This last year has been a mental and physical struggle. I've worked hard...I've fallen off the bandwagon a couple times {no longer than a week}, but for the most part, I've eaten clean and I've been dedicated to my workouts, be it 4am or 4pm, or both some days. I sincerely cannot believe how hard it has been this time. My body is fighting me so hard...or at least it's making me put up a good fight to get it where I want to be. I don't remember it being so hard before. When you go from having babies at 22 and 27, to having one again at 31, it's amazing to see the difference. I've always kept myself healthy and in good shape, so I never thought my metabolism would become an issue. I won't call it any sort of medical issue, as it's certainly not that drastic, but when you are constantly in a mode of health and fitness, you definitely notice the subtle changes in your body and the way it performs, or reacts to your performance. I've come to accept the reality that my body in its 30s needs to be clean-fed a lot more than it used to in order to maintain the size I want.
So all that said, I can proudly say I am at my pre-prego weight. 57 lbs in one year is no joke and no easy feat. I have to allow myself to be so proud of that accomplishment. However, I've been better than this and getting back to that was always the goal. So while I fit in my old clothes, I know I could look a lot better in them, so I definitely am making no plans to stop and maintain here. I truly have about 10-15 lbs-ish to go. I say "ish" because I don't generally use weight as the defining point, as I know that it really all depends what I have muscle vs. fat. But I know that getting where I want to be will likely having me weighing somewhere in that range less than I do now. And we all know, those last crazy 10-15 lbs, just to get you tight and toned are THE HARDEST to lose and require the most effort. Daunting when you feel like you've been giving pretty damn good effort for the last year.
Here is what I know now...I'm fairly happy in a bikini. This is a major milestone in this journey. I can bare it all and while it ain't perfect, it also ain't half bad. And hey, my super cute husband likes it...that's all that matters, right?
So that being said, I had a bit of a cheat week last week...it was a holiday weekend, I was enjoying myself and letting loose and I wasn't worrying about my weight as much as I have been for the last 365+ days. But as all good fitness fanatics do, we get back on track. It's all about balance.
I am stoked about Farrah's new single jogging stroller that should be on my doorstep today when I get home. I sold the double last week, so was without one that could even go on sand {which hurt me a bit this past weekend at the beach}. The plan is to take her on a 30+ minute jog each evening after I get her all in her jammies in order to help wind her down so she hopefully doesn't whimper as much when I put her in the crib for bed. {It has been a harder transition getting her to bed now that she doesn't have formula to help knock her out...she definitely gives me a guilt trip each night now and it breaks my heart.} I think these strolls will be nice for us together and running 30 minutes a day definitely will help my figure!
Additionally, I'm back to my weekly workout planning. I hadn't written one out the last couple of weeks and sort of winged it, but it definitely helps me to see my plan written out and know what I'm doing next. I'm a visual person and I think visualizing myself going and doing the plan I've set out for each day helps me to actually go and do it.
Anyway, it was a year ago to the day that I wrote my first postpartum update post and these were the pictures of me I posted back then. When I see these, I think "what a difference!" Sometimes I forget where I started and it's always good to look back and get some real perspective. I'm going to keep kicking ass, y'all!
This is a picture I took of myself the other day, not really a good profile picture to compare, but you can definitely tell I've made progress. Here's to another year of continual improvement! xo
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