FIT4MOM MOMMA

I have some V E R Y exciting news! 

So you know how I've been working hard at loosing weight and getting back in shape? Trying to squeeze into those jeans that fit me before Harrison was born?! 

Well I let you know about this pretty awesome program I've been a part of since 2013 a few years ago. 

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And I'm here to brag about this amazing group of moms, friends and program a little more. 

FIT4MOM is a program that prides itself on helping moms make strides in fitness, motherhood and life.  And I can tell you that they have done all of that and MORE for me.  Before baby, they helped me understand what a healthy workout routine looked like.  During pregnancy, they educated me on how to train my body while it worked extremely hard to house that precious little man of mine.  And after birth, they trained me on how to come back from baby and how to work hard towards my goals. 

They have four different programs that allow you to tailor your workout to what you are looking for - Stroller Strides, Stroller Barre, Fit4Baby, and Body Back.  

my S T O R Y - I started taking Body Back classes the summer of 2013 when I was trying to get some arm definition for my wedding dress.  My previous high school teacher and friend asked me to join her for a class with all moms.  I of course though this would be a perfect opportunity to network myself and get more babysitting clients.  Not only did I get new clients, but I got an amazing workout that I never left.  

During the summer of 2015, I realized that one day I wanted to be a BodyBack instructor.  Living in Lynchburg for the summer with D.J. and working out with all the other baseball WAGS there, I was in my element creating Body Back inspired workouts while I was temporarily there for the summer.  It was after that, that I realized this was natural for me. I was in the best shape of my life......and then I found out we were pregnant! That's how it always works, right?! 

So I came back from the summer in Lynchburg and started to run the idea of becoming Body Back instructor certified by Erin, my friend and the Norfolk franchise owner.  Erin was on board and I truly believe that she would do anything to help me succeed and teaching. Obviously, the idea was put on hold until Harrison was born and I was ready to take that next step in my fitness journey.  Well, I started working out seriously again in July 2016.  Since then, I have seen first hand how Body Back transforms a mothers body.  It has helped me gain muscles, lose fat, eat healthy and find the balance between momming and being Cayte.  My results are still in progress, but you can see after my first session back post-baby how Body Back is helping me gain control over my post-partum body. 

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body back I N S T R U C T O R - Well guess what - that time is NOW.  At the end of this week, I will officially be Body Back instructor CERTIFIED! I could not be more excited about this opportunity to inspire other moms and coach them to being the best version of themselves. I feel so honored to follow in some of the most inspiring moms I know as an instructor.  The ladies that have taught my classes and taken classes with me are some of the strongest and most empowering women I know. 

So if you are excited about taking your fitness to the next level and want M E to motivate you, let me know, because I'd love to have you come experience the amazing energy for yourself! 

The Results

These past 6 weeks have been nothing but easy.  Lots of coordinating with my family for babysitters, conscious eating and tons of sweat falling off my body! But I am happy to say that I have completed my first session of Body Back post partum!

Fit4Mom is celebrating their 15 anniversary this year and I cannot begin to tell y'all how thankful for this group I am.  Under the Fit4Mom umbrella, they have four different workout classes - Stroller Strides (where you bring your kiddos), Stroller Barre, Fit4Baby (for pregnant mommas) and Body Back (kid-free).  I personally like the Body Back program the best.  It fits my schedule, allows me an hour to focus on myself and provides me with such an amazingly hard workout!

I started BB when I was getting in better shape for our wedding back in 2013.  Since then, I have continued to take classes until I was pregnant.  I was the token "non-mom".  After my first session back,  I have a whole new appreciation for all these moms that workout during these classes.  Making the time for yourself to get the workout in is so important and I am so thankful to be able to have this class and these friends to workout with!

OK, so the results....

I started this session when I was 15 weeks post partum, so a little over three months.  I was feeling weak and ready to get my body back the way it was pre-baby.  With reasonable expectations, I was so excited to work hard and hopefully see great results at the end of six weeks. So here's the result pictures.  Left is at the beginning of the session and the right picture is post session.

And the picture I am most proud of...

And the results in numbers were....


Weight: 157 to 153.00 (-4Lbs!!!!!)
Chest: 39 1⁄2 ” to 38 1/4 “ (-1 1⁄4”) - wasn't expecting to loose at all since I'm still BFing
Waist: 37 1⁄4 ” to 34 3⁄4 ” (-2 1⁄2 ”)
Hips: 40” to 39” (-1”)
Thigh: 24 1⁄2 ” to 22 1⁄4 “ (-2 1⁄4 “)

1/2 Mile Run: 4:09 to 3:06 (+1:03 FASTER)
Bicep Curls: 41 to 45 (9.8% increase)
Push Ups: 11 to 15 on toes (+4) STRONGER!
Full Roll Ups: 19 to 29 (+10!!!!)
Squats: 45 to 51 (+6 more!)
Plank: 1:06 to 1:38 (:32 longer)
Side Plank: :40 to :50 (:10 sec longer!)


The numbers I am most proud of are the waist decrease, the full roll up and the plank! The next session starts today and my goal is to keep working on the food journaling, get the hip number to drop and continue to get stronger!!!!

