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Original poster

Will I ever get my pre-pregancy body back?

63 replies

Coolbreezee · 16/11/2024 20:57

Today I ran a 10k race. I did better than I expected with a time of 50:57. Quite a bit slower than my pre-pregancy days but I've only been running for the last 3 months after around a year off. I was so happy until I saw the race photos...

I'm not joking. I looked like a heffalump, with huge boobs and a resting bitch face (inside I was having a great time!). My hair was a mess and my baggy t shirt was so unflattering.

I used to be a size 6, athletic build. Now I am a size 10 with 32GG breasts (one several cup sizes bigger than the other). I eat healthy, last month I ran 150 miles. I walk 20k + steps every day. I feel fit and healthy. But the weight is just sticking to me. I am eating more than normal if I'm honest but not a crazy amount. I lost a few kgs by going on a 1200 cal diet, which was fine but is just not sustainable with my exercise and breastfeeding. DD is 8 months. I thought I'd be back in my pre-pregancy jeans by I'm not even close.

Day to day I don't really mind my body, it's done an amazing thing but whenever I see a photo I am absolutely disgusted.

I want to get back into shape, but honestly I am struggling to loose the weight. I know it's all diet. I only eat healthy food (obviously too much of it) but at the same time I'm listening to my hunger cues. I'm eating because my body is asking for it not because I'm bored or stressed or anything like that.

Pleas tell me it's just part of the process, or am I deluding myself. Should I be working harder to diet and lose weight. At first I was all for lets take the pressure off and focus on DD but now I'm getting frustrated and want my body back.

OP posts:
2Sensitive · 16/11/2024 21:42

You're being too hard on your self too soon x

MarigoldSpider · 16/11/2024 21:39

You're only 8 months post baby! You shouldn’t be calorie restricting at all really. These things take time.

I’ve had 2 kids and am around a size 8 like I was before. Both times around a year after having each baby I am back into a size 8. 8 months after baby I was probably closer to a 12/10. I’m a slightly different shape. My hips are wider and my stomach isn’t as flat but overall if I’m dressed up (not looking like I’ve been dragged through a hedge) people are surprised to hear I’ve got kids. I’m tall and willowy if that makes a difference 🤷‍♀️

Breastfeeding really takes the weight off me. I know if can go either way and some people hold on to weight until the baby weans.

I don’t think my boobs will ever be the same again but they aren’t meant to be! I’ve been breastfeeding almost continuously for more than 3 years. They’re going to be different with a bra nobody can tell anyway 😂 I’m pretty proud of what they’ve achieved tbh.

Original poster
Coolbreezee · 16/11/2024 21:37

Thanks for the comments. I'm going to be open here. I really struggled as a teenager with puberty. In my early 20s I was dangerously underweight. It took a long time to feel good at a healthy bmi. I have PCOS and also lupus so i've always had to overcompensate to stay at normal weight. My body holds on to fat at the best of times but whilst breastfeeding I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. I'd be lying if I said it doesn't bother me, because it does. I was upset looking at the photos.

OP posts:
Grandmasswagbag · 16/11/2024 21:28

Some people cling onto weight when breastfeeding. I guess it's a protective thing. I think you need to keep in mind that even if you 'bounce back' to pre pregnancy shape/weight it's not forever anyway, so don't put silly timescales and pressure on yourself. You need to reframe how you view weight and body image. Women's bodies change throughout our lives with pregnancy/peri/menopause. I was basically the same as pre pregnancy after having 2 babies and even became much thinner than I've ever been after my last. It really means nothing. 5 years on I've gained a stone (happend during COVID and I doubt I'll shift it now partly because of age and partly because I dont care that much). I'm stronger than I've ever been and I would rather be slightly heavier and actually enjoy my life! I've enjoyed updated my wardrobe one size up and finding a slightly new style. I think generally photos are very unflattering, at least for me they always are.

BakeOffRewatch · 16/11/2024 21:26

It’s not all diet. It’s hormonal (sleep and stress), the hormonal change post partum is bigger than menopause, and it can take 2 years for your organs to go back to where they were. When your baby sleeps consistently it’ll be very different.

Original poster
Coolbreezee · 16/11/2024 21:23

BusyCaz · 16/11/2024 21:14

I highly doubt as a size 10 you look like a heffalump...

Somehow I do...I think it's a proportion thing rather than a clothes size thing. By boobs are enormous and so even though I have a waist and a ribcage, you only see boobs flying in all directions when I run. I'm not kidding when I say without a bra on my boobs touch my belly button 🥴

OP posts:
CatsMagic · 16/11/2024 21:14

Social media/celeb culture has done an absolute number on convincing women that they must not under any circumstances show signs of aging or child rearing.

You grew another human in your body OP- you will never get your ‘pre pregnancy body’ back because your body has changed—and I know that sounds a bit chippy but I genuinely don’t mean it to be.

Honestly the only person judging your body is you - maybe you should start going easy on yourself?

BusyCaz · 16/11/2024 21:14

I highly doubt as a size 10 you look like a heffalump...

Hoppinggreen · 16/11/2024 21:11

Neither your body nor your life will ever be the same BUT both can be fantastic

ShowOfHands · 16/11/2024 21:10

My eldest is 17 and youngest, 13.

Honestly, no. I run, lift weights, cycle, hike. I eat healthily. I don't drink. I don't smoke.

But two cesareans mean that I will never look the same again. BFing for years means that I will never look the same again. Pregnancy means I will never look the same again.

But I don't look terrible. I am toned, fit, have an impressive 10k time and can deadlift more than most of my students. I won't be a size 6 again. Even marathon training, I was a size 10.

I'm mostly ok with it.

Original poster
Coolbreezee · 16/11/2024 21:07

Bamboopole · 16/11/2024 21:02

Are you still breastfeeding? I found it impossible to lose weight while breastfeeding, my body had other priorities!

Yep! Almost exclusively breastfeeding. She is eating one meal a day now but still chugging down the milk. I've found it really hard to stick to any form of calorie restricted diet especially having upped my exercise. I am running a lot now, and walking everywhere plus weights a couple of times a week. I've never had any problems losing weight before so this is completely new territory. I feel my body has a power over my mind. It's hard because in my friendship group all the other mums seemed to have bounced back. Whereas I am working my butt of withe exercise and eating sensibly, no alcohol and the scale is not budging....

OP posts:
Bamboopole · 16/11/2024 21:02

Are you still breastfeeding? I found it impossible to lose weight while breastfeeding, my body had other priorities!

Tusktusk · 16/11/2024 21:02

8 months is no time at all.
It’s 12 years since I had a baby and I most definitely don’t have my pre pregnancy body back! I am the same weight as I was but not exactly the same shape. Bigger boobs and a saggy tum.

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