3 Years and 80 Pounds (Sarah)

Age: 25
4 pregnancies/1 live birth
Daughter: age 3 years, 3 months.

When I was 21 years old, I found out I was pregnant for the fourth time. I had three miscarriages prior to this pregnancy due to low levels of progesterone. I was told by the doctors that I would not be able to maintain a healthy pregnancy without hormone injections daily. Because of this, I refused to become excited about my pregnancy until I saw the doctor. I was afraid I would end up with a fourth miscarriage, but by some miracle I was able to carry my daughter E.J. without hormones! I stand at 5’11 and started my pregnancy at 190/195 lbs (I have a medium build and looked skinny at 190) but I walked out of the hospital at 262lbs. I was placed on bed rest for the final few months of my pregnancy due to pre-eclampsia (high bp etc) I was forced to quit my job and sit around. During this time I watched in horror as my entire body swelled. I can recall the day I phoned the doctor to ask them if it was normal that my feet were purple with white spots, they told me to hurry in. It was at the appointment that they determined they would have to induce my labor. A week or so later I was in the hospital being dosed with pitocin to start my labor. When I went in, I was 38 1/2 weeks and wasn’t even dilated at all. They had me on pitocin until the next day (overnight!) and when they checked me I hadn’t progressed at all. They told me this was unusual as most people are “thrown into labor” from this drug, but nope…not I. Instead, they broke my water. 2 hours later I was dilated to 3 and got my epidural, 7 1/2 hours after that I started pushing, and 30 minutes later she was born. Ten hours total for my first labor & birth. (I’m kind of afraid of how fast a second might go!) She was 6lbs 14 oz and I had gained over 70 pounds with her while I was pregnant. Fortunately, 30 pounds left within a week of my leaving the hospital but I spent the next 2 years working off the rest. I now weigh less than I did pre-pregnancy, but my body is entirely different.

The years it took me to lose weight were difficult ones. I was going through a divorce & a 1,000 mile move with a 2 year old and trying to lose weight. I did weight watchers for a few months and then quit when I realized I didn’t need to calorie count but rather switch to a healthier lifestyle. I’m a big foodie so I couldn’t just stop eating or minimize what I ate. Instead, I walked or worked out daily. Unfortunately, my body didn’t react to that at all. I lost 9 inches off my waist but my body never toned. To this day, three years later, there is no tone. I have been told after a loss of nearly 80 pounds I will likely need a little nip/tuck to get back to a flat tummy state.

Before finding SOAM, I was talking to a few friends who had similar issues but were only around 145 at their heaviest and thought they were “big girls.” This website has made me realize that I’m not alone in the battle of the baby blubber or the stretchmarked zebra tummy loathing. I’m so glad that I can physically SEE other women who have stomachs that look like mine, who struggle the way that I do, and who question if they’ll ever feel sexy/beautiful/confident again. After my divorce, I began dating my best friend from high school and we’ve been together since. He tells me I’m beautiful and that he is amazed by my body since it created a child. I wish I could see myself like that, through his eyes. I am thankful that after all I went through, I was able to carry my daughter to term and that she was a healthy baby. I know that she was my miracle baby and I wouldn’t trade what I went through for the world, but it would be nice if the rest of this baby blubber would just melt away…

The picture in the tank top is me at 262 pounds in 2008
The bathing suit picture is me at 262 in 2008 and recent pictures from October 2011.
The rest of the pictures were taken January 17th, 2012. (Size 12)
It took 3 1/2 years of hard work to get this far…and I’m no where near finished.
Note: I currently vary between 185-190 pounds.