31 Days (Day 2) My Story of Parental Weight Gain

 Weight loss and New Parents. Why this topic?  Well, it applies to me and my dear hubby.  I've noted that my friends have the same complaints, hard to loose baby weight, tough to fit in exercise  no sleep.  I would like to make it clear that weight loss is really not the goal - Wellness is the goal.  Often, especially for Americans, who too often overweight and obese, weight loss is a major part of our overall health and wellness needs.

My Story Pre-Parenthood

Prior to starting our family we lived in walk-able downtown Indianapolis, in a little 2nd floor condo.  We walked a block to church, the grocery store, restaurants and bars, even our best friends were a couple of blocks away.  Our dog and property limits required that we take him out on a leash to "go outside."  We ate well, drank well, saved poorly, but enjoyed ourselves   

We were able to incorporate walking into our lifestyle.  On top of these activities of daily life, I also belonged to the local YMCA and enjoyed a yoga class at least once a week.  My hubby began to run again and trained for mini-marathons.  At 30 years old I was 135 pounds, 5'4" and my (Body Mass Index) BMI was 23  = normal weight.  I was in pretty good shape.  I could easily walk +5 miles a day.

Weight was good, wellness however had room for improvement.  I was very stressed in my high pressure job.  I suffered from headaches and migraines on a regular basis.  I had anxiety but didn't realize it.  At least I was able to sleep well, at least 8 hours every night.

One Kid

Aidan was born 5 week early and my weight never went above 155 lbs while pregnant.   While we were downtown, and in the first 3 months, I lost most of my baby weight and got down to 140#.  However, I was a mess emotionally   Super stressed out.  Not coping well, crying all the time.  I didn't realize at the time, but I was dealing with postpartum depression and anxiety.  

     

I that first year, we moved to the suburbs and changed jobs.  We tried to walk for exercise  in our neighborhood and bought a treadmill for home.  When we moved to the suburbs we added DRIVE TIME to our lives, it infringed on our free time. 

Sleep was never good.  Aidan was always up at night - for YEARS.  Always interrupted sleep.   Major sleep debt for both Me and Hubby (and Aidan).  

Jobs changed more, drive times grew longer.  Any weight I lost after having Aidan was back and then some.  Not to mention the depression and anxiety.  Finally, a concerned friend spoke up and told me that something wasn't right with me.  I got help.  I began to feel better.  

(Part 2 con't tomorrow)