Travel Often

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” — Rosalia de Castro

Love Deeply, but Laugh Along the Way

"Happiness is only real when shared." - Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

View Marriage as an Adventure

"Love is a flower which turns into fruit at marriage." ~Finnish Proverb

Fuel your body with GOOD (It's the only one you get)

He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything. - Arabian Proverb

Open your Soul to Motherhood

A Grand Adventure is About to Begin - Winnie the Pooh

A New Kind of Love is Born

Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Body After Baby #2, Maternity Leave Health and Fitnesss Challenge

Who wants to join in the fun?

For those of you who know me, you know that I'm a bit of a health and fitness nut. I love it. Instead of minoring in advertising or marketing like most people with a speech communications degree, I minored in health. I received a lot of furrowed brows for that decision, but I knew that is where my heart was. Best choice ever because those classes NEVER felt like classes or homework or extra stress to me. I loved them.
Post baby body - Entering Week 2


Granted, I'm now a Marketing and Communications Manager for a company that distributes compressed air systems and pneumatic components (say what?) but I get to be a health coach on the side and have fallen madly in love.

With that said, I just had our second son (who I'm also madly in love with and enjoying every cuddle and snuggle and yes, even those LATE night cries just because I *think* this is our last). Don't read into that too much. We're only on week 2 here! Still on my adrenaline high.

During my pregnancy I stayed VERY active. I ate VERY clean. And had the best labor ever. If I could have that labor and delivery every time, I'm sure I'd have those 5 kids our pastor talked about during our wedding sermon.

I have learned the kinder I am to my body, the kinder it is to me. And so I plan to continue this way of life.

I know bad things can happen to even the healthiest of people. But most illnesses are 85% preventable just by taking care of ourselves. This is so important to me because my family's heart history and history of strokes. I want to be around for a very long time and FEEL my best always.

Sometimes the cost of gym memberships or health programs can be a little pricey upfront, but in the end, we end up seeing the doctor less, we take less prescriptions, we spend more time ENJOYING life. There is no price tag to be put on good health.

I want to help others like you to TAKE CARE of YOURSELF by encouraging and motivating and inspiring you to work out, eat better and be more grateful for even the smallest things in your life. Being grateful helps eliminate the toxicity and stress in our lives and helps us focus on the GOOD.

Starting November 3 I will be holding a CLOSED Health and Fitness accountability group on Facebook for all of you looking to GET HEALTHY and FIT with me! I'm going to need YOU and YOUR support and much as you will need mine!

The purpose of showing you my photos isn't to throw my body in your face.  I know that EVERY single person has their own story and nobody's body type is the same. It's to say...hey, I had a baby. My body isn't perfect. But I took care of it and had a really great pregnancy. Now, I want to continue having this new-found energy and get myself to a place where I can feel (and look) great in my clothes, where I can be THE BEST mom and simply feel AWESOME.

My goal was to only gain 35 pounds with my second pregnancy. I gained 45 pounds. I'm OK with this BECAUSE I felt really great once I hit second trimester. My energy levels were through the roof. I was able to work all the way up until our son came. I was able to move us into a new home. I was able to sleep great. I was able to do PiYo up until week 38. I rode a bike until week 36. I did stair climber all the way until two days before I delivered. Like I said, be kind to your body and it'll be kind back to you. LISTEN to what it's telling you.

Before Pregnancy
I started at 145 pounds
5'10"

Once I found out I was pregnant
143 pounds (didn't feel the best)
5'10"

Right before I gave birth 
190 pounds
5'10"

The week after I had Nathan
168 pounds
5'10"

168 pounds (you like that mouth guard? I know you're peeking at all the stuff on our counter top!)



The week of the November 3 Challenge Group (TBD!)
______ Pounds
5'10"
______ Right Arm
______ Left Arm
______ Right Thigh
______ Left Thigh
______ Waist
______ Hips
______ Chest

My #1 GOAL by the end of January 2015
FEEL MY BEST.

I'm a busy mom. Just because I had a baby, my world is not going to slow down or stop. I know a few of you are thinking...REST, WOMAN!!! Trust, me. I am doing the best I can, especially during all those nursing sessions. I stare and stare and stare at Nathan. How on earth are these adorable little boys mine???

