Thank you to Illana Sarkool for sharing her pregnancy weight gain story
When I was pregnant, I was simply over the moon that I enjoyed every minute of it – including eating for two. Just like most expecting mums, I gained 35kg but I simply didn’t care. All I care was to have a healthy baby and a safe delivery. I was confident that the weight I gained will just drop naturally. And since I was planning to breastfeed my baby, it will also help in losing weight.
And when my baby came along with sleepless nights, I was faced with most women have to deal with after childbirth – losing that excess weight.
So the battle begun but was not easy. In fact, I was on the losing end. I did breastfed but it was not enough to lose those excess kg. The first few weeks, I was delighted when I lost 7kg right away but after that, my weight seemed to just stopped at a certain number. And yes, I also felt a little miserable seeing these svelte actresses walking around with their babies and how I was still wearing my maternity clothes….
But instead of just turning a green-eyed monster towards those women who easily bounced back to their pre-pregnancy bodies, I took it positively. If they can do it, I can too. I took it as a challenge for me. Not just for health but for my confidence. I want to feel good whenever I look at the mirror. Never mind those stretch marks and wider hips, I embraced it. I wanted to lose weight to be a healthier mother to my child.
I am clever enough that what is real is that it is not easy to lose weight after having a baby. Unlike celebrity stories, real mothers can only lose the weight even after a year of having a baby. So I took it slowly and I also joined the Lose Baby Weight plans. I had my smoothies daily and picked healthier options like wholegrain bread, more veggies and less meat for my meals. I mixed exercise with my duties as a mother and now I have 10kg to go to get to my goal weight and I am very proud to say I have lost over 20kg so far.
Yes, there have been some low times and like most women, I am guilty of eating cookies at night. Or sleeping instead of exercising on some days!
But with constant determination, with Lose Baby Weight’s help and with my husband’s support, I am so proud of losing my weight and that I am now healthy for myself and for my own family. Women who just had babies shouldn’t put too much pressure on themselves when it comes to losing weight and when you are ready do it safely – ie stay away from the diets which give you horrible side effects. Just follow a healthy diet and lifestyle and you will feel good and I personally can’t recommend Lose Baby Weight enough – it has been amazing for me and remember that being a mother is sexy!
To see other mums’ stories and pictures click here
