we can melt away our stored fat, but unfortunately it just doesn't work like that.  When you flood your body with sugar and carbs (that later get converted to sugar), you're providing it with an abundance of sugar to use as fuel.  When your body is adapted to burning sugar and it keeps receiving a steady supply, it will not use your fat!

When I was cleaning my room the other day, I found a receipt from a year ago for a bridesmaid dress that had my body measurements on it and I immediately thought, ooh I want to take some new measurement to compare!  Shall we?!

5 inches from my hips people... FIVE!  Long story short, training for a half marathon did nothing to eliminate any fat from my body but cutting carbs, added sugar, and processed foods from my diet made all the difference!  Regarding weight loss, you can't out exercise a bad diet!

We were supposed to go skydiving today but it was too cloudy.  I am so bummed!  I hope you're having better luck this weekend than me.  Happy Saturday.

 Don't forget to like Busy, Bold, Blessed on Facebook   :)  

My Whole21 - Results!

Finally... the results!  Sorry I've kept you all waiting...

Day 1 - Weight 154.0 lbs
Day 21 - Weight 141.6 lbs
Weight Loss = 12.6 lbs!

And how about some before and after pictures?!

Awwwww yeah!  My gut disappeared!  I've always carried a little extra in my stomach and although it's never stopped me from rocking a bikini, I was never a fan of it.  I've been in great shape my whole life, but no matter what I did I couldn't seem to find my abs.  According to Mark's Daily Apple 80 percent of your body composition is determined by diet and let's just say I'm a believer!  The pounds fell off me and I was never hungry.  I ate burgers, steak, fajitas, buffalo chicken... avocados by the bag full.  What a wonderful "diet" :)

But this wasn't all about losing, what did I gain?
- My skin cleared up
- I slept like a baby
- I had tons of energy, no afternoon crash!
- Fruit tasted like candy
- I learned how to cook with spices (instead of just piling on some marinade/cheese/ketchup/etc)
- I tried new recipes
- I learned that I have willpower and I can live without cheese and chocolate!
- I realized that the majority of packaged foods have a ton of crap listed in the ingredients

So I finished 21 days of clean eating... and then I binged on a ton of crappy foods.  Over the past week I've had brownies, muffins, tons of cheese, french fries, Taco Bell, pink lemonade, pizza... ugh.  It makes me bloated just thinking about it!  I can seriously feel my stomach bloat up immediately after I eat processed crap.  It's awful.  I ate two and half slices of pizza one day and I had a deep pain in my stomach all night.

When I eat clean, I just feel so great!  And being forced to go shopping for new pants two sizes smaller than my old ones?  How could I eat any other way?

Have you ever considered giving up processed foods?