Body Positive blog part 3 – My 10 week post natal body update
Tomorrow my daughter is 10 weeks old and so much has changed since my last body blog four weeks ago. I’m exercising more now because I’m ready for it and loving it too. I’m feeling stronger mentally and physically and my body has changed massively.
I’ve not been going nuts, but over the last few weeks, I’ve listened to my body, gradually implemented some more exercise and carried on eating very healthily (whilst still enjoying wine and some controlled indulgences!). My body is also starting to really recover from my pregnancy and c-section. I’m absolutely loving how I feel!
The way I feel as I’ve said before is more important to the way I look. But the main thing I’ve taken out of the last few weeks is that EXERCISE MAKES ME FEEL SO GOOD and ALWAYS POSITIVELY IMACTS my family, home life and work efficiency. I really need the escapism too and I look forward to training 🙂
I’m still getting up a few times a night with the baby and up until this week when my part time nanny started the kids/work/home juggle had been off the scale immense, so I have been tired. But I’ve created better energy with my mindset and happy disposition and the exercise has helped even more so.
So here’s what I’ve been up to!
I bought some short shorts – I have a pair of these exact shorts from last year that are a 12 but I bought the 14, they fit well and the power walking I’ve been doing has improved my leg strength and tone. I feel great wearing them and this picture was taken on the 6th May.
Started doing Pilates (in the garden too!) – Pilates I know is key for me to regain core strength and better posture. I’m doing the videos from my Tummy ATTACK bootcamp taught by FFAP trainer Jo and they are 10 minutes long, I do one or two of these a few times a week. As they can be downloaded, I’ve enjoyed doing these in my garden!
Happy wearing a bikini – I had a pool party with my boys a few weeks ago and although my body is NO where near how it was last time I wore one, I’m not going to let my post natal body get in the way of me having fun!
Power walking uphill with my 12lb baby in a sling – OMG this is such hardcore training and I’m doing this a couple of times a week. More for enjoyment than for fitness, but it’s definitely challenged my body!
Doing more videos with the help of my daughter – On a warm afternoon when the twins are bounding on the trampoline, I get the baby, a blanket and laptop out and do what I can. I’m the queen of multi-tasking now but I have to say the online videos are a saving grace for new Mums who want to get fit again!
Doing lots of dancing with the kids – As a way to get extra activity in, I’ve got Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t stop the feeling’, ‘Up Town Funk’ and ‘Cake by the Ocean Road’ taped on MTV and on my Iphone playlist. We all go nuts for 10-15 minutes at least once a day. A mood booster and mini calorie burner!
Bowling and swimming – As a single Mum days out by yourself with twins and a new born is serious stuff! And I’m telling you, it burns a lot of calories, ha ha! Here I am feeding the baby and bowling and then after lunch we all went swimming together.
In the pool, I do some basic aqua moves whilst she is in her baby rubber ring and the boys are playing sharks. Here we are just about to hit the pool!
More Pilates – I’ve worked out how to get more exercise into my morning routine which is just to crack on with my workouts in the middle of the chaos regardless. Ten or twenty minutes is all it takes and as you can see my children like to join in!
Trampolining – We have a 12ft trampoline in our drive way which overlooks the valley where I live and I’ve created a couple of trampoline routines to my favourite tunes that include things like jumping jacks, twists, normal jumps, high jumps, side to side jumps and mini tuck jumps. One advantage to having a c-sec is I have no pelvic floor issues, so I can jump away! I love the sense of freedom it gives me and it’s a really hard (but fun!) workout. I do 25 minutes whilst the baby sleeps in the pram nearby! Here I am having lots of fitness fun in the sun…
Back running! Yesterday I felt like I was ready to run so I went across the farms and fields and did 2 x 10 minute running blocks around some fast power walking. OMG I LOVED IT! It was so good to be moving like that again after 11 months off and the rain at the end made it even more enjoyable. I’m taking it easy as my hip flexors are tight and my pelvis and lower back aren’t aligned as well as they good be. But I’ll be strengthening and stretching these and will increase it gradually.
Again I must stress, this is all about how I feel rather than how I look like. But I am back into my pregnancy workout trousers easily and last night could get in my fitted black trousers I wore all last summer (albeit they are a little tight and don’t look as good as they used to – YET!).
So with my body changing so much and my fitness levels going up, you’d think I’d have dropped lots more weight on the scales but in fact I haven’t.
I have gone down from weighing 12 stones 10, four weeks ago to weighing 12 stones 7 now. So essentially I still officially have about 1.5 stones to lose (if I was aiming to be exactly what I was as the super fit me a couple of weeks before I became pregnant – which I’m not really at this stage as that was my body at it’s very best that took LOADS of time and effort to get!). When I shared these figures with a client she said “Aren’t your disheartened that you haven’t lost more in four weeks?”.
Now this is really important for you all to understand…. I am not eating well and exercising for weight loss.! I eat healthily because it makes me feel good, I love healthy eating and I want to live long. And my healthy eating is balanced with some nice wine and things like a weekly burger and fries…
I’m exercising for ME time and because it makes me feel good over what it makes me look like and weigh. Scales do NOT matter to me in the slightest and unlike some women I don’t think “What’s the point?!” if I’m exercising more and eating healthily and the scales don’t budge much. They will, as and when my body is ready and as I continue to be consistent with my food and fitness. I’m committed to be fit for life and when you do this, you don’t need a number on the scales to help you feel successful. Success for me is feeling great and doing things regularly that enhance by body and mind with a self-care approach which is exactly where I’m at.
I couldn’t have made the body progress I have though without the flexibility of doing my online videos and remember when you do one of my programs you get to keep all resources for life!
My online bootcamps (choose from Tummy ATTACK, Best Body & the SugarHIIT), run all year round. Up and coming dates include: Monday 6th June, Monday 4th July, Monday 1st August and Monday 12th September. For more info and to book your place visit HERE.
Hope this blog finds you happy and healthy!
Janey x
