Joanna Petrou's Success Story
Dear Michelle,
I hope I'm not too late to share with you my before and after photos and my yummy mummy success story.
When I found out I was pregnant, I was very excited, and thought to myself: well, my life will soon be changed forever (but so will my body).
I was right about the first part, my life has definitely changed (it's wonderful), but wrong about the second part: my body is unchanged, unscarred and fitter than ever! Only now I have an enormous respect for how amazing it really is. (Imagine growing a beautiful, perfect baby and delivering it into the world to bring such magic into your life and so many others!)
I've never been a naturally thin girl; I like to watch what I eat and keep healthy, so I thought I might lose control of my shape while pregnant and growing, and maybe not recover afterwards. Perhaps I was lucky that I didn't have cravings for junk food and more often craved fresh green foods, but when choosing what to eat, I always had the idea in my head from you, of considering the nutritional content of what I put in my mouth and if it would be of any benefit to me and my baby. Eg. Choose a romaine lettuce over an iceberg lettuce because the nutrients are way higher. I just applied this to everything I ate (or considered eating.) eg. "I could eat this Tim Tam Cookie, or this corn crisp with tomato and cheese".
As well as (irregular) gentle walking and swimming, I also did a yoga class every week, and some at home, which was wonderful not only for my figure, but also for my strength, breathing and ability to focus during my 44 hour labour. I would urge every pregnant woman to do regular prenatal yoga classes, they are invaluable (and very enjoyable).
I felt fantastic when I was pregnant. I never felt uncomfortably heavy, my energy levels were great, I wore my growing belly with joy and pride and when I got married at 6 months pregnant I felt more beautiful than ever.
I was 58 kilos (128lbs) when I fell pregnant, grew to 70 kilos (155lbs), then was down to 56 kilos (124lbs) within 1 month of giving birth to my gorgeous boy Ari. He's now nearly 9 months, and I'm still 56 kilos (124lbs). I don't know for a fact, but I feel breastfeeding seems to use up a lot of your kilojoules, and a baby sure keeps you busy and active. I'm not particularly strict with my diet but I still keep that question in my head when I eat: how much nutritional benefit will I (and my breast milk) gain from eating this? I think this is the easiest way I've ever found to watch what I eat and has been beneficial not only for weight control, but keeping me healthy in body and mind.
I know it may not be quite so easy for other women to keep their weight down or get rid of the extra pounds, but I just wanted to share my experience and hope it reassures some of your subscribers that their body doesn't have to be changed forever and that it might even be in better shape than before. And if not, realise what a truly amazing thing our bodies are capable of and be so proud of it anyway!
Thanks Michelle for your inspiration and advice.
Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Joanna Petrou
(Queensland, Australia)
Before
After
Tell us about YOUR Success Story. Send your before and after photos along with your story to michelle@mommywithoutpounds.com
2 Comments:
You look fantastic. Congratulations!
Hi Joanna,
Your story has really been encouraging to me! Last year June I found out I was pregnant and this year February my beautiful baby boy was delivered via c-section. During my pregnancy I couldn't do too much exercising for various reasons, but the good thing is that I worked until I had him (which meant walking a lot at work or at least moving around a lot!). I don't know if that counts for anything, but anyway.
I got up to 171 lbs. during my pregnancy. My pre-pregnancy weight was probably around 140-143 lbs. I'm currently weighing 150 lbs. so I still have some more weight to lose. I breastfeed and bottle-feed my baby. For a while he didn't latch on, so he was used to the bottle, and since he falls asleep mostly on the breast, I also give him formula.
I am looking forward to being able to use the Mommy without Pounds material. Hopefully I will be able to be a hot mommy like you. You look terrific! I would never be able to tell you had a baby. You are an encouragement to the rest of us.
Congratulations on your baby and your weight loss!
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