Today’s weight: 65kg/143 pounds (10kg/22 pounds down; 7.5/16.5 to go)
I can’t believe it’s been only 13 days since I gave birth. In some ways it feels completely natural, as though things have always been this way. I suppose that’s a huge blessing; I can’t imagine having to go through this without at least sensing a maternal instinct somewhere deep within. Truth be told, when it comes to sleep deprivation (which I guess is the main challenge at this stage) I count myself lucky in that I’ve suffered extremely severe insomnia on and off over the past 3 years. Not that I’d recommend going through that turmoil voluntarily but there sure is no better way to prepare yourself for night feeds and sleep loss. Night feeds are a walk in the park in comparison! Anyway, there’s so much I could go on about here, so much I really want to write about being a Mum and about my beautiful daughter, but I’m going to keep myself on target at least for today. So here goes – this photo is me the day after birth – pretty standard of course to still have that preggy belly look, but I still wanted to have it on record. Quite amazing how quickly it goes down though, isn’t it?
As far as my helping things along, my plan has always been to get straight back into exercise (of course I may have been just a little unrealistic in taking my workout gear and running shoes into the hospital with me), and the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians states that it’s fine to get back into it within a few days after giving birth so long as you’ve been active right through your pregnancy. Having said that it’s still highly recommended that you check with your doctor before resuming any form of exercise, and particularly if you plan to do so sooner than your post-natal check up (usually around 6 weeks).
For myself, I was pretty comfortable with hitting the gym on my first day back at home. I remained active right through to the end of my pregnancy, and have a long history of very consistent exercise. But that’s not to say that first visit back went smoothly! I managed a 25-minute weights circuit, the main ‘weight’ being lifted being myself. Supported pull-ups, kneeling push-ups (6 max – eeek, what happened to being able to keep up with the boys!), bodyweight squats and lateral lunges, and some lightly weighted cable wood-chops. 4 sets with a short rest between each – the perfect time to wake up those pelvic floor muscles. Despite taking it extremely easy I left the gym feeling fairly shattered and shaky. Still, it’s a start, and better sooner than later! Since then I’ve done gym-work 3 more times, and each has been easier than the previous. Yesterday’s workout actually felt ‘real’, and I even managed a fairly intense 15-minute interval climb on the treddy. It’s all about adaptation, and (without doing anything you’re really not ready for) I really do believe that the longer you leave it the tougher it will be both mentally and physically to turn that baby body around. I’ve also squeezed in 2 Bikram Yoga sessions which has been just fantastic for loosening up those tight breastfeeding muscles. I strongly recommend including some form of yoga into your post-baby routine. If you can’t get to a class just use a DVD at home.
But if you’re thinking that getting back into training is going to be the most daunting thing you can face at this time then think again. Thursday last week was the big day – measurements and body fat. Yuck yuck yuck. I was soooo not loving the idea of having my fat pinched from top to toe so soon after the birth but I really do want to track exactly what I achieve over the coming weeks. At least my belly had deflated quite a bit in the 6 days previous, but still. Not my favorite pic! My body fat came in at 17.9%, and my weight was 66.5/146.3. Tape measurements were bust 97.5cm, waist 85cm, butt 97cm. And considering my body fat was 16.3% (slightly up post-Christmas and summer holidays!) in the first month of my pregnancy when last I measured – the week of the photo below – I had to be pretty happy with the numbers overall.
Mind you, now that I’ve said that, those measurements were done by someone else so I do have to wonder if there’s some variance in testing. I know some of my current weight is excess fluid, but definitely not all of it, and I don’t think I’ve gained muscle while pregnant! I certainly didn’t train at an intensity that would allow for that. Maybe my legs have built up from carrying all that extra weight around haha. Still, I’m pretty shocked to have dropped so much weight so quickly – I know at least half of what I’ve lost so far was baby, placenta, etc, but it’s pretty motivating nonetheless to lose over 10% of my body weight in less than a week! Makes up in a very very small way for all those months of turmoil over my long-lost body.
Body plus baby? Easy!*
Kat
*(We hope)
Are you currently on your own ‘body after bump’ journey? I’d love to hear from you. One of my main reasons for starting this blog (aside from keeping myself accountable) was to form a community of like-minded women. Women who refuse to become a dowdy mother figure and instead choose to embrace their new role with the exceptional health and energy that comes from being in control of their body from the inside out. If this is you then make sure you drop me a line in the comments section below!
Want to leave a comment? If you’re reading from RSS or email you’ll have to enter the blog to do this. You can do that by clicking on the title of this piece. ‘Post a comment’ is at the article end, right under the ’share this’ and ‘related posts’ options.
