Body positivity – believe in your body!

There’s actually a whole other reason why I shared this post on Instagram yesterday.

“Since having my daughter I’ve remained a bit heavier than in my pre-pregnancy days and I’ve been moaning about it for years because I absolutely didn’t want to buy a whole new wardrobe. By some miracle I’ve lost about 2kg since moving to Estonia and finally, this summer, I started to celebrate my body more again. Fine, I’m not as athletic as before and I’m now softer and curvier. But my belly is the softest pillow for my daughter when she cuddles up 😆 🧸. My goal is to lose a few more but I’m in no rush and what comes off slower stays off longer!
And before anyone slams me for wanting to lose only a few kilos ✋🏼 it’s my body and only I know when I’m happiest in my skin! Here’s to #mumbods, they’re all amazing!”

This story is actually only partly about weight loss, it’s also about wanting to trust my own body and giving it a chance… Hear me out, I’m not going to share some motivational mumbo-jumbo to believe in yourself and your body although yes, you should do that too! 😀

I was diagnosed with endometriosis back in 2016. Three months after the excision surgery I got pregnant, I was relieved because pregnancy is a temporary cure for painful periods. A few months after giving birth I wanted the Mirena coil because it’s known to help with endometriosis symptoms. Yes, it really did help and I felt great or that’s what I thought…

It’s also known that breastfeeding helps with weight loss, sure enough it just fell off but plateaued when I had the coil inserted. How curious, isn’t it? I didn’t think much of it until years later, till this spring, to be exact. So for about two years I moaned that I hadn’t lost any more weight and remained about 5kg heavier than before getting pregnant. It might not seem a lot and I’m sure no one really noticed. But I did. Every time I tried on old jeans or fitted dresses. I bought some slightly bigger clothes and accepted that somehow eventually I’ll lose it. I have a healthy diet in general and I do work out as much as I can while also being a stay at home mum whose ‘me time’ is often limited. But nothing shifted, maybe a few hundred grams here or there, which is clearly not enough to make a difference. Then the whole saga of packing up our lives in London and moving to Tallinn started and focusing on my weight wasn’t a priority for a while.

Fast forward this spring when I found some interesting articles about Mirena coil linked to weight gain OR difficulty losing weight. Google search if you’re interested. There is no solid scientific evidence that women can put on weight because of the coil but what I found interesting was that there were enough women saying they couldn’t lose weight because of it. It made me wonder if this could be the reason that I couldn’t shift even a kilo after running, HIIT training and healthy diet. It just didn’t seem right. I had a consultation with my gynaecologist who supported my decision taking the coil out and wanting to manage the pain (should it return) with painkillers. It was really refreshing because so far in my life I’ve only had doctors recommend taking pills and at this stage of life I wanted to live a hormone treatment free life.

It was a thought-through plan not just a test whether I could finally lose some weight. I believed my body was ready. I’m following an endometriosis diet (in a nutshell reduced the intake of red meat, alcohol and added more fibrous and iron-rich foods) taking supplements to balance my hormones and introduced essential oils into my life. I’ve only had two days during which I felt uncomfortable cramps but nothing that a dose of slightly stronger painkillers wouldn’t fix. Incomparable to those days when I had to take days off work and lie in bed in agony. I run regularly, cycle and work out at home. I don’t diet because if you know me well, I like to eat well but luckily mostly from healthy choices; and I like to drink bubbly and wine. But I have lost weight! It’s not that noticeable in clothes yet so maybe it’s water weight?! I’m no specialist. But the scales prove I have and I’ll take that.

I’m glad I followed my instincts and listened to my body, I’ve learned to love it more again.