Now that you know all the gory details about me, I will hopefully paint a better picture of myself by telling you how I have lost most of that weight.
Turning Point #1: Giving Birth!
I was on bed rest for the last two months of my pregnancy. I was never sitting up or standing for more than a few minutes at a time during that period. So, obviously, my back muscles (well, most of my muscles) were severely atrophied. The first week of my son's life, I could not bend over to change his diaper or dress him. But it was amazing how quickly I began to recover. By the second week (and my first week alone with baby), my back was still weak but I had little pain. After that second week I was able to take my son out alone (freedom!), and take short walks with my little family.
Turning Point #2: Six Week Check-up
During the first six weeks, I took walks with the baby around our neighborhood, but didn't do much exercise aside from that. Once my doctor gave me the OK, I began to use my elliptical trainer again. I could barely do ten minutes! I promised myself that I would start slow, so I wouldn't burn out and give up. So if I could only last for ten minutes, then fine. In addition, I'm pretty sure I did squats, plie squats, and lunges, only using my body weight for resistance (those weeks are blur to me). However, I was always so tired that my workouts were not consistent. Sometimes I would go 3 days without exercising. I think at that time I weighed around 137. I did not lose much right after birth. And yes, I think that women who go right back into their pre-pregnancy pants suck. :D
Turning Point #3: Beginning Regular Workouts
Once I lost a few more pounds and I started to come out of my post-partum fog, I began to exercise 5 days week. The three of us would also take Sunday walks every so often. I think this began around the 3 month mark. It started with 20 minutes on the elliptical and any type of resistance training I could think of from past workouts. I tend to pull together my favorite exercises, from all the different videos I've worked out to, and put them into one workout.
Then I moved up to 30 minutes of cardio (5 days a week), which was a big confidence booster to me. I began to feel like my old endurance was coming back.
Turning Point #4: My New Home Gym and Morning Workouts
At about the 4 month mark, we finally struck gold when someone put up a very nice home gym on craigslist. Having that equipment at my fingertips made me even more excited about working out, and I decided to move up to 6 days a week of cardio. And here is my current routine:
M- 40 mins. cardio, legs
T- 40-50 mins. cardio, arms, abs
W- 40 mins. cardio, legs
T- 40-50 mins. cardio, arms, abs
F- 40 mins. cardio, legs
S- 40-50 mins. cardio, sometimes arms, abs
S- rest
*I used to incorporate back, but my rib and shoulder problems have made me lazy about it- I'm always in pain afterward. Don't be like me; work your back!!
**I also do plyometrics when I have time, or I'll go back and forth: elliptical, plyometrics, elliptical, every five minutes.
***Oh, and never work a muscle group two days in a row- even abs.
Also, I now do something I never would have thought I was capable of: I work out before 9 AM. Depending on how my son is doing, I start my workouts anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30 AM. I think the earlier you make time to exercise, the less time you have to make excuses. So if you can, gradually work up to AM workouts (if you tend to get lazy towards the end of the day, like me).
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