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Related posts:
- Week Three Measurements
- Today’s Training – GBC One
First Week’s Training And Measurements
Today’s weight: 65kg/143 pounds (10kg/22 pounds down; 7.5/16.5 to go)
I can’t believe it’s been only 13 days since I gave birth. In some ways it feels completely natural, as though things have always been this way. I suppose that’s a huge blessing; I can’t imagine having to go through this without at least sensing a maternal instinct somewhere deep within. Truth be told, when it comes to sleep deprivation (which I guess is the main challenge at this stage) I count myself lucky in that I’ve suffered extremely severe insomnia on and off over the past 3 years. Not that I’d recommend going through that turmoil voluntarily but there sure is no better way to prepare yourself for night feeds and sleep loss. Night feeds are a walk in the park in comparison! Anyway, there’s so much I could go on about here, so much I really want to write about being a Mum and about my beautiful daughter, but I’m going to keep myself on target at least for today. So here goes – this photo is me the day after birth – pretty standard of course to still have that preggy belly look, but I still wanted to have it on record. Quite amazing how quickly it goes down though, isn’t it?
As far as my helping things along, my plan has always been to get straight back into exercise (of course I may have been just a little unrealistic in taking my workout gear and running shoes into the hospital with me), and the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians states that it’s fine to get back into it within a few days after giving birth so long as you’ve been active right through your pregnancy. Having said that it’s still highly recommended that you check with your doctor before resuming any form of exercise, and particularly if you plan to do so sooner than your post-natal check up (usually around 6 weeks).
For myself, I was pretty comfortable with hitting the gym on my first day back at home. I remained active right through to the end of my pregnancy, and have a long history of very consistent exercise. But that’s not to say that first visit back went smoothly! I managed a 25-minute weights circuit, the main ‘weight’ being lifted being myself. Supported pull-ups, kneeling push-ups (6 max – eeek, what happened to being able to keep up with the boys!), bodyweight squats and lateral lunges, and some lightly weighted cable wood-chops. 4 sets with a short rest between each – the perfect time to wake up those pelvic floor muscles. Despite taking it extremely easy I left the gym feeling fairly shattered and shaky. Still, it’s a start, and better sooner than later! Since then I’ve done gym-work 3 more times, and each has been easier than the previous. Yesterday’s workout actually felt ‘real’, and I even managed a fairly intense 15-minute interval climb on the treddy. It’s all about adaptation, and (without doing anything you’re really not ready for) I really do believe that the longer you leave it the tougher it will be both mentally and physically to turn that baby body around. I’ve also squeezed in 2 Bikram Yoga sessions which has been just fantastic for loosening up those tight breastfeeding muscles. I strongly recommend including some form of yoga into your post-baby routine. If you can’t get to a class just use a DVD at home.
But if you’re thinking that getting back into training is going to be the most daunting thing you can face at this time then think again. Thursday last week was the big day – measurements and body fat. Yuck yuck yuck. I was soooo not loving the idea of having my fat pinched from top to toe so soon after the birth but I really do want to track exactly what I achieve over the coming weeks. At least my belly had deflated quite a bit in the 6 days previous, but still. Not my favorite pic! My body fat came in at 17.9%, and my weight was 66.5/146.3. Tape measurements were bust 97.5cm, waist 85cm, butt 97cm. And considering my body fat was 16.3% (slightly up post-Christmas and summer holidays!) in the first month of my pregnancy when last I measured – the week of the photo below – I had to be pretty happy with the numbers overall.
Mind you, now that I’ve said that, those measurements were done by someone else so I do have to wonder if there’s some variance in testing. I know some of my current weight is excess fluid, but definitely not all of it, and I don’t think I’ve gained muscle while pregnant! I certainly didn’t train at an intensity that would allow for that. Maybe my legs have built up from carrying all that extra weight around haha. Still, I’m pretty shocked to have dropped so much weight so quickly – I know at least half of what I’ve lost so far was baby, placenta, etc, but it’s pretty motivating nonetheless to lose over 10% of my body weight in less than a week! Makes up in a very very small way for all those months of turmoil over my long-lost body.
Body plus baby? Easy!*
Kat
*(We hope)
Are you currently on your own ‘body after bump’ journey? I’d love to hear from you. One of my main reasons for starting this blog (aside from keeping myself accountable) was to form a community of like-minded women. Women who refuse to become a dowdy mother figure and instead choose to embrace their new role with the exceptional health and energy that comes from being in control of their body from the inside out. If this is you then make sure you drop me a line in the comments section below!
Want to leave a comment? If you’re reading from RSS or email you’ll have to enter the blog to do this. You can do that by clicking on the title of this piece. ‘Post a comment’ is at the article end, right under the ’share this’ and ‘related posts’ options.
If you haven’t yet subscribed to this feed, what are you waiting for? Do it now. You can choose either email at the top right of this page, or by RSS in the URL bar.
If you enjoyed this article please forward to your friends and tweet it. Thank-you!
Related posts: