How I lost the baby weight in 10 steps (and nine LONG months!)
'Pre-baby body' and 'post-baby body' are two phrases that really piss me off.
Mainly because they are yet another way to reduce women to the mere physical instead of celebrating our wit, intelligence and characters. Another way that we are valued more by how we look than how we contribute.
Having said all this I have a very big 'BUT' that makes the feminist in me do an eye-roll: I want to look my best.
I kind of hate myself for it but there it is, after my baby was born I was desperate to get back to my own size. This is not a woman thing though; this is a person thing. We all know when we feel good and comfortable in our own skin, we feel good about ourselves.
When I read trashy mags about celebs shedding their (usually) pretty minuscule baby weight I always feel cheated by the lack of detail. They talk vaguely about protein and steamed veggies and I just can't actually believe that anyone could eat that for more than two days without plunging straight into a melted cheese bender and waking up three days later with no idea how they'd ended up in a McDonald's.
I thought I'd offer my 10 infinitely more doable steps for losing the baby weight.
First some stats (because I'm nosy, and I figure others are too):
I am 5ft 8" and pre baby I weighed 10 stone 5lbs, post baby I weighed 13 stone. When my son was 3 months old I started a conscious effort to shift the weight (for me breastfeeding was not the miracle diet it is for some, probably because of all the chocolate digestives). When he was 9 months, I was back to 10 stone 5lbs.
Nine months on, nine months off pretty much exactly.
Here's what I did:
1. I joined a weightloss class; I won't specify as this is not an advertisement, and they all do similar things. What it was good for was motivation. Going somewhere and being weighed each week worked for me, it kept me from weighing myself obsessively every day and checking your progress just once a week, means you see more profound results.
2. I ate 50g porridge oats cooked in water with a banana for breakfast. This fills me up. If I eat eggs, ten minutes later I want more eggs. That's just me. The point is find what fills you up (sensible choices obviously) and eat that.
3. I ate soup for lunch. If I wanted a sandwich, I used a wrap or a pita instead of bread and filled it with lean meat or smoked salmon.
4. For dinner I would make tomato-based curries, steak once a week, grilled fish and meats. To give meals oomph I would do clever carb swaps like cauliflower rice or carrot chips.
5. If I wanted a packet of Rolos I had a Curly Wurly. Half the calories and still a nice treat. Likewise, if I wanted a chocolate digestive I had a Jaffa cake (or three, it did take nine months remember).
6. Every time I wanted a snack outside of mealtimes, I drank a glass of water first. This was mainly good for stopping me from engaging in my fave hobby, mindless eating, as more often than not I would realise that I wasn't actually hungry. If I was snacking, the old apple and almonds really are pretty good options.
7. If I wanted a decadent breakfast I'd have protein pancakes or squash cakes with poached eggs.
8. If I wanted cheese I'd have parmesan or feta, big flavours = less cheese required.
9. I took the baby out for a two-hour walk every day, this helped him sleep and me think.
10. I was realistic. I took my time. And I also got lipo... (that's a joke).
