I Want That Old Thang Back! (My postpartum weight loss journey)

I love being a mom but having a mom-bod, not so much! All my life I thought breastfeeding makes you lose all of your baby weight and then some. Turns out that wasn’t my story. Not only are my boobs the size of watermelons but I gained a good 20 pounds after pregnancy.

How did I get here? Because of breastfeeding I was starving. Trying to pump and exclusively breastfeed is very draining to the body. Because of that I ate a lot and because of my c-section and postpartum depression, I did not start my workout regime when I wanted to. I began to think that I needed to eat more than I actually did. That’s where the problem started. You need to eat while breastfeeding, just not as much as I was.

Before I got pregnant, I always wondered how could people lose themselves in their everyday life because I was so conscious of my appearance. My weight has always fluctuated but I also stayed on top of it the minute it got “out of hand”. Well, being sleep deprived and focused on a tiny human while battling your own mental health kind of alters your self awareness. Just the other day while looking at my pre-mom body I cried (which is always the outcome lol). What happened to that girl?

I am now 8 months into motherhood and I am learning how to love myself again through my weight loss journey. This is my 3rd attempt at working out and I finally feel like I’m finding my groove. I paid for the gym membership and tried going a few times a week but that was unsuccessful. Now I am in love with working out at home thanks to Chloe Ting’s workouts and it gives me the flexibility I need. I also have changed my diet. I was doing a lot of snacking and it wasnt even unhealthy, it was just excessive. I ate granola bars and boom chicka popcorn and cereal, it was wild. I also ate in the middle of the night which is ok if you are actually hungry. Some days I was. Some days I wasn’t. I upped my water intake and cut out pop. Now don’t get me wrong I still have my days. I am firm believer in living life so if its my friend’s birthday or I just had a long week and I want some brunch or pizza, I’m gonna have it. Period. And I still miss workout days sometimes. But I never give up. Through this journey I am learning that your mental has a lot to do with your success.

Not only is working out helping my weight but it is boosting my mood. I am happier when I work out and my energy is better. Sometimes working out is the only way to pull myself out of a postpartum hiccup because don’t get it twisted, my hormones are still jacked up. Believe it or not I am discovering the new Callie through this wright loss journey. In the beginning I was so focused on getting that old thang back that I didn’t even realize I am not at all who I was before I became a mom so why do I have to look like her? I’m learning to love the stretch marks and the girl whose alcohol tolerance is embarassingly low and even the girl who’s no longer in school. When I became a mom my whole career mindset shift and this is the first year that I am in not in an academic program. And thats ok. Through these next months of evolving, I am working on loving myself at every stage. Learning how to become an entrepreneur while also realizing my jeans just don‘t fit anymore and I need to reinvent my fashion to fit whatever body I end up with is major. Because yes I am losing weight but who’s to say my boobs, stomach, hips, thighs, arms, or butt will go back to what they looked like. They might look better!

My biggest advice to moms who are trying to lose weight postpartum or just period is just focus on the now. Missing your old body is not going to help you achieve what you want. And stressing on what will be months from now is also not helpful. How do you feel today? What healthy eating habit and/or workout routine can you achieve today? Be patience with yourself and love yourself every step of the way.