It’s crazy, but in a month, we’ll be a full year from when the whole pregnancy adventure began. And as much as I enjoyed the whole “I-Am-Pregnant” thing, I have to admit I’m so ready to get my body back and be comfortable in the body I’m living in.
I don’t have specific goals at the moment. But I have a few general ideas for where I’d like to be by the summer…
I’d like to run a 7 minute mile. (My fastest ever was run a couple months before pregnancy and was in the high 6:40s.)
I’d like to get my strength back. Taking time off after baby (I worked out up until I had Stella), has really left me weak! But this week, I’m starting to get it back… thankfully!
I’d like to incorporate some yoga into my regular routine. It’s something I’ve never made time for, but certainly is needed.
And I would like to fit into all my pre-pregnancy pairs of jeans (which means losing a dress size). I’m about 5 pounds above my usual pre-pregnancy weight-range, so I would like to drop that and drop a couple more inches around my stomach.
Some people were shocked that I had shown my day after my c-section picture on my blog last week, and I think it’s silly not to. I get SO many before pictures from clients when they start my program and not once am I shocked at theirs, and since this is what I do for a living, why not show people where I started. I’m not better than anyone else, I’m just like any other new mom living in her postpartum body and it is nothing be ashamed of. Goodness gracious, we give life to another human that’s a superpower!
So why should I blog my fitness postpartum journey? Accountability for myself and to help other mom’s get their swagger back. Or hey, this can be for anyone trying to get their swagger back. Everyone is on their own journey, and sometimes it helps to get different ideas, tips and motivation.
First thing when starting off on your fitness journey, is to have a plan! And below are some of my helpful tips on getting started:
#1–Know yourself and your limits before starting back into your workouts:
When I was thinking about my postpartum fitness plan, I mentioned allowing ample time to resume working out. Being a new mom is exhausting, and have two kids are double whammy. Between very little sleep, demanding 4 year old and recovering from a caesarean, and having mastitis 3 time my body was taxed. So I made a plan that started at 4 weeks (really light upper body lifting and some cardio). I did perform 20 minutes of elliptical while baby wearing (I had to really hold her and keep her snug, but she fell asleep instantly and loved the movement). The 5th week, I added 5 days of lifting different body parts and 20 minutes of cardio (either elliptical or walking on the treadmill), with a C-section, you really need to be aware of your body and core, so you are not over compensating on using other muscles and you NEED to be aware of your core. It is a MUST, and NOT to overdo it. I did get the OK from my doctor to start light with upper body lifting and cardio. That is the first thing you should do before you start any workout program after baby. At 6 weeks, I started a postpartum core workout that I had put together for the pregnancy program that I had created months ago and started that at 6 weeks and have been doing it daily and I’m so glad I did because it helped draw the muscles back together faster than the first baby.
#2–Lift weights:
This is my go to this time around, I haven’t had much time to do cardio since I can do more with Stella while lifting and I can also put her down in a bouncy chair while I do plyo moves or moves that are not really safe for baby. With my first baby I started out with steady state cardio postpartum, and my body didn’t do anything but lose some weight. It wasn’t until I started lifting more for the fitness competition that made a difference in my core tightening the baby belly giggle, and just in general being stronger than I once was. This time around I knew that starting with lifting and a little cardio was the best way to go, and I can already notice a big difference at 7 weeks postpartum.
I used the Postpartum workouts in this program: The Determined FIT Pregnancy Program
#3–Lastly, be patient:
While the pounds may fall off immediately or take months, your body will to return to its pre-baby form in due time. Each person is different, so there are no comparison! I will say that each pregnancy is different and every postpartum journey is different. I have lost weight much slower this time around but my body is tightening up faster. So I too, can’t compare my last post-pregnancy to this one.
This is me at 7 weeks postpartum, I feel stronger than the week before and that is all I’m shooting for every week:
This is how I have been eating and working out at 7 weeks postpartum:
My Nutrition:
My nutrition looks like this most days:
Snack (before workout): Pumpkin Protein Bar (my recipe)
Post workout meal: Protein shake with greens.
Snack: either PB and rice cake or egg muffins (recipe from my website)
Lunch: Big salad with either eggs or chicken on it, with a piece of fruit.
Snack: Either protein shake or a serving of nuts
Dinner: Anything that I had made in the crockpot (made freezer slow cooker meals before baby was born).
Snack at night: PB and rice cake or a serving of a protein bar I made from my website.
I have been lacking on the water front, I have been much better in the last 2 weeks to do better. It is SO hard to drink water while always feeding the baby and when I do have time I need to eat something. Just what it is at the moment, but that is what my goal is this week. I need to drink a gallon of water!
My Workouts:
I just started my online program workouts, these are full body workouts and they include core, legs and upper body moves in one workout. I also have been performing extra core workouts from the program to get a little stronger.
M-Functional 1 hour workout from my online program.
T-Cardio (either, running, stair climber, elliptical or HIIT workout from my cardio programs on my online program). This all depends on if I get this done before my hubby leaves for work or if I go to the gym with the little one while she is napping.
W- Functional 1 hour workout from my online program.
TH- Cardio (either, running, stair climber, elliptical or HIIT workout from my cardio programs on my online program). This all depends on if I get this done before my hubby leaves for work or if I go to the gym with the little one while she is napping.
F-Determinite Monthly Functional Workout
SA- Cardio (either, running, stair climber, elliptical or HIIT workout from my cardio programs on my online program). This all depends on if I get this done before my hubby leaves for work or if I go to the gym with the little one while she is napping.
SU-Rest Day
This week’s struggles:
My baby is going through either a growth spurt or leap week, so she is fussier than usual. She is also eating like there will be no food for her next meal. So this week I struggled to get off my butt, or I would need to wear her to get things done. She is normally a great baby so I can’t complain and I have to go back to work March 1st, so I will take the snuggles as much as I can get!
I have been weaning from pumping and I’m now at 10 hours between pumps, so I hope to be almost done with this part of my journey by next week. I wish it could’ve been longer but I’m fine with my decision since I’m more prone to mastitis and I can’t go through that again.
Sleep, what is that word? We aren’t getting much of it in our house. But she sleeps better than our almost 5 year old, so we have potential to sleep in a year! Whoop, whoop!
Well that is it for this week, I will be posting my postpartum journey week to week. Follow if you like (subscribe to my blog) and share. Thank you for reading!
1 comment. Leave new
Your beautiful inside as well as outside. You look amazing!