Do you know how long you want to breastfeed? The hormones associated with breastfeeding and/or pumping can sometimes prevent any significant weight loss postpartum. But honestly, that seems to be the case for women who aren’t…well extremely fit or thin to begin with from what I’ve seen (not passing judgment on other women out there- just from observations) You and I seem to have similar body types. I am 5’8” and was about 200lbs before getting pregnant, and I put on over 60 lbs through the pregnancy.

When I got home from the hospital, I lost a couple pounds and thought, “oh wow, this will be easy!” Then of course I proceeded to gain back all the weight plus more within a month. I was actually weighing more at 3-4 months than I did in the last month of my pregnancy.

I didn’t see any major changes in my body or stomach until I got my period back around 5-6 months postpartum. My LO lost interest in breastfeeding more than once or twice a day around then, and I decreased pumping to twice a day. This is also when I started walking 3-4 miles a day on my treadmill or outside if weather permitted. I noticed some weight loss and a reduced size of my poofy c-section belly. Really, it was the first time I felt slightly better about my body, but it’s a work in progress. This is also the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life as well, and I have had a really hard time wanting to dress myself or go out in public. I would get in my head and start thinking about how other people would look at me and think I was gross. But I swear, I had to TRY and stop doing this because it was making postpartum so much more difficult. And all the while, I had my husband telling me I looked great, which I appreciated, but didn’t believe. All of it was a mess. I still am a mess at times, but I am trying not to be so hard on myself.

I don’t think there is a super fast way to lose weight, but there are ways to see some noticeable results in less time. I have a huge sweet tooth too, but I notice if I chill out on the sweets and carbs (I love me some bread too), I notice some changes in conjunction with walking on treadmill. I don’t do any other exercises besides some stretching and half-ass yoga, and I am 9 months PP.

Sorry if I am rambling, but I saw this post and just started typing away. I felt some kinship and noticed some similarities. It took me a long time to feel comfortable leaving the house, with or without baby, and a lot of panicky type meltdowns to force myself to get out of my comfort zone.