I also have an energetic 2-year-old and a 4-year-old going on 12.
And I gained 40 pounds during my pregnancy. No big deal.
Needless to say, I stay pretty busy with these three, and I love being a mom. I don't work full-time, just a couple of part-time "mom jobs." In fact, I never work more than 10 hours a week, which is pretty awesome. Let's be honest, my family is really lucky to have that luxury since few families, especially those who live in SoCal can afford to have a parent stay at home. I can do my "momma thing" full-time, teach piano and gym classes here and there, and still have some "me time." Although that "me time" is usually from 8-10 pm and consists of eating a bowl of cereal and watching episodes of Parenthood on Netflix. But hey! I'll take it!
Project Momma
Okay, so what is Project Momma? I am going to post weekly updates on my "Project" including selfies, weight, fitness measures (cardiovascular and strength), food goals, and other thoughts. I'll consider questions like: What helped me this week? What were my setbacks? How have I improved? Have I hit a plateau? I want to hold myself accountable to work on being a healthier, happier momma. That means eating more fruits and veggies and less sugar, exercising regularly, making spiritual moments, and just taking better care of myself and my three littles.
Until Now
I was still able to work out quite a bit while I was pregnant. I teach group fitness which definitely helps me stay in shape as long as possible through pregnancy. I temporarily stopped teaching around 35 weeks (about 8 and a half months) into this third pregnancy and went for long walks with my double BOB jogging stroller to get in some exercise a few days a week until the baby came.
Near the beginning of my pregnancies I feel pretty sick for about 6 weeks . Like a lot of pregnant women, I am nauseated from day I pee on a stick until the first trimester is over. I don't know why they call it morning sickness, it's pretty much morning/ afternoon/ and especially-evening sickness. I basically live off of Ramen noodles, Mac and Cheese, cereal, Taco Bell, and In N Out. I gain quite a bit of weight because eating helps the nausea.
Second and third trimesters were great with my last pregnancy. It was awesome being pregnant during the holidays because I didn't feel guilty eating whatever sounded good. I had plenty of treats and sweets from Thanksgiving through Valentine's day, but I still tried to eat healthier options whenever I could. I started having sciatica near the end of my pregnancy which is why I had to stop teaching my gym classes. Doing weighted squats and dead-lifts probably isn't the best thing with shooting pains going through your sciatic nerves.
I have gained about 40 pounds with each of my pregnancies. It always freaks me out a little bit to see the scale inch its way up toward 200 pounds, so I have to remind myself that those 9 months are for my baby, not me.
The Go-Ahead
Last week I had the follow-up with my doctor and he cleared me to exercise, YAHOOO! It has felt so good to get my heart rate up and get sweaty again! Although it was slow, running my first two miles on Saturday felt almost as good as finishing my marathon a year ago.
Although I can exercise, my doctor did warn me about staying hydrated and eating enough calories since I am breastfeeding my baby. He said breastfeeding requires about 500 extra calories and plenty of water. (Good, so that justifies the 2 chocolate chip cookies I just ate...) All kidding aside, it's important not to try to lose too much weight too fast if I want to keep my milk supply rich and plentiful for my little one.
My Goals
I have 25 pounds to go until I reach my consistent 147 pound pre-baby weight. Yes, that's right, I have just told everyone exactly how much I weigh. I'm over it. It's just a number, but I do know that I feel good at that number, so that's my goal. (Note that it was the number I felt good at before getting pregnant, not while I was in high school).
Exercising is not hard for me to make time for, I LOVE it, that's why it's my job. However, in not working out for the last three months, I can really understand why moms don't do it. I have had SO MUCH TIME TO DO OTHER THINGS! I used to spend every morning at the gym and having those every 2 hours every day is a big deal when you have three kids. I also haven't been getting my good 7 hours of sleep every night, so that makes it tough to get up early and go for a run.
I am a pretty health conscious eater. I don't eat a lot of fast food, and I try to eat good proteins, fruits and vegetables, etc. But I'm going to tell you a secret. I don't like smoothies. I know. How can I call myself a Fitness and Wellness expert and not like smoothies???!!! Unless it's made of chocolate and peanut butter, I'm not a fan. This is why it's tough to get in a lot of fruits and veggies. I would rather eat my food than drink it. I'm sorry I haven't jumped on the smoothie bandwagon (my husband loves them and we even have a Vitamix). There you go, I'm not the perfect fitness professional.
There's no point in being healthy physically if you don't feel good spiritually and emotionally. This year I made the goal to read the entire Standard Works (Bible, Book of Mormon, D&C, and Pearl of Great Price) by the end of the year. I have kept up better than I thought I would have with the reading schedule I got from Motivated Mamas, and it has been really neat to read through the Old Testament. I have never done that before and I understand a lot more than I thought I would have. Although it's been tough since my baby came, making spiritual moments every day is just as important to my health as exercise.
Weekly posts:
Selfie: Probably my most vulnerable goal, but that's why I'm making myself do it.
Weight: 147 lbs. by August 1st (this is realistic people, not Biggest Loser style)
Cardio: Run a mile in under 7 minutes/ 10k (6.2 miles) under 50 minutes (also something I have accomplished before, but there is no way I could do that right now).
Strength: 20 push-ups on my toes without stopping and a 3-minute plank
Diet: Eat 5 fruits and vegetables every day and limit sugar intake (not sure if I want to make a specific goal or not on sugar, that's my weakness...)
Spiritual Moments: Read scriptures every day to finish the standard works by the end of the year as well as a few General Conference talks every week.
As a Fitness and Wellness professional, I often had clients tell me that I didn't understand what they were going through because I had never had to lose weight before. Well, here's 25 pounds and Project Momma.
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