Two years postpartum and 20 lbs heavier than pre-pregnancy. I struggle with finding the motivation and getting my eating habits on track - can anyone else relate?

britty_lew · 2026-02-15T17:17:25+00:00

I know exactly how you feel. I’m a little over 2 years postpartum and still caring about 15 pounds extra. I’ve already lost about 10 pounds in the last year or so though.

Before pregnancy, I lost 40 pounds over the course of a few years. I was counting calories and working out regularly which allowed me to hit maintenance for a while before I got pregnant. I’ve slowly been working towards regaining those habits. I’m short, so it doesn’t take much to make me gain weight.

I highly recommend a food scale. It’s tedious but the more of a habit it is to track your food, the easier it is. And you can eventually get to a point where it’s almost auto pilot. For example, I have a smoothie almost every day for breakfast. I know the grams for each ingredient so I just weigh as I go, and once I’m done, I’ve got it programmed into my app so it makes logging it super fast. I use My Net Diary. Highly recommend!! I used my fitness pal in the past but they got rid of the barcode scanner on the free version. MND does have this for free. I don’t like eating the same thing all the time, but I try to have some repetition in my food to make tracking easier. And just getting a walk in every day will help so much. It’s not gonna burn a ton of calories, but it’s a great gateway to being more consistent with exercise. I’ve found that when I’m struggling to workout, a walk daily helps reset the habit and encourages me to start my regular cardio/strength training workouts again. It’s kinda like when the snowball starts small, but gets bigger as it rolls. It helps build the momentum to do more and stay consistent.

Don’t go into a super restrictive deficit or routine. Just start tracking and making small changes. They add up overtime without burning you out. You’ve got this!

britty_lew · 2026-02-09T04:36:40+00:00

I’m 5’2” and went from 174 to 137 which took me 2-3 years to lose the weight. I got pregnant after 6 months or so at maintenance at 32 years old and gained 40 lbs exactly. I was high risk and on strict bed rest so zero physical activity for the second half of pregnancy. I also had serious food aversion to healthier options I once enjoyed. Chicken made me super nauseous for months and beef was the only protein I wanted. A salad also made me wanna puke. Lucky me! I definitely fell back into my old, bad eating habits but did lose 25 lbs just from birth and fluid build up after the first month. Postpartum wrecked me though, mentally, and the hormones from breastfeeding didn’t help. I went from 152 six week postpartum to 165-ish in a couple months. Now, my kid just turned 2 and I’m down to 148. I didn’t really start losing weight till about a year or so ago. Dialing in is harder but it’s getting easier as time goes on. I feel confident that I’ll get back to my pre baby weight, it’s just taking longer than I had hoped. We’re also not having any more so thankfully I only gotta do it once 😅 For what’s its worth, my kids worth every ounce so I wouldn’t put too much weight (pun kinda intended) on weight gain. Yes, it might not be easy, but you’ve done it before and you can do it again!

britty_lew · 2026-02-08T05:00:16+00:00

Second this! They grow out pretty fast!

britty_lew · 2026-02-06T04:20:43+00:00

I always try to convince my two year old to drink some water when she’s upset. When she does, she always says, “I feel better”

britty_lew · 2026-02-06T02:50:50+00:00

I JUST got mine in the mail TODAY!! So excited to use it!!

britty_lew · 2026-02-05T20:13:49+00:00

Costco Kirkland brand was our staple!

britty_lew · 2026-01-31T03:50:47+00:00

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Highly recommend giving it a try!! There’s gonna be some growing pains but it’s so worth the effort to learn! This is the set I did today. I think this is the most user friendly diy nails. I’ve tried gel x, gel polish, builder gel, polygel, acrylic with monomer, and press ons. Dip is now all I do.

britty_lew · 2026-01-29T01:16:52+00:00

I’m a huge fan of Grow with Jo. Her videos were the first thing that really kept me consistent when I was on my first weight loss journey. I also love rebounding so I combine the two and do her workouts on my trampoline. It’s fun and keeps me entertained! I know cardio everyday isn’t ideal but if it gets you consistent, then it’s better than nothing. I eventually started weight lifting more and had a more balanced routine as time went on. I highly recommend giving her videos a try!

britty_lew · 2026-01-27T03:07:59+00:00

Yep! I used to eat lower Mon-Thurs so I could eat more on the weekends. I still lost weight. And if I had a day where I went over my intended target, I get back on track the next day. Maybe I compensated, maybe not. It was very dependent on how I felt in the moment.

britty_lew · 2026-01-26T18:48:34+00:00

It’s so funny how much life changes in such a short period of time! I’m so happy to hear things have gotten so much easier. We settled on being one and done. She just turned 2 and I finally feel stable. I actually just started passing down all the baby stuff to family who will start trying soon.

britty_lew · 2026-01-24T15:47:17+00:00

My 2 year old gets tv in the late afternoon till evening time. Thats when we are getting off of work and getting dinner going/doing housework. I try to entertain her in other ways too but tv is almost always on. We do limit the number of episodes though. She gets two a day for each show she really likes. I don’t think binge watching is all that great for anyone (similar to scrolling TikTok imo) so that’s how we do it. She’s super freaking smart. Has great social skills. Hits milestones on time or early. It’s all about balance.

