Losing the Baby Weight: Baby Weight? What Baby Weight?

I've always thought that children are a great weight-loss program; you get plenty of exercise chasing after them, eat less because you don't have as much time to eat, and you definitely sleep better after the kids go to bed at night because you're exhausted. But wait- motherhood is what causes baby weight in the first place, isn't it? Ah well, so much for that theory.

I've given birth to six children, and gained weight with each of them. It wasn't until after I had my fifth child, that I realized the weight was becoming a bit harder to take off quickly after giving birth. Wow, even with my "superior" parenting skills, I was no longer an "expert" at weight loss. When I found myself sitting at two hundred pounds after my fifth child, I was actually devastated.

That's when I discovered the truth about getting older and having children. It's a combination of motherhood and getting older that slows down your metabolism, which makes it a lot more difficult to lose weight. Even being active with my children wasn't keeping the weight off, and I found myself unable to squeeze into my "fat" pants anymore.

Fast forward almost four years later, and having another child. I'm not at my "ideal" body weight, but I'm certainly not almost a hundred pounds overweight. Parenting- no matter how active you are with your kids- can definitely cause weight gain! Motherhood is an almost instantaneous weight gain, and if you're lucky, after your first child or two, you'll drop most of your baby weight almost immediately.

So, when I found myself at almost two hundred pounds, I decided to "do something" about my weight gain. I found that it's extremely difficult to schedule "Me" time in with being Mommy and wife. I've also discovered that about the only way to lose that baby weight is to work out as often as possible, combine it with a semi-regular workout program, and no matter how tempted I might be, avoid eating fast food or "convenience" items.

While my weight has been going up and down for almost four years now, I find myself finally stabilizing, and I find that slowly but surely, my weight has been going down. I've also discovered something else- I don't mind being a "fluffy" Mommy anymore, because my four year old has told me she loves sitting on my lap because I'm "fluffy and soft." I've discovered that my husband loves me regardless, that I am always beautiful in his eyes, regardless of weight.

So, whether I'm hearing "Mommy, you're fluffy!" or "Honey, you're so beautiful," I know that I'll eventually get this baby weight off- and that motherhood is worth more than all the "skinny" clothes in the world!