I have lost over 60 lbs since having my baby! This is how I got my post-baby back…
First, a little background about me…. If you don’t care, I’m not offended, go ahead and skip this part to get straight to the HOW I DID IT below.
I was literally just about to go through a 12 week program with nutrition and exercise when I found out I was pregnant. I had let my body fat percentage creep back up on me and it was higher than I expected it to be before I got pregnant. Months prior to this I went thru a devastating miscarriage and it was a very emotional and tough time for me. I had really secluded myself from the outside world a bit and my fitness level just wasn’t my priority. BUT things have a way of working out and come June I was pregnant with Emersyn so I like to think everything worked out the way it was supposed to.
Most of you know my fitness background and the fact that I’ve been competing for a few years and that I’m a personal trainer. So never in a million years did I think I would gain as much weight as I did. I stayed active most of my pregnancy. There was a period where I got horrible migraines and was just so exhausted that it didn’t happen but I started to feel better and got back to it. I had in the past few years spent SO much time weighing my food and watching what I was eating that I just got tired of it and just gave it a break while I was pregnant and told myself just to let my body do what it needs to do. It’s extremely unnerving to see the scale creep up into numbers I’ve never seen before but my husband kept reassuring me I’d be back to my “normal” self in no time.
What IS normal anyway? To me normal is walking around looking like I should be competing….I had forgotten what normal is and that I don’t always have to look like that. At my 6 week checkup I think I was down 25-30 some lbs. That was due to just giving birth, breastfeeding, water weight, etc. So I had 30-35 lbs to lose which was huge for me. I’ve never had to lose anymore than maybe 10 lbs in my life, this was a whole new world to me and I was scared. But I knew I had the tools to do it. I was determine to get my post-baby body back.
A year later I’m down 61 lbs and counting!
So HOW DID I DO IT??
I wish I had an easy magical answer to give to you. Follow this and this will happen….but it wasn’t really like that. Truth is I COULD have been at this point about 6 or 7 months ago BUT I had to do it my way and my way was all about finding my new normal and finding BALANCE. Sure I pulled out some old programs that I could’ve followed that would have gotten me there quicker but it didn’t match my lifestyle anymore. I was facing new challenges with a baby that I never faced before. I couldn’t just go to the gym or workout whenever I wanted. We had a baby, sold our house, moved to a new town, and I quit my job all in the same year. This year was TOUGH. I was so sick of going balls to the wall all out for so many weeks to kill myself to get where I wanted to be and then I would rebound and have to do it all over again because I HAD NEVER LEARNED TO FIND BALANCE.
*Staying active while being pregnant– it automatically started me off in the right direction. And ladies DO THOSE KEGELS! Kegels and squats…they helped with with labor and post baby as well.
*Walking with the baby– I got out in the neighborhood EVERY DAY that I could and made it a routine. We walked during the morning or day and then my husband and I had a nightly walk as well. I would challenge myself each week to walk a little further or longer
*Park or Outdoor Workouts– I would take the baby to the park in the stroller and use different things in the park to workout (after I got medically cleared of course)
*Gym with Child Care– I found one that would take little ones (some have an age minimum requirement) I went a few times a week during the summer before we moved. I try to go a few times a week now but Emersyn is learning again how to separate from mommy at kid’s club. Some days are iffy, so if all else fails I do a quick workout at home if I can.
*Circuit Training– I made the MOST out of my time to workout by doing circuits that combined lifting and cardio movements. No sitting around or resting for long periods of time
*Home workouts incorporating the baby– I held Emmy while I did squats or did push ups over her and kissed her on the way down….things like this where she was involved
*Water– drinking lots of water
*Good Nutrition & proper use of my carbs– Now this here is the BIG one! I was stuck at a certain spot in January then I really cleaned up my nutrition. I wasn’t even working out much, but my good nutrition and carb timing helped me get down another 8 lbs since January. And I know because someone will ask…the only supplement I take is whey protein and sometimes I will drink BCAA’s mixed with water during cardio. Don’t know where to start with nutrition? Don’t worry I got you covered with my beginner’s nutrition guide, JumpStart Nutrition
*Each day making a good decision towards my goals AND also saying to myself “I’ts OK” if you aren’t perfect.
Get my FREE PDF guide of daily healthy habits HERE
There is NO MAGIC way. Good nutrition, getting your body moving, & making decisions everyday towards your goals is what is going to help you get that post-baby body back into shape.
Breastfeeding burns more calories. If you a nursing mom this will most likely work in your favor. There’s days or even weeks where my workouts or nutrition weren’t good. I let myself have pizza, or ice cream sometimes. I skip a workout if I need to be with my family. But I also make good decisions EVERY DAY towards a better healthier me towards my goals. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to kill yourself or never eat carbs or anything like that. I will say however that if you have very specific time oriented goals that is different. I’ve spend a LOT of my time helping people make 12 week transformations and that is a bit different. This was MY JOURNEY TO BALANCE and I didn’t put a time limit on getting there.
That being said I have gone through many paths to get into shape. One thing that always stays true no matter what path I take is good old fashioned nutrition and exercise. I do not believe in fad diets, detox, cleanses, etc. If you need help I’m going to teach you about healthy living and healthy choices in your lifestyle, not quick fixes on how to get there. I felt lost and like I would never get back to my old self again. I don’t really know how I look compared to pre-baby but I’ve found my new “normal” that I feel good with. Summer swimsuit season is coming and I still have stuff to work on and I’ve made new goals for myself. I can help you get there too!! I would love to help! Whether you want a time oriented transformation or you need help losing weight finding balance I can help. Contact me today! I offer personal training AND online coaching! Anyone can do it, you just have to believe that you can.
I hope sharing my journey will inspire others. Everyone’s journey is different. I would love to hear about yours!
UPDATE: After writing this blog post i got in really great shape for summer and decided to step on stage and compete for the first time as a mom! I was never so proud to be up on that stage! Through finding my balance I have been able to maintain my weight for well over 7 months living a basic balanced lifestyle. I eat healthy probably 70-80% of the time and work out 3-4 days a week still incorporating a lot of circuits and focused mostly on weight training. Below are pics from my competition last June, and a pic from this fall and one from this week!
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