my body and fitness routine

I've been promising a workout post for awhile now... so here goes! I want to start off by admitting that part of the reason I continued nursing Mia past 12 months (we stopped around 16 months) was because I was so nervous that I would, I dunno, suddenly gain 20 pounds? Nursing was a great calorie burner for me and I was able to drop weight/love handles/ etc quickly, combined with my workouts. That isn't the case for everyone... every body is different and especially every nursing body! I have friends who weren't able to lose the last 5-10 pounds/love handles until they stopped nursing. But I digress. I was incredibly nervous that my body would go down hill once I stopped nursing, which I now realize was an absolutely ridiculous worry for me to have! I have developed a healthy habit of working out that my body appreciates. It's been hard but I've earned every muscle I have!

I admit that I am smaller and weigh less than I have during my entire marriage. In fact, I don't think I've been this small since high school. But let me tell you, I've never been this strong in my entire life!! My family genes attribute to my size, but skinny girls can't bust out 30 push ups or 10 pull ups. I know that for a fact because up until a few months ago, I have never busted out anything like that! So let me make this loud and clear... in my opinion, size doesn't matter! Being healthy, feeling strong, and being happy and loving yourself is what matters! I know it's easier said than done, but there is no sense in comparing our body's to other body's. Being happy in your own skin is what's important, and for most people it takes some time, dedication and hard work to get there! Nothing motivated me more than my changed body after giving birth. It was important for me to wait until I got my doctor's okay to start working out, so after my six week check up I got right to work. And I haven''t stopped! I'm smaller and stronger than ever because I've dedicated more time to working out than ever.

I workout 5-6 days a week and to be honest, it doesn't totally suck! It's what my body is used to and it feels weird to take more than 2 days off in a week (unless we are on vacation). When I first started working out again after Mia was born, I did a lot of Jillian Michaels DVD's. I highly recommend those! They are perfect for building muscles when starting from nothing and it was perfect for me to do them in my home instead of trying to make it to the gym when Eric was home (he works crazy hours) and so I didn't have to take Mia out of the house (hello RSV season!). I slowly started running (and I mean it when I say slow, it took a long time to run distance) and went to spin classes when I could. The best thing for my body now is variety! I love to run (I really mean love/hate) because it's the best for toning my legs, backside, tummy and lungs, so I do that 3-5 times a week. I meet up with my girl friend's at the gym 2 days a week to lift which includes, weight machines, free weights and using my own body in the form of pull ups, push ups, etc. We have a solid routine while lifting which works great for me! On Saturdays I go to a spin or piyo class. I love to hike and swim during the warm months, dance parties with Mia in the kitchen get my heart rate up and body moving, family walks are fun and get us all moving, and the stairs in my home are my best friend!
Working out really does suck in the beginning. But once you start seeing results or even simply feeling good, it is so worth the pain and tears of establishing your routine/habit, I promise!

*My diet has changed over the months as well and I will be sharing what works for me in another post! As sad as it is to admit, my metabolism isn't what it once was, so I've cut back on a lot of my favorite foods and added a lot more fruits/veggies and other stuff. Being an adult is pretty rotten sometimes, HA!