38 Weeks + 2 Days
I carried the Bean for nine months and I gained forty pounds doing so. Ten pounds in the last six weeks, no less. I subsequently spent a lot of time optimistically plotting how I was going to get rid of them once she was here. I mistakenly believed that I would actually care, in those first few weeks, just what size my jeans were. In reality, those weeks are what we now refer to as our “Nomad Stage,” one in which we lived in our pajamas, struggling for mere survival against the elements of new parenthood. I’m not sure I even put jeans on, let alone considered what they looked like.
No one told me that I would likely still be wearing maternity pants three months after giving birth (and did). Or that even when you do lose the weight, babies, like the children they will grow into, don’t always put things back exactly where they found them. Maybe I should have known. Maybe it’s something you can’t possibly know until you look at yourself in a mirror the day after giving birth. Either way, I was not prepared for what I saw the first couple months after the Bean was born. And as someone who has at times been horrifically consumed with body image, I’m still impressed with the way I just shrugged at it. An “it is what it is,” attitude. Like it didn’t even matter. Because it didn’t, really. I can’t stress this enough to anyone who is pregnant out there, because you probably won’t listen, because I wouldn’t have listened, but there is a very high probability that as worried as you are about the weight you are gaining while pregnant, you will not care nearly as much once your baby is here. Not to say that I wasn’t shocked or even sad about it sometimes, because I was, but there were so many more pressing issues at hand that I didn’t have the time to dwell on it.
There is always time to lose baby weight, if that is what you want to do at some point, but basking in the glory and fear of caring for a squiggly little newborn is a time-sensitive event. Our notion of what a new mom should and will look like is incredibly distorted, images of six-weeks-postpartum Victoria’s Secret models flashing rapidly before our eyes as we flip through magazines. Focus on reality and be gentle with yourself, as I tried to be with myself. Just like every baby is different, every woman that grows her is equally so, so don’t compare yourself to the mom down the street, either. You just did and are continuing to do something amazing, even though it doesn’t feel all that amazing all the time (and that’s okay, too).
The idealistic plans for weight loss that I concocted during pregnancy involved an intense combination of fitness and careful meal planning starting six weeks postpartum – because I also did not know that full recovery at the six week mark is not guaranteed and in many ways is a bear minimum for a lot of women, even those of us who did not have c-sections. At the two week mark I was still needing help getting in and out of the bathtub, so my initial plan to be running 5k before my little one was even two months old was laughable. As were the imaginary schedules I thought babies operated on, the hours of naps I thought I was going exploit to my body’s advantage, when in reality my baby napped in thirty minute increments up until she was six months old and barely slept at all at night (she’s now nine months old and still does not sleep through the night on a regular basis). The darling little mess of fierceness she is, she didn’t exactly tolerate chilling out in a bouncy chair while mama tried to do the 30 Day Shred either.
So I let it go. I had other pressing issues. Breastfeeding was a disaster and in the process of trying to make it work I was taking Domperidone, Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle. These are digestive aids with a strange side effect – they increase milk production in nursing mothers. And they do it really well. But because their primary use is for digestive purposes, I found they created all sorts of problems for my gut and not only counteracted any sort of weight loss breastfeeding may have bestowed upon me, they also caused horrible stomach aches, bloating and even weight gain. No regrets on my part, it was all with purpose, but there was no way that I could even begin to think about losing the baby weight until I was off these medications. Furthermore, cutting calories was simply not an option while breastfeeding.
The pregnancy was hard on my body, the medications afterward even more so. When I had to stop breastfeeding for other reasons, I took it as an opportunity to take some control back when it came to my body. The Bean was five months old and settling into a bit of a routine. I had just marked my five year veganiversary and while veganism has always provided for me and my health, it was time to kick it up a notch. Being vegan for ethical reasons means that I’m not opposed to junk food in the slightest – I like whole foods and I like raw foods. But I also really like cupcakes and french fries. Prior to pregnancy I struck a great balance between these two and maintained my weight and overall health wonderfully. But post-pregnancy/post-nursing I needed something a little more health-based to give the old insides a good spring cleaning.
For this, I turned to Happy Herbivore.
The Happy Herbivore is Lindsay Nixon, blogger and cookbook author, who focuses on animal-free, oil-free, low-fat vegan food. As an added bonus, she is one of the best resources out there for attainable veganism – simple, everyday recipes that can serve as alternatives to the standard diet without making you run to speciality stores for ingredients you have never heard of. While extensive recipes that use every last dish in your kitchen are fun for weekends, an added bonus in HH recipes is that the lot of them are quick and efficient.
