Fit4Mom Body Back Session Diaries: The Beginning
When I was pregnant, I made myself a promise that I would get myself into better shape after having a baby then I’d ever been before. I said this partly to comfort myself as I ate half a pint of Ben & Jerry’s every night for 3 months and watched the numbers on the scale climb higher and higher. I said it to help me cope with a lifetime of body image issues which were glaringly prevalent as my body stretched and grew heavy with a new life (and pizza). Only a tiny part of my brain acknowledged that I was also making this promise to myself so that I could be healthy, strong, and balanced to help navigate the challenges of early motherhood. Whatever the reasons, I made this solemn oath to myself that I would work my ass off (literally) once baby came, and that let me sleep at night after I’d eaten everything in the world – and the fridge.
Flash forward to today, 7.5 months postpartum, and I’m happy to say that I’ve lost the 70lbs I gained during pregnancy – not to crash diets, overexercise, diet pills or restriction, but rather with the help of good old fashioned clean eating (real food) and consistent, regular exercise. But I didn’t do it on my own. I don’t think I could have. Actually, I could have. I don’t think I would have.
BUT I DID! Because I was blessed to run across Fit4Mom Stroller Strides classes every day during my pregnancy as I walked, but I was anxious and shy to start attending once Tanner was born. I had some new mom insecurity stuff going on, but thankfully my incredible coach Lauren Shaver took the time to email me personally after I’d filled out their online waiver… and made a point to welcome me to attend and pointed me to start with a slightly more chill Stroller Barre class (I laugh saying that now because Barre is no joke with Lauren, just slightly lower impact.)
Attending Stroller Strides and Stroller Barre starting at 6 weeks was a huge game changer for my mental health AND physical health – oh, yeah, and my body, too. Even though I took everything at the most modified level, I felt like I had climbed a mountain after class. Such was my level of fitness after 10 months of my average cardio intensity being ten minutes of walking followed by Law and Order SVU marathons. As January and the new year rolled around, I felt ready to take it up a notch, and empowered by the changes I felt from working out a few days per week at strides. I hadn’t changed much in my diet, though, and was still indulging in large portions (hey, I’m breastfeeding) and too much sugar – pasta – dessert – crap – whatever we all eat during holidays (ahem, winter… uh anytime after Halloween… you feel me.)
When the opportunity came up to join Lauren for the first 8 week session of BodyBack Transformation – even though Tanner was only 12 weeks and it was a two night per week commitment to a no-babies-allowed high-intensity workout, I committed. I jumped in with both feet and went for it. My first 8 week session I lost 30 lbs and started feeling like myself again. My mood improved, I had more energy, more sex drive, and more stamina for dealing with the sleeplessness that was SO REAL around the 4 month mark (for weeks on end). My second 8 week session, I lost twelve more pounds and made huge strides in my strength and fitness. I shaved forty seconds off my mile time (a proud 8:14 thank you very much), I did 33 (count em) real push ups in a minute, and I fit into my second smallest pre-baby jeans again. I felt awesome.
This week was the first week of my third 8 week session. I am excited because I think this is where I will achieve that goal of being more fit after baby than I ever was before! But, in my second week session I ended up going off the rails a little with food (and by food I mean wine) so this time I aim to stick to the principles and see what can happen with 8 weeks of dedication to a program that’s already shown me such amazing results.
The general overview of the program is this:
Weekly Workouts
* 2 high intensity – BodyBack
* 3 lower intensity – Stroller Strides, walking, yoga, swimming
* 1 wild card – run, surf, climb, dance, or do something to confuse the body and mix it up!
Clear Nutrition Goals
* Eat real food (unprocessed, perishable)
* Low sugar (less than 25g per day)
* Whole grains (ditch the white flour and pasta)
* No booze (duh)
It’s pretty simple stuff, really, but it’s SO HARD (for me anyway) to do on our own. Why is that? I think that’s the most powerful thing I have found in session so far: the community of women is a lifeline. Being able to share, encourage, rally, and even chastise (with love) each other is so helpful when you’re aiming for high goals!
It’s not just me who has seen awesome results from this – many of the women in our Oside crew are on their second or third round of this program, because we are seeing crazy good measurable results. And – I cannot emphasize this enough – we feel amazing. Strong. Happy. Not every second of every day, of course, it’s a workout program not a fairy tale, but it WORKS.
So, to keep myself even more accountable I will be blogging along the next 8 weeks and telling the whole truth about how it goes. I’d love to know – where are you in your fitness journey? What have you found works best? What is your biggest struggle? Do you have (or are you seeking) community for accountability? Leave me a comment or come find me on social media! Also, if you or anyone you know is a mama with young kids – Fit4Mom offers first class free so you can check it out! It’s not just workouts, it is a way to stay sane and a village of other mamas and kids who will help you navigate this crazy time of life.
