The pregnancy did derail my fitness and health some, I wont lie. I gained some weight. I gained 40 lbs. Compared to my last pregnancy 9 years ago, its small potatoes. I gained 75 with my daughter. So I consider this a huge achievement. After the c-section I lost a quick 20 lbs. I came home to a long recovery, and a baby who has a mind of his own. Getting back on track has taken quite some time. With no sleep, constant feeding, and taking care of 3 big girls, I just didn't have the energy. Quite honestly, I needed every calorie I took in. My little man is an eater. For a while, I thought he might just want to stay attached to the boob permanently.
Anyway. I decided after 4 months, it was time to get back into gear. I let the holidays pass, and ate at my hearts content, then first of the year (so very cliche) I would get back to work. This is what I have been doing.
Eat like you mean it.
If your hungry, EAT. but be wise about what your eating. Here is a sample of what I eat every day.
BREAKFAST-
1 light yogurt (sometimes I mix in a tsp of candy or granola)
OR
3 eggs any way I feel like it.
OR
A smoothie, made with my light yogurt, lowfat milk, and whatever else i want to mix in
LUNCH-
Salad with protein. (you can use any old protein you want, I prefer meat, but beans, and nuts work just as well. Sometimes i double up on the protein, and use nuts and meat)
OR
A protein, and a good hardy veggie (example grilled chicken breast, and brussel sprouts)
DINNER-
A protein, usually chicken, but I mix it up, Anything you would cook for your family
2 vegetables. too keep it interesting I like to do one hot, one cold.
and always, i have an after workout snack. my favorite is carrots and roasted red pepper hummus(2 tbsn). Sometimes if i am hungry in between meals, i will grab some cheese. Just 2 oz though.
Workout like your life depended on it.
In my case, it does. My life depends on my working out. If I dont workout, and eat right, I get sick, really sick. I dont want to be sick, I dont like high blood pressure, and I sure dont want to look at the possibility of diabetes again. I dont want heart palpitation, or feeling like I cant breath. I love life way too much to let myself get like that again.
I dedicate at least 1 full hour to myself EVERY DAY. My kids know this, my husband knows this. If I dont workout, i get really moody.
I like to dance. I call it my cardio. I have several games on the kinnect, but my favorite is JUST DANCE. I dance for 25-50 minutes. I challenge myself with new dances, and I keep moving up and down the list to keep in interesting and new.
I ride my stationary bike. Some days I pair riding with dancing. 20 minutes of one, 5 miles of the other. I challenge myself here too. Different levels of difficulty, go a certain number of miles.
Good old fashioned walking. I have a perfect neighborhood for this. Its very hilly and is almost a complete circle. We also have a great walking trail not far from here, and the battlefield is also a great place to walk.
Keep yourself accountable
Here is where my facebook/twitter friends might get irritated. I post EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT. why? to irritate people? NO. to keep myself accountable for my actions. I feel guilty if i get lazy. I have this made up scenario in my head that people are judging me if I dont workout. and it keeps me going.
IGNORE YOUR SCALE
I cannot express the importance of this enough. the scale will drive you crazy!
first off, muscle weighs more than fat. I am building muscle every day, AND burning fat. I am also a woman, we swell, we have weight gain, hormone fluctuations, all make your weight go up and down.
The way I keep myself going, is non-scale victories. Setting goals for myself and keeping them. for instance, I was really struggling walking up the stairs to my bedroom. I would get winded, and have to sit down on my bed. My goal, RUN UP THE STAIRS. Once I mastered that, now my goal is to RUN UP THE STAIRS HOLDING MY SON (22 lbs) He likes doing it, and im pretty close to being able to do it. Another example is making 10 miles on my bike, then 15, and so on. Or walking a mile, then 2. A recent goal I mastered was the walking path i mentioned earlier. The last time I walked this trail (over a year ago) I made it about halfway, and had to turn around. It was embarrassing, and i hated myself for it so much, we never went back. Last week, we went, I walked the WHOLE TRAIL. I did it without pain, or discomfort, and i did it with my breath fully in tact. I even did it walking and training a half crazy puppy, who is terrified of everything. I AM THE MASTER! lol
My new lifestyle is amazing. It makes me happy, and keeps me healthy. It feels so good to be proud of yourself. It feels even better to challenge yourself and meet and surpass every single time. I just have to say, it this big fat girl can do it, anyone can.
The one final thing you need to succeed, is LOVE YOURSELF.
