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weight loss

Postpartum Health + Fitness After Baby # 2 //

May 31, 2017 by Rachel 27 Comments

Real talk: Postpartum health and fitness after one baby felt like a breeze. Postpartum health and fitness with a toddler and terrible newborn?? It feels impossible. Well, it felt impossible…

I know, I know — I’ve heard that we make time for things that are important. And if health and fitness are important, you do whatcha gotta do.

But here’s the thing — I tried really, really, hard to live by the motto “DO NOT COMPARE YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS JOURNEY AND YOUR LIFE WITH OTHER PEOPLES.”

For me, I’m telling you, it was impossible to workout and focus on eating healthy in Remy’s first year. I was in full-on survival mode. She didn’t sleep, like, at all. No, I’m not just saying that. If you’ve followed this blog at all over the last year you’ll know she legit did not sleep. 2 hours of broken sleep in a 24-hour period. So I was a zombie. I wasn’t even on Mom-bie level; I was a straight-up emotional wreck without being able to comprehend how to perform normal daily tasks, let alone focus on myself. Heck, I was lucky to make it to the end of the day with all of us alive and well(ish).

I was so tired of hearing well-meaning(ish) people saying “You just have to make time for it.” Because, here’s the thing — I know how good it feels to work out. I really do. I spent the better part of my life in a full-on obsession with eating super healthy and working out 2.5-3 hours a day (yep – you read that right… 3 hours of working out a day). So I know how awesome endorphins feel. And, yes, I craved them. It just wasn’t in the cards for me the first year. I’m really and truly lucky that I didn’t end up hospitalized for postpartum psychosis (I had severe PPD/anxiety, but not psychosis — I know this because I was lucid enough to make the decision to hand my children off when I was at my breaking point).

But then, right around Remy Bea’s first birthday, something magical happened — she began to sleep. She was acting like a normal baby. And I could regain some sort of (new) normalcy back into my life.

It changed everything for me. Not only was I able to hold conversations and laugh again, but I wanted to start working out again!

Here’s what’s been working for me in this moment:

Weight Watchers  //

About 8 weeks ago I got an email from Weight Watchers with an offer that I just couldn’t pass up — but it required a year commitment. And, truthfully? that’s exactly what I needed to kick my butt in the right direction. In my mind, if I commit to one year, then I will be able to make the changes that I need to make and stick to it.

I was successfully with Weight Watchers after Ari was born because it doesn’t require calorie counting. See, I get obsessed with calorie counting — and not in a good way! And in the short amount of time I’ve been back on WW, I’ve already seen weight loss and other non-scale victories!

I really like weight watchers because there is some flexibility. Instead of focusing on each day, I focus on the week. It really focuses on the lifestyle change and creating balance instead of a ‘diet.’

Switching it up  //

The first time around I only did one thing, fitness-wise, to get back into shape: running. It really was the best option for me at the time because I had an hour lunch break at work and a running path right outside the door. So I would lace up and head out during the one hour of the day when I didn’t have my kids and I wasn’t busy working.

But this time, running is… difficult. I’ve been trying to still catch up on sleep, so waking up at the butt-crack of dawn to hit the road while the kids and husband are still sleeping isn’t going to happen. So I have been squeezing in time to work out at the YMCA when I’m not working (which is pretty much always). And instead of going for distance and speed, I’m focusing my treadmill efforts on intervals and incline.

 

Post-workout stretch!

I’ve also committed to three group-fitness classes a week: 2-HIIT/strength training classes and 1-cycling class. There have been plenty of days when I didn’t want to work out, but 100% of the time I am in a better mood afterward. And these group fitness classes are something that I’d forgotten how much I enjoy! I’ve been, unknowingly, longing for the comradery of sweating it out in a room full of other people who have an equal love-hate relationship with exercise! Ha!

Getting out of my comfort zone  //

Recently I did two things that really brought me out of my fitness comfort zone. First, I volunteered for the Cleveland Marathon a week ago. I helped get all of the runners into the starting corrals and watched them take off over the start line. It was energizing! It’s been awhile since I’ve run a race, let alone a major race! It reignited a fire inside of me — my love for running is slowly coming back!

The bonus? I get a free race entry into next year’s Cleveland Marathon just for volunteering! So while it’s a bit far away, I’m not pressuring myself to run a race before my body is ready (which I’ve totally done in the past); but I have set this goal for next Spring — to run the Cleveland Half Marathon!

 

The Starting Line of the 2017 Cleveland Marathon.

The second crazy thing I did was take Megaformer class at Corus Fitness in Beachwood. The Megaformer hits everything: strength, endurance, cardio, balance, core, and flexibility. To me it looks like a pilates reformer; but it isn’t. It uses small, slow movements to create a full-body, high intensity, low-impact workout!

 

Corus Fitness!

I really like pushing myself, but this was totally out of my comfort zone! I spent the first 15 minutes of class thinking “I don’t know if I will be able to do this.” But by the end, I was thinking about when I could make it back for another class! See?? It pays to get out of your comfort zone!

Focus, focus, focus  //

I have to admit, I feel defeated when I see the scale get just a couple pounds lighter each week. Defeated because I feel like it should be coming down faster. But I remind myself (almost daily) that this hard work is paying off and sticking with it will be beneficial.

Heck, I’m already feeling stronger and leaner! Slow and steady is my motto. And even if I have teeny setbacks, this is all paying off; and I am feeling better about myself in the process.

I think I like who I’m becoming  //

Rarely do people talk about how having children really changes who we are as women. I’m not talking about all the things you ‘give up’ to become a parent. I’m talking about how we change into completely different people at the core of who we are. I guess the term really should be ‘grow into’, but still. You catch my drift. Motherhood changes us.

