Getting back into a fitness routine after having a baby is absolutely a challenge. Not only is your motivation low after weeks of rest and little sleep but now you have this sweet little bundle of joy that you are now responsible for.
Whether you like it or not your time is much more limited. What happened to the days of going to the gym on whim? Those days are gone girlfriend. Not only that but you are sleeping less which means you have way less energy than you used to.
I remember feeling so out of it after having my baby - exercise was the last thing on my mind but at the same time I would complain and be frustrated about how much my body had changed.
Newsflash to me... you have to get up and get moving if you want anything to change! And lets be totally honest its not all about the physical changes. The non physical benefits of exercising and eating healthy go way beyond that - the energy, mental clarity and stress relief are huge benefits to living a healthy lifestyle even after having a baby!
Getting back on track is difficult, however, it is not impossible. I think the key lies in simplification. Your life is complicated now that you have a baby and keeping things as simple as possible is key. I've personally been on a journey to simplify my life since having my baby (just to stay sane) and my health and fitness is one of those key areas to simplify as well.
Here's 3 Steps I took to get back on track post pregnancy:
1. De-Stress
This is a huge issue as a new mom. We are so stressed out because of all the demands thrown at us. We have a thousand of responsibilities from breastfeeding to diaper changing to keeping the house clean to working and it never ever stops. Girlfriend, this system starts with you DE-STRESSING. If you want to be of good health, stress is a huge part of health that you're probably overlooking.
In fact, chronic stress can cause a myriad of health problems including leaky gut, hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, anxiety, depression and auto immune issues just to name a few. If you're body is in a constant state of stress - IT WILL BREAK. We are not meant to constantly put that kind of stress on our minds and bodies. This kind of never ending stress puts your body into a fight or flight mode and that's when you can easily see your mental and physical health deteriorate.
So what can you do to de-stress? The two main things that helped me during this stressful time in my life were to cut back on responsibilities and start asking for help! Yes I know that sounds really hard. It was SUPER hard for me too. I wanted to do it all. I wanted to keep going at 10000% all the time. I wanted to do ALL THE THINGS. However, its just not realistic or healthy at this season of life to continue to do it all.
And asking for help...this is the hardest. I hated asking for help. I hated feeling like I wasn't a good enough mom or wife because I couldn't take care of my house or my kids on my own. But here's what I've realized. You know that saying "It takes a village?" Well, that saying is freaking TRUE!
It really does take a village to raise a baby. YOU ARE NOT LESS OF A MOM OR LESS OF A PERSON BECAUSE YOU ASK FOR HELP! Please stop feeling guilty! You deserve to have a break and you deserve to stay sane raising your kids. And MORE IMPORTANTLY your family deserves to have a mom who is HAPPY and stress-free!
Here's some things I did to cut back on responsibilities.
- I cut back on work responsibilities and upped my assistant's hours.
- I started getting groceries delivered instead of trying to stress myself out getting the kids through the store.
- I hired someone to help me clean my house in the first few months after having my baby.
- I had a long convo with my husband and asked him to take on more responsibilities with the kids and around the house.
- I had a babysitter or family member come help me 1-2x per week so that I could take a shower, relax, grab a cup of coffee alone or get some extra work done.
Now, I realize not everyone can afford to hire help however, I'm sure you can find a mom friend to trade babysitting with or a family member that would be willing to help you once a week. Or even asking your husband to help you out more - it really is imperative that you have those convos. I'm a huge believer in the fact that you teach people how to treat you. So if you allow your spouse to not actively participate in being hands on with the kids or around your house, then he will. But I can almost guarantee simply having a heart to heart with him and letting him know how stressed you are could change that.
2. Set Manageable Goals
When it comes to setting expectations and fitness goals post pregnancy Most women I see do 1 of 2 things…
They try to start their fitness journey, set SUPER high expectations and then get frustrated and overwhelmed and quit.
Or
They never get started on their health goals because they are SO afraid of making a change or adding to much to their plate.
I totally get both those scenarios. In fact, I was #1 at one point in my journey. I thought that I had to workout for an hour a day and set strict rules to get the body I wanted after babies…
BOY was I WRONG!