But let's talk reality. Just because I had a baby doesn't mean I get to nap all day. I still have to feed my family. I still have to do laundry. I still have to clean our house and play trains and trucks and scoop up all the leaves with a front end loader and drop each leaf in a dump truck one by one. I still have to manage nursing while wiping my 2.5 year old's butt. I have to remain calm during a full on tantrum. I have to pay bills. I have to manage my time VERY wisely. This is a life of a mom. Instead of crawling through every hour and thinking about how badly I need my bed or just going through the motions and making poor choices, I want to be energized, alert and ENJOY every one of them.

And I feel this way when I get enough sleep (work-in-progress right now!), drink enough water, get a 30-minute workout in, eat really healthy (every 2-3 hours), get my healthy dose of vitamins (superfood), meal prep and know that I'm doing my best and giving the best of me to my family. They deserve this! I DESERVE THIS.

MY "NUMBER" GOAL:
Numbers don't reflect EVERYTHING. But I do want to drop the last 20 pounds by the end of my January challenge group. That gives me THREE whole months. A healthy weight loss should be about 1-2 pounds a week (where it won't come back). I don't necessarily want to focus TOO much on weight but more on inches and how I'm feeling. I'm nursing right now and the last thing I want is to mess with my milk production. Consuming lots of oats and avocados and water over here! The minute it goes down, is the minute I figure out what's going on in my diet and life.

If you notice my pictures, I need to TONE up in some areas. So if I can slip into my work pants (and some shirts) by the time I go back to working full-time, I will be one happy mama! But I also know it took my body 9/10 months to create sweet Nathan, so if it takes that long to bounce back, so be it. I'm listening to what my body is telling me. Again, I want to FEEL my best. Numbers don't always reflect that!

MY WORKOUT PLAN:
November

  • A 30-minute walk 5-days a week until I know my body is ready for more. Or 25 minutes on the elliptical (depending on weather). My doctor gave me the OK to work out like I normally would after week 2 since I've been so active throughout. It's NEEDED for my mental health.
  • Introduce PiYo again and follow the workout plan that came with my challenge pack. PiYo is a mixture of pilates, yoga and sculpt with a TON of sweating. Think squats and lunges and push ups, sit ups, tricep dips, BURPEES etc. No jumping. (It's pretty much awesome)
  • I put my gym membership on freeze because I can't take my baby in with me until he's 3 months old. So I'm not about to pay the monthly fee. All it took was a note from the doctor and they totally freeze the invoices. 
  • Check in every day to my closed challenge group and let them know what I'm doing and find out what others are doing! Keep things FRESH and FUN.


December

  • PiYo and Les Mills Pump (this is a light weight lifting program done 3x a week in the comfort of my own home!)
  • Elliptical 
  • Check in every day to my closed challenge group and let them know what I'm doing and find out what others are doing! Keep things FRESH and FUN!


January

  • Will pick another Beachbody workout program (probably T25 since Karl is doing that now and wants to see how coordinated I am) and it's a quick 25 minutes and can be done in our house! 
  • Check in every day to my closed challenge group and let them know what I'm doing and find out what others are doing! Keep things FRESH and FUN!


NUTRITION
I don't know about you but I get the best results when I pair nutrition with fitness.

  • I plan to run a 5-day Clean Eating Group every month. We try to eat clean for the most part so this isn't extra work for me. 
  • I plan to meal plan every Sunday so I'm ready for the week and can only make healthy smart choices (I will be encouraging all my challengers to meal prep for the week as well!) I've noticed it's MUCH harder to eat healthier while at home than work. I pack what I need when I'm at work. At home, snacks are much more available. I have to meal prep, so this isn't extra work for me either. If I want us eating right throughout the week, meal prep is THE ONLY WAY.


So now that I've put my body out there, as well as my goals, you get to hold me accountable. Zoiks. I know you'll be watching and wondering how I'm doing. I'm READY though!!!

What about YOU though? Why don't you join me?? I can promise it'll be a TON of fun and you'll be THRILLED with the results. It's time to feel YOUR BEST, don't you think? NO MORE EXCUSES!!!! November 3 is GO TIME!!!

Let's DO THIS!!!!!!

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