I went on a Postnatal weight maintainance (diet), and here’s what happened

Hi guys. Hope we are all doing well? A month ago, I wrote about going on my first ever intentional diet and my reasons for doing so. I then followed it up with the reason why I chose to adopt a healthy lifestyle. You can read about that here.

Well, thank God. The diet period is over. I made it through the 30 day program. Did I achieve what I set to achieve? Well, I will write about that at the end of this post.

So what I did was follow the Whole 30 program. You can read more about it here. The Whole 30 thing is not a weight loss program, but it was one of the reasons I chose it… because I wanted to drop some stubborn water weight. The other reason was because I wanted to correct some inexplicable cravings.

Was it easy?
For me, it was. I took care of my snacking challenge by making sure I had enough healthy fruits around me. I was snacking on orange, carrots, bananas, etc. I don’t believe in reducing portions because it would only make one hungry. I believe more in replacing with healthier options, hence my replacement with fruits as snacks.

The Whole 30 program is very friendly to Nigerian menu. Even though there’s a lot you cannot eat, there’s still a lot you can eat, as long as you know how to switch things up, and combine well. I ate loads of plantains, eggs, potatoes of all kinds, potato and plantain porridge, etc. If you love swallows, you will love this diet. I’m not a swallow person so I didn’t take that route. As for Nigerian soups, you can do anything you like, as long as you are not using MSG (Seasoning cubes).

The Challenge
Not being able to steal my husband’s suya, lol. On a serious note, this diet is not friendly to eating out. You basically have to prepare your meals, which wasn’t an issue for me, but there were one or two times when I absolutely had no time on my hands to cook. I depended on fruits in times like these.

Was I tempted?

Absolutely not. What helped me was that I had prepared my mind and my fridge. I started when I knew I had no outings slated for the period of starting. After week 1, I went to a family’s house. They served fresh corn and suya, both of which are not Whole 30 compliant. I wasn’t tempted with the aroma but I started having headaches, and my legs got weak. I guess my body started suffering from the withdrawal symptoms. That was the only day it happened.

Motivations and Results
When I started, I weighed 59.8kg. Even though this is not big by some people’s standards, it is my biggest since I had my baby. I didn’t want to accept it as normal because it is not normal for me, and this is my first child. If I accept it now, then I will accept more when I have my next child. Before you know, 10 years from now, I will be looking at my wedding picture, and start wondering “What happened?” I just didn’t want to be that woman. I know many women don’t see anything wrong with adding some flesh after being a mother, and I am not criticising anyone here, I am just doing what makes me comfortable and happy.

After 30 days, when I was going back to weigh myself, I knew I lost weight but didn’t think it would be a lot because I didn’t feel my hip size go down too much.

On weighing myself, I was 51.1kg! I was completely shocked. I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, and it was almost unbelievable. Upon further research, I found out that after giving birth, you can lose weight but your hips might not go down because… well, body changes after delivery. For some, it will go back down, for some others, it will go back down very slowly. For others, it will never go back down.

As for me, I am okay with my results. Whatever happens to my hips now, whether it goes back down or not, I am fine with it because I feel good with my body, lol. My cloth size hasn’t increased. I still wear the same size I have been wearing for the past 19 years, so I guess it’s time to face more serious problems in life.

All in all, I can say I achieved the goal for going on the diet. I lost almost 8kg (17.6 lbs), and corrected my unhealthy cravings.

So have you ever gone on any diet? Was it worth it?

N.B: As we discuss things surrounding diets, weights, etc., let’s remember that we are not our bodies. Our bodies are just the vessels housing the real us, so more importantly, let’s develop our characters and personalities in all areas.