When I had my first child, no
one told me what to expect after I had her. I guess I was naïve in thinking
that everything on my body would go back to normal! I vividly remember standing
in front of the mirror with breast pads in, looking at myself and crying
because I couldn’t believe that this was how was going to look from now on. I
had never exercised or ate right so I had NO idea where to start! BUT I knew I
had to do something because between trying to juggle a newborn and sleep I just
felt so depressed over my weight and my new body!
It is so hard to balance your
new baby (or toddler) and weight, diet, and exercise! It is scary to get started because what if you fail, or what if you don't know how? There are so many what ifs. One thing I know for sure is, is that if you don't start you will never know what could be. So here are some tips I
have figured out along the way to getting fit post kids.
1.
Get an
accountability buddy who will help to keep you motivated and keep you
accountable to your diet and exercise. Get several buddies if you need them. If
you are feeling like you want a cookie, text them and tell them and let them
talk you out of it! This seriously works the best out of all my other tips. If
I know someone is counting on me to be accountable then I am more likely to do
it. I also treat it like a competition! I don’t want to break before anyone
else, so I will keep going!
2.
If you need
something sweet, make a healthier version of those desserts. There are tons and
tons of recipes out there now. Pintrest is a great place to start, just type in
clean eating desserts. That doesn’t mean that you can go crazy and have the
whole pan. Remember to keep it small, but you won’t be eating bleached flour
and refined sugar!
3.
Get ALL of the
junk out of your house. Yes, this means your special stash of stuff too! When
you make the decision to lose weight this is a necessity. If it isn’t there
then you can’t eat it. Replace all of the junk food with nutritious foods. So
that way when you go to the refrigerator or the cabinet for a snack the only options
are healthy foods. Some options are fresh fruit, veggies, low-fat popcorn,
string cheese, etc.
4.
Schedule your
workouts. This is so important so that way you don’t make excuses! Find what
works for your schedule and your new baby. Also, try and remember that you are
human. If you miss a workout it won’t kill you as long as you are working out 3
or more times a week you will benefit from it!
5.
Find an exercise
that you love and run with it. There is so much variety out there to choose
from that you can find something that will work for you. Exercise classes such
as Zumba or TurboKick, in home DVDs, boot camps, or the gym. Find something
that you love and you will never dread it.
6.
Find somewhere
that you can take Mommy and baby fitness classes and then you don’t have the
excuse of no babysitter.
7.
Journal
everything you eat. If you bite, then write it because sometimes you just
really need to see how much you are putting into your mouth so that you can
realize how much you are eating. For me I grazed a lot all day long! Once I
realized this through putting it into myfitnesspal I was able to nip the habit
in the bud!
8.
Plan a cheat meal
and a treat each week. This doesn’t mean 2000 calories at one meal or making
the whole day a cheat day because you don’t want to undo a whole week worth of
doing good! If you completely deny yourself you are more likely to fail then if
you allow yourself to indulge once a week.
9.
Don’t reduce your
calories too much. We have been led to believe that we need to workout more and
eat less. That is really not the way to go. Your body needs calories especially
if you are working out. You need a minimum of 1200 calories if you are just
sitting around all day. So you want to aim for 1500-1800 of good nutritious
calories each day. There is absolutely no reason to starve while trying to lose
weight. If you eat nutritiously you will find that the weight comes off and you
will not be starving!
If you are a mom new or old
and are looking to lose weight, follow these tips outline above. If you need
any help doing it please feel free to email me at fitnic13@aol.com as my coaching is always
free!
Nicole McDuffie
Idependent Beachbody Coach
