Bye-bye Baby Weight

Full Transparency

Our editorial transparency tool uses blockchain technology to permanently log all changes made to official releases after publication.

More of our content is being permanently logged via blockchain technology starting [10.23.2020].

Learn more

Pool season. The words can evoke fear in those of us not ready to don a bathing suit after a long winter of eating comfort food and living in big, cozy sweaters. But when my husband announced that our local pool was open for the season on Memorial Day weekend, I was extra scared. I just had a baby in March and was certainly not back in bathing suit shape.

Through generally healthy eating, taking the baby out for walks to enjoy the nice spring weather, and running up and down the stairs a hundred times a day because my new mommy brain made me very forgetful, I have lost the majority of the 40 pounds I gained while pregnant. But I knew I still had around 10 pounds to lose, and it wasn’t going to be easy to get those last pounds off.

After my doctor cleared me to return to normal exercise, it was time to get serious about losing the rest of the baby weight. But with adjusting to life with a new baby and returning to work from maternity leave, I was seriously lacking both time and motivation. I decided to enlist the help of some tech gear to help me stay motivated and keep me accountable. 

My first step was to get on the scale to see exactly how much weight I needed to lose. Throughout my pregnancy, I was so used to seeing the number on the scale go up and up and up. I’m looking forward to now seeing that number continue to go down. I am using the Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale for weekly weigh-ins, and my first official weigh-in showed how many pounds I had to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Seeing that I lost half a pound after my first week of exercise made me so excited to keep going.

To help me stay motivated and committed to a regular workout routine (my goal is 30 minutes of cardio three days a week, plus some strength training), I’ve been using the Withings Pulse Activity Tracker. The Withings Pulse captures steps, burned calories, stairs climbed and distance travelled. I am able to sync it with my smartphone using the Withings Health Mate app, which takes my data and turns it into graphs that show my day-to-day progress. The Withings device is small, lightweight and easy to clip onto my tank top before a workout. I’ve only been using the Withings to help with my workouts, but the device also monitors sleep (I have a three-month-old, I know I’m not sleeping well!) and logs what foods you eat.  

To keep from getting bored with working out, I try to mix up my routine between the gym, the outdoors and my home treadmill. My favorite device to make my treadmill routines more exciting is the Logitech UE Mini Boom Speaker. The sound is loud and crystal clear, even over the noise of the treadmill. I can enjoy all of my favorite songs on my iPhone without having to worry about headphones. Plus, nothing helps me de-stress like breaking a sweat to some of my favorite songs.

They say it takes nine months to put the baby weight on, so you should give yourself at least that much time to take it off. I know my baby weight loss journey will not happen overnight, so it’s really important to stay motivated along the way. It’s exciting to see my progress at the touch of my smartphone and see results quickly. I also know that losing the baby weight is only part of why I really want to stick to a workout routine. I strongly believe that taking the time to fit in workouts and take care of myself helps me refresh and recharge so that I can be the best mommy possible to my little boy. Looking good in a bathing suit this summer is just an added perk!

Related Articles

02/15/2021

Virtual Reality (VR) has begun to transform medicine in profound ways. VR solutions are being used to train doctors and to plan and practice operations.

10/23/2020

Verizon’s military discounts site shows everything you need to know about Wireless offers, FiOS savings and military career opportunities, all in one place, making it simple for service members and veterans to discover what Verizon has to offer.