Finding Balance: Wellness for the Everyday Struggle: Making Your Pants Fit

So when we got this gym membership, I was roughly 1-2 lbs over my weight pre-pregnancy. I was also roughly 4 sizes up. Yup, 4 whole sizes, even at the same weight.

So just for fun, this was on my honeymoon. Just 2 months before pregnancy.

I've talked before about how muscle weighs more than fat. Well this is a great example. Pre-pregnancy I was in a running training program leading up to a Tough Mudder...little did I know that Legan would be joining me for it at a gestational age of 5 ish weeks.

Universal Studios, Harry Potter World, 5 weeks pregnant!

The infamous Tough Mudder.

I know no one else can tell, but I was already expanding!

Either way, I was in great shape.

Then, after a traumatic birth and a long long recovery I had technically gotten down to pre-pregnancy weight pretty much, but was wearing a much larger size.

Now, some of that is due to my hips spreading a little, but I ALREADY had wide hips, it couldn't have all been from that.

It was due to body composition - in other words the makeup of my body. Because fat is less dense than muscle it takes up more space.

After applying myself for about 2 months now, really working on getting to the gym 2-3 days a week, and really trying to get out for walks on the nice days because I'm a pansy and I hate taking the time to bundle up 2 humans and a dog for walk, I'm in a better place.

Sometimes you need a Fit Bit to shame you into getting up off your ass.

Not only is my body starting to feel like mine again, but it's starting to look closer to what I remember too.

9 months post surgery

That's not to say that I'll ever be the same. Not just because now I'm a mother, but I carry scars inside and out. My hips are wider, my pelvis is less stable. I will forever have to be more careful about not letting my pelvis get out of whack or expand too far. I may never be able to run another half marathon. But at least I recognize myself as an older wiser version of me, rather than just a beat up awkward painful weak person.

But I've been weighing myself every week for a long long time.

I've dropped a couple of pounds, but not a ton. Maybe 3-4 lbs total? I think it mostly came from my lower stomach and thighs, but it's hard to say. Even so, 4 lbs over 2+ months isn't a lot. However, I am back down 3 of those pant sizes that I was up.

3 sizes, 4 lbs, maybe.

Because I built muscle in.

Getting close to 10 months, after about 2.5 months of working out again.

I didn't beat myself up at the gym. I worked on doing 20-35 min of cardio total, and like 10 minutes of weight lifting, some days 15 min. I have been able to add an amazing amount of weight to each machine I use. I know I'm getting stronger and in doing that my pelvis stabilized a lot.

I'm not perfect, and I'm not done, and being fit is a journey, not a destination. That being said, I may try to make sure that after each baby I have, we do a 6 month gym membership so I can have the tools readily available (and the free childcare necessary), to get my body strong again.

But mostly, all my favorite pants that I've acquired over the last 4-5 years fit again, without pain. :)

That was the exciting part, truly.

My favorite yoga pants!!!

It looks OK when I flex.

My tightest of my tight cute "going out jeans" will likely never fit again. I purged a couple pair of cute twill pants that I used to wear to my office job. I will likely get rid of a couple of athletic pants that I had gotten, but other than 1 pair of jeans the stuff I have to get rid of I never loved and had gotten for free - so in the grand scheme I don't feel their loss. The one pair of jeans that has to go? Well honestly I have the exact same pair of jeans in 6 different sizes to accommodate for size fluctuations, so getting rid of the smallest pair is easy. I have lots more that are just as hot.

Oh yeah, and that's totally my tip for anyone who finds "the perfect jeans" that aren't terribly expensive. Buy 2 pair in your two most common sizes, and 1 each of the two sizes at the higher end (and maybe lower end depending on where in your weight curve you're currently at) of those. It helps you not feel terrible about yourself when you put on a little stress or winter weight.

But mostly, get out there and get stronger people. Don't pay attention to the scale, and be sure not to eat totally stupid amounts or really nasty stuff. Eat in moderation, workout in moderation, and get your pants to fit!

It's ok to have brownies. Probably not the whole pan by yourself...or at least in one sitting though. :D

Oh, and the less liquid calories you drink, the more calories you can eat, or just the more calories you can cut out easily. Switch to water. (Diet soda is bad for you).

Don't forget my quick guides on How to Start Running (seriously slowly!) and How to Start Lifting.

Don't forget, smile at cute babies!