Getting Started: Working out for the first time after baby

6w3d Postpartum: And so it begins!

Well folks… I’m finally 6 weeks postpartum and I've been cleared by my Doctor to resume exercising. With that being said I begin this journey to get my body back. I’m all about taking baby steps so I’ve developed a basically fool proof plan to get there and stay there.

 This isn’t about just loosing the weight, it’s about making a lifestyle change.

Follow along and I’ll show you everything you need to get there too, wither you are postpartum or just looking to make a lifestyle change as well.

If you only accomplish one lifestyle change let it be this:

Eat a healthy breakfast!

I think in order to get get going on changing your lifestyle you have to change the way you start your day. If you are not already eating a healthy breakfast… stop reading this right now, go get a pen and a piece of paper and copy this list down or print this list out and put it on your fridge.

The next most important thing that I want you to do is to check and see if your phone has a health app that comes pre-installed on it (I have the health app that came with my Galaxy S7 and I love it) or you can go to your app store and find one that you like (think fitness pal, etc.)

Your homework this week:

-Put together a list of healthy breakfasts using the list above and go to the store if you need to get stuff for the week.

- Log all your meals no matter what into your health app (or just start logging your breakfast)

- Go for 3 walks this week for at least 10 minutes or march in place for 10 minutes 3x this week

- Record your weight and BMI, set a goal and take your before pictures!

- Finally follow me on facebook and instagram for recipes, work outs and great articles. 

See you next week!

-Kaila 

  

We had a Baby!

So… I had another baby… and although there is 8 years between the two the damage to my body and midsection have been done. I’m 4 weeks postpartum and have had all about 5 minutes to even stop and consider my activity level (unless you count bouncing an exhausted baby to sleep exercise). 

In all honestly I have had a few minutes here and there to do some stretching, yoga and pelvic floor muscles… which have been great because I really would love to get going on my postpartum recovery.

However; days like today where the time I have to get some exercise in are spent instead drinking a glass of wine and praying the baby stays asleep. My initial plans for this blog post was to post my 1 week postpartum pictures and so on but I’m going to be honest with you and tell you I don’t see the point.

It’s not like I’ve been doing some miraculous thing that has helped me lose weight… what I have been doing is a whole damn lot of breast feeding, baby oogling, and forgetting to eat. I only recommend the baby oogling. So for now I’m going to keep how much weight I lost and the method of which is was lost under wraps because it is not only unhealthy but I also feel like shit. Hopefully soon my baby will decide she loves sleep and I can actually get something done that is exciting to talk about.

Until then… I’m going to drink one more glass of wine before naptime is over.

-Kaila

Let's Start With Little Goals

How do you eat an elephant? The answer is simple... you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Metaphorically speaking your current health and fitness goals are the big giant elephant in the room.

There is seriously no way in hell that you will succeed and all of a sudden become exactly what you want to be... you have to walk up the stairs not fly to the top... and you have to eat that elephant one bite at a time because it sure in the hell wont fit in your mouth all at once!

So Let's Start With Little Goals (bites)

I'm one of those people who have tried and tired and succeeded and failed only to try and try again. I can tell  you this, out of all the times that I have tried the only times that I have had success is when I set goals for myself. In 2014 I was determined to be in the best shape of my life... after many attempts at losing weight I knew I was missing something... goals... I had nothing to keep my motivation going. So I made a huge goal to compete in a fitness competition, gave myself a deadline and broke the big goal (the elephant) down into smaller goals (the bites) and got in the best shape of my life and went to competition! However like my normal cycle... once I no longer had a goal to focus on I gained about 40lbs back then got pregnant. So... here we are again... slowly eating the elephant again.

So... where do we start?

So here is what I want you to do.... find out what your elephant is... Mine is to get in shape my last 20 weeks of pregnancy so that my body will have an easier time with labor and "bounce back" so that next summer with hard work and dedication I will compete in another fitness competition (I seriously just created a monster size elephant) but you'll notice that the big goal is more than a year away... so I have lots of time to break that down in smaller goals to get there. I have a desire and a deadline as to when said desire with be completed. So grab a pen and paper and write down your BIG GOAL! 

Then after you are done fantasizing about how awesome it will be to complete said goal we are going to rewind back in time to today and start really small. We are going to break goals down on a weekly basis. So write Week 1 Plan at the top of your paper then come up with 2 really simple and easy to accomplish goals. Try to think of something that you know you have been struggling with lately. Your little goal should not be Go to the gym 5 days this week... or stick to a super strict diet 100% this week... those are not realistic and the bigger the bites you try to take the more likely the chance that you will choke. 

