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! 

4 miles in the books!

I know July has been over now for about 2 weeks, but I am still so excited to share that I have completed one of my goals! I have officially worked up to running 4 miles STRAIGHT -- aka -- NO STOPPING. Saturday morning, Ryan and I woke up to do our last run together before she left for Europe! I realized at the end of the run, I felt pretty good.  I'm not sure if I could keep going for another mile, but I felt good.  I could feel myself playing a mind game around mile 2ish.  I tried to just push through it and realize that I was over halfway finished!

I am so proud of myself and I am going to continue with my running and aim for 5 miles in the month of August!!

Mom Status: Body Back

I have always had a hard time figuring out different things to do at the gym.  Whenever I would go, its pretty typical to find me running a mile or two on the treadmill followed by some abs and then calling in a day.  Not because I didn't want to do more, but because I was always challenged with exercises that were simple but effective.

When I was getting in shape for the wedding, my former high school Western Civilization teacher invited me to come try out this workout class she did.  She said it was a great workout that incorporated HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) as well as everything you need to feel like you are getting a good workout.  Then she told me it was a program for moms that are trying to get their "body back". I was a little skeptical because I would be the only non-mom in the class, but I decided to go anyways and give it a try.  Let me tell you- IT WAS NO JOKE. These moms were kicking some booty! 

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Body Back by Fit4Mom is a results-based workout designed for moms who want to get their body back, whether they just had a baby or had a baby 20 years ago! Like I said, in a typical class you will experience high-intensity workouts with a great group of women.  When you sign up you receive workout DVDs as well as help with meal planning and guides to eating the right food to be successful in weight loss and muscle gaining! Body Back is in tons of cities across the United States and if you go to the website,  you can look to see if there is one near you! 

A Typical Workout at Body Back Norfolk:

7-7:10 warming up talking about the question of the workout.

7:10-7:55 Rounds - a typical round will include 1 cardio move, 1 strength move, and 1 core move.  Each move is 1 minute and we do each move twice.  That consists of one round.  We typically have time for 5 or 6 rounds any given day.

7:55-8 Wrap up with a meditation.  They range from very inspirational quotes and stories to completely silence to reflect on your day.  

At the beginning and end of each 8 week session, we did an assessment that tracked certain exercises and how many we could do in one minute.  It was a great indication that the class actually creates results! Not only in the increase in exercise reps, but also in your weight and measurements! 

I was fortunate enough that when my teacher moved and was no longer a member of the class, the other mom's welcomed me with open arms and it's great to have a predictable workout every Tuesday and Thursday.  Over the past few sessions, I have found my favorite workouts as well as some amazing people to work out with.

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Favorites Workout Moves:

+ slow, wide burps

+ Beast Reach (even though its seriously impossible at first!)

+  Cards Workout - this is a different workout that we typically do.  Each card in a standard card deck is paired with a workout.  Each person draws a card and we do the workout then we continue on for the rest of the hour!
+Tricep Dips - hard, but worth it.

Not-so-favorite Workout Moves:

- Tuck Jumps - I think this is because the moms that I workout with make this look so simple and I can't keep up!

-  Resisted Monkeys - can never get all the way through without taking a break!

- I'm sure there are many more workout moves that when they are announced I say UGH, but all in all, they make me stronger and it's for my own good!

These moms push me to my max and make me a better person.  I know that when I do have the honor of becoming a mama, these ladies are going to be my go-to people for advice!  As we are getting ready to start up the next sessions, please take a look at the Norfolk/Suffolk Body Back Facebook page to get more information on times and prices! 

I promise you, it will be the best and most rewarding money well spent on yourself, your children, and your family!!! And since all these ladies are mom's and have little ears around all the time, this is a little quote I feel best describes my experience with Body Back!

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Get out there and get moving people!!