So today, I'm going to talk about my fitness. I have been exercising more recently. And I believe that it is because of this that I do not get sick as often as I used to.
I know everyone is different. Everyone has a different body shape & size. Some things that work for me (like diet, workouts, supplements, etc) might not work for you. I have friends who have just given birth and they are back to their pre-pregnancy weight. But I also have friends who have a hard time losing all that pregnancy weight.
Let me start with this: numbers do not matter.
I know how cliche that sounds, but trust me. They do not matter. At least, that shouldn't be your motivation for your fitness.
When I was in grade school, I was a big kid. But I wasn't fat with bulging flabs. I was taller and much heavy boned than other kids my age. When I got to college, I grew into that body size. I was considered "pretty" and it made me more confident.
When I was pregnant with my first son, I lost all the pregnancy weight almost immediately. I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight in no time. But something changed with my body. My hips seemed bigger and my tummy lost all it's muscles (nope, I did not have 6-pack abs) - what I meant was my core muscles were way weaker. And like I said, numbers do not matter. Because even if my weight was back to normal, my core lost it's muscles which made my tummy less tight and thus, I had a muffin top. I was okay with my body then, because at least the scale told me I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight.
But then I got pregnant with my second son, and boom. There goes all my self-confidence. I gained way more in this pregnancy than I did with my previous one. I got stretch marks (which I didn't with my first son). And I haven't lost all those pounds until now (9 months postpartum). I have never been this heavy my entire life. And it has affected my self-confidence a lot.
This photo was taken when I was 7 or 8 months pregnant with my second son.
That was until September 2014, my sister-in-law got me to go zumba one Sunday morning. It was fun. I was never a good dancer, but I enjoyed this because I "felt" like a good dancer. It was around the same month when my husband did a fitness challenge at work. I support him in (almost) everything he does. So when he did this fitness challenge, I tried it too. We ate healthy. We avoided junk food. And we went to the gym. When he won this challenge, it motivated me even more. Because I was seeing results in my own progress (even if they were little). I felt like a winner too.
First Pregnancy:
Pre-pregnancy weight (April 2012) - 127.8lbs
Delivery day weight (December 2012) - 154.3lbs
6 weeks Postpartum (February 2013) - 130lbs
Second Pregnancy:
Pre-pregnancy weight (August 2013) - 130.6lbs
Delivery day (April 2014) - 161lbs
6 weeks Postpartum (June 2014) - 142.6lbs
Latest weight check (January 2015) - 133lbs
As you can see, I am losing weight. With my first son, I just breastfed him and I lost almost all the weight without the need to eat less (in fact, I even ate more during this time) or workout. With my second son, just breastfeeding isn't enough.
I tried a slow carb diet. Basically, I cut out carbs for dinner. I have a spinach & cheese omelette for breakfast every day. I even have toast sometimes too, if I'm super hungry. And coffee, never forget coffee. I eat rice with whatever meat/veggies for lunch. I have snacks in between meals like yogurt or ice-cream, chocolates and yes, sometimes, chips (guilty). But I have this slow carb recipe for dinner. And it works great for me. When I don't have the needed ingredients on hand for that slow carb recipe, I opt for any meal without carbs - like a cesar salad. And workout whenever I can. I go swimming. I go biking. I did zumba a couple of times. I dance with my kids for 30 minutes (non-stop) when we're snowed in. Yes, just moving a lot around the house even helps. I've recently joined a kickboxing class. And I have that Nike Fit app to workout with at home. I do that every other day.
I'm getting results (although, it's very slow). At least, I'm getting there. The number on the scale frustrates me because I'm breastfeed. I have a ton of water in my body. Therefore, my weight fluctuates a lot. The number on the scale is just a tiny part of my journey. I have bigger & better goals regarding my fitness that I want to achieve this year. But I'll keep it personal for now. And I'll share it when I'm ready - like I did with this post.
So here I am, a few pounds to go before my pre-pregnancy weight. This is only a milestone. I'm aiming higher for my health this year. I'm slowing easing into my new lifestyle, like this new found love for kickboxing or that Nike training app. I love the adrenaline. I love the challenge. And sometimes, it's the only way for me to destress. (Cuz you know, I don't smoke, drink, or party.)
I wanted to do a before & after photo. But apparently, I couldn't find a single photo of myself when I looked like a whale. It just shows how self-concious I was about my body. I probably deleted all the photos that made me look fat. I couldn't find one. So, I'll start with this photo. Stretch marks, bulging fats and all - but I feel 10x better & stronger than I used to.
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