Postpartum Fitness: Part 1

I will definitely regret allowing this photo on the internet forever.

I call this one, "Dayum, I really need to buy some foundation to match my fake tan." 

I have been so nervous about sharing ALL of the above photos. The first one for obvious reasons...I mean...no. Why am I so pasty? And why is my hair so fluorescent yellow?! Also, MY BOOBS. They're not even boobs. They're just milk machines here. Ughh. The first pic was taken about a week after having Eli (as you can tell by the exhausted 'please kill me' look on my face). You can still see the sticky glue where the contraction monitor was stuck to my side in the hospital haha! The second two because...ugh I dunno, I had to be all posey and "look at mah bodeh." I'm so sorry.

Rant over. Now...

Since having Eli, I have been totally flattered by the many compliments from many lovely people about getting back into shape (by the way, I only now fully appreciate the term 'getting back into shape' - seeing as after you have a baby, your body doesn't so much have a shape as just kind of exist gelatinously) and I would just like to say thank you to all of you who have said so. I've also had a lot of questions about how exactly I got back into shape, and so instead of answering everyone individually, I thought I would just write a post (or 3) about it!

I mentioned in a few posts back that I had a tough time finding the energy and motivation to work out since having the bambini. So because of this, I really had to maximize my workouts when I did actually do them, and I adjusted A) the way I thought about food and fitness and B) what and how much I was eating. A lot of the weight coming off was due to just general running around after the wee man, and the workouts I managed to get done when I could, but the rest of it was because of what I ate, and how I ate it. What your body looks like depends 70% on diet, 30% on exercise, and you can drastically change what your body looks like just by starting off with what you eat. Workouts are the cherry on top. I'm going to talk more about diet and workouts in the next posts, but for now I'm going to stick with explaining how I used four straightforward rules to adjust my thoughts around food and working out.

Setting your mind on getting back into shape after having a baby is hard. In my opinion, I would just not even think about it for the first three months postpartum. I know your body is allowed work out 6 weeks after, but your postpartum mental health is also extremely important and adding additional stress or pressure to start dieting and working out when you're sleep deprived and your life is upside down can be a bit much. For the first 3 months, don't cut any calories, eat lots of nutritious meals and go for lots of nice long walks with your new baba.

So, I'm starting out soft on you guys by just talking about the attitude adjustment, and will move on to more detail in diet and workouts in the next two parts of the series. For now though, here are the four simple rules I live by and keep my feet on the ground when it comes to getting in shape post baby. These rules help me maintain a healthy attitude rather than just going crazy with working out and dieting and then just burning myself out.

1. Full-time fitness modeling is not my job, therefore I shouldn't act like it is.
There's no need to starve myself, not eat certain foods if I want them, or think that I need to spend 14 hours a week in the gym. I'm not getting paid to look good (unfortunately) and at the end of the day you should be doing this for yourself, no one else, because if you're doing it for your husband/boyfriend/whatever else then you're going to find it a lot harder to maintain and stay motivated.

2.  Food is fuel.
This is a hard one for some people, but the more you view your food as simple nutrition and energy that your body needs, rather than something you 'deserve', the easier it will be to choose healthy options and stop eating emotionally.  Food is just food, and doesn't deserve any more attention than that. You shouldn't spend that much time thinking about food, and if I find that I am thinking about it a little obsessively, it's usually because I'm depriving myself, so I go eat a damn sandwich and have a square of chocolate and tell myself to chillllll.

3. Accept that your body shape is your body shape.
For so long I really wanted a more muscular and 'fit' type of body, and I might be able to get it with a few years' dedication, exercise, and tailored nutrition, but y'know what? That's just not gonna happen. I have to accept that I'm just slightly on the petite side and my trunk will just never have that much junk. Sad, but true. Accept your shape for what it is and accentuate your good parts!


4. Don't be afraid of a little bit of hunger.
This may seem a little controversial to some people, but I feel like people need to calm down a little, and not feel like they have to be constantly full to the brim with food in order to be satisfied. You don't have to be full and bursting after every meal. If you're eating the right foods it can really help you feel fuller for longer, but that doesn't mean you should eat as much as you want of 'healthy' food until you're stuffed. Make sure you feel satisfied without feeling full and then just stop eating. You're not going to die, and you won't get that big food baby bloat that makes you feel like you've gained 1000 pounds after one meal, which can really mess with your head.

Once those four things are kind of firmly in your head, it makes it so much easier to deal with healthy living and eating in every day life. These 4 rules take the stress and anxiety out of eating and body image for me, which is half the battle in my opinion. Once any kind of stress or anxiety is removed from the situation, it just feels easier, which is always good when you have enough stress with a bambini! I want to reiterate that I am NOT an expert, I don't think I have the perfect body and I still have major body hang ups like every one else!

I hope you guys' have taken away even something small from this post that might help you with getting on track!

Happy Monday :)



SIDE NOTE: The last thing I want to do is come across as all like, "ohhh gurl you gotta get your post-baby body back, you have to lose the baby weight omg" because I know a lot of women that are just perfectly happy with their stretch marks and baby bellies and you know what, more power to you if you're one of them! I personally just feel better and more myself when I'm staying active and trying to eat well.