Body After Baby: Part 1

It’s the day every pregnant woman dreams about (besides the day that she gets to hold her sweet baby for the first time): the day that she finally has her body back.  And by that I mean the day that she feels normal in her skin again, where her clothes fit like normal, where she feels strong and fit and sexy again.

The thing is that day comes at different time for every woman; for me it’s turning out to be a work in progress.  Since I didn’t gain that much weight with my pregnancy it was easy for me to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight and, coincidentally, my pre-pregnancy size.  That being said, after a couple months of emotional eating due to our miscarriage my pre-pregnancy weight and size were not really my happy place with my body.  I had just started to get back into shape when I found out we were pregnant again and the horrors of first trimester sickness wrecked any chance of eating well and working out.  And while I would not give up a second of my pregnancy I have found that it’s time for me to get to that happy place in my body.

 

(P.S. I don’t know why but my fingers keep wanting to spell the word body like “boday.”  Just had to share.)

 

I can’t promise that I’ll have any before and after shots on the blog in regards to my progress because I don’t really know yet what the “after” part holds.  I know that I need to continue to eat better and really reign in on my heavy-handed simple carb intake (I love bread.  OMG DO I LOVE BREAD!).  I have enjoyed working out every day lately, although I’m hoping that soon those workouts will become more intense and results-oriented as I recover from my C-section.  But my “after” doesn’t include a certain weight or numerical size; it’s more of a feeling of strength, a feeling of confidence, and a feeling of comfort in my skin.

 

So here it is:  my body after baby plan. I’m hoping to have a weekly update (maybe on the weekends…?) about progress and how I’m feeling, mainly to have the accountability of writing it down and having to share.  I am by no means a dietitian, although I do have dietary schooling under my belt.  I’m no longer a personal trainer, although I have been one and understand how the body works and responds to exercise.  So while I am happy to share what I’m doing please know that I’m not recommending my workouts or eating habits to anyone – it’s purely me sharing my experiences as I go!

 

As far as food goes, I’m going to continue what I’ve been doing and eat lots of lean protein, as many fruits and veggies as possible, whole grains and complex carbs, and still indulge a little bit to keep me sane.  It’s all about balance and I’ve found that if I monitor what I eat too closely it becomes unhealthily obsessive, so having unspecific and open-ended goals is the best thing for me.

 

As for workouts, I’m trying to switch it up and am in hopes of being able to run sometime this summer.  I have had a history with knee pain the past couple of years and I blame a lot of that on not doing enough to strengthen the surrounding muscles, not doing enough flexibility training, and putting on too much weight to comfortably run.  I don’t have any aspirations of running races, but miss running and would love to be able to just go out for a run for cardio from time to time.

 

In the meantime I’ll be going on a lot of walks and hikes with my family as well as doing workouts from WillPower & Grace (LOVE), Amanda Russell, Best Body Fitness, Beat Your Best Fitness, and pull from my own history in personal training.  As for flexibility I love yoga and will be taking a day to just do that, but have also committed to warming up and cooling down properly and stretching after every single workout.

 

I’m excited to see what changes my body will continue to make over the coming months and more than anything am excited to set an example of a strong woman for my little boy.  Now if only I could get that sleep thing down! 🙂