an aussie in austria

I’ve always been a fit, reasonably healthy person. And I’ve got good genes and habits to thank for a lot of it. I’ve never really needed to diet apart from the few times I’ve undertaken the Keto diet. So going into pregnancy it never really occurred to me that it would be difficult to shift kilos after it all ended. And despite the fact that I’m an older mum, it didn’t stop everybody from saying that of course I would bounce right back.

Women who have had babies know better. They know that carrying and birthing a child can mean changes to your body that never return to the way they were. Your rib cage and hips, for example, increase and often just stay that way (because… like… it’s pretty hard to move bones). In fact, your feet can go up a size, so it just shows what an impact pregnancy has on the body.

I knew the old saying, it takes nine months a grow a baby, so allow nine months to get back to normal. Be kind to yourself, they said. And that’s what I did.

I think perhaps because I was so fit going into the pregnancy, and got back into swimming quickly after, the majority of my baby weight fell off over the course of the first few months. I admit I didn’t pay a lot of attention, but I certainly felt optimistic. This would be a cinch.

But then it stopped.

Months went by and nothing changed. Not that I was actively trying to lose weight, but every now and again I would hop on the scale and just expect the numbers to be lower. And… they weren’t. Though they never increased either, no matter how many crème brulees I ate! The likely cause was breastfeeding, I discovered. When you’re breastfeeding your metabolism slows and your body holds onto fat cells to ensure that in case of emergency, there will still be something for the baby. Well, if that was the problem, I decided, I would forget about losing those last kilos until I weaned.

I didn’t feel super great about myself. But because I was staying at home, I had no real need to fit into my old clothes. The few bits of slightly bigger activewear I’d bought while pregnant, along with stretchy skirts and dresses, would do me until my body was ready.

After weaning at about 18 months, I headed off to Australia and enjoyed myself for a month and when I came back… it was still there. Now… it was not like I was fat. And those around me would say I didn’t need to lose the weight. That I was skinny enough already. And sure, I probably was. But the thing is… I didn’t feel like me. There was more of me than there was previously. I could wear so few of my clothes. Everything I owned, from pants to skirts to tops, were just tight, ill-fitting, or not fitting at all. And if there is one thing I hate… it’s wastage. No way was I throwing out all my clothes and buying a brand new wardrobe just because I couldn’t be bothered to forego the crème brulees for a few months and give my body a chance to return to what it wants to be.

So that’s what I did. Stay tuned for my next post to see how it all turned out.