Real Mum Stories: How Mum Madeline is finding the healthiest version of herself

“There I was, sitting at a party devouring my 5th plate of snack foods including cob loaf, Frankfurt’s, party pies and cake, remembering how this morning I complained to my fiancé how no clothes fitted my post baby body. But here I sat continuously putting food in my mouth with no regrets! Before I had my son I was fit and healthy, I had nice curves and weighed in at 85kgs which I was thrilled with (I love having curves and a good bum!). I enjoyed my cake, but portioned myself and always worked it off at the gym. I exercised for 2 hours at least 5 times a week, all while maintaining a household and working full time.So there I was sitting at the party, embarrassed, ashamed and disappointed with myself. That night I reflected! People always told me that, after you had a baby, the weight would drop off while breastfeeding. Did I get to breast feed?  NO! Did I watch what I ate? NO! Did I care? NO! Because I couldn’t feed my son I made up for it by feeding myself. Mentally I struggled, I was heartbroken and I was beginning to suffer from Postpartum Depression. I was the heaviest I’d ever been, mentally the darkest I’d ever been and I needed a reality check.

Time to change

Fast forward to the present I sit on the scales at 100.9kgs, I have more curves than I’d like to admit and my bum is beyond perfect, but I am happier and healthier than I was 3 months ago. Do I like my body? NO! Am I working on it though? YES! Am I prepared to commit? YES! I love that I’ve been able to turn my NO’s into a yes! I don’t get to go to the gym every day, in fact some weeks I don’t get there at all, but I still get the opportunity to work out at home, even if it’s just dancing like an idiot in front of my son (which he loves!).I have a long way to go to be the person I used to be and I have to remind myself constantly that the person I was didn’t bring life into this world!  The person I am now has experienced something beautiful, and my body did that! Who am I to hate my body, when it was my body that gave me my wonderful son! My body deserves a rest, it deserves to be looked after and it deserves to be treated with love. I’m excited to see how far I can go within my journey. I will push myself, encourage myself and when I fall into a heap on a hard day I will pick myself up, brush myself off and keep going. I have goals to reach and The Healthy Mummy is helping me get there. One day at a time, little changes and self love is giving me the will to try and try hard!”

The Healthy Mummy 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge will give you access to:

• Over 4,000 delicious recipes, designed by experts in nutrition
• Customisable meal plans according to dietary requirements
• 350+ at-home workout videos, designed and recorded for exercise experts
• Daily support from 100,000s of other mums