He & She Eat Clean | Healthy Recipes & Workout Plans

Taking off the Baby Weight (and Other Challenges)

Whitney Carlson8 Comments

I don't post about myself too much on our blog - I don't really know why. I guess you want to hear my story too, huh?  Well...

As most of you know, Jim and I welcomed a beautiful baby boy in May of 2013. I had a pretty easy pregnancy with your normal discomforts, but a not-so-ideal delivery and a long recovery. I gained right at 25 lbs for the pregnancy and had dreams of taking off all of the weight within 3 months - something I thought would be rather easy given my background and the fact that I was still eating clean!  

Fast forward 8.5 months and I am finally seeing the pre-baby body that I once had. It hasn't taken me this long because I cheat on eating and exercising or because I haven't worked at it, but because this is what my body needed! I am writing this so that if you are in the same boat, you will know that it is ok - take your time and yes - you can do it!

I have always had severe thyroid issues (and I mean severe) but the pregnancy and especially the post-partum aftermath made them especially bad. Five months after my delivery, I had spiraled into a TSH level 20x what my typical level is and more than 5x the highest medically accepted rate, despite the fact that I was still taking medication. My adrenals began to shut down and a month, I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue - something that according to my doctors, was almost inevitable given my health situation. He has stated on many occasions that the only thing that didn't make it worse was the fact that I eat clean. 

Here is my journey to where I am today: 

What I did to Get To This Point:

I took some time to determine what my short-term and long-term goals were to be and how my new role as "Mom" fit into them. This may be one of the most important things you can do for yourself! It's such a big transition and if you can't wrap your brain around your goals and new role, the rest may not follow.

I have continued eating clean. I fully believe that this is the reason my health has stayed at a maintainable level (if you want to call it that) and I have the energy to do all I am involved in each day. I prep meals at times that work for me - typically not on a one or two day a week basis because Jim is often out of town and my schedule really doesn't allow for this. I try to make meals at night that I can have for at least one to two more meal times the following days. I also take full advantage of our crock pot meals and make one overnight, many times per week. 

I continued to lift weights (as soon as I was cleared to exercise) and to do as much cardio as was medically allowed. My weekly workout schedule consists of targeted muscle group exercises, circuits, cardio and rest days. In fact, in late 2013, Whitney and I wrote and released the She Sweats 12-Week Transformation based off of the way that we workout - a combination of both of our typical workouts.  Many of my workouts have actually come straight from the program and I have since moved on to incorporating our She Sweats Extreme 4-Week Shred workouts.

What Your Take Away Should Be:

  1. Do what works best for you.
  2. If you want to workout before your baby gets up - do it. If you would rather workout midday and you can arrange childcare (or if your gym has it) - do it.
  3. Remember everyone is different.
  4. Because your girlfriend or one of your favorite celebrities lost all her weight 10 days after giving birth (that may be an exaggeration!) doesn't mean that you have to! Your body is unique and so is your situation - give yourself adequate time!
  5. Always have a goal that works for you and your family.
  6. Your life and your goals will be different than they were pre-baby. That's ok! Figure out what works for all parties involved and what is attainable while still making you happy.