I’ve struggled for a long time at being this new person — absolutely happy about motherhood, but also a bit sad that I don’t recognize myself anymore. But I’m finally growing into my role and embracing this new me. And part of this has been finally being able to make myself a priority again.

I’ve come to terms that I will never be the person who can dedicate 3-hours in the gym 7 days a week; I’m happy with squeezing in a faster, more effective workout and then chasing kids around the park the rest of the day. I’m accepting that sometimes dinner is less than ideal; but I’m making better choices and holding myself accountable. And so much of this is just accepting where I am and the stage of the life we’re living.

 

Had an amazing time at the Columbus Zoo for @andrea_halcat’s wedding! Remy and I were rocking our pretty dresses. . Mine is from @shoppinkblush and Remy Bea’s is from @oldnavy! ?? . . . . #imsobloggingthis #remybea #documentyourdays #letthembekids #letthembelittle #columbusohio #columbuszoo #weddingfun #exploreohio

A post shared by Rachel L (@itsahero) on May 30, 2017 at 5:58am PDT

So if you’re in the thick of it — the hardest, worst part of motherhood, just hang in there and know that you will find yourself again.

Filed Under: #GetFit, #MomLife, #SweatPink, busy mom, children, fitness, health, life, mommyhood, mother runner, Oh baby!, parenthood, postpartum, running, weight, wellness, workout Tagged With: #MomLife, #SweatPink, being a mom, busy mom, children, fitness, health, life, motherhood, parenthood, postpartum, running, weight loss, weight watchers, wellness, workout

get fit!! // jump-starting the wheat belly diet

January 21, 2014 by Rachel 7 Comments

My husband has been super preachy with me about my love affair with carbs over the last year. Prior to my pregnancy in 2012, we ate very healthy. We would obviously have ‘cheat days’ — aka our Vegas trip — for special occasions. But overall, we ate clean, we ate healthy, and we rarely (if ever) got sick.

Then pregnancy — dun, dun dunnnnn!! Carbs were the one thing that staved off the nausea. And boy did I eat them! Postpartum it’s been hard to give them back up.

I love potatoes. LOVE them. I love french fries and baked potatoes. Heck, even the french fries can be baked! I just love the crap out of potatoes!!

And bread. Which is weird cause you will rarely find me eating a sandwich. But I will eat me some bread, man. Especially brioche. And challah. And other buttery, flakey goodness.

And sugars. Well, aren’t these all really sugars?? Yes. Yes, they are. But I also have a sweet tooth. I won’t eat your normal ‘junk foods,’ like Little Debbie. Nope. My tastes for all of these foods are really specific. Local artisan breads, local cookies from teeny bakeries in town, and, well, with the potatoes I’m a lot less picky. Ha! I’ll eat any potatoes from anywhere.

wheatbelly2

So after one self-indulgent weekend, I looked at Chad and said “OK, I’m all in.”

The Wheat Belly Diet is based on the premise that if you cut out the wheat, you’ll lose the weight.

Wheat creates an insatiable appetite for that cycle of blood sugar spikes that make a person crave wheat and go back to it time and time again.

Here’s an article on MindBodyGreen about the effects of Gluten and Wheat on the body.

wheatbelly3

So here’s what I can eat unlimited amounts of (eating ’til full):

  • Unlimited fresh or frozen veggies (excluding potatoes).
  • Raw nuts & seeds.
  • Healthy, unheated oils (such as coconut and avocado oil).
  • Red meat, pork, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs. We use consider free-range, grass-fed and/or organic sources.
  • Teas, coffee, water, unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk or coconut water
  • Real cultured cheeses only (no processed ‘cheeses’ like velveeta or singles).
  • Avocado, guacamole, and hummus.

I-heart-veggies

Here’s what I can eat limited amounts of:

  • Fruits are limited to 2 servings a day. Stay away from bananas and pineapples if possible because they are very high in sugar.
  • Real fruit juices (which is nice because I love fresh juice!). But it’s limited to about 4 oz.
  • 1 serving of any fat content milk per day.
  • Legumes, beans, peas.
  • Dark chocolate.

dark chocolate

And here’s what I’m not allowed to eat at all:

  • ”Gluten-free” foods made with rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, or potato starch. Which is OK because we rarely eat anything with rice flour anyways. Chad ends up either grinding his own almond flour or using Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour!
  • Fried foods (womp womp = my beloved french fries! Ha!)
  • Fast food (which I never eat anyways).
  • Hydrogenated fats/oils.
  • Cured meats like hot dogs, sausages, and bacon with nitrates. (But Yay for nitrate free bacon! That’s what happens when you buy locally sourced and organic meats).
  • Anything with high fructose corn syrup.
  • Salad dressings.

 

Chad has been eating like this since the first of the year. I, on the other hand, am one week in. And in the last 7 days, I’ve lost 4 pounds!

I’ve eaten a lot of avocados (just plain – I know, I’m weird.), a lot of salads with chicken topped with homemade salad dressing (no yucky stuff!), raw/unsalted peanuts, pork chops, cheese and dark chocolate. And I didn’t have the opportunity to work out once during those seven days. Not once, and I lost 4 pounds! No joke.

I feel good. I feel really good actually. I had a moment of “Give me pizza!” Friday night. But I didn’t cave. And I’m so happy about that. It’s a long and slow process but I’m confident that this lifestyle change will produce amazing results for our family!

  photo (14)

Filed Under: detox, fitness, food, goals, health, life, living sustainably, weight Tagged With: being green, fitness, food, goals, health, life, weight loss, Wheat Belly Diet

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