It’s been just over 3 months since I had my baby. Life with 3 kids has been challenging, interesting and wonderful. Sadly, the weight hasn’t come off as quickly as I had intended. If you remember from my first blog, I stood backwards on the scale when the nurses weighed me at my appointments. I’m not exactly sure how much weight I gained in my pregnancy, however, I feel pretty confident in saying that I’ve lost about 20 pounds since I had the baby and a couple of inches overall.

At about 6 weeks post-pregnancy I started walking a few times per week and doing some light weights. Recently I’ve added some running and more weight training. I’m afraid I don’t have a really good routine or schedule set yet. My husband and I both started new jobs and leaving the baby has been difficult. Finding time to squeeze in a workout has been hard. Eating healthy has been challenging. Our family has had many changes and with that comes stress and I tend to be an emotional eater.

I, like many of you, have a hard time finding time to get it all done. What I do know is that my health and fitness needs to be a priority! I feel better mentally and physically when I take care of my body and my family benefits from a Mom and Wife who is at her best.

So now, even though I’m facing many challenges, I need to step things up. I can’t dwell on the excuses whether they are good excuses or not. If I want to lose weight and be healthy I need to find ways to overcome these challenges. I recently joined a biggest loser contest and find that motivating. Investing financially and having people hold me accountable for reporting my weight helps keep me on track. I also made a motivational board to remind me of why I started. I used some of my favorite pictures of myself, some motivational words and some pictures of cute clothes because I find fashion motivating. My hope is that when I find myself having a challenging day, wanting to skip a workout or eat junk I can focus on my motivational board. I’m working on a workout schedule that will allow me the time to dedicate to my health but still allow me the time with my family that I need. I’m finding healthier alternatives to the junk food I sometimes eat. I’m stocking my kitchen with fruits and veggies and not giving into mindless eating. I bring healthy food to work and make sure I eat every couple of hours so that I can avoid overeating or finding a quick meal that isn’t healthy. I’m also drinking more water and avoiding other drinks. I don’t count calories, but instead I focus on the 80/20 rule. 80% healthy clean foods and 20% other. I’m taking it day by day and celebrating the little accomplishments. I now feel more prepared to take the next step in my journey.

Tip: Make yourself a motivational board: post it where it’s easy to see and visit it often to keep you motivated, focused and on track!

For mine, I just bought a cork board square and pinned the pictures and words on as you can see below.

Looking for additional tips and support? Follow my group on Facebook: Hot Mama Health and FIT{mess}.
The URL is: www.facebook.com/groups/hotmamahealthandfitness/