My Fitness Journey

Lately, the kids have been terribly sick (which explains the lack of posts). They've gone from having a stomach flu to having terrible cough & cold (3 - 4 weeks & counting now). Everyone at home seems to be getting sick aside from me. I'm not taunting that nasty virus. But I'm definitely thankful that my resistance is 5x stronger now.

So today, I'm going to talk about my fitness. I have been exercising more recently. And I believe that it is because of this that I do not get sick as often as I used to.

I know everyone is different. Everyone has a different body shape & size.  Some things that work for me (like diet, workouts, supplements, etc) might not work for you. I have friends who have just given birth and they are back to their pre-pregnancy weight. But I also have friends who have a hard time losing all that pregnancy weight.

Let me start with this: numbers do not matter.

I know how cliche that sounds, but trust me. They do not matter. At least, that shouldn't be your motivation for your fitness.

When I was in grade school, I was a big kid. But I wasn't fat with bulging flabs. I was taller and much heavy boned than other kids my age. When I got to college, I grew into that body size. I was considered "pretty" and it made me more confident.

When I was pregnant with my first son, I lost all the pregnancy weight almost immediately. I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight in no time. But something changed with my body. My hips seemed bigger and my tummy lost all it's muscles (nope, I did not have 6-pack abs) - what I meant was my core muscles were way weaker. And like I said, numbers do not matter. Because even if my weight was back to normal, my core lost it's muscles which made my tummy less tight and thus, I had a muffin top. I was okay with my body then, because at least the scale told me I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

But then I got pregnant with my second son, and boom. There goes all my self-confidence. I gained way more in this pregnancy than I did with my previous one. I got stretch marks (which I didn't with my first son). And I haven't lost all those pounds until now (9 months postpartum). I have never been this heavy my entire life. And it has affected my self-confidence a lot.

This photo was taken when I was 7 or 8 months pregnant with my second son.

That was until September 2014, my sister-in-law got me to go zumba one Sunday morning. It was fun. I was never a good dancer, but I enjoyed this because I "felt" like a good dancer. It was around the same month when my husband did a fitness challenge at work. I support him in (almost) everything he does. So when he did this fitness challenge, I tried it too. We ate healthy. We avoided junk food. And we went to the gym. When he won this challenge, it motivated me even more. Because I was seeing results in my own progress (even if they were little). I felt like a winner too. 

First Pregnancy:

Pre-pregnancy weight (April 2012) - 127.8lbs

Delivery day weight (December 2012) - 154.3lbs

6 weeks Postpartum (February 2013) - 130lbs

Second Pregnancy:

Pre-pregnancy weight (August 2013) - 130.6lbs

Delivery day (April 2014) - 161lbs

6 weeks Postpartum (June 2014) - 142.6lbs

Latest weight check (January 2015) - 133lbs

As you can see, I am losing weight. With my first son, I just breastfed him and I lost almost all the weight without the need to eat less (in fact, I even ate more during this time) or workout. With my second son, just breastfeeding isn't enough.

I tried a slow carb diet. Basically, I cut out carbs for dinner. I have a spinach & cheese omelette for breakfast every day. I even have toast sometimes too, if I'm super hungry. And coffee, never forget coffee. I eat rice with whatever meat/veggies for lunch. I have snacks in between meals like yogurt or ice-cream, chocolates and yes, sometimes, chips (guilty). But I have this slow carb recipe for dinner. And it works great for me. When I don't have the needed ingredients on hand for that slow carb recipe, I opt for any meal without carbs - like a cesar salad. And workout whenever I can. I go swimming. I go biking. I did zumba a couple of times. I dance with my kids for 30 minutes (non-stop) when we're snowed in. Yes, just moving a lot around the house even helps. I've recently joined a kickboxing class. And I have that Nike Fit app to workout with at home. I do that every other day.

I'm getting results (although, it's very slow). At least, I'm getting there. The number on the scale frustrates me because I'm breastfeed. I have a ton of water in my body. Therefore, my weight fluctuates a lot. The number on the scale is just a tiny part of my journey. I have bigger & better goals regarding my fitness that I want to achieve this year. But I'll keep it personal for now. And I'll share it when I'm ready - like I did with this post.

So here I am, a few pounds to go before my pre-pregnancy weight. This is only a milestone. I'm aiming higher for my health this year. I'm slowing easing into my new lifestyle, like this new found love for kickboxing or that Nike training app. I love the adrenaline. I love the challenge. And sometimes, it's the only way for me to destress. (Cuz you know, I don't smoke, drink, or party.)

Keep track of your fitness journey. Find out what works and doesn't work for you. I'm breastfeeding so I can't take supplements that might affect my milk supply. Find help and support that you need. Hubby was a big help for me. He's always encouraging me. And kicking my ass when I'd get too lazy to workout or when he knows I need to destress. Also, we found a gym with child-care. It helps when you have the right support.

I wanted to do a before & after photo. But apparently, I couldn't find a single photo of myself when I looked like a whale. It just shows how self-concious I was about my body. I probably deleted all the photos that made me look fat. I couldn't find one. So, I'll start with this photo. Stretch marks, bulging fats and all - but I feel 10x better & stronger than I used to.

Even if your progress is slow, that's okay, as long as you don't give up. You don't have to tell anyone not until you're ready (or in my case the Facebook world - my loved ones knew and supported me). What's your Fitness journey like? Write about it.