By the time Rebekah was a month old, I had dropped almost 40 lbs.  Five weeks ago, I joined up with a group of women on the Parentsplace Bulletin Board who are trying to lose weight.  Since I started out with them, I've dropped almost 10 more lbs.  It's encouraging to see my stats and compare to them on our weekly weigh-in.  In addition, we get to share with each other how we're doing it.

My basic rule of thumb is that I only eat if I'm hungry, and I stop when I'm full.   This is a hard rule for me to follow because I love to eat!  In addition, I am trying to elimate empty calories like soda and candy, and adding lots of veggies into my diet.  My in-between-meal snacks, when I have them, are healthy things like sugar-free yogurt, rice cakes, or low-fat finger foods (which I eat out of a small dish rather than straight from the bag).  Basically I'm following my pregnancy diet except eating less - I've especially cut down on the amount of milk and juice I'm drinking and I'm substituting more water.  Nutri-grain bars, which were a staple item during pregnancy and breastfeeding, have taken a leave-of-absence from my diet.

Of course, it's hard to lose weight if you don't exercise, so Rebekah and I take frequent walks outside, and afterwards I do exercises to tone my abdominal and thigh muscles since those areas seem to have ballooned excessively as a result of my pregnancy.  

I can't believe how easily this weight has come off so far.  I don't feel like I'm dieting hard - I'm certainly not starving myself!  It's never come off this easily before...only 8 more lbs and I'll be at my pre-pregnancy weight!

In case you were wondering, Rebekah is not losing weight right along with Mommy.   Instead, she's up to around 12 lbs.  Look next week for her exact weight after our pediatrician visit on Wednesday.