I put a question box up on my Instagram stories the other day and someone asked me how much I weigh and how I got my body back after baby. I wanted to write a blog post about this because I think it’s important to say, that my pre-baby body will never be “back”. I’ve carried, loved, and delivered three magical beings into this world and all within 4 years. My post-baby body is better and stronger than my pre-baby body could have ever dreamed of.
That being said, it takes 9 months to gain the pregnancy weight so it’s ok if it takes that or longer to take it off. I gained 37lbs with my first pregnancy, 42lbs with my second, and 54lbs with my third.
Diagnosed with Auto-Immune Diseases
I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease in 2014 (I was also diagnosed with Hypothyroidism when I was 16) and Celiac Disease, which basically means that my body attacks itself if I introduce Gluten because the bad bacteria outweighs the good bacteria in my gut. Gluten is a general name for the proteins found in wheat (wheatberries, durum, emmer, semolina, spelt, farina, farro, graham, and einkorn), rye, barley, and triticale – a cross between wheat and rye. It can be found in foods other than bread, so I have to be extra mindful when I consume any kind of food and I have to check ingredients on everything that I eat. Once, I ate a bag of Twizzlers at a movie theater and started to get insane pain and had to leave. When I looked at the ingredient list, wheat was the first ingredient which means it was the most prominent.
When I was growing up, I remember always feeling sick when I would eat and I never knew why and it was so frustrating and sad to me because I felt like I couldn’t just enjoy regular food and I just wanted to stop eating altogether. I’ve had so many tests done to try to figure it out, and I even ate a radioactive egg sandwich once so that they could track it down my digestive tract. They still found nothing.
I found a great book by Jennifer Esposito called Jennifer’s Way and after reading it I felt heard and understood for the first time. If you feel like you might have some gut and gluten issues, I highly recommend, not only doing your own research and not solely depending on doctors to “solve” them, but this book can really open your eyes up to other possibilities.
That being said, my Mental Health, Spiritual Health, and Physical Health are my priorities every day and I have to be intentional when it comes to staying on track.
Mental Health
In one of my recent blog posts, I spoke about therapy and how I’ve been going to therapy since I was 16. I was raised in an abusive home and I knew that I needed help getting my emotions out and I’m a huge advocate of getting the help you need when you need it.
Spiritual Health
Meditation is a big part of my life as well. I set an alarm every morning before my daughters wake up, and I meditate and I journal. It can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes, but the point is to have mental time with myself to start the day and set intentions for the day.
Physical Health
I follow a vegan and gluten-free, high fat, and low carb lifestyle and I stay away from processed sugar. That lifestyle might not be ideal for everyone, but that is what works for me and my body and I also work out 6-7 days a week. I started working out with a personal trainer this year and he trains me virtually. His programs are easy to follow; he’s very helpful and always available. If you’re interested in personalized help, you can find him HERE.
I also LOVE taking classes on the OpenFit app! I actually miss it if I have to skip a day. You can take live classes with a trainer or start a program and go at your own pace. Anywhere from training for a Tough Mudder, to Yoga and Sound Meditation, to Pilates and Barre! There’s literally something for everyone. Click HERE to get a free 14-day trial so you can see what all the hype is about!
I’d love to know your thoughts on “Body after Baby”! Let me know in the comment section below.
xoxo, C
- Gluten information found HERE. (celiac.org)
