Skip to main content

Spare Tires Begone

Let's do something here on Mothers that is utterly predictable and practical -- and yet I think we'll all appreciate! Ok, I'LL appreciate.

There are many of us who have grown to love our bodies. Some of us mothers have even lost the last pounds of our previous pregnancy. (I view you all with some awe.) But then there are some of us who have pounds that decided they were staying permanently affixed to us like some sort of sympathy reaction once the real baby left our carcass.

So, what I want is all you mothers out there to share share SHARE your secrets. What has worked, not worked, made your crazy, made you want to lock your family out of the house and dive into coffee ice cream.

And I'll start. Here goes. I am officially 5 pounds (and three years) away from the last bits. I have exercised, done pilates (which flattened the stomach amazingly well, but I think just transferred the squish to my back), stopped eating more than crumbs, stopped eating sugar -- well, at least in my coffee (hey, it's something!)Now I am back to real life again -- this means eating meals, having cookies, etc.

Now before some of you jump on me and scream that I am too obsessed with my weight. Well, guess what. I am. And I am okay with that. I just want to fit into my old suit again (even if I will never walk into my old newsroom again to chase stories about CEOs gone bad...)..and I want to do it this year.

So out with it Mamas! Let's share!

Comments

Suburban Turmoil said…
Wellllll, I gained 50 pounds when I was pregnant and I lost 45 pounds nursing. And I too can't seem to get rid of the last five. Although I haven't been trying very hard. I've been too tired to try, frankly.
7:24 am
Manhattan Mama said…
Lucinda, don't I know it. I make it to the gym in a spurt of frustration, and then the gym clothes sit there for another 2 months.....Lisa, that's fantastic! I think maybe if the inches shrunk I'd feel better -- well, my pants would FIT better anyway!
5:56 pm
KPB said…
I didn't lose it between Oscar and Felix. Then after Felix I wanted to be 'fit and healthy' (ie thin) for my 30th. I did weight watchers, swam twice a week and walked almost every other day for about 6 months. I lost about 12 kilos and looked and felt fantastic. But couldn't get down to my goal weight. It was like my body hit a weight and said "no, this is good" so of course I told myself I was a failure and fell back into a bulimic pit for the better part of a year. Stupid.
Now, after Jasper, I was just eating properly (ie only when hungry, stopping when full) and what I wanted , until about a month ago when I came over all, "right, now I've got to fit my clothes for work in February" and I've been binging ever since. STUPID.
I'm going to the gym a couple of times a week and trying to return to how I was eating and approaching food just after I had him. The gym is a big step for me. I am really enjoying it. It also helps me eat properly because I feel better about myself and my body from doing it so put less crap in it.
But again, why do we beat ourselves up about this???
5:45 pm
Manhattan Mama said…
Hi Kim. I know. I beat myself up to. Still with it. I think it's so great you're back at the gym, and eating right! For me, besides the obvious vanity issues, it is that I somehow feel that if I could have my body back, at least I could have some part of me back from before the rabbit was born. Obviously things have changed (and most for the best!) but there is still this slice of selfishneess left -- I want ME. I want my brain, my independence, my body back. It's the age old question: Why can't I have it all?
1:46 am
Kate B. said…
OK. Sorry about this but I'm thinner than I was before children. I lay the entire credit for this miraculous weight loss down to being more stressed than ever before and smoking more cigarettes than ever before - shame they're so bad for you. But before you all lynch me, the irony is that even though I weigh less, my stomach still sticks out. And to top it all, my boobs have shrunk to pre-pubescent bumps. Welcome to the wonderful world of the post-childbirth body...
7:22 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Grim Reaper

Firstborn is obsessed with death. It started with the odd comment, such as; "Mummy, what happens when you die?" OK, I thought, I was expecting this at some point, what a cute little curious brain she has. So I trotted out all the cosy Heaven stuff and left out all the things that could worry her, such as worms and bones and holes in the ground. This went down pretty well, although somehow Firstborn made the jump from my view of Heaven (filled with love, joy, always warm, never rains, has a huge discount designer shoe outlet and I never have to pay my Visa bill) to her own view of Heaven; a wonderous place where small girls don't have to eat their vegetables before they're allowed pudding, and where Barbie dolls grow on trees. Anyway, I digress. Last week Firstborn started shouting "Kill! Kill!" in a bloodthirsty tone while bashing her hithero-beloved teddy against the wall. This was topped by her purposely flushing her favourite My Little Pony down the loo. ...
11 comments
gimme more...

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

A friend recently emailed me to say that her big memory of her stay with us last year is that she had a great birthday, one of the few where she didn't 'act like a spoiled grumpy princess'. She tried to give me all the credit but as I explained to her, it was all down to having a fellow female organising the birthday fun rather than leaving it to her partner. Her email got me thinking about birthdays and how very different men and women are in their attitudes to celebrating special occasions. It also had me thinking about my birthday two years ago when I threw a major tantrum in the Carrefour car-park after being told that we were off to do the weekly shop, kids in tow, which was simply the final straw at the end of a very uninspiring day. In contrast, my birthday last year was rather lovely (a morning on my own in a spa with no mobile coverage, pure selfish bliss). This year - in a few short months, eek! - I'll be hitting the grand old age of 38. This will be my las...
13 comments
gimme more...