Mommyhood Fitness Journey

This is one of my favorite topics, fitness! I have loved being active since the day I was born, sitting still just isn't my thing. From gymnastics to sports to working out, whatever keeps me active is a plus. I was at my peak fitness right before getting pregnant with Eli, I was working out sometimes two times a day at least 5 days a week. Being real with you, the reason I went to the gym so much was because I worked from home and my hubby was working and getting his masters so I needed some time away from the house and the gym helped with that. When I got pregnant with Eli, the first trimester I was sick a lot so I didn't work out as much but as soon as I hit that second trimester bliss it was on. I worked out and stayed active as much as I could while pregnant and I can honestly say it really paid off.

My sweet boy arrived in July and of course I have to show you a picture. I was back into my pre-pregnancy clothes 2 days after having him and I attribute it to staying active during my pregnancy as much as my body allowed. Even if all you can do is get on the elliptical for 30 min, it's so worth it for birth and recovery.

4 months postpartum on the right, working out to T25 in his nursery

I was very antsy to get active again after delivery so I started a little earlier than I probably should have at 4 weeks, I would recommend waiting until your doctor clears you. But as soon as you're ready to get active again, it can be difficult with the lack of sleep and round the clock care your little one needs so for me it worked out best to do at-home video workouts by Beachbody. I did T25 during his first nap in the morning and it worked out very well. I was able to do the workout modified at the beginning and then later do the full workout as I got back in shape. I would always do it during his first nap at 7:30 am every morning because I knew if I didn't do it first thing when I had the most energy in the day that it wouldn't happen later. I could usually fit in a workout and quick shower before Eli would wake up. This worked very well for the first 6-8 months for me because I had the motivation to get rid of the baby weight, and with working out + breastfeeding (you burn a lot of calories breastfeeding) I got down to 5 lbs. below my pre-baby weight. Then... summer hit and I stopped breastfeeding at a year old (I dried up because I exclusively pumped and always had a hard time with supply), plus I started working more and honestly just didn't have that motivation anymore because I had exceeded my goal. I piddled with at-home workouts off and on for about 6 months when I finally got on the scale, oh the dreaded scale and I had gained 10 lbs since my lowest weight. That prompted a change for sure!!

This was around January of this year so the stage Eli was in at that point made it very difficult to workout at home. I needed all of his nap time to work and I knew I had to get it done in the morning or else it wouldn't happen, so I tried doing my at-home workouts with him running around and it just stressed me out more than anything. It would take me an hour to get through a workout from stopping it and restarting it. At the same time, I was looking up some programs in the area that I could let Eli play with some friends for a couple hours each week, he just loves being around other kiddos and the cost was going to be around $50/month for 2 days a week of about 2-3 hours each day. Then it hit me I still had some membership left at Golds Gym because I froze it right before Eli came. Long story short, it was a total win-win for me going back to the gym because Eli is able to play with other kiddos and has time away from mommy while I get to workout in peace. Now that he's only taking one nap he's usually awake from 7:00 am - 1:00 pm and going to the gym around 9:00 am really helps to break up our day because he is just like me and can't sit at home all day.

So any mommies who are deciding what to do with your fitness journey, my only advice is to do whatever works best for you in your season of life. Don't let your little one be an excuse, try to figure out how you can best fit it in and go with that!