I’m going to get real this Monday (sorry ’bout your luck), but this whole ‘losing the baby weight’ thing is for the birds. As much as I wish I was one of those gals that waltzed out of the hospital looking as glowing and fresh-faced as they did ten months (yeah, nine months is a lie) earlier – that is not the case with me and more than likely, most of the gals out there.

Here’s a {less than} fun fact: I gained at least 60 lbs this time around. I say at least because during those last few days, I refused to look and see if the scales continued to tip. I also swelled up to the size of a hippopotamus (along with adopting the beasts similarly surly attitude). Add to that the acne of a 13 year old boy and you can imagine the loveliness.

Things got weird.

Anyways, I know this is a vain rant and that the important thing is that I now have a beautiful, healthy little girl. It is a blessing, a gift and I love love love her to pieces but when it comes to getting dressed in the morning so I can take care of that blessing, I’ve got next to nothing, besides elastic waist pants, to wear.  That may seem like a stupid thing to complain about but do you know how annoying and time consuming it is to try on a million different things only to find that all of them make you look like an elephant in a children’s tutu? On a normal, good day I’m running late. This added wrinkle has me running around like the White Rabbit on the way to an important date.

I know some people spring back to their pre-baby weight in no time flat but for the rest of us, the daily battle with your closet can be frustrating and down right disheartening. My instagram obsession has even waned a bit because it bums me out when I see fellow bloggers who had a baby around the same time as me who are back in their size 2’s and taking outfit pictures when I’m still resorting to one pair of jeans and all the loose tops I can find. Needless to say, this is why I’m not already back to snapping pictures for outfit posts.

I’m not one to sit around and wallow though, so I’m getting back in the saddle and teaming up with a local gym to document my road back to myself (seriously, it makes you feel like a different person). I’ve also adopted, as best I can,  Mark Bittman’s VB6 (Vegan Before 6pm) philosophy of eating which has left me feeling much better and given me a lot more energy. Definitely recommend checking out the book since he writes like a human being and not like a motivational speaker. It’s also REALLY easy to adopt, if not slowly incorporate into your life.

The good thing is that I know it’s possible to get back to where it all started. To hold myself accountable (and possibly help out someone else along the way) I’m starting up a Fitness series to document the road back to 140 (that’s my normal, all of my clothes fit, weight).  Right now, I’m at 165 – so 25 more lbs to go. My goal with sharing this is two-fold. Partly selfish but mainly because I wanted to share that that it’s not just something that happens magically for a lot of us. It’s something that takes a lot of hard work, time commitment and small sacrifices (time, candy, french fries). I don’t usually agree with a lot of things Gwyneth Paltrow puts out into the world but this quote really nails it for me.

So to sum it up:

* Don’t get bummed out when you don’t fit into your pre-pregnancy jeans (or even your pre-pregnancy pajamas) a couple days later. It took a LONG ass time to get where you are and the good news, is that it will probably take way less time to get back. You waited at least six months or so to wear ’em, you can wait a few more days or weeks.

* When someone says you look great, say thank you. I have a really really hard time doing this but when a compliment comes your way – accept it. You’ll want to save them for when you’re trying on something and it doesn’t… quite… fit…. yet.

* Don’t get down on yourself. Here’s another thing I suck at, so I’m going to try and take this advice too. It’s going to take a few weeks for the results of your hard work to show up. Be patient (so hard to do) and keep working hard. It will be worth it.

* Take a quick break from the doughnuts/ice cream/candy or anything else you indulged in big time over the last few months. It’s not goodbye forever, just for now. Think of it as temporary custody – you can have weekends and every other Wednesday together.

And if you’re not into this kind of thing – that’s cool. Just ignore the fitness posts and stop back in for whatever tickles your fancy.