Happy Sunday! Today’s Spotlight is going to be a bit different. Instead of showcasing one of our awesome clients, I wanted to share with you the story of one of our awesome trainers. Here you can check out Emily’s journey through finding out she was pregnant, training hard through her pregnancy and how she transformed her body post-baby.
I’m having a baby!!! Oh yeah… Oh crap…..what does this means for hips, thighs, butt and belly?
When I first found out I was pregnant I was so elated, and thought wow this is going to be amazing. I get to experience one of the truly life changing events and most amazing process for the human body.
Then reality set in. My body is going to change and be COMPLETELY out of my control. So naturally, I freaked out for about a week. Having been formerly very heavy (fat kid right here) I knew with certainty I didn’t want to back there. I couldn’t go back there.
But sitting around freaking out about what I couldn’t control and what hadn’t happened yet was not going to help me avoid the dreaded fat.
Pre pregnancy…. 
Action Time:
Instead I start thinking about what I could control. I started reading about what my body could and couldn’t do while pregnant, I read, surfed and asked any doctor that would talk to me.
The big question how do I maintain a level of fitness/sanity and still make sure my little bun was safe? To my surprise (and the delight of my husband who was scarred to see me without the sanity of a good workout under my belt) I could do most of what we do at Durbrow Performance well into my pregnancy.
In fact not only was it safe for me to workout, it was encouraged by my doctors, was going to help fight gestational diabetes, make delivery easier (who wouldn’t want that), help prevent baby blues after delivery, aids in a speedy recovery from childbirth and help prevent my child from having type 2 diabetes in life.
So, knowing that this all looked good on paper, safe, would even help the baby, and mommy stay happy and healthy, what was next? Well the hard part, the work.
I knew I wanted to be the best mom I could, and to do that I needed to be my best self. Exercise and taking care of myself makes me better, healthier, more confident and above all clears my head to take on the challenges of being pregnant and becoming a new mom.
I also knew I want to be around for my children as long as possible. Although it seems like a good excuse (that people have been using for YEARS) and this will make some people angry: I think it is selfish to not take the time to take care of yourself when you are a mom. There is a reason why on an airplane you put your oxygen mask on first then the kiddos. So, the excuses“my kids are everything, they take up all my time, it would be self serving if I go to the gym at night for an hour, my vanity is not as important as my children” doesn’t cut it with me.
I know motherhood is all consuming, but this also mean being a good role model, working to develop healthy habits as a family, and ensuring that you are there when they need you, like holding a grandchild.
Children watch their parents so closely, so going to the gym, biking, sprinting, those extra minutes of planking at home make such a difference in how they view what a lifestyle should be. Long story short I knew if I didn’t keep up the habit I would not be the only one who suffered in the long run, and after all it so wasn’t just about me anymore.
So, I continued my workouts. For the first few weeks I felt no real changes in my body. I started to get over the shock of being pregnant and started to really enjoy picturing my little one sway back and forth while I did KB swings, lunges and ran.
5 Weeks Along….
Then week 8 set in and my energetic, fast moving, veggie eating body turned on me. Suddenly it felt like I was made of lead and the only thing that kept me in the eating food business was toast with peanut butter. (OH boy did the food thing change later; I was convinced a few days that I could clear a Wholefoods if left to my own devises) All I wanted to do was sleep and eat carbs.
I went to the doctor for a check in, and they told me once again (what I already knew) that my body needed to move, I need to try to eat right although my prenatal vitamins were taking care of the baby, my body needed help, to be strong to support the baby.
A lesson about a body in motion stays in motion, so true if you think it is hard the first three months of pregnancy and throughout, try starting an exercise routine when you take a year off to “enjoy be pregnant” while you have a new born at home, and no clothes fit you so also a lot of shopping to do!
6 Months Along….
9 Months Along….
I needed to keep moving so we were both healthy. So I did, even on the days that I was sure I could move my mammoth belly and wanted to cry, I did the workouts I could do, AND it made me feel better, great actually. When labor and delivery came months later, I was swelling free, flexible and still able to do pushups on my toes. During delivery I had the stamina to push for four hours and delivery my baby (Benjamin) the way I wanted, surgery free! I also had the endurance to be up and moving during my labor so things moved along faster.
The payoff:
So onto the good stuff: self image and your body after pregnancy.
2 Months Post-Ben….
3 Months Post-Ben…
I am happy to say I am 4 month post baby and back to my original weight and back in a bathing suit. I am still working very hard to get my body fat percentage back to where it once was but I am well in the healthy range, and my strength is coming along. Amazingly, at only two week post Ben I started to see some tummy muscle under the nice layer of mommy fat.
Okay, you say this is all well in good but what did you actually do, eat only lettuce, water and run 7 miles a day? After the baby? No! I did all DPT workout moves DURING and after. Sometimes I only had time for three rounds but I did it. Because, I kept up my workouts during pregnancy I was able to not exactly jump back in, but do a lot with my body. One of the greatest benefits was I already knew I could do the work to get back in shape, I kept thinking “hell if I did this pregnant I can do this now”. Trust me the ability to see yourself as a work in progress after baby, when all your friends, relatives and folk are coming to see you, your baby and your messy house, is a godsend.
4 Months Post-Ben….
None of this is easy; it could possibly be the hardest thing you will ever do. You have so much on your plate preparing for baby then as a new mom; but here is the good news, we have figured it all out for you, all you need to do is show up at the gym willing and we will take care of the rest.
Please keep your body moving if not for you for that cute little growing bump. It’s not easy but you can do it!