
Since having Baby Bear, I’ve wanted to shift the baby weight I gained during pregnancy. I gained a stone and I really wasn’t keen on that extra stone. None of my pre-baby clothes fit and I just didn’t feel like me. My mum came to visit me and pointed out how much weight I’d gained. I felt rubbish. My belly bulged over the top of my trousers. I looked pregnant when I wore a dress. Trying on a pair of jeans in a shop and realising that a size 14 was too small, was a wake up call for me. I’m usually an 8-10 and I point blank refused to buy a size 16. My husband loves me exactly as I am, but I had lost my confidence and didn’t feel attractive.
My plan was to take up running again. Last time I took up running, I had gotten into the habit of running between five and eight miles, three to four times a week. Running made me lose weight and tone up. But since having Bear, I just didn’t seem to find the motivation to go running. I wanted to be somewhere fun with the children, not off out running by myself.
My back-up weight loss plan was to diet. The problem with this, was that I had no idea how to diet. Up until my twin pregnancy, I’d had trouble with maintaining weight. I’d always been slim, I’ve always eaten three big meals a day (and snacks in between) and I struggled to keep a healthy weight. Any time I exercised, I had to consume more food or protein shakes, just to stay the same weight. I have a fast metabolism and gaining weight was always near-impossible.
People who were dieting to lose weight used to constantly tell me how “lucky” I was, and I hated it. I wasn’t lucky. I hated being called “skinny”, being told I was “underweight” by doctors and having no curves. In my teenage years, I felt like I had the body of a boy. My ribs stuck out and I had no boobs until I was in my twenties. It wasn’t until I had my first child that I developed hips and a bigger bottom and felt more like a stereotypical “woman”. Being scrawny wasn’t lucky, it was a curse, because I wanted to be a healthy, normal weight. I wanted to be able to go to the gym and enjoy swimming, dance and running without becoming dangerously underweight.
Eventually, once I became a mum to twins, I became much happier with my weight, I gained a little and was my ideal weight. I then had Baby Bear and gained a stone. The diet never happened. The running never happened.
When Baby Bear was about eight months old, my appetite changed. I don’t know if this was a postnatal hormonal change or just completely random. All of a sudden, I couldn’t stand my usual tea with two sugars. I cut down to half a sugar in hot drinks. I suddenly didn’t have my daily cravings for cake. I had no interest in biscuits or chocolate. I realised I preferred zero sugar fizzy drinks to their full sugar equivalents. I stopped putting sugar on my cereal. And the less sugar I consumed, the less I wanted.
My husband started telling me that I looked like I’d lost weight. I didn’t believe him, but he asked why my jeans kept falling down and why I was suddenly wearing the jeans that hadn’t fit me before. I jumped on a friends scales and couldn’t believe it when I looked at my weight. I’d lost a stone. Just like that. Quite accidentally.
The only part of my lifestyle that had changed was my sudden disinterest in sugar. I had always ignored people when they talk about how bad sugar is for you. I figured if you weren’t overweight, sugar wasn’t a problem. But actually… sugar is addictive. The more you eat, the more you want. I couldn’t believe that just cutting down on sugar, could lead to me losing a whole stone. I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight, with absolutely no effort at all.
Not only had I lost weight but I felt healthier. More energetic. Less minor ailments. I was sleeping better too. So now, my lower sugar lifestyle has stuck and I plan to continue in these habits. I’m not saying I’ll never eat cake again. I work in a café so of course I still eat cake – just not as often as I used to. I’m not saying that I have the perfect body either, but I’m happy with my current weight and I’m confident to wear a bikini again. I have afterall, grown four humans in that tummy!
That’s amazing! Glad you’re feeling so much better in yourself. Sugar is definitely addictive and once you’ve broken the addiction you tend to go off it. It’s weird how it just happened for you though. I’ve always known that sugar (and fat etc) are still bad for you if you’re thin, but it doesn’t help when people say ‘Oh you can eat that, you’re skinny’. It can do just as much damage to you if you’re thin. But I’m still a chocaholic…
Sarah MumofThree World recently posted..The new school – juggling
Well done honey. Sugar is not good for anyone us is it? You look amazing x