Not only did that leave me feeling exhausted and overwhelmed but it made me want to quit fitness all together.
I knew there had to be another way so here’s what I did…
I knew there had to be another way so here’s what I did…
- I started setting more manageable goals around my life and fitness to make things SIMPLE.
- I started with 3 days per week for 20-30 minutes of exercise so that it was manageable for my life. And I started exercising to make my body feel GOOD, not add more physical stress. Pick exercises that you enjoy, that make your body feel good and not stressed! And pick a manageable schedule in which to do these exercises. If you can only commit to 2 days a week - start there! Working your way up and creating those small wins is really key!
- I stopped restricting foods and ate REAL nutrient dense whole foods 80-90% of the time and stopped feeling guilty for eating foods I loved in moderation. Stop setting strict rules around food. If you're a new mom most likely you've probably not eating enough food! Eat more, but just eat more of the right things. There should be no foods "off limits." Simply foods we eat more of (the good stuff) and foods we eat less of (the unhealthy stuff). Keeping it simple and losing the all or nothing mentality is really key here.
- I stopped trying to do ALL THE THINGS on my forever growing to-do list and set a list of priorities. I would try each day to JUST get 3 things accomplished - that’s it! You really just can't do as much when you have a baby. There's a lot less "me" time and and lot less sleep so you need to get used to just setting small goals around what you actually want to get accomplished. Even just crossing off 1 thing on your to-do list is a WIN during this stage in your life.
I will go into more detail on what kind of workouts and nutrition I did in my 3 Day Butt + Gut Challenge (you can join that here).
But seriously, this system WORKED. It gave me the wins I needed to keep going and to start finally FEELING GOOD on the inside and on the outside. And that’s truly what matters. YOU being able to stay consistent with any kind of routine that helps you be a happy, healthy mom LONG TERM is what matters.
3. Self Care + Mindset
3. Self Care + Mindset
This is something that also get overlooked a lot. However, failing to taking care of yourself and having the right mindset is the #1 reason why I see people fail on their fitness journey. If you don't continually work on yourself and work to improve your mindset you're setting yourself up for failure and sometimes even self sabotage.
Here's 3 things I did to create a healthy mindset and take care of myself so that I could ultimately succeed on my fitness journey.
- I started making sleep a priority.
I know its hard, its really hard when your baby won't sleep. And its even harder when all you want is time to yourself to watch "This is Us" without a baby attached to your boob. This was by far the hardest thing for me to do because, well, I'm a "do-er." I wanted extra time at night when I FINALLY got the baby down to get more things checked off my list or to get the house clean or to finally be able to veg out without a child attached to me. However, it wasn't serving me and it wasn't serving my family for me to be continually sleep deprived. Because before you know it, I would be in bed and as soon as I got in bed the baby would wake up again and even more hours of sleep would be lost. When I made sleep a priority my health MASSIVELY shifted!
- I did personal development.
This may sound like just another thing on your to-do list but let me tell you its a game changer! Whether it was reading while my baby napped for 10 minutes or reading my Bible app devotional while nursing or listening to a podcast or audio book while doing dishes - I made personal development a daily habit. It was important for me to fill up my cup so that I wasn't completely empty each day. And working on my spiritual health and mindset through personal development helped me to become a better and stronger mom!
- I started MAKING time for myself.
"Me" time is not going to magically appear friend. You have to schedule it in but its really vital that you do. When you constantly have a child attached to you its so important to carve out time each day or week to just be alone. For me that meant some days I would wake up 10 minutes early to read by myself. Other days I might go for a run by myself, take a bath or go to the gym if I could. Or I'd squeeze in a girls' night once a month or a manicure. Anything that just allows you to get away for even 10 minutes alone is going to make such a huge difference in your overall mindset and health!
I hope that these tips help you to get back on track in a healthy way post pregnancy and if you're looking for MORE you should join my free 3 Day Butt + Gut Challenge where I'll be giving you my quick daily workouts, a healthy meal plan and daily coaching + accountability. You can join the challenge here.
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