Arlo is now nearly 7 weeks old, and having both been signed off by the doctor this past week as fit and healthy, my thoughts have started to turn towards my post-pregnancy health and fitness. Whilst it may seem early to some to be thinking about this with such a small baby, physically I feel pretty good post-birth, and Arlo is being kind to us sleep-wise, meaning that I feel in the ‘zone’ to getting a little fitter and also getting some energy back.
Whilst I did some light exercise whilst pregnant, as time went on I felt tireder and tireder (oh so natural!), and I postponed my gym membership until October. I also ate what I wanted, and whilst I didn’t actually gain a huge amount of weight (I’m back now to my pre-pregnancy weight), even before falling pregnant I had got a bit lax with what I was eating and was nearly a stone over my happy weight. Whilst I’m not big at all and what size I am isn’t a priority, I have lots of clothes in my wardrobe that I’d like to fit back into, and I’d also like to have more energy- running around after 3 young children is hard work! I thought it would be good to keep a diary over the next year or so, and hold myself accountable to maintaining some healthy eating and exercise. It also might encourage me to step away from the giant Cadbury’s Buttons on an evening!
So, this is what I aim to achieve in month 1…
Height: 5ft 5inches
Current Weight: 10 stone
Goal Weight: 9 stone 2 (ish)
Exercise
Obviously it’s still very early days when it comes to exercising post-birth, and to be honest most of it this coming month will be continuing to do the old pelvic floor exercises to strengthen things up down there! I’ve started to do some longer, brisker walks with the buggy when I can, and to be honest just getting out and about in the fresh air makes you feel good anyway. I suspect I have very separated stomach muscles after 3 babies, and am investigating exercises that I can do at home to try and fix this as much as possible, as sit ups just don’t work to tone the tum when you have this. If anyone has had this and managed to get a vaguely flat stomach I’d love to hear from them!
Diet
Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE my food. The last couple of year though, and whilst being pregnant I’ve been quite lazy with my eating. Whilst we usually have healthy meals, we were/are eating far too many unnecessary sweet treats on the sofa in the evening, and this needs to stop! I think it’s realistic to have a couple of nights a week (i.e. Friday and Saturday night) where we do this, but not every night. Ditto wine consumption! Obviously I didn’t drink whilst pregnant, but I don’t want an unhealthy wine habit creeping back in- must save it for the weekend! I’d like to get back on a lower-carb vibe too as it helps me lose weight quicker, but most importantly eating fewer stodgy carbs gives me more energy and I feel lighter and less sluggish. I went largely low carb after having Sasha and felt great, and was the lightest I’d been in years. Unfortunately I’ve been enjoying buttered toast and marmalade far too often of late (so, so good!), and again, need to reduce my consumption!
So…this coming month I’d like to do some more walking with the children and the buggy, and get into a better healthy eating routine Monday-Thursday at the very least so it becomes normal again. I know that the first few days of going low-carb can be hard work, but after that I always feel amazing!
Wish me luck!