I am so proud of myself and I hope to continue to encourage other new mamas to get out and just simply get active!

My Post Baby Fitness Journey

The female body is designed to do amazing things.  Grow a life.  Birth a baby. Provide life for that baby.  It truly is amazing.  While I was pregnant, I embraced all the changes my body was going through - the weight gain, the back pain, the big(ger) boobs - it was all worth it to push that little bundle of joy into the world.

But being a mom takes a toll on your body. I gained around 40 pounds during my pregnancy.  I started at 135 and topped off around 175 I think.  Working out while pregnant was important to me. I tried my hardest to stay active, but once I hit the 7 month mark, workouts started to dwindle.  It didn't help that it was winter time and the motivation was not there.

I am writing this post to keep myself accountable. Not for you to compare.  Or judge.  Or wish you had what I have.  Or say anything about my journey.  Because that's what it is - MY journey.  Not your journey.  Everyone has different weight gain or starting points for their fitness journey.  I just hope by writing this post, I will inspire someone to get active or start their post baby fitness journey.

This picture is my motivation.  I don't know why, but I just love this picture of D.J. and I.  This picture was taken not more than a month before I found out I was expecting.  Heck, I was probably pregnant in this photo and didn't even know it.  Last summer I was in the best shape of my life.  I was working out hard almost every day, eating (somewhat) healthy and focusing on myself.

Now that I am 4+ months postpartum, I am trying to kick it into full drive with my workouts and eating habits.  I used July to focus on balancing work, life and working out and now that it's August, I'm trying to make sure that eating healthy takes more of a front seat in my priorities right now.

I am down to 152 pounds and hoping to be at 147 by the end of the month.  Given I am still breastfeeding, I need to make sure I am still giving my body the amount of nutrition I need, but focusing on what I eat much more. Oh and for all those people thinking "she's still breastfeeding, she should be dropping pounds left and right!" - well thats not the case for me.  I have noticed myself getting more toned, but the pounds aren't falling off like people say they should!

So right now, my post baby fitness journey looks a little something like this...

Body Back 2-3x/week: You can read more about Body Back here, but this program is truly inspiring.  Makes working out so fun and is really a challenge.  I really feel like this is the key to getting back in my pre baby shape. And we do it on the beach some days - who can complain about that?! BodyBack is a part of Fit4Mom - take a look and see if they have one in your area.  I highly recommend it!

Alexa Jean ab program: Alexa Jean is a quick and dirty ab workout four times a week.  It's 5 moves 3 times through for varying times on and off.  I like this program because I just need to dedicated 20 minutes of my day to it and then I'm done.

Healthy Eating: This is something I am struggling with right now.  Finding the time to go to the grocery store and get healthy snacks and dinners is hard.  But just by making smarter choices I have already noticed a difference in how I feel when I put good food in my body and not crappy food!

Right now I feel as though these things are helping me get back into things without overcommitting myself with D.J. still gone. To keep myself accountable, here are my numbers and everything before I started BodyBack a few weeks ago...

Half mile run: 4 minutes and 9 seconds
Bicep curls with red band: 41
Squats: 45
Push-ups: 26 (11 straight on my toes)
Full sit ups: 19
Plank: 1 min 6 seconds
Side planks: 40 seconds each side

41 1/4 bust
36 1/4 belly
39 1/2 hips

And here are my pictures...

If you ever question getting out and walking or getting a quick workout in, DO IT! 

Advocare: My Story

So over the last few months, my Advocare journey has really hit the ground running.  When another baseball wife introduced it to me, I was a little skeptical.  I have never taken any supplements or energy drinks.  None of that really seemed necessary to me. Anyways, Chelsea sent me a few samples of Spark and said that it should replace my coffee and sodas that I drink.  Well the thing is, I don't drink either of those! So she suggested that I just use half of the suggested amount.  I honestly could tell a difference in my energy level throughout the day.  My energy stayed high and I was a lot more focused at work.  Spark is a powder that you mix into your drink that comes in different flavors.  My favorite (the only one I have ever had) is the Watermelon. After committing to buying the tub of Spark, Chelsea and I started talking about doing a 24-Day Challenge.  At first, I was like um, no thank you.  But really, the more I thought about it, the more perfect it was for me.  It was perfect timing and exactly what I needed to get in the right direction of being clean and healthy.  

So on March 10, Chelsea and a few other ladies and I started the 24-Day Challenge.  At first, I was nervous because of the amount of pills that the challenge required.  I am not the best pill taker so that was a little nerve wracking, but in the end I was happy with how the challenged turned out.  I lost a total of 5 pounds and felt better than ever. I felt cleaner and I felt like I didn't have toxins in my body. Around about day 20 of the challenge, I had been thinking about becoming an Advocare Distributor. Not only does it give me income opportunities, but it allows me to get the products at a discount! So of course, I signed up and now am officially an Advocare Distributor! I am not trying to make a significant income on this, but just a little side money coming in would be great.  So here is my public service announcement, if you or anyone you know is interested in learning more about Advocare or already knows what they like from Advocare, please let me know! 

You can order directly from my website or you can contact me and I am more than happy to send you some samples! My email is merrymce@gmail.com if you need any more questions answered!

I look forward to helping you all feel as healthy as I do!