Olivia Jeanette

After my pregnancy, I had quite a few questions around how I kept the weight off during and after giving birth to Sebastian. This was certainly something I was very conscience of throughout and I thought I’d share some of the things I did to help keep my weight in check pre and post pregnancy.

Before I get into what I did, just remember that all of our bodies are different. This is what works for my body and it’s not fair to compare your journey with mine. When it comes to pregnancy, we’re all different and our bodies react differently. I have gotten a lot of complements about how good I look  (thank you for that!), but I don’t feel as if I am back to normal. Or at least, back to where I want to be. After all, we are our own biggest critics. I have been fortunate in that most all my clothes fit. However, I have lost most all my muscle tone and strength. My boobs are twice the size they were before I got pregnant. While some may think that is a positive, it makes me feel so much heavier. Breast feeding is also very taxing and is quite painful at times. Just remember, don’t be too hard on yourself, we are all different and our journey back to feeling normal will be unique to each of us.

During My Pregnancy

A quick piece of context, I had one of my last regular check-ups the day prior to going into labor. I weighed in at 13lbs above where I started my pregnancy.

Walking Daily

There were days that I walked over five miles. I’d push myself to get out of the house and get moving. It made me feel better and Sebastian would fall asleep in my tummy. When I’d be idol for too long, he’d wake up and start kicking. I worked out, almost daily till I was four months pregnant. For some reason, I stopped working out regularly. That is probably my biggest regret as it’s been really tough to get motivated to get back into the gym.

Bye bye booze

For nearly my whole career, I’ve worked in Technology Sales. What does that mean? I’ve worked in an industry of mostly men. What do men like to do? They like to drink beer after work. So, I would tend to find myself at a pub having a beer or two a couple times a week. At dinners, I would also like to have a couple glasses of wine. That in and of itself is a tremendous amount of empty calories I didn’t need. That all stopped when I got pregnant and was a huge contributor to my weight loss. I’m only 5’1″ and drinking an extra 500-600 calories on those days made it tough to slim down even though I was working out everyday.

Water!

I don’t drink soda, juice or other drinks with high sugar and calories. During my pregnancy, I drank coffee, water and pregnancy tea. When we’d go out with friends, I would order a virgin mojito. It had a lot of sugar but it made me included when the group was having drinks. Let’s be honest, mojitos are delicious, with or without the booze! During the summer, I got my hands on Crystal Light lemonade and this was a life saver for me. There were days where I was so tired of just drinking water, that it helped me get through those hot summer days when I just wanted a fruity cocktail.

Eating Habits

My pregnancy cravings were all over the map. I craved Mexican food, bagels and cream cheese, ice cream, the list goes on. When I craved it, I ate it. I didn’t deprive myself. However, if I took a bagel with cream cheese for lunch, I knew I had to try and balance that with either walking more or eating less carbs for dinner. For me it’s all about balance. I’ve tried to “diet”, but it never works. I use apps like Lose It!, when I feel like I’m gaining weight or feeling sluggish, to track what types of foods I’m eating. This gives me an idea about the number of calories I’m taking in everyday.

Post Baby

Working Out

I still haven’t returned to the gym. It’s a combination of not finding time to go to the gym, not being motivated and frankly, I’d rather be home with Sebastian. On Monday I start the Kayla Itsines BBG plan. I’ll be doing the workout at home, so I can still be with Sebastian throughout the day.

Even More Water! 

Since I’m nursing, I’m always so thirsty. There’s nothing that can substitute my thirst for water. I’ve never actually tracked how much water I’m consuming, but it’s a lot. It really helps me produce more milk for Sebastian and it keeps me from getting headaches.

No Booze

Although I’ve had a few cocktails (I could count on both of my hands), it’s not something I plan on putting back into my diet. There are a few reasons for keeping away from drinking . The first, I don’t want to be unable to feed Sebastian at any point and time. I plan on nursing him till he’s one year old. If for some reason he’s hungry, I want to make sure I’m able to feed him. Yes, I pump, but I want to save the supply for the times that I’m out and about and Matt needs to feed him. Second, since I’m not working out, I have to find ways to cut out calories. Cutting out alcohol is one of the easiest ways to cut out extra calories.

I largely contribute my ability to stay at my current weight to cutting alcohol out of my diet.

Lots of Protein

My diet has always been full of lean proteins; chicken and eggs. A few other proteins that I love are sweet potatoes, avocados, almond butter and greek yogurt. I looooove cheese, but I try to limit my intake on cheese. As soon as I have a few bites, game over. I’ve eaten an entire slab of cheese before. The same goes with sugar and carbs. I don’t necessarily count all my calories, but I take mental notes when I’m taking in too many sugars and carbs.

And…yes, I still enjoy ice cream, bagels and pizza!

Balance

It’s all about balance in my life and finding what works best for me. We recently started using the crockpot because I no time to cook healthy meals and we can’t afford to eat out every night. I use it to cook sweet potatoes, chicken and other meals. Then I put in tupperware and enjoy throughout the day.

For any new moms, I know it’s tough as we enter this new stage in our life. There are days that I lay in bed feeling sad and depressed about the way I look and feel from the inside out. So you’re not alone. Just remember that we have the rest of our lives to be in great shape. Try and enjoy the time with your baby, because one day they’ll be grown up and you’ll have all the time in the world to focus on your body.

I know I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my diet, if there is something I’ve missed, please leave me a comment below or send me a direct message on Instagram. I get back to all my messages! Thanks so much!!

Here are some of my favorite flattering two piece sets for new moms. It’s flattering to our midsection and takes the attention away from our upper and lower half.

More two-piece favorites!

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xo, Olivia