How I Lost All My Pregnancy Weight in Four Weeks

How do I already have a five-week-old baby?! It seems like just yesterday that I had her and held her for the first time. Time is flying and Rosy is getting bigger with each passing day. It’s absolutely amazing watching her grow though.

Today’s post is about losing the pregnancy weight. I gained 33 pounds during my pregnancy, but my OB only wanted me to gain a maximum of 20 pounds. I actually did really well, but I retained A LOT of fluid during the third trimester. I gained nine pounds in three weeks toward the end of my pregnancy. When my OB saw my legs, ankles, and feet, she said, “Oh yeah, you’re just retaining a lot of fluid. That’s where that weight is coming from.” She then warned me, “It’s going to be a lot worse in the hospital.” I didn’t expect it to get as bad as it did, but after all the IVs, my body swelled up like a balloon! I couldn’t even walk most days during the first two weeks post-partum. Let alone, I couldn’t even lift my legs up to put pants on.

I had a follow up with my OB last week at four weeks post-partum. When the nurse asked me to step on the scale, I didn’t expect to see what I saw. I thought I would have been down 15 pounds from my pregnancy weight, but ya girl lost EVERY. SINGLE. POUND! Yup, 33 pounds gone in four weeks! Here’s how I did it.

Hydrate
The first step I took to lose the pregnancy weight is a bit ironic. I knew that I had to drink plenty of water to lose the water weight. Kaiser sent me home with this cute, 32 oz. tumbler. Since I couldn’t move much, Alejandro constantly made sure that the tumbler was full. If I went to a different part of the house and didn’t have the tumbler with me, Alejandro would make sure it was by my side and would tell me, “Please drink your water.” I easily drank a gallon of water each day. Drinking a gallon a day was actually something I was already doing even before I got pregnant, so this wasn’t difficult for me at all. As I drank all the water and excreted fluids, the immense swelling in my lower extremities slowly decreased. My legs, ankles, and feet finally looked normal by two and a half weeks post-partum. I hadn’t seen them like that since the second trimester of pregnancy.

32 oz tumbler from Kaiser

Breastfeeding
I’ve ultimately decided to exclusively breastfeed Rosy. In the beginning, we had to supplement her with formula since she lost weight after birth and had jaundice. Once she started to put the weight back on and my milk came in, I switched to breastfeeding. I’ll still pump to build up my freezer stash for when I return to work, and once in a blue moon I’ll ask Alejandro to bottle feed her so that I can rest. Between the breastfeeding and pumping though, I burned extra calories. Did you know that a breastfeeding/pumping mother can burn up to 500 extra calories per day? That’s probably why I always want a snack during or after a breastfeeding session.

Eating
Here’s my thing…I do not believe in dieting. I believe in healthy eating and enjoying treats and fast food in moderation. For the most part, I’ve eaten fairly clean since coming home from the hospital. Since it’s summer, I’ve been enjoying a lot of fresh, seasonal fruit from our local farmer’s market. White nectarines have been a favorite of mine lately. Now, don’t get me wrong, Alejandro and I have ordered a pizza here and there, but I’ll only have two slices. Also, if you know me, I’m a huge sweets person, but again, I enjoy them in moderation. I try to follow the 80/20 rule where 80% of what I eat is clean/healthy and 20% can be for sweets/others.

Fresh fruits from the farmer’s market: white cherries, white nectarine, and cherry plums

Exercise
After five days in the hospital, I was de-conditioned and lost quite a bit of muscle mass (also a source of weight loss since muscle weighs more than fat). After two weeks post-partum, when my body started to feel better, I asked Alejandro if we could go on family walks. We started with short, 15-minute walks two days per week. We slowly started to increase the frequency and duration, and by week four (last week), I was confident enough to suggest that we walk to the farmer’s market. Alejandro was really hesitant since we live on a hill, but I insisted that we do it. It felt really good to walk down and back up, and I didn’t complain of any issues. Scratch that, I complained about my shoes since I realized I need new walking shoes. Pregnancy caused my feet to grow half a size. This past week, I’ve gone on five walks lasting 45 minutes to an hour long, and I also started incorporating lower and upper extremity exercises (isolated since I can’t engage my core yet).

Rosy and me before our walk the other day

There you have it, how I lost all my pregnancy weight! I definitely want to lose more. My goal is to get back to how I was for the wedding, but I know that will take time. It gives me a goal though! In the meantime, I’ll be taking baby steps toward that goal. My next small goal is to lose 15 pounds before the year ends, which I’m sure I can do. If you have any suggestions on post-partum exercises, feel free to leave them in the comments.