Wednesday, April 21, 2010

In which I complain a lot

All these clothes ....

and I have nothing to wear.

It's been not quite six weeks BLAH BLAH BLAH, but the fact is, postpartum weight loss is a stressor. Don't gimme that "chill out, it hasn't been that long" crap. I have two pairs of pants that fit.

I've made a decision.
Weight loss is totally backwards. You should shed pounds based on what you don't eat - not what you do.

For example. You wanted a brownie, but refrained? Good job. That's half a pound lost. You held back from second helpings at dinner? That's worth at least one. You only had one scoop of ice cream, instead of polishing off the carton? Five, easy.

Whenever we resist temptation, I really wish the weight you would have gained would be lost instead. If only, if only.

(Why is it so dang S-L-O-W?)

You know, I told myself that since it takes nine months to gain, I'll "give it" nine months to lose. Unfortunately, I never listen to myself. Cuz the truth is, I secretly expected my chunks to waste away easily and overnight. I didn't even realize that I had this expectation until I was disappointed with losing only one pound last week.

Twenty-seven down ... twenty-nine to go .... (why did I gain so much this time?!)

Truth be told, I feel good. I even feel like I look pretty good. Being a fairly delusional person helps in this area. But this No Clothes Situation is really starting to get to me.

... But hey. I have a beautiful baby.













And he's worth every pound.

(Now that's love.)

24 comments:

Kristina P. said...

He is so cute and chubby!

Jenny P. said...

I can absolutely relate. . . well, sort of. I'm only six days post partum so I'm still in the yoga pants stage of things, but I know all my capris aren't going to fit for quite some time. And it's not like I want to just go out and buy new pants... because then I don't have any motivation to get the weight off. So bleh. I feel you pain.

LisAway said...

That is not a lot of complaining. I am in exactly the same boat except that I am 4 months on. I only need to really lose ten pounds to fit into all my clothes, but they are all old anyway. I seriously have almost no nice clothes, so instead of wearing not very nice looking clothes that are too tight, I'm mostly still wearing maternity. Four months after. Whatever.

And I also was all gung-ho about eating healthy and losing weight but I don't think I lost a pound (or maybe just one) in two weeks and decided it's totally not worth it for results like that. Really, though, I need to get eating healthy. I'm disgusting myself with my lack of self control when it comes to cookies and brownies. Ugh.

rad6 said...

ooooo, I love your new theory, now, how to get it in practice. I am sure that if we took the idea to capitol hill and sold it right to Obama, he could issue some government help on this one. HAHA... it would probably be risky and expensive, so I am sure he would go for it.
I think I am going to start keeping track of all the things I refrain fomr in a day. hmmm... ok, that might be depressing.
Maybe.
You are right. He is worth EVERY pound. I can say that for the aches and pains too...
They are worth it.

The Prices said...

We can all relate.

Erin said...

Ahhhhh, he's so sweet. Definitely worth every pound.

I'm working on post-partum weight loss, too. Baby is almost 5 months. I've lost almost 40 pounds and I still have about 15 to go. I've been wearing MATERNITY pants and sweats all this time, until a friend of mine cleaned out her closet. Now I have 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of capris, 1 pair of shorts, and a skirt that fit. It feels so good.

But yeah, I miss my regular clothes.

Just SO said...

He is an adorable little guy! I'm sure you will be back to your normal svelte self in no time at all.

Rachel Sue said...

Totally understand. I wore 2 pairs of pants for 6 months. One of which I caved and bought, because I only had one pair that fit. It took FOREVER to lose the weight with my last baby. I hope it gets easier soon!

Unknown said...

Yes you did get a beautiful baby out of the deal, but unless you can figure out a way to wrap him around your waist and wear him to church, your problem really isn't solved!

This may sound like a lame suggestion, but maybe you should just go Wal Mart or Target or someplace where they sell inexpensive clothes and buy yourself a pair of pants or two that fit right now. Hating how you look, ironically, tends to be DE-motivational. You'd be better off buying $60 worth of clothes you like, which if you want you can donate to Goodwill when you're done and take the tax write-off, than feeling self-conscious every time you go out.

It will come off, but meanwhile, get yourself some clothes that fit! You'll be glad you did.

Kristi said...

Amen, Amen, and AMEN! But, I gotta tell you - you are a lucky one in my book, no matter what I do, how healthy I eay or how much I exercise - I gain 70 lbs.... Grrrrrr! BUT, they are SO worth it!!!

Hilary said...

