I need the honest truth!!

OK.  I need it straight.  Is it at all possible to get my body back to where it was pre-pregnancy?  I'm due in 10 weeks with my first.  Before I got pregnant; I weighed in at 118lbs and am 5'1".  I have gained about 25-30 pounds so far; but I think a  lot of it is fluid since I'm very bloated.  The actual "non preggo parts" of me that has seen the most growth are my upper thighs and hips; but back and arms have not grown any.  I can still see the sides of my obliques and the ab cut down the center of my stomach.  does that mean anything?  For a solid year before I got pregnant I was up to doing 90 minutes of cardio and strength training 4-5 days a week.  What's the likelyhood of me returning to pre- preggo weight within 1 year?  I am not looking to loose all weight in one month or any other unlikely expectations.  I plan to go right back on my diet after birth.  Thoughts? 

I think it's very possible to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight.  Your body may not look *exactly* the same, but it could be close.  Your breasts may stay a little larger.  I think I increased a cup size with my first pregnancy, and that never went away (not that I mind), and your stomach may not be quite as flat, even if your measurements/weight are the same.  Also, I increased a 1/2 shoe size with my first pregnancy, but no biggie there. 

If you plan on breast feeding that will seriously help you lose the weight quicker, but if not it's still possible.  You'll have to work your way back up to the exercise levels you were before, but that should be possible over the year.  Just make sure you follow your OBs advice about getting back into exercising.  They will probably tell you to take it easy for 6 weeks or more depending on the method of birth (vaginal vs. C-section).

I can tell you I gained a lot with my first -- ~60 pounds (not something I would recommend) but most of it really was water and at my 6 week appointment I only had 10 pounds left to lose of that 60.  No dieting or exercise at all!!! Just completely absorbed with my little one who decided not to sleep more than an hour at a time for the first month of her life.  LOL, she's 27 now with 3 of her own...

Thanks so much for your response.  I can handle not "exactly" the same; but I'd like it to be close.  I'll def work on my core-  and I'm like my dad-   cardio melts inches off of me.  I'm giving myself a full year; becuase I want to take it off the right way and be healthy!!!!  I can handle the feet; since I'm only a 6 now.  As for the boobs.....I don't know how much they can grow.  Before I was a size C, a week after I got pregnant they were a D, and now I'm a DD.  yikes!!

Yes, it is possible!!! :)  I started my first pregnancy at 147 and ended at 181.  Yikes!  I stared this pregnancy at 134. :)  It took me over a year to get to 134, but I blame that on circumstance.  I worked full-time across town, so I had zero time for exercise.  Once I began staying home with my son, I had lots of time to work out, and the weight started shedding faster.  Don't worry if it takes a while-you can get to your goal! :)  

It is very possible. It sounds like you are not afraid of a little hard work in the gym, so as long as you are dedicated I think you will definitely be able to achieve your goal!

Because you trained hard prior to pregnancy, the muscles are still there. Pre-pregnancy I was 112 (5'3") and gained real fast (10 lbs in 1st tri-mester 45 pounds total-up to 152). However, I exercised through my whole pregnancy. In the summer I 'ran' around the pool for 30 minutes almost every day. I think this was the best thing I could have done. I kid you not I dropped all the weight in 2 1/2 months. My son was born November 16 and by the end of January I was back down to 110. It fell off, I was so lucky. I did not starve myself or work out. I really believe it was because although I gained a lot on a small frame, I ate healthy and exercised during pregnancy. Two and a half years later I am 113. So YES IT IS POSSIBLE! Don't worry! If you were fit to begin with you should be just fine! 

And you're beautiful btw-glowing :)

You sound very determined.  Given your pre-prego description and your obvious will power, I'd have to say that you have a very very good chance of accomplishing your goal.

There are a couple of ladies at work that bounced back from their pregnancy with seemingly no effort - I'm sure it wasn't like that at all.  Within a year they looked like they had never had kids.  It was inspiring.

Good luck.

I have one baby who's a year and a half now and you will be surprised at how quickly the weight will fall off.  For me, within 2 weeks of having her I was back into my old jeans.  I still had some toning to do, things were not as tight as they once were but, after about a month I honestly had my old figure back.  I did  a lot of walking during my pregnancy and I know that helped.  I do have some cellulite on the back of my legs that I've always had that I'm working on getting rid of but don't worry about it.  Your body will bounce back.

I have had 5 childeren. And all my childeren with the exception of 1 were over 10 lbs.  During the course of one pregnancy I gained 70 lbs.  The average weight I woud gain would be about 40 pounds.  After each pregnancy I would loose all the weight with the exception of 5 pounds.  So over the course of 5 childeren I weighed 25 pounds more.  Prior to my first child I weighed in at 105lbs.  I am now 138.   All my weight would be lost within a years time. Mostly with 3-4 months.  I agree that although you may weigh the same the weight may not be distributed the same way as it was prior to pregnancy and your skin may not be as tight.  My best suggestion is to drink lots of water it really aids in the elasticity of your skin.  Like Amy4302 said ,"DONT WORRY ABOUT IT. YOUR BODY WILL BOUNCE BACK."

I am 10 days postpartum with my son and I have lost 25 of the 32 pounds I gained. It has been amazing how quickly it has come off and how much of it wasn't even "real weight". I can't believe I had that much water stuck on my butt and thighs. lol.

Looking at my body now I am def. softer than I was before, probably because the last couple of months I stopped working out, but I feel pretty confident in my bodies ability to bounce back.

swearimn-  thanks for the real time advice!  I'm gearing up and am still nervous but not as much as before.  I'm excited to go back to the gym  since it was such a stress release for me and my DH supports my workout need; so he can watch her in the mornings before he goes to work.  I'm determined!!  But not expecting miracles!!