The Lean Years and the Fat Years



Photo Courtesy of Microsoft Image Gallery

So, I'm finding out that having 4 babies in exactlyish 5 years does a tremendous number on one's body. I will spare you the list of symptoms, but mainly it boils down to hormones and lifestyle. When I was single and childless, I maintained a healthy weight pretty much my entire life (with the exception of the year I spent in Oklahoma City living in a hotel).

After my first baby, I lost 50% of the weight within the first few months without working at it at all. I could have lost the other 50%, if I had worked at it, and did not believe the common thought that breastfeeding equals automatic fat melter.

So I entered my second pregnancy with a bit more weight than necessary. After the birth of my second child, I lost 50% of that pregnancy's weight within a few months, again without trying. I worked at the last 50% plus the leftovers of number one. I was able to loose all my weight from that pregnancy by the end of the Daryn's first year... in time be pregnant again.

This meant I was entering pregnancy number 3 at exactly the same weight as the last time. All I had was the extra from my first pregnancy. Once again, the first 50% just dropped off. I got started working on the second half, when I suddenly found myself pregnant after only 9 months.

My last pregnancy began with the extra from the first as well as the extra I did not have time to loose from my third. Once Faith was born, I expected the weight to fall off again. I expected I could easily loose the rest with a little exercise and calorie counting... as I had all the other times.

But that was not to be. I still weigh the same amount I weighed a week after giving birth, and she is two... TWO. I've counted calories. I've done everything I've done in the past to loose weight. It doesn't work.

I did spend a few weeks following a mostly organic, protien rich diet as suggested by Jillian Micheals in Manage Your Metabolism (a wonderful book, by the way). I managed to loose nearly five pounds during those weeks. But with our family's lifestyle and busget, it is hard to eat that way. Now, we are certaily eating much less processed foods, but I still find it hard to actually be able afford good organic produce, dairy, and meats. And I still find it hard to fix a good protien dinner every night. (Have I ever mentioned how I really dislike cooking?)

All that to say, I may have found a way to help my hormones, but I am finding it HARD to stick to it. My body does not want to loose weight. It just doesn't.

Maybe it's because that last pregnancy was in my 30s. Maybe it's because I "ruined" my endocrine systems with that many years of pregnancies, breastfeeding, and sleepless nights. Maybe it's because I'm not working hard enough. Or maybe it's all of those things. But all I know is it is frustrating. The end.