This post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC on behalf of Reebok as part of the Body After Baby series.
My little peanut is 4 months old today! Holy moly, time is flying!
This is my final blog post in the Body After Baby series, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my postpartum weight loss and fitness journey. Ok, let’s get right to it because I have a sweeeeet giveaway for you guys!
MY WEIGHT
My pre-pregnancy weight: 130-133
My weight at 41 weeks pregnant: 172
My weight 1 week postpartum: 152
My weight 2 weeks postpartum: 145
My weight 1 month postpartum: 142
My weight 2 months postpartum: 140
My weight 3 months postpartum: 137
My weight 4 months postpartum: 133
As you can see, I’m back at my pregnancy weight, which is great and wonderful and all that jazz, but I’m surprised that I’m not more happy about it. Well, of course, I am happy about it (hello, my clothes fit again!), but I thought I’d feel more… thrilled? excited? proud? I dunno. I remember losing 25 pounds after college, and it was one of the best feelings and accomplishments of my life. I guess it’s just not the same this time. Let me explain…
Right after I had Quinn, I was on a mission to lose the baby weight. I ate healthier and documented my meals on CNC. I moved as much as possible and started back at CrossFit just 5 weeks after giving birth. But, as the weeks and months passed, losing weight became less and less important to me. (I couldn’t even bring myself to track calories on a regular basis!) It just wasn’t a top priority for me anymore.
So, what happened? I fell more and more in love with Quinn and my attention moved from me (and weight loss) to him. Obviously, I didn’t throw in the towel with healthy eating and exercise all together, but I focused more on enjoying Quinn and our time together. I started to listen to my body and ate when I was hungry, like it the middle of the night after I nursed him. (Oh, so much cereal!) I also gave into my cravings on a regular basis (i.e. egg and cheese sandwiches with extra bacon for breakfast just about every morning and donuts whenever I bought an iced coffee at the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru). Basically, I ate what made me happy, and I didn’t stress about it. Of course, I ate plenty of nutritious foods too (I’m breastfeeding after all), so when I mixed mostly healthy eating with lots of nursing and regular workouts, the weight came off. And I absolutely, 100% believe staying active during my pregnancy helped the pounds come off too.
PROGRESS PICS
When I was pregnant and my belly was massive, I really didn’t think my stomach would ever be flat again. I just thought losing it was all part of having a baby. Well, to my surprise, things went right back to where they once were! Again, I think regular exercise during my pregnancy helped make this happen. I never let my body get out of shape, so it bounced right back.
MY FITNESS LEVEL
I’m feeling great! I’m getting stronger at CrossFit and using most of my pre-pregnancy weights in workouts once again. Upper body stuff is pretty much back to normal, but lower body and core stuff are still coming along. When I was pregnant, I went lighter on lower body movements and nixed a lot of the core stuff, so it makes sense that it’s taking a little more time and effort to get them back. They’re coming along though, and I have a feeling I’ll be back to my old self at CrossFit in the next couple of months.
As far as running goes, it is coming along too. I’m comfortable running 3 or 4 miles without stopping at a pretty good pace, but I’ve experienced some lower back pain when I run longer distances. I assume it’s related to pregnancy, so maybe it’ll work itself out as time progresses and I get stronger on my runs? I sure hope so. In the meantime, I’m choosing to run slower and just taking it day-by-day and run-by-run. I just need to keep at it and stick to a consistent running routine.
Outfit: Studio Burnout Crew Tee/CrossFit Chase Capri/CrossFit Nano 4.0/JUNK Flex Tie Headband
REVIEW OF LAST MONTH’S GOALS
Sunday meal prep – Yes! We rocked the meal prep last month. Sometimes our meals weren’t very exciting (lots of chicken + veggies and crockpot meals), but we ate pretty healthy thanks to Sunday meal prep.
Make a workout plan for each week – Yes! Mal and I coordinated each week, so we were able to fit in our usual workouts.
Register for a 10K – Yes! I finally registered. The race is at the end of the month. Woohoo!
Giveaway time!
Since this is my final post in the Body After Baby series, Reebok offered to give away some really awesome prizes on CNC. Listen to this: FOUR lucky winners will each win a pair of Skyscapes AND a pair of ZQUICK Electrify! That’s right, two pairs of shoes for each winner! How awesome is that!?! You definitely want to enter this one!
To enter: Just click over to Reebok, check out the Skyscapes and ZQUICK Electrify, and leave a comment on this post about which colors/styles you like best. I will randomly pick FOUR winners on Tuesday!
Good luck!
