When I got pregnant with Calli I had just started working out and running because I decided I was going to work on my health. My pregnancy and working out didn’t really jive so I quickly realized it wasn’t worth it to push myself. Fast forward to about 2 months ago and I decided to try and get back into the groove of working out and running again. Along the way I have learned a few things. I will start by saying, I am not a fitness professional. I am not offering professional advice. I am, however, sharing the things I learned and I think a lot of moms in my same position will benefit from it.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. And neither will a bikini body. It took you 9 months to grow that baby. You should give yourself at least that amount of time to get back in shape. Honestly, it took me to 5 months postpartum to even feel up to the task of adding a workout into my day. And you know what? THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT! Don’t feel like you need to be where you were before you had the baby any time soon after a baby. I know, Pinterest and Facebook were made to make moms hate themselves and feel inferior. I love Pinterest and Facebook as much as the next person but it isn’t hard to find enough material to make you feel like a failure. When you feel yourself falling down the slope, stop and walk away and accept that you don’t have to do it all in one day.
Have realistic expectations. I’m sorry to say, but for most of us our bodies won’t be the same. Yes, we all know those people who the day after they have a baby they look like they did the day they got pregnant. I have a really good friend like that. She is a sweetheart but I also want to give her a cellulite curse. For the rest of us that don’t have perfect genetics, you may not fit back into your old clothes again, even if you lose the weight. I technically am about the same weight I was when I got pregnant. Believe me, I do not fit as comfortably into my pre-pregnancy clothes.
Do whatever you need to motivate yourself. Let’s face it, we’re tired. We have a baby to take care of. Some of us are working. Some of us are the full-time home caretakers. That’s a shit ton of work. Whatever you need to make you workout and stick with it, do it. For me, I need competition and I need to feel like I’m cool. So I keep signing myself up for 5ks and I have a lot of nice running clothes and gear. These things keep me going and you know what, that’s okay. If you need a group of girlfriends to make it fun, excellent. Keep yourself going however you need to!
Your body has changed. I am not rehashing what I talked about previously. Things like feet grow and that can change your stride or how your foot lands. My feet grew a size and they got wider after my pregnancy. The wider part is what actually ended up hurting me. After getting back into working more and running I ended up hurting my knees so badly I could barely walk. I have extremely flat feet (I over pronate for the runners out there) and when they got wider it just made the situation worse. I ended up having to baby my hips, knees and feet for 2 weeks before I could get back to it. I went to a running store and they assessed my gait and matched me up with a shoe that is perfect for me. I highly recommend any woman do this after a pregnancy because you never know how much these things can change.
Find out what your reason for working out is and remind yourself of that. If you just feel like you’re supposed to do it because it’s what all the moms do, it won’t work. You have way more on your plate than you did before. If it’s your baby and you wanting to set a good example, super. If you want to get to that dream weight or get back to where you were, that’s some awesome motivation! My husband and I like to workout together. We remind each other and keep each other accountable. By reminding and keeping each other accountable I mean he reminds me and won’t let me flake on it. I truly believe you need some strong motivation to keep you moving even on the hard days. Find it, remind yourself of it often and keep kicking butt!
What are your post-baby workout pieces of advice that maybe I didn’t include? Or what helped you get back into the grove of things?
