Summer is here!

Things have been a little crazy around our house the last couple of weeks!  I celebrated my 31st birthday with a bunch of my family coming into town, and that was followed by a long holiday weekend.  Then the girls had their last week of school and Ally got strep throat and missed out on most of it.  But now summer is here and I am looking forward to some quality kiddo time!  I am going to miss being able to throw the two youngest kids into the jogging stroller and going for a run whenever I like.  My running is getting better slowly but surely.  I am not trying to push my mileage too fast because I do not want to get injured.  I have been focusing on weight training and yoga to help my body stay balanced.  Runnersworld.com has a bunch of really good yoga videos designed for runners.  Yoga is so comforting to me because I feel that no matter how hard my run is on my body, I can stretch and strengthen my muscles in a relaxing and gentle way that always makes me feel better.  Plus it is fun to watch the kids doing downward dog, upward dog, cobra, tree pose, and so on!  I am so excited summer is finally here! 

Transformation Tuesday

I have had 4 tough pregnancies gaining 50-60 lbs with each baby.  I topped the scale with my last baby at a whopping 205 lbs!  

Talk about discouraging!  I had always planned to eat healthy and exercise during my pregnancies, but each time my body was taken over and I had no control over what foods or liquids my body would accept.  I even went to the hospital during my last pregnancy because I was so dehydrated.  In the first trimester I would throw up before and after breakfast, sometimes in the afternoon, and then again after dinner.  There was no "morning" sickness, it was "ALL Flipping Day" sickness!  Then when I got over that time of the pregnancy, my hunger was never satisfied.  I could eat and eat and still be hungry.  I craved the most unhealthy foods, burgers, pizza, ice cream.  I learned to accept what I could control and tried my best to give my babies the nutrition they needed while inside of me.  Every pregnancy is different and everyone's bodies handle situations differently.  You have to do what is best for you and what works for your situation.  You can bet that the minute I was cleared to excercise postpartum I was working my butt off and eating healthy to get my body back!  I know what it means to start at the bottom!  Those first weeks back to running and feeling every single pound I had gained moving and weighing on me.  The first time I tried to do squat jumps I could barely do 5 and I thought I was going to pass out.   I have been there, it is not easy.  But I can say that dedication and hard work do pay off!  Don't give up!  

Here I am at 10 months postpartum and weighing 60 lbs less.  I still have some fat to lose around my belly, but I have grown 4 babies in there so I accept that it will probably be the last to go.  I am also still breastfeeding so I know my body is storing some fat for that as well.  No matter where you are in your fitness journey, you need to accept who you are and love your body, regardless of flaws or things you think need to change.  I have to make the decision daily to keep at it, to sacrifice sitting on the couch watching my favorite shows to go for a run or squeeze in a workout, to give up unhealthy foods that are trouble for my body and instead eat nutrition packed foods that make me stronger.  Some days the decisions are easy and I love what I do, other days I slip up and I give in to unhealthy foods or skip my workout.  But I can say this much, I have never regretted a workout or run, but I ALWAYS regret skipping them.   If you do mess up, forgive yourself and move on.  Don't dwell on the fact that you ate 4 slices of pizza or slept in and skipped your morning workout.  Work harder to make better decisions about food, ask someone to hold you accountable to wake up early.  You've got this!  You are not alone!

TGIF!

I love Fridays!  I got in my workout this morning even though my 10 month old is teething and only wants me to hold him ALL of the time.  He doesn't want to sit and rock or cuddle in my lap, he wants me to stand up and hold him on my hip while we walk around the house.  If I don't do just that, this is what happens:

None of my 3 girls ever had problems with teething, but my little man seems to be struggling quite a bit with it.  I am hoping the end is near!

So for the last 12 weeks, I have been following the She Sweats 12- Week Transformation plan (At-home version) from heandsheeatclean.com. 

I loved the plan because it told me everything I had to do including weightlifting, cardio, and abs.  I really saw a huge change in my body over the 12 weeks.  I went ahead and bought their She Sweats 4-Week shred to do when I finished, but it is really intense and is made for those preparing for a special event, which I am not doing.  The workouts were taking about an hour and sometimes longer.  I was having a really hard time committing to that much time right now so I decided to look for another 12 week program.  I had heard about James Wilson- Faith Family and Fitness a while back from another blogger so I bought his at-home 12 week workout plan that is called Body Earned.  I finish up week 1 tomorrow and so far I really like it.  I will also be adding on running at least 3 days a week because I really want to run a few races this summer!  So that is the plan!  

I hope you all have an awesome weekend planned!  

Back at it!

I have been taking a break from running to focus on lifting weights and gaining muscle and now after about 3 months off, I finally felt ready to go out and run!  My cardio has been limited to HIIT workouts and hilly walks so I was unsure of how I would feel starting back running.  I wanted to take it slow and easy and had no goals for time or distance.  I warmed up with about 5 minutes of walking and then did 4 X's 2 minutes running/3 minutes walking.  I felt really good the entire run and probably could have gone longer, but I was pushing the double jogging stroller and I had already done weights earlier in the morning so I stuck with my plan.  Lifting weights has been really great for my body and I am stronger than I have ever been before, but I have missed running and the amazing feeling I get after I complete my run (known as runner's high).  Plus, my running buddies have missed getting outside and riding around the neighborhood each week!

My definition of fitness

I am a mom of four amazing kids who I wouldn't trade for anything in this world.  I have been pregnant and a mom for almost 1/3 of my life!  Some days I think that I have no identity outside of being a mom.  From the minute I wake up every morning until my head hits the pillow at night, I am cooking, cleaning, picking out clothes, washing clothes, diapering, picking kids up from school, mediating arguments, holding a fussy baby, and the list could go on.  When I eat or get dressed or even go to the bathroom is dependent upon what my kids need.  I have learned that I have to make time for myself.  I have to set aside a few minutes out of the day to focus on something I want to do.  That is where fitness has become integrated into my life.  It started with running.  After the birth of my third daughter, I found my love of running.  No matter how frustrated or exhausted I was, I would run it out and come home invigorated and ready to take on whatever my kids had to throw at me!  The runner's high was so amazing!  Not only did I feel awesome, I had lost all of the weight I had gained with my pregnancy and I had muscle in my body like I had never had before.  A year and a half later I started lifting weights and once again watched as my body transformed.  I was in the best shape of my life.  I have gone through another pregnancy since then and am now on the journey to get back into shape.  But this time around, fitness has taken on whole new meaning for me.  With four kids depending on me all of the time, I do not get a long time to work out.  I use that time to focus on me.  Every weight I lift or mile I run, I make it worth my time.  Taking the time to take care of me has allowed me to be a better mom.  I have more energy for my kids and as a bonus, they imitate me working out!  My girls love doing yoga poses and burpees.  Whenever they see me heading out for a run, they beg to come.  It is so encouraging to see my kids loving exercise!  Fitness to me is so much more than transforming my body.  It is time that I get to take for me, to let out my frustrations and worries.  Does it work out for me to exercise every day?  No.  Some days my kids need me more and some days I am just not feeling it.  But the days I do get to pound the pavement or crush some weights, I feel like the best version of me as a mom and a wife!