I recently came across a photo of myself from my wedding almost 10 years ago. I was 21 years old, not a wrinkle or gray hair…and um wow, I was SO thin! As I sit here now, a month postpartum with my fifth baby, it would be too easy to beat myself up with criticism and comparisons: “I’ll never lose this weight. I’m too fat for my ‘fat’ pants.” “Look how skinny that new mom is..why didn’t I work out more while I was pregnant?” “Will I ever look like that again?” In the past, I’ve been more belittling to myself than I would like to admit. This time around, I’m giving myself a lot of grace.
The truth is, I don’t want to be skinny like I was at 21. I want to be a 30-year-old mother of five who is challenging herself to be the best she can be. In the upcoming months, I hope to lose the baby weight, gain lots of muscle, run races and try lots of new exercises. I want to be an athlete.
So with those goals in mind, this is my plan:
NUTRITION
+ Track my food.
I found a few calculators online to help me determine how many calories I should be consuming while nursing. Using that number, I plan to track my food for about a week. (I don’t like to track for very long because I think it can easily become an obsessive behavior.) That will give me an idea about how much food I should be eating and help me to make a few go-to menu plans.
+ Reduce my sugar intake.
I’ll be taking tips from the No Sugar January challenge from earlier this year.
+ Drink lots of water.
I’m notoriously bad at this. I have this plastic mason jar and I’m going to be more conscious of keeping it filled up and available throughout the day.
+ Plan and prep my meals.
I need a plan. Without it, I scrounge around, looking for anything easily ingested with one hand. So along with my weekly meal planning (using my favorite notepad!) for the entire family, I will also be making a list of healthy choices for me. Sunday nights will be prep time: breakfast burritos for the freezer, veggies and cheese chopped for snacking, etc.
FITNESS
+ 10,000+ steps daily.
I use a Fitbit One to track my steps and it’s so helpful. I want to get in 10,000 steps minimum, but hopefully work up to more like 15,000.
+ Do a combination of walking and running.
From two weeks postpartum, I made an effort to walk almost everyday. Now I am starting the Couch25K program, which will hopefully help ease me back into running.
+ Add in the weights.
I love weight training, but for some reason, struggle with consistency. I’m going to research some programs and see what sticks.
+ Try new exercises.
I am going through this postpartum workout DVD, but can’t wait to try a few new things. A few exercises I’ve been considering: Jillian’s 30 Day Shred, pilates, Kickboxing Bootcamp, or maybe another round of Insanity.
+ Include the kids sometimes.
Exercise is good for all of us!
SELF CARE
+ Take 30 minutes everyday to do something just for me.
What are your favorite ways to stay healthy? Do you have a great workout website or DVD you can recommend to me? I’m up for trying anything!
With five kids, how do you fit 30 min for yourself? Who watches the kids for This half hour? How do you manage it? Does bath count into this half hour?
Great question! I guess I should say that just because I'm carving out time for myself, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm alone! Self care could mean anything from reading a book to painting my nails to calling a friend…all of which I can easily do with the kids around. If I need time without my kids, I'll usually wait until after putting them to bed. Either way, I think it's important to carve a little bit of time out of my day to explore my own interests and unwind a bit. Hope that answers your question!
it does answer, but it doesnt solve my issue. If you have kids around, dont they ask for something all the time? how can you polish your nails if you have ta get up every 2 min to help one child? or are they just well behaved, you say "me time now" and everybody just gets away of you? how can you concentrate into something yours (for example, being wet in the shower for 20 min), knowing that you wont be interrupted? I was interrupted three times while writing this comment!!!
I totally understand what you're saying. I'm not sure what ages you have at home, but my oldest three are at great ages (8, 6 and 4) where I can say it's everyone's "quiet time" and for the most part, they play happily without me. My two-year-old is harder…sometimes she plays with her brothers, sometimes she sticks by me. Some days aren't perfect, but I keep trying in the hopes that it becomes a regular part of our routine!
my kids are 6, 4 and 2, and im pregnant. quiet time doesnt work, i cant put them apart. sometimes they do play all well together, sometimes not. it doesnt depend on me, it depends on… whatever, I never know. My oldest one is the trouble maker. I'm tempted to think that Im doing something wrong, but I wont surrender and think that my parenting is bad just because mu kids cant get "quiet time". Lets just say that my parenting is different than yours… and it will settle down my heart onto this matter… thank you for sharing with me!
You are definitely not doing anything wrong! I think quiet time works better for certain personalities…I have two sons who could play on their own for hours, no problem. My second son, on the other hand, gets easily bored and then starts trouble, hah! Sometimes I set out markers and paper and will have him work along side me, so he leaves his siblings alone. Please know that I'm in the same boat as you…just trying to figure it out as I go!
lovely! thanks!
I'm impressed with your plan and how rational it is. I think each time it's a little harder to "bounce back" but it's so good to be gentle with yourself!
I totally agree! The whole "the pounds melted away just by nursing!" only worked with baby #1, hah!