Success!

via

I got on the scale this morning

and 

There was the unicorn!

The elusive 

pre-pregnancy weight.

And so now... 

I wrap up a chapter.

Chapter of effort.

A Chapter

 of hard, woven with joy.

I feel like I can close the chapter of 

nose-to-the-grind

working-so-hard

all-or-nothing

effort

towards 

VBAC.

Because now I completed that 

"walk home."

Like Frodo would have to take

after he threw in the ring,

even though he was exhausted

and so done!

(Over dramatic for sure, but it popped in my head, so I went with it.)

Results:

Wait, what do I mean results?

Well

I had been wondering if it would be easier to get this pregnancy's weight {of 32 pounds} off 

which was put on healthily, compared to last pregnancy's weight {of 41 pounds} which was put on with Sugar, carbs and SUGAR!!

And well the answer comes only in terms of emotions, experiences and tape measures, 

not so much in terms of calendar days.

Because I would tell you that hands down it came off easier.

But 

it did take me the same amount of time to lose the pregnancy weight each time. 

21 Weeks this time.

22 weeks last time.

Despite there being 9 pounds less for me to lose this time.

What I can say is this:

Last time I had to be very diligent and work very, very hard.

(Hungry all the time, work outs that made me wheeze and sweat like I've never sweat before, on a daily basis.)

This time I worked at it, but only in tiny spurts of effort.

(Hungry sometimes, simple enjoyable work outs on pretty rare occasion.)

Overall was able to be much more relaxed to get the healthy weight off.

And I honestly, just looked better while doing it. (Not vanity speaking here, actual truth, since I started out in a healthier place for this pregnancy than last pregnancy.)

I quite literally lived off of ice-cream and pop tarts for about the first (err, first two) month(s) after having Ruby. And yes, I totally realize this is a terrible idea, and suggest it to NO ONE. But I had spent the previous two years removing sugar, as some sort of mental punishment for my c-section, so after my VBAC I kinda had a extreme response to food freedom.

Had I not gone crazy with my sugar freedom,

I'm sure that the weight could have come off faster.

Anyway,

my conclusion.

Its definitely worth the effort of eating well for nine months.

It pays you back in the end.

Every body is different,

so your weight loss journey will be your own.

But I do know choosing to eat well during your pregnancy is 

VERY BENEFICIAL!

I think I'll do a follow up post in more detail later on. Photos and all. Because it seems like all my healthy pregnancy posts need a follow up. I'm just not sure how long of a time span I should cover. SO I may need to wait up to a full year. (?) We will see. 

Stay tuned for that.