As of December 18th, I was exactly twelve weeks postpartum. I can't believe I had a baby nearly three months ago... Vaught will be three months old on Christmas Day and is doing so incredibly well. I saw a good friend of ours in the gym a few nights ago, who hadn't seen me since right before Vaught was born. When he asked about the baby, I couldn't help but gush to him, "He's just so perfect... He's amazing." I knew Vaught would be sweet, but I never in my wildest dreams anticipated that he would be this sweet!
Pounds gained in pregnancy: 29
Pounds lost since delivery day: 42
To go: 37
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| Vaught was born just four days after the photo on the left. I never shared it on social media because... I mean, look at me haha! This was me at my heaviest, most swollen state in pregnancy. I think it's the perfect representation of what those last few days are like. When I saw this picture Eric took of me and my sister, I just laughed out loud. I can't wait to show it to Vaught one day and say, "That was me and you, baby." There is a FORTY-TWO pound difference in these two pictures! |
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| I returned to the gym just fifteen days after having Vaught. There is a 13 pound difference in these two photos. |
With 42 pounds lost since delivery day, I am closer to my goal than ever before! I feel amazing and am really beginning to believe that I look it. That's not just me gloating; I think that motherhood does such a wonderful thing for all women! I've noticed that all of my friends who have had children are even more beautiful than they were before. But that's just my opinion :)
Accomplishments & NSVs:
I'm lifting heavier weight in the gym and am reaping the benefits. There's not a single day of the week where at least one area of my body isn't a little sore. Legs, butt, chest, shoulders, doesn't matter; I keep something sore each day! All of my pre-pregnancy jeans are too big with the exception of a pair of skinnies from American Eagle that I've had for a while.
Nutrition
Lower carb, high protein, moderate fat. That's how I eat, and that's how I broke my first plateau. I count macronutrients more than I count calories now, and it's worked much better than focusing solely on calories. I try to eat lots of green veggies!
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| Grande cappuccino with one packet of sugar in the raw... new favorite drink! |
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| The BEST holiday coffee combo! If you've never had heavy whipping cream in your coffee, you're missing out! |
Workouts
I took a week off from the gym, and it was one of the best things I've done to help boost my weight loss. I returned last Sunday night and have kept a pretty strict regimen. I do cardio just twice a week for a total of about 30 minutes. Eventually I'll start running a little more (probably when it's warmer and I can run outside), but for now I'm really enjoying weight lifting.
I also have to include the pictures below just because they now speak volumes to me. They were taken on Christmas Day last year. This was the day I had woken up and decided I would step on the scale in my bathroom for the first time in months. It was the day I decided that something in my life had to change and it started with the number the scale flashed back at me. In my defense, I had been through a lot in 2013, the most significant being the heartache and hurt I experienced when I miscarried our first baby in October. I think that much of my weight gain and depression had everything to do with losing our baby, but I knew it was time to stop making excuses. I knew that there had to be a healthier way for me to mourn, a healthy way to deal with what I was going through. On Christmas morning, I made the decision to be healthier for myself and my family and for the baby we could have had. She wouldn't have wanted me to be miserable and sad for so long (I have always referred to her as a she because in my heart I just know she was a girl). I still get a little sad when I think of her... I find myself longing for her, to see who she is and who she would have been. But I know she is a perfect, smiling angel in Heaven now, and God blessed us with an angel of our own just a few months later. Sometimes Vaught gets these looks on his face like he's focused on something, but we can't see what he's looking at. He'll usually begin grinning and cooing; I think it's his angel sister visiting him.
I kept my jacket on all day because I was just embarrassed to be seen without it. I had on an old sorority tank underneath and I hated the way my arms looked. When I saw this photo on the right of me sitting down with my nephew, I just could not believe how big I looked. I never saw myself as "fat," but that's all I could think about as I cried over these photos on the way home... So much has changed since then, and I'm so glad.
This photo of Vaught and me was taken yesterday at my Grandmother's Christmas gathering. For the first time in my life I can say that the happiness you see in the picture is 100% genuine. I am truly as happy as I look, and it's such an amazing feeling. The Fourth Trimester Project may be over, but I am nowhere near done. I still have a long way to go, but I know that I will get there. I hope that you'll continue to follow along while I'm on my way.
Thank you so much for your outpouring love and support for me, my family, and my little blog. Thank you for being loving, loyal readers :)
And now to celebrate.... I've got a chocolate Santa to devour.
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