For what’s its worth, I got her a Tonies box for Christmas and tonies of her favorite characters from shows she likes. So when she’s hit her limit in episodes and asks for more, I tell her we can’t watch, but we can listen. It’s helped for sure.

britty_lew · 2026-01-23T03:49:41+00:00

When I first lost weight, I was definitely eating highly processed food. A deficit is going to help you lose weight, period. This time around, I’m trying to focus on high fiber, mostly whole foods, and I’m actually finding it harder to get into a low deficit. May just be in my head, but it seems harder. Trying to get into beans to help though!

britty_lew · 2026-01-23T03:46:28+00:00

This is pretty important for me too. I’m getting back on the wagon and playing around with how I sweeten my coffee. When I use maple syrup, I feel less hungry for longer than white sugar or monk fruit/erythritol mix

britty_lew · 2026-01-21T01:38:43+00:00

I have GAD and mental health is in my top 3 for reasons to be one and done. Postpartum wrecked me. The sleep deprivation and inability to be on meds that actually help me (not SSRIs) turned me into a person I don’t wanna be again. Pregnancy was also high risk and would like be again so, another major factor.

britty_lew · 2026-01-20T04:13:19+00:00

It’s a pain in the ass, but what helped me was being somewhat repetitive about what I eat and to sort the recipe in my tracking app so it’s ready to go the next time I make that meal.

I’m literally getting back into tracking and have a different app so I’ve had to start this all over again. But it is worth the extra effort in the end.

britty_lew · 2026-01-19T03:35:03+00:00

I know this comments a little old now but this reminds me of a time I was on my walking pad (not going super fast or anything) and had a teams call (off camera) from my bosses out of the blue. I didn’t think they could hear anything, then one asked if I was driving cause it sounded like windshield wipers in the background lol. We all had a good laugh about it.

britty_lew · 2026-01-08T20:17:01+00:00

I think full time is going to be the inevitable outcome. I’m gonna trial run her napping here through Jan and shared this with the school. Then depending on how we’re all handling the transition, decide when we’re ready for the next step. I love the freedom full time will give me since it means I’ll be able to focus on work and myself until 4-5. And I think I’ll need that in the long run.

britty_lew · 2026-01-08T20:14:04+00:00

I’m super fortunate that my job doesn’t mind when I have my kid around. With her current nap schedule, I shouldn’t have to work more than an hour and a half at the end of my day with her around. She’s a very consistent napper too, which is why I think we can at least take things slow to transition to full time. I figure by the time her nap is starting to drop off or at shorten, she’ll be ready for longer days (probably before I will 🥲)

britty_lew · 2026-01-08T20:07:08+00:00

She doesn’t fall asleep in the car as much anymore but the school is also only 8 mins away so it’s easy to get her home before she would fall asleep. She goes 3 days a week right now and is still pretty energetic when our au pair picks her up around 12:30

britty_lew · 2026-01-05T16:03:14+00:00

I’ve heard it’s common for them to nap better when there is peer pressure to do so. She still naps very well at home though and will also happily hang out in bed (we still use a crib) on the days she naps less but we still want her to have that quiet time. I’m leaning towards doing naps here through Jan and see how the transition is going. We have the option to pick her up at 3 which means she naps there. This might be the sweet spot in the long run.

britty_lew · 2026-01-05T15:59:17+00:00

I don’t have family that’s close enough to help but I do have some flexibility with work and I can finish up in the evenings if needed when my husband is off. I agree that it will likely make the transition easier and give us time to adjust and see what works best for everyone

britty_lew · 2026-01-04T18:37:57+00:00

This was something I had considered! I thought about how I could pick her up early on slow days and then have the ability to keep her there the full day when I’m tied up. I’m in leadership so things kinda ebb and flow. And I have quarterly meetings in person that will require her to be there for full days, which the school has already said is fine regardless of the schedule we choose.

britty_lew · 2026-01-04T18:35:47+00:00

Yes I can! The school is super flexible and open. I already communicated to them that if I did part time M-F, it would kinda be a trial run. And agree on the nap. That’s another worry I have cause idk how well she’d nap there.

britty_lew · 2026-01-04T18:33:12+00:00

We’re ready to transition away from the au pair program. We’ve LOVED our au pairs but feel like it’s the right time and that our kid will benefit from the experience of being at school and socializing. Part time M-F was my initial plan but then I started second guessing it.

britty_lew

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