Postpartum Health Journey

I wanted to give a little update on how I've been doing since having Sophia. She's 5 months old today 😍 and she is just the perfect addition to our family.

My postpartum recovery wasn't too bad since I had a pretty uncomplicated delivery. Adjusting to a brand new baby, nursing, and having 3 kiddos was definitely a challenge, but I had some wonderful help along the way. Exhaustion was obviously a big struggle, but it wasn't unexpected. We eventually got the hang of nursing which made nights a lot easier. Sophia actually started sleeping through the night (like ALL the way through the night) at around 6-7 weeks. Since she had reached her birth weight again I stopped waking her up to feed and let her sleep. This sounds great, but my supply took a hit, she struggled a bit gaining weight, and I actually got my first period at 2 months postpartum. Her getting RSV around that time also affected her weight. She's steadily gaining now, she's just super skinny. We still nurse ok, but my ability to pump enough has somewhat declined. Especially since she's pounding down 2-3 times as much as she did when she first started daycare. We're getting adjusted to it all, but it's been a struggle. She's back to waking up once a night to feed, but that's okay with me.

I was pretty lucky in that I only gained around 20 pounds with Sophia. After giving birth and because of nursing I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight at about 10 weeks. I had also started working out a couple of times a week with some ladies from church after my doctor gave me the go-ahead. I was pretty pumped about the weight coming off so quickly, but obviously I still had a bit of a belly, and I wanted to lose some more weight since I hadn't been happy with it even before I got pregnant. I tried a couple of things to safely shed some more of the weight, but I had pretty much stalled. That's where my friend Caroline's challenge group came in.

At the end of March she did a 5 day clean eating crockpot challenge. I jumped on board because I knew part of the problem was I was still eating whatever I wanted. I used the extra 500 calories I needed for nursing as an excuse, just like I did when I was pregnant. In reality, those 500 calories were mostly junk. Plus, who doesn't love a good crockpot recipe, especially with three very young kids? The group also challenged everyone to work out more. I had never worked out consistently, and it was hard to find the time on the days I worked so I think I managed 2 or 3 workouts that week, but I tried really hard to eat clean foods, not just with the crockpot meals, but also breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The goal is 80/20 - eating healthy, clean foods 80% of the time. Because life is too short not to have a small bit of chocolate every now and then, am I right. Because I had enjoyed the week so much (and lost a pound), I jumped onto the 3 week challenge she was holding in April.

It's fun to see the changes. (Ignore my grumpy face in the first ones. I'm sure I was running on very little sleep.)

During the next challenge I continued to expand my repertoire of clean meals (that my family would also eat), and I did much better working out consistently. The challenge group was more of a group of like-minded encouragers. They helped me push my limits, and rejoiced with me when I succeeded. The accountability of logging my workouts and posting pictures of my meals (good and bad) gave me what I needed to really get over that hump. Plus, now, it wasn't just about losing weight, but it was about getting healthy. Each week I had to write down my goals and my why. Keeping this in focus helped me when it got hard. I loved the group so much, that I joined the 3 week group for May as well, and I'm almost 2/3 through it right now.

During that first 3 week challenge I started feeling like I needed just a bit more help to get consistent workouts in and get all my daily nutrition. Caroline is a Beachbody coach, and I saw lots of other ladies in the group drinking Shakeology and doing the Beachbody workouts. There was no pressure to do so (and many in the group don't), but I decided to try it out myself. I signed up for a challenge pack which got me a year's access to Beachbody on Demand which is a digital library of ALL of Beachbody's workouts. I also got a month supply of Shakeology and the portion fix containers that some of the meal plans used. I jumped right in as soon as I got it all, and WOW did I love it. There's a bit of a learning curve at first (especially with the portion containers), but there was a huge difference in how I approached getting healthy. It wasn't a magic potion. It was an all-around system to help me reach my health goals. I've lost 9 pounds since starting that first challenge group, but most importantly, I feel better. I'm more confident in my clothes (but I'll have to buy new ones soon), and I have more energy to keep up with the kids (except on those 5 hours of sleep days). I'm still a work in progress, but I know that this isn't a fad diet, it truly is a change in my lifestyle.

Because of the success I've had with the Beachbody system, I've decided to become a coach as well! Not only can I get better access to the tools I need to reshape my life, I can help others do the same. Like the challenge groups have done for me, I really want to encourage others in their health journey. It's not some pill that they say lets you eat whatever you want because it magically burns the fat away. It's also not a diet that severely restricts what you can eat. Those things are often hard to sustain in the long run. This is something I can joyfully do for years to come, and hopefully I can help others do the same.

I plan on posting more health/fitness posts giving details about what I've done from recipes that even Lee will eat to how I've done with various workout programs. I'm also planning on being a part of more challenge groups. If you're interested in joining me on this fitness journey then feel free to shoot me a message. I'd love to just chat about it, no pressure. I'm not going to creepy cold-call your phone to convince you to try something, but I'll be available if anyone wants to jump on board. I want to say a special thanks to Caroline and the others in the challenge groups who have helped me really start my journey to becoming a healthier me.