HOW TO GET YOUR PRE-PREGNANCY BODY BACK!

How to get your pre-pregnancy body back!? Actually, I have no idea but this is what I tried…

The truth is that I was never super fit or skinny to begin with, but as soon as my beautiful baby came out I looked down & thought ‘Why do I still look pregnant?’ Of course all my friends and family told me this was beautiful and normal but within days I knew I couldn’t wait too long to get it under control (before it was months later & I would still be given comments of congratulations on the street for my pregnancy tummy ‘glow’) So, I tried a few things & here is what happened:

Food Delivery – Lite N Easy: I immediately signed up to a healthy food delivery company for hubby & I because I knew I’d be busy with bub which meant no meals to cook and weight loss for both of us, BONUS!! 

 The pros:

• Healthy (‘cos that’s what I signed up for)
• As per all of the ads, it was quick easy meals to prepare and eat whilst figuring out how to ‘mum’
• Delivered to my door step, which was great since I looked like death and hubby was working overtime to fund our new addition!

The cons:

• Healthy (I am aware this was a pro but seriously, all I wanted after dealing with a crying baby all day was a big cheesy pizza or fried chicken to comfort ME)
• I realised that I’m really not a big fan of microwaved meals, not concerned about them being fresh but it just makes them a little meh… it’s like a little bit of the flavour gets zapped out with the task

How long did I last on this:

• 2 weeks then my inner control freak couldn’t deal with not being able to have what I felt like eating when I wanted to because I said so.

Compression wear (High Waist super thick compression undies/Waist Trainer with boning): It was in fact a nurse friend who told me this was a good idea, anything that holds your waist in can help your core muscles build quicker and for a c-section (which I had) it’s also said to help to reduce the pain and help the healing process. Not gonna lie, the last thing I felt like doing was squashing my soft & saggy tummy but it all sounded worth it so I bought the undies for bed time and the Waist Trainer for the day.

The pros:

• Sorry to get graphic so quickly but as soon as I put the waist trainer on, I felt a rush ‘down there’, it was so strange but it was real and it must have meant that it was compressing my uterus enough to create a reaction. Wowzers it was weird but if it helped clear things out, then it’s a positive in my book.
• Whilst wearing the waist trainer, it kinda looked like I had my waist back right away. Not exactly because it took me a couple of weeks to build up to the ‘hardcore tight fit’ setting but it was pretty cool because I had a wedding less than a month after the birth and as much as you want to believe people won’t judge that you still look pregnant, who wants to be that chick?!
• The jiggle! It’s now week 6 and I still have a very small bulge but for me it’s really helped me reduce the floppy fat around my waist.
• C-Section pain – Don’t get me wrong, it still hurt but a week after leaving hospital I couldn’t lie on my side or even bend forward to pick up bub, however with the undies, it felt supportive enough that I felt a lot more comfortable doing either until the real healing (about 5 weeks for me).

The cons:

• The undies are bloody hard to get on, had to get hubby to help me get them up to my knees so I could finish the job because it hurt to bend! The waist trainer was a little better but I still had to have it placed on a bench (not in a bottom drawer somewhere) because I needed it on to be able to reach down there.
• Expensive – For me it was not really within my maternity leave budget to buy both the trainer and a few pairs of compression undies (decent quality latex trainer and enough undies to rotate every day) but it was an investment. I got the trainer that has the adjustable clips so I can keep wearing it at my slimmest.

Exercise: This is an easy one because the only type of exercise I could do was walking, and for this there are only pros because it’s awesome to get out with the baby in the pram, get fresh air and ultimately improve my general health and fitness and (most importantly) my social life with the other mums at the local coffee shop

Just remember if you’re feeling the post partum fatness – you are not alone! If you’re going to try a waist trainer post pregnancy – talk to your doc about any concerns, measure your waist line (see our size guide for help) and go easy on yourself (unlike me!), patience is key!

E XX

NOTE: This is not medical advice, this is just me talking of my own experience with products, see your practitioner for advice about your personal circumstances.