My goals for this week are simple:

1. Have a healthy breakfast and pre-lunch snack every day

2. Make it to the gym 3x this week can be any day as long as it's done by Sunday

See that's it. I want to eat better so instead of diving head first into a diet I'm going to start making healthier choices with the first meal of the day. So... instead of my usual bagel or muffin I'll be switching to something more better for my body and less likely to have me starving during the day. And it's also proven that if you make a good choice on breakfast you are more likely to make health conscious decisions throughout the day. I've also decided that when I go to the gym I'm only going to walk 1 mile on the treadmill or for 30 minutes. That's it... small easy bites. 

  

So there you have it... Week 1! What are your goals for the week? I'd love to hear your ideas! Remember that this week is supposed to be easy so dont set yourself up for failure. Comment below with your goals for the week and dont forget to subscribe so you dont miss out on Week 2! See you next week foxy ladies!

-Kaila 

It's Time to be a Bikini Mamma!

Your burnt out, tired… scratch that EXHUSTED! You just worked all week, made lunches, cleaned the house, paid the bills, are currently reading this instead of putting away your laundry and somewhere in the back of your mind there is a little voice wondering how in the hell are you going to find time to eat healthy and work out on top of what you are already responsible for. Where the hell are you going to find your “me” time?! Wouldn’t it be nice to have it all… live the dream where you accomplish all your health/fitness/personal goals and still have a clean house, maintain your family and have a full time job… maybe you go to school too… Seems impossible doesn’t it? Even writing this right now has me wondering if it’s even possible, should I wake up and come back to reality? Give up all hope? Or I could be up for a wicked challenge and tackle each area of my life in baby steps and become a master at making life my bitch…

Easier said than done right? Let’s face it like many of you looking for that reality I am exactly the same way. I am a mom of a lovely spirited 8 year old and I also have one on the way that will be making an appearance somewhere around Labor Day (ha… is there a pun here). I also have a full time job, a part time job, go to night school 2 days a week (with seriously like 12 hours of homework during the week), take my daughter to all her sporting events (she does baseball and cheer), somehow manage to get dinner on the table before 8pm and am currently staring at a basket of clean laundry and dirty floors that have been neglected for like 2 weeks… oh… and somehow I manage to fit blogging in my schedule. Whew… you stressed out yet?

With a schedule like that where the hell am I going to find time to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Being overweight to begin with when I got pregnant with my 2^nd and having a restricted amount of weight I can gain during this pregnancy has me pondering where I’m going to fit this new need into my already extremely busy life. However when I look at myself in the mirror and regardless of being pregnant and having an “excuse” I can’t help but shudder and feel guilt looking at my cottage cheesy ass cheeks and the extra layer of fat over my belly. I get told constantly that I should be easier on myself and not judge my body… but hello, I’m a woman I’m not dead and when I don’t feel good about myself and it’s effecting my life… including my sex life then changes need to be made no matter the sacrifice.

In this little blog of mine you are going to find my ups and downs… successes and failures at not only living but maintaining a healthy lifestyle. You are in the same boat as me so I want you to know that what you see here will not just be an amazing success story, it’s going to be a raw real life struggle. There will be bad words and frustration… but there will also be good times where I make it over tiny little bumps in the road that will be celebrated like the 4^th of July.

I also want you to know that although I cannot solve your problems I can give you advice and insight as to how I overcome my challenges. You have got to want it as bad as I do to be willing to make a change because trust me this is not going to be easy for me or for you. I want to be your motivator because girl we are in this together you can cry on my shoulder as long as you promise to let me cry on yours.

My goals for this blog or should I say my “why’s” are:

1. I want to motivate you to live a healthy life style and give you ideas on how to do so with a busy schedule.

2. To use this blog as my own self motivator, to live a healthy lifestyle for myself and my family.

3. To share useful tips and information to you to use as tools in your own journey

4. To get my body back. I was a fitness competitor in June of 2014 and was in the best shape of my life!! I gained over 30 pounds of lost weight back in a year and a half and now I’m pregnant… So to motivate me… I will plan on competing again in the Summer of 2017.

So what do you say? Are you with me? Are you ready to embark on this crazy journey?? Let’s make life our bitch! Step one is to subscribe so you don’t miss any of my posts so click here and let’s get this party started!

-Kaila