From trying to conceive, to pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond
A few years ago, my husband and I began to talk about starting a family and my biggest focus began to be my personal health. I wanted to have a strong body so I could have a healthy pregnancy for our child. We joined a gym, I completed the Whole30 again, and I quit a few other vices that I knew were holding me back from my optimal health. My fitness goal that year, besides running a mile without stopping, was to be able to do at least 1 unassisted pull up. We started at the new year, and by Mid-March, I had accomplished that goal and felt my body was getting to the strength I knew it could.
We traveled to Italy at the end of March for our big trip to signify the start of “trying to conceive”. We came back from that trip and I was so ready to continue my health journey and continue to push my body to be the best it could be. Little did we know, a little someone was already starting to brew inside. I spent the next 9 months, with the biggest body changes of my life.
I thoroughly enjoyed those next 9 months by throwing myself into/researching the changes my body and that of our unborn baby’s body were going through. I indulged when I felt like it and I gained the amount of pounds that are on the upper level of the healthy amount. I felt great…until those last few weeks of course, if you have ever been pregnant, you understand…those are the weeks you are so ready to meet that baby and GET THEM OUT! There were times, especially at the end, that I watched the scale a little too closely. I wasn’t always happy looking in the mirror but I was so proud of what my body was accomplishing, I was growing a human!! Then the day came and went in which my daughter was born, and yet, I was stuck in a body I wasn’t familiar with.
Throughout the next few months, I had to dig deep to feel confident and love my body again. Some days, that was super easy when I looked at my daughter and other days, I would quietly sob at the sight of my reflection in the mirror. It helped me to remember that not only did I grow and carry a child but I had birthed her and that made me feel so strong and empowered. That has pushed me to accomplish fitness goals to this day, when I feel like I can’t run that extra half a mile, I remind myself of the labor I went through and I give myself a pep talk and run on, sometimes with a little extra speed too
That was over two years ago and my fitness and health goals have only grown. The beginning of my postpartum was focused on healing, as it should be, and small amounts of activity like getting outside on daily walks. That was it! I didn’t focus on looking good in a bikini again or even fitting into my favorite skinny jeans, I just wanted to make sure I was healthy so I could take care of my daughter and myself. Eventually, that turned into, “ok, I got this new body thing, let’s see what it can do”. That’s where everything changed.
I began to run, slowly, and incorporated some strength training to my routine which began to bring some results. I felt strong again, my mind felt awake, and I felt like I was showing my daughter how to live more optimally. That is the mindset I have continued to bring to my fitness and diet goals.
I run because I enjoy it, I workout because I love to see how far I can push my body, I eat healthy because I like the way it makes me feel. I do all these things in front of my daughter to show her what she is also capable of and what a well rounded life can look like.
I know it can be hard to find time and energy to live a healthy lifestyle but know that if you put in the work now, that time you put into it will translate into more energy to accomplish it. It will also become part of your normal routine and you won’t think about any other way to live, this is what feels natural to you. There is also something motivating about catching a glimpse of your toned muscles in a mirror for the first time and realizing you are making progress. Keep at it!!
Whole Health Momma 