Hi guys!
As you may remember from our New Year’s Resolutions, one of them was for us to get back in shape and back closer to our pre-marriage weights. If you have similar goals, you may be wondering what we’re doing to accomplish this.
Disclaimer: Please talk to your doctor before starting any diet or exercise plan. What we are doing may not be safe or appropriate for everyone.
For me, Weight Watchers has been my go-to for the past few years regarding diet. They have a plan for breastfeeding moms, which has been helpful as I’ve looked to lose weight in the postpartum period, and I like the flexibility of being able to eat anything in moderation.
After I had Parker, it took me almost 10 months to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I only nursed him for a month and it was not exclusively, and I wasn’t very strict with my diet. However, after Charlie, it only took me 4 months to get back to pre-pregnancy weight, which I mostly attribute to being stricter with my diet and nursing her exclusively for almost 6 months (until she started biting me with her new teeth).
So far, with Finn, I am within 10lbs of pre-pregnancy weight at 4 weeks postpartum, and I have been following Weight Watchers since we came home from the hospital. (Side note: WW recommends waiting until 12 weeks postpartum to start their program, however, I have had permission from my doctor to continue on the plan throughout my pregnancies and immediately postpartum so long as I am not having any issues.) While I am 10 pounds from pre-pregnancy, my goal is about 30 pounds. Jordan is also about 30 pounds heavier than he was when we got married, so we’re both looking to lose about that amount.
With all three pregnancies I have gotten back to working out within about two weeks of delivery. As a very active person who exercised up until delivery, I definitely don’t feel good or like myself if I am not moving my body daily. Sometimes this means going for a walk, and sometimes it means doing a low-impact workout, it just depends on what I’m feeling up for on that particular day. The biggest thing I can recommend is that you listen to your body and don’t do things that don’t feel good and healthy for you.
So what programs are we doing?
Well, Jordan hasn’t started yet. He enjoys running with me, and I won’t be back to running until at least 6 weeks postpartum, although it will likely be longer than that to make sure my body is ready.
I’ve been walking, although less than after Charlie because it has been quite cold here. I’ve also been doing my MommaStrong workouts for physical therapy, which I started day 1 in the hospital. They definitely help with pelvic floor and core strength, and are a good stopgap until I can see the physical therapist after 6 weeks. I highly recommend all mamas at least go for an evaluation after having babies to make sure they understand what exercises are going to benefit them most. Kegels are NOT the answer for everyone, and for some people can do more harm than good.
As for actual workouts, at three weeks postpartum I started Beachbody’s 645 program. So far, I’m finding it to be pretty easy on my postpartum body. I modify any high impact movements to take out the jumping, and the mobility work and dynamic stretching has been really good for my poor posture after carrying three babies in three years. If you’re interesting in enrolling in Beachbody On Demand and getting access to all of their programs, you can check it out here. I would love to coach you if interested, especially new mamas, so if that’s something you’re interested in learning more about please feel free to email us at jordanpluskate@gmail.com.
We’ll check in with progress reports throughout the year!
jordanpluskate 