My first pregnancy I only gained like 20 lbs and was down to less than my wedding day weight in four months -- I thought I'd found the magic diet pill I'd always been looking for; just get pregnant, have a baby and nurse, and voila! Instant weight loss. Well, guess how well that worked the second time around?! Gaining 40 with my second, my body totally resisted losing the weight, and I felt so big and it came off so slow and was so discouraging. Magically though, the day she turned 9 months old, I weighed myself and had lost that final 2 lbs. and I was exactly at my pre-pregnancy weight -- I plan on reminding myself of the '9 months on/9 months off' rule a lot after I have this current one! (Of course, now I'm more on track to gain 45+! Maybe I should give myself 10 months!)
Good luck!

Nikki said...

I always feel like I have six months to lose the weight. Because after that, people look at me and can't say anymore, "Well, she's got a newborn." Unfortunately, I lost a whole ton of weight after the twins were born and then ate back 10 of the pounds. And now that they are 8 months old and I'm expecting again, things are going to get ugly. real ugly.

Your baby is SUPER cute. I especially love the blue sweater vest picture. I just want to kiss up those sweet cheeks.

Oh, and my suggestion, buy some elastic waist skirts. It seems much easier to wear a skirt in a size larger than you want than buying pants in a larger size. Maybe that's just me.

Marcia said...

Each pregnancy I tell myself, "I remember how I hate taking off the weight, so this time I'm going to CONTROL myself and not eat like a maniac!" But then I get hungry. And when I'm pregnant and hungry and probably cranky I don't feel like denying myself. Ever. ug.

Sweating in the endless heat said...

Yes you do have a CUTE adorable little man on your hands! I too have the same situation at hand, but my baby is almost a year and I've gained weight (I NEVER have done that ever after having a baby:-( ) It's VERY discouraging and BLAH. Good luck in the pursuit of fitting into clothes; know that there are many of us in the same annoying boat:-)

Kazzy said...

I think you look fab, but I agree on the delusion advantage. It works wonders!

Tobi said...

Postpartum is so rough for me. I feel like I want to BURN all my maternity clothes because I'm so sick of seeing them. But I don't fit in my "real" clothes yet. UGH! I know exactly how you feel.

MotherToMany said...

I wish I could share your pain and frustration. . . .Okay, no I don't, LOL. I'm 27 weeks pregnant now and still techinically 10 pounds DOWN from my starting pregnancy weight. However, I am up 5 lbs from my lowest weight reached while pregnant.

While this is my 8th baby, I have always lost a lot of weight in the first triemester and by the time I give birth I am at or near my pre-pregnancy weight. Then when baby comes, at least a week later I am 10-30lbs lighter than I was when I got pregnant, LOL

My down side though has been through gaining weight while breast feeding. I know I want to meet these women who supposedly lose weight while breast feeding because I tend to put on weight while breast feeding instead. >:/

This time, because I had surgery last year, I should lose it all and then continue to lose. I actually can't wait to see how much weight I've lost while pregnant this time.

Rae said...

I agree that our abstaining from desserts should mean a loss in the Extra department.

Man, I tell you....my third baby? Oh, that pregnancy just wrecked havoc on my body. My ability to lose weight has been seriously (mysteriously?) lessened. Of course, so has my ability to resist desserts and all manner of delicious foods...but no correlation, right? RIGHT?! :)

In all seriousness, I share your pain. And my little girl is now almost 3. (That's supposed to be commiserating, not depressing)

Sharon said...

Well, now that I've met you I feel compelled to comment on all of your posts. Don't be scared. :)

I second some of the folks who said to get a couple of items that fit you nicely, so you can feel good until the weight comes off. Because if you rush the weight loss, it'll go right back on. If you let it come off s.l.o.w.l.y., it stays off. And it seems that I'm the old lady on the blog, so I should know. :P

BTW, Savers is a great place to buy "fat clothes" (*insensitive politically incorrect word alert*) because you don't feel bad about spending $5.00 for a pair of jeans that fit you for just a little while. I dig that store.

Kathy P said...

The baby's beautiful. And so are you. You don't need to be in such a hurry.

You look just perfect.

melissabastow said...

Is it sad that my baby is almost 2 and I feel the same way.....yeah, pretty sure that's sad. Depressingly sad. Sad enough, in fact, that I think I need to eat a brownie to make myself feel better. Unless of course I could lose a couple pounds from not eating the brownie. In which case, I would probably only eat HALF of the brownie.

Rocketgirl said...

AMEN. Bust I solved the problem, I just went out and bought bigger clothes for the interim. Not quite into the pre-clothes, but at least I like what I gots. It's shiny and new!! And so is your ADORABLE baby!!!!!

gigi said...

Yes you do have an adorable baby!! Lucky you but you are right about it taking so long...

Melanie Jacobson said...

Don't be alarmed, but I really, really want to smooch your baby.

And I feel you on the clothes. Oh, how.I.Feel.You.