When the Baby Weight Doesn’t Fall Off

I have a confession. With my first, I was THAT person that effortlessly dropped the baby weight, despite gaining 60 pounds. Within 3-4 months the pounds were gone. With my second, I gained way less and figured the same thing would happen.
 
Not.
 
Full disclosure, I still have 2 pounds to go. And losing the 20 pounds that decided to linger almost drove me mad. I’ve worked my tail off and am proud of where I am on the scale today. Coming from someone that never really had to worry about losing weight before pregnancy, I’ll share a few things that helped me on my journey.
 

1. Journal your weight. I know, this sounds like the last thing you want to do. There were months I didn’t lose a single pound, months I gained two, but over time the scale slowly fell. When I would find myself in a rut, I would look back at the previous 6 months and recognize I was improving. I just needed to keep on. 

2. Practice self love. Women’s bodies are incredible. You grew a human. You birthed a human. Don’t look in the mirror and see imperfections. See the beauty you have added to the world. Put post it notes with messages of positivity and love on the mirrors you most use to criticize your body. When you get down on yourself, look at the note and smile.

3. Get active. I really started seeing progress once I made a commitment to being active every single day. I’m not talking about crazy workouts seven days per week. Do simple things like taking a walk with your kids or jogging with the dog.

4. Build your schedule around activity. I am the queen of packing every hour of my day with something. I had to reshuffle in order to make sure one of those hours was always activity related. I guarded that hour like crazy. I couldn’t make things at times because that was “my” time. It’s ok and important to be a little selfish for your own benefit. As moms, we deserve it!

5. Nutrition. There are a million different diets out there and I couldn’t tell you what works. For me, it was as simple as paying attention to what I was consuming and trying to be better each week. Take out something unhealthy and replace with a fruit or veggie. Before you know it, the weeks add up and you will have great nutrition. 

6. Find someone to keep you accountable. Make sure your significant others knows this is important to you and go to the gym with friends to make sure you don’t want to skip.

7. Celebrate your success. You can do this! Every pound down is a battle and you should be proud of EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. No matter how far you have to go. Set goals and treat yourself once you achieve them.

Beyond anything, know you aren’t the only one. Lots of us don’t bounce back instantly after baby. And that’s OK. Wherever you are in your journey, know that you are strong, beautiful and worth it. 


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Ilex Gelpi
Ilex grew up in the Wichita area, leaving for four years to attend the University of Kansas. After earning a degree in Finance, Ilex returned to Wichita (against all odds) to chase a great career opportunity. Shortly after returning, she met her husband Michael at a local bar and they have been married for 6 years. The couple has two boys, ages three and one. Ilex left her career in finance at Koch to try the stay at home mom gig and loves it. She is a survivor of heart disease and lives with T1D, which leads her to live each day to the fullest. She loves spending time with family and friends, going to the gym and is always in the middle of a great book. Ilex enjoys giving back to the community and is currently serving as Past President of the Ballet Wichita Board of Directors and a sustainer in the Junior League of Wichita.