Postpartum Fitness Journey: 1 Month

Friday marked one month since I gave birth to our third little munchkin, S.   S completes are family and is adored by everyone.  He is the most laid back baby which I appreciate because I am not sure how I would do it otherwise.

The first two and a half weeks were smooth sailing.  I had barely any postpartum pain and my only complaint was that I was tired.  He was nursing fine and things were going great.  Then the nursing started to hurt… and hurt bad.  The last week and a half has been spent trying to heal the nursing pain and get to the bottom of it (more on that later).

Other than that, we are adjusting well to life as a family of 5.  In fact, I don’t really feel like life stopped, we just kept on rolling an S fell into the chaos quite well.  As he is now a month old, it is time for me to start documenting my postpartum journey.

Documenting My Journey

Honestly, I was unsure if I wanted to document my postpartum fitness journey.  I did this with M and the scale began to rule.  I ended up having to take a step back and literally break up with the scale.  I was not sure if I wanted to chance that again, but here I am doing it once again– my very last time.

My purpose for these series of posts is not to say “oh look at me”, but to encourage women to find their fitness after having a baby.  It is to encourage women who get stuck.  And I want women to be kind to their bodies after they have a baby.  Losing that baby weight takes time.  Let me say that again, losing the baby weight takes time.  It does not happen at the same speed for everyone, and your body may truly never be the same.

(You can read my “Body After Baby” #2 posts here.)

The Journey…

For me, my postpartum journey is not about a number on a scale.  Occasionally I will weigh myself to check my progress (if you are curious, I still have about 15 extra pounds on me), but that is it.  I hope that I can fit into my jeans again, but even then that is not what is important.  To me what is important is that I feel good and that I have the energy to keep up with my kids and live out my purpose each day.

Postpartum Fitness

Being just one month postpartum I really have not established a postpartum fitness routine.  If I get the urge, or can squeeze it in, I will get in a quick workout.  If I don’t, I don’t really worry about it.  I definitely feel better emotionally when I get some type of exercise in so I try to make it happen.  Since I can’t take S to the gym right now and I don’t have a triple jogging stroller my options are limited.  I can go out for an early morning run or workout before J starts work for the day or I can do a garage/ driveway workout while chasing M & C too.  I guess I could also get in a workout at night when he gets home, but to be honest, I don’t do well working out in the evening.

For the most part, I have been getting in about three or four workouts per week.  These workouts are usually no longer than 30 minutes and consist of body weight or lighter dumbbells.  I have also worked my way up to 3 miles at about a 9 minute mile pace.  I did get in my first gym workout on Saturday when I met my friends at the gym.  I have never been so excited to do pull ups in my life!

Nutrition

Everyone always wants to know how I eat.  I am eating more than normal to help with my breastfeeding hunger.  This does not mean I get an extra cookie a day.  It just means, I cook an extra egg with breakfast, I eat a little more almond butter than normal, and I have been having a scoop of protein as my afternoon snack.

I have been keeping my sweets and desserts to a minimum as that is where I indulged when I was pregnant.  I still have the occasional melted dark chocolate and strawberries, but it is not every night.  I also enjoy a glass of wine, a beer or a mimosa once in awhile.

I am not honing in my nutrition so the scale moves.  I am keeping my nutrition in check because it makes me feel awesome.  When I eat well, I have more energy to keep up with my kiddos and I notice that when I eat well I am not exhausted by 8pm and can enjoy my husband for an hour instead of falling asleep on the couch.  Fueling my body with proper food is a way to take care of the temple God has given me- and that is what I plan to do.  (You can read my Fitness Meets Faith post here.)

Goals

At one month postpartum, I do have some fitness & nutrition goals:

• A 10K: I have signed up to run a 10k at the beginning of October and I hope to do this at an 8:30 pace.  As I was on one of my runs recently I thought, “I have to boys.  If I want to be able to run with them someday I better keep this up.”  And that right there is my motivation.
• Pull Ups: After M I wanted to be able to do 3 unassisted pull ups… I never got them (I only got 2) before I got pregnant with S.  I realize this could take a year or two but I WILL do it!  This will help give me the strength to teach my kids how to do the monkey bars.
• 5 Workouts: I wan to take it down to 5 workouts a week.  I am used to working out 6 days a week and I want to have better balance and only just 5 workouts a week.  I do still hope to do some kind of stretching on that 6th day and then completely rest on that 7th day.  As I get older and more knowledgeable about fitness I know how to make those 5 workouts so very effective that the rest is better than the 6th workout.
• Play: This may seem strange but a part of fitness for me is being able to play sports with my kids and continue to find an athletic activity where I can be competitive and enjoy on my own.  For me, this means I want to get back to a sport of my own: not running, not lifting weights, but something that is a lifelong sport… like tennis!  I plan to pick up my tennis game a lot earlier than I did after the other two.  This also helps me get a little time for just me (beyond a workout) during the week and I know I need that.
• ENJOY: My main goal is to enjoy and find balance this stage and season of life.  Sometimes I am such a planner that I think too much into the future.  As I am staring at my sleeping baby, I want to remember these days… the good and the crazy, these messes, and all the sounds.

At just one month old, S bring so much joy and pride to our family.  As I approach this postpartum fitness world, it is not about me and what I see in the mirror.  It is about how I feel, what I am showing my children and how I am using my fitness and nutrition to honor the body God has given me.  This journey is more about fulfilling my purpose and less about the look.  But I am human too and some days I get caught up in my shirt being too tight: as I document this journey, know that I, too, am a work in progress.

Your turn- tell me!
What is a fitness goal you have?
How have you approached (or do you approach) postpartum fitness?