Body After Baby ~ Health in Style

I wasn't really sure what my body was going to look like after giving birth. I mean, there's really no way of knowing! I didn't give it too much thought though, honestly. Pregnancy made me appreciate my body on such a deeper level that I promised myself I'd hold onto that and treat my body with the respect it deserves. That said, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw my belly sans baby haha Sure it's soft and squishy, adorned with some new stretch marks and of course still bigger (uterus takes a month or so to go back down to size)... but it's not "scary". I don't even think it's ugly which is how it seems women are made to feel about their post baby bodies. I'm proud of what this body did during the past 10 months and will happily treat it well while it continues to change. Loving your body doesn't mean you have to feel 100% satisfied with it and not want to make changes! (something I learned after losing 60lbs years ago)

Having said all that, I thought it could be interesting and perhaps helpful to document the changes here. By no means am I saying women need to whip their bodies back into shape (whatever that means... obviously we are always a shape haha) or feel any sort of pressure- you don't! Just be healthy. I'm still eating the same way I have been (extra calories because I'm breastfeeding) and trust me, there will be no "dieting". I'm not for restricting what you eat in that way. Sure I'm vegan and I enjoy a detox now and then but I still feel it's a healthy, guilt free balance that I enjoy. I am excited to be able to start working out again but I'm only 1 week PP (postpartum) so still have a while until that's really feasible. My body has been through a lot so of course it needs time to recover!

I'll try to update once a month with a picture, perhaps some meals or recipes I've been enjoying, workouts I've been doing etc. I want this to be an honest, realistic look at "body after baby". No quick fixes just good ol' treating your body right! I feel like this time in a woman's life isn't really talked about enough. I don't want to wait until I have an "after" picture to show, I'd rather share the entire journey.

Here's a look at my stomach and stats so far. I'm going to include weight but it's by no means my focus! I'm all about how I feel- do I feel confident? Do I like how my clothes are fitting? That sort of thing.

Pre-pregnancy weight: 158lbs

End of pregnancy weight: 184 lbs (up 26 lbs)

Current weight: 169 lbs (down 15 lbs) - note: I was down 11.5 lbs the day after giving birth. That's just the weight of baby, placenta, fluid etc!