There’s a certain level of freakout that comes with your first born. Maybe it’s the hormone rollercoaster, the fact that you created a human (yay!) but now you have to keep it alive (eek!), or the first time you look at your post-baby body and wonder if that’s the new you.

Personally, I gained a lot of weight during the pregnancy. Not only was I completely overwhelmed by trying to learn how to parent and care for a tiny human, but I wanted to feel like my old self.

But how? Was it even possible?

What workouts do I do? What foods and how much should I eat? Low carb? Low fat? Juice cleanse? High fat?

I really just wanted someone to tell me what to do; someone who knew where I was coming from and could make a program that fit my specific situation.

Previously, I had done every low fat, low carb, apple cider vinegar diet available. I knew that none of those worked. I wanted a quick fix, but I was finally to a point where I was ready to actually put in the work.

So after hours (many, many hours) of research, I decided to keep it simple: workout hard in group fitness classes and count calories. It wasn’t glamorous. At times, it wasn’t fun at all.

But the weight slowly came off.

Some weeks I would lose a couple of pounds, some weeks I would lose zero pounds, but would lose an inch around my waist instead. I knew that I was getting smaller.

Nine months later, I had lost every pound.

Not only did I have my body back, but I also had my confidence back and felt more accomplished than ever.