It’s been three months since my last day of pregnancy and I thought now is a good time to look back and recap how I’ve physically recovered from the process of creating new life. Although I enjoyed my pregnancy, towards the end of it I started looking forward to getting my body back to myself. I missed being able to move around with ease, having more energy and fitting into my normal clothes.
Of course the post partum body is not that pre-baby body. Despite having a healthy pregnancy and uncomplicated labour, it can take weeks to recover, months even. Initially I felt exhausted, had bleeding and aches and pains from giving birth. Then I learned what chronic fatigue was as I stayed up with my newborn and adjusted to sleeping maximum of two consecutive hours at a time. I still didn’t have my body completely to myself because of breastfeeding and so physically my body was still catering first to my baby, only then to myself.
I had envisioned following a clear and structured plan for my post partum fitness to help myself recover and regain my energy and strength. Not because I felt the pressure to bounce back quickly or anything of the sort, just because I was excited to get back into exercise and to feel more like myself again. I also wanted to take care of myself to avoid health problems or even mental issues, such as post partum depression.
In an ideal world maybe I would have followed an exercise and meal plan, starting each day with sun salutations and green smoothies, but in reality it has not happened. Why? Not because I could not have done all of the above because of my baby but because I chose not to. I wanted to enjoy my time with my newborn and not to be too hard on myself or try to achieve too much too soon. I’m not an athlete or a fitness professional and there is absolutely no need for a specific kind of physique for me. Sure I have my personal preferences when it comes to appearance (read: flat tummy, round bum) but there is no external pressure to physically look a certain way or perform at certain fitness level. My fitness is just for me.
What have I been doing then? Whatever I’ve felt like doing, basically. In the first three months after giving birth to our daughter I have stayed active but without following a plan. I take mum & baby exercise classes (fitness, ballet, swimming, and yoga), I walk a lot with my baby in the pram or the sling wearing my ankle weights, and I hit the gym by myself once or twice during the weekends. Food-wise I’ve been eating whatever I’ve fancied, but generally pretty healthily since that’s usually my preference anyway. If you’ve been reading my blog for longer you’ll know that I’m not a keen cook and I did anticipate a challenge to keep myself properly fed during the weekdays while on maternity leave… I have a proper breakfast (e.g. cereal or porridge with fruit or berries and a coffee) and a proper dinner (e.g. chicken and roasted vegetables) but for my lunch “anything goes”. 😀 At first it was because I was too tired to care, or genuinely didn’t get a chance to cook with a clingy newborn but as Maia starts to sleep more regular naps in her bed, I should at least have the possibility to make something for myself (something more than an avocado on a toast or a boiled egg).
But it turns out that you don’t need to be following a fitness plan to the letter (or at all) to make progress! The weight I gained during my pregnancy shifted quickly and as the bump flattened I could fit into my old clothes within the first two weeks. This happened during Christmas as I sat on the sofa breastfeeding Maia and eating chocolate (I did go for daily walks though). It’s not magic, I’d done the work before Maia was born by continuing to exercise and eating healthy. Nevertheless, as my pictures illustrate, my body wasn’t back to “normal”. Despite the prenatal training I did lose muscle and gain fat, this is natural. Looking at my photos now and comparing them to those from three months ago, I can see myself not only getting smaller but also leaner. I still have loose skin, fat and more squishy bits than before. It will take time to build the muscles lost and regain strength and cardiovascular fitness but I think I’m on the right track!
In order to build muscle I will need to be more mindful of my eating habits. Not eating enough will only result in a “skinny fat” look, which is not appealing to me personally nor healthy in my opinion. I will also need to lift heavier. My old recipe for getting lean was HIIT + low carb diet, but as long as I’m exercising with my baby and breastfeeding I’m not going to be doing either, at least not to the extent I used to.
What’s the plan going forward then? The plan is to continue with no plan for now. I enjoy my mum & baby activities and try to get a solo gym session in each week. Eating regularly and well is always my goal irrespective of life situation, but I do intend to put more effort into it than I have recently. Maybe I’ll even get a blender for those smoothies haha!
I’ll have another check point in a few months to see if I’m still making progress and if our life situation allows for any changes. I have my first wedding dress fitting at the end of May and so I’d like to reach the shape and size of my preference by then so that my dress will fit well in July. 🙂
xoxoxo,
Sini