Bek on Weight Loss

Bek's Story

As told in my book The Pram Diet I found myself at 25 after my first baby with over 30 kilo's in weight to lose 5 months after she was born.
It didn't just 'fall off' at all for me.
I was also very stressed out, overwhelmed by changes to my body, my lifestyle, my household budget from being reduced to one income and then to top it all off very emotionally devestated that I was having so much trouble breastfeeding and my baby never seemed to sleep!

Excitingly though there was light at the end of the tunnel.

I did lose my weight. I lost it while on a very tight family budget, while making meals my whole family would not only eat but actually enjoyed and being able to exercise with my baby, not having to find a babysitter or leave her with strangers.

I did it, just as every mum everywhere can too!

In my book, the pram diet I share with you my personal story, my inspiration, my motivation, my recipes and exactly how I did it.

More than just a 'diet book' the pram diet is full of my heartfelt inspiration. All the exercises I did, how I used my baby's pram as the perfect way to exercise, the meals I made and ate and how I started growing my own fresh, organic vegies at home to provide my baby with a great source of real food, to make the family grocery bill come down and to inspire myself to eat better, fresher more real food.

You don't have to try and follow celebrities or fad diets. You don't have to take pills or skip meals.
You just need to believe in yourself, embrace healthy choices and begin!

For me having a body type that seems to puts on weight seemingly just by looking at biscuit led to a lifetime of body image issues...

I got to a stage when I could no longer remember a time that I wasn't on a diet, counting calories, trying some new fad.
It seems looking back that I tried everything BUT embracing a wholeseome healthy lifetsyle.
I went back and forth from both extremes of the scale. There were times when I was underweight and became so weak and tired and I was ill all the time, constantly with a cold or cough or something and I was obsessed with counting calories, even going through fads of eating only things like a whole steamed carrot for dinner if anything at all.
Then there were all the diet fails, especially as I got older, I would lose some weight and then put it all back on again and more, leading to more ill feelings towards myself and my body.

Having my daughter Lily changed my life.

Changed the way I saw myself. My body. Me.
Yes I lost 30 kilo's but I gained so much more than just a slimmer frame. I found an appreciation and respect for my body.
I kept that weight off for four years, kept it off AND felt energised the whole time.

My daughter grew up exercising with me, seeing a healthy lifetsyle through me. She grew up picking fresh vegies and eating them straight from the garden, going for big walks with mum and dad and later on coming with me to my local gym, seeing me go to taekwondo and putting up a boxing bag, running along the beach together-seeing me having fun being active.

When I fell pregnant with my second daughter, Violet 5 years later I ended up with 22 kilo's to lose after I had her BUT this time I believed in myself, I knew the right things to do, I didn't put unrealistic pressure on myself or give myself a hard time. I knew how my body worked. I knew health was the answer.

With 4 month old Violet 2011

I felt so different. With everything I had learnt I was calmer and happier and this I believe is what led me to being able to succesfully breastfeed her right up until 14 months and combined with being active helped to prevent me from getting depression and allowed me to really be able to fully enjoy the remarkable experience of having a baby.

Watch my two stories on televsion show A Current Affair HERE

And you can read my weight loss articles and tips on websites like www.sunnycoastkids.com.au
You don't need a baby either! It is all real life, inspiring advice and ideas for anyone wanting to lose weight!

You can change your life with a single step!
That first step out the front door!

With baby number 2, Violet. 5 years after Lily and with a 22 kilo weight loss *after* birth.

My biggest tip?
Don't compare your journey with anybody elses!
Both pregnancies I have become HUGE ( I do put on weight SOO easily always have) I gained a whopping 40 kg with number 1 and found myself 5 months AFTER she was born with 30 kilo's still to lose and even though I had maintained a healthy weight of 58 klo's for 4 years after I did this and was very active and very fit, we moved towns, I lost my support networks and friends, my fitness buddies, my gym, my pram walk tracks!

I'm not perfect by any means or infallible and I admit I did become a little down and emotional, lonely, I had some pregnancy health issues that stopped me from exercising as much as I would have liked and I gained 26 kilo's with number 2 and had 22 kilo's to shift AFTER she was born.

I am stressing here the after because I passionately want to share with mums just how careful you have to be of what you do read and see in the media and with weight loss "gimmicks" and products. Many describe their post pregnancy miracle weight loss but when you really read it they are describing what they weighed before giving birth and they lost heaps just through that, as you often do lose in that first week so it's not the same as it is with those of us who truly find ourselves with alot to shift leftover AFTER all the natural weight loss.

Hearing a mum recently tell me and a mother's group she lost 12 kilo's within 2 weeks after birth I asked her politely about it all in curiosity and she then she said she said that 7 of that was overnight giving birth and in the hospital and the rest fell off in the first week after without doing anything. Not quite the same as powering through each week, exercising, watching what you eat, knocking away the kilo's and while wonderful for her, and good on her, I think it's great, this is to me a real reminder that it truly is unfair to compare yourself to anyone but YOU.
And find something you enjoy. It could be walking, running, jogging, boxing, yoga, swimming - anything!

You CAN do it by emracing a healthy lifetsyle and by doing it THIS WAY you are more likely to keep it off, to feel good about yourself, to impress yourself, to gain more energy AND you are being a fantactic HEALTHY role model to your children!

Cherish yourself and your health
Compare yourself to no-one.
You are the only you.|
You are special.
You can do it-in your own time - the healthy way

Rebecca XXX