Coping With Weight Gain After Weight Loss

Pregnancy or not, most people don’t enjoy gaining weight. I get that. But it can particularly difficult to handle after you’ve achieved significant weight loss success. After spending years counting calories, weighing food and measuring serving sizes, there is something very counter intuitive about watching the scale creep up week after week. With every new “decade” you hit on the scale (150’s, 160’s, etc) you can’t help but think back to the sense of accomplishment you felt when you originally broke through that particular plateau.

Of course, weight gain during pregnancy is a good thing. It’s a necessary thing. I am nourishing developing brain cells and supporting the growth of an an entire little boy for goodness sakes. In my first trimester, I couldn’t stand the thought of kale and I can assure you there were no measuring cups around when I was scooping out ice cream. :)

My body craved carbs, and lots of them. One tablespoon of peanut butter? Ha! I listened to my body and threw everything I knew about calorie counting out the window. But in the back of my mind, there was always that lingering fear that this weight would never come off and I would never get back to my old ways of eating.

Now that I’m safely in my second trimester, I’m happy to say that vegetables are once again my friend and I have a decent amount of energy to go to the gym or go for a walk most days of the week. Am I taking boot camp classes? No. But I’m moving and finding a healthy balance.

With 20 weeks left to go and at least 20 more pounds to gain, I’m going to remind myself of the following:

• Healthy eating is a permanent part of my life. Just because I randomly craved corn chips in my chicken noodle soup or splurged on a box of Reese’s Pieces doesn’t mean I’m not eating healthy, whole foods 80% of the time. It’s ok to let loose once in awhile.
• Kickboxing will be there when I’m ready. Since I get out of breath walking up the stairs to my gym, I can hardly manage lasting through my usual one hour kickboxing class but I will get there again. Just because some women run marathons at 9 months doesn’t mean I have to feel badly about taking a break from my old workout routine. I will get back to it.
• The weight will come off again, I promise. The first year after my first pregnancy I lost 65 pounds and wound up 15 pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. Just because you read about women who gain 10 pounds with every baby doesn’t mean that has to happen to you. Everyone is different. And if you do keep those last 10 pounds it’s ok too.

As fate would have it, yesterday I came across a 30 Day Plank Challenge shared on the Fit Mom MOVEment Facebook page. On a whim, I challenged my friends on Facebook and Instagram to join in the fun and it took off like wildfire. Apparently I’m not the only one who loves a good challenge!

Want to join? Leave a comment below, send me a note on Facebook or tweet me! We can give each other a virtual fist pump when we’ve finished our plank for the day. I’d love the support and would be happy to cheer you along as well. And by celebrate I mean commiserate about our sore abs for a month. :)

Have you ever struggled with these similar feelings about gaining back weight you’ve already? How did you cope? Would love to hear from you.

Disclaimer: My feelings towards pregnancy-related weight gain are not to be confused with any lack of appreciation for being pregnant. Anyone that knows us personally knows that our two pregnancies have been pure blessings from God and complete miracles. Please know that I am not and will never complain about being pregnant. I can assure you I’ve never been happier in my life than when I’ve been pregnant.