In addition to numerous cookbooks, Happy Herbivore also provides weekly mealplans. For a small fee, you can purchase an individual or family meal plan online and it comes with detailed recipes, a meal planning calendar and a complete grocery list. Recipes are arranged in such a way that ingredients overlap, making sure you get the most for your money on your weekly grocery trip. The recipes come together quickly. I don’t think a single one took me longer than twenty minutes (which was perfect, because that gave me enough time to cook and eat each meal before the Bean woke up from one of her thirty minute siestas) and a lot of them could be made days in advance. Avoiding soy or gluten? No problem. The recipes account for varied dietary restrictions and each one offers gluten-free and soy-free options for those that require them.
Sample of breakfasts, left to right: Berry Smoothie, Sweet Potato Sunday, Peanut Buttercup Quinoa, Breakfast Bruschetta.
I needed these meal plans. Needed. I needed someone to take out the guesswork for me. The meal plans offer flexibility in terms of snacks, additional calories, etc. but I handed myself over to them completely. I needed someone to tell me exactly how much of what to eat to start dropping the weight and start feeling better because I had neither the time nor the energy to do it myself.
I’ll just come out and say it – I hate exercise of any kind. So I don’t do it. Under no circumstances will you find me in a gym, or running around the block, or completing a fitness DVD. It’s not good, I know, but it’s me. I walk with my dog. That’s it.
All the same, I averaged a loss of three pounds per week while doing the Happy Herbivore meal plans. Within a month, I had lost ten pounds and fit into all my pre-pregnancy clothes.
Sample of lunches: “Tuna” Salad and crackers, Cajun Bean Dip with veggies and crackers, BBQ Chickpea Wrap, Green Bean and Penne Salad.
And the food was
good. Like, “We need to add these recipes to our regular rotation,” kind of good. Portions were smaller than we were used to and we whined, sure (mostly because the food was so good and we wanted more), but I’m someone who still hasn’t mastered the art of measuring pasta and always ends up cooking the whole box even if it’s one of those obscenely large ones from Costco meant to feed an entire high school cafeteria. Much like my many nights at a local country bar in my early twenties, I
need someone to cut me off because I am not going to do it for myself.
I urge you to give them a try, even if you’re not particularly trying to lose weight. The baseline for the meals is 1200 calories per day, ideal for those trying to lose weight, but they also offer additions for those that are less interested in losing weight than they are in simply eating clean. While I stuck to the 1200 calories, Paul experimented with the extras because he wasn’t wanting to lose weight. All the same, he enjoyed the energy that comes along with whole foods approach. These plans are incredibly flexible so that they can meet the varied health goals of a diverse group of people. After my month on the meal plans, I returned to my regular vegan diet, but continually return to the recipes I purchased (especially after a particularly indulgent few days – I’m lookin’ at you, Thanksgiving!)
The food is delicious and I felt so great eating it. After months of feeling sluggish whilst growing another human and then caring for her, my month on Happy Herbivore gave me a real punch in the arm. Finally losing most of the baby weight was great, don’t get me wrong, but even more so was just starting to feel like myself again. Looking like I did before having a baby is still not a priority to me, but feeling like I did is something I continually strive for. Thank you HH, for helping me get there!
Sample of dinners: Pineapple Teriyaki Chickpeas and Kale, Mexican Baked Potato, Adobo Tostada, Black Bean Burger with steamed veggies.
Check out getmealplans.com for more information, a 3-day Sample Plan and an instructional video.
To get one lucky reader started, I’m giving away a 7-Day Happy Herbivore Meal Plan! As winner, you get to choose whether you want an Individual Plan or a Family Plan. Enter the draw and if your name gets picked, the most current meal plan will be delivered right to your inbox, on me!
Stories of Suburbia Happy Herbivore Meal Plan Giveaway – Rules
Winner of a 7-Day Individual Happy Herbivore Meal Plan will be determined by random draw. There are several ways to enter, meaning you can enter multiple times across various sources.
1) Comment on this post with the name of your favourite vegetable. Be sure to include a valid email address!
2) Join the Stories of Suburbia Facebook Group and tell me the name of your favourite vegetable there, by writing on the wall.
3) Follow Stories of Suburbia on Twitter and tell me the name of your favourite vegetable by tweeting @ me.
Additionally, your name can be entered an unlimited amount of times by referring others to the contest. Encourage your friends to enter and be sure to tell them to mention who sent them. In turn, you will get an additional spot in the draw.
Contest closes Thursday, November 14th, 2013 at 11:59pm
Be sure to check this space on Friday, November 15th to find out who won!
Stories of Suburbia 