Losing the baby weight... round 2.

Well, here I am again. Almost 4 months post partum and getting back into the swing of things.
My meal train has ended, I have gone back to the gym at least one or two days a week (Bodypump for life!!!) and I'm starting to track my meals again. (Feel free to add me on MyFitnessPal- Littlepetals)

A few things are different this time around.
1. I understand now that my body likes to hold onto a little bit of weight while I'm breastfeeding. That's ok. I am concentrating less on the scale and more on how my clothes are fitting and how I feel when I look in the mirror. I want to tone up more than I want to see a certain number on the scale. Right now I'm sitting about 10-11 lbs over my pre pregnancy weight. This doesn't mean I don't get frustrated daily (I do) but that I'm really trying to keep things in perspective this time around. A year of my life is really a small chunk of time to hold onto a few pounds.

2. Weirdly, I am back in most of my regular pants. (Big sigh of relief here) I haven't started trying on my shorts but I have a set of my regular size and one size larger so I think I'm ok. I still have a problem with some of my shirts being too short but I know that problem will go away once I stop breastfeeding. I have been wanting to do a capsule wardrobe for a while now and I feel like I kind of have been for the last 2 years with broken up wardrobes (maternity, post baby, regular clothes, back to maternity...) This time I'm really cleaning out my closet big time and trying to pair down into an easy and smaller amount of clothes that I love and feel comfortable in.

3. Even though I have days where I feel down, I've given myself a lot more grace to eat what I want and take this nice and slow. I felt so much pressure last time to get back to my normal weight asap. I'm not doing that to myself this time around. 9 months on, 9 months off.

4. I'm concentrating on being healthy. No fake sweeteners and low cal crap. Occasionally I will eat badly- but that is life. I've been cooking more and trying to get real, quality food into my diet.

I might start posting my weekly meals again on the blog or I might just highlight some really good favorites... we will see how much time I have. ;)

Any advice or personal stories of loosing (baby) weight and what worked for you?