Five reasons I'm back at it!

Mikey is two months old on Monday.  I'm not sure how that is possible.  For real. Time flies!!!

One thing I was determined to do after I had this sweet babe was not wait forever to get back to my old self (i.e. the workout habits and healthy eating that I was doing). I was really good at working out this pregnancy and I was floored at the difference it made.  I am not sure why I was so surprised because - DUH - but it really made me feel so much better and less aches and pains.  And I had some bad ones- including pretty bad varicose veins from 18 weeks and on.  So this time around, I didn't wait 6 months (like I did with Maddie) or just never do it before I got pregnant again (like I did after Charlie!).  After I had my six week check up, I went full speed ahead and here's a few reasons why!

{ONE}

I love the way I feel when I work out.  Before we went on our five year anniversary trip in May 2015, I was in really good shape as far as my standards.  And I just felt good.  More energized, I didn't need caffeine for energy and I loved being a little sore after working out because I felt STRONG!!!

Happy and healthy celebrating anniversary #5!

{TWO}

Speaking of strong - the thing I for sure learned when I started working out after I had Maddie was how exercise could make me so toned.  The way I feel about my arms and legs isn't always the best relationship (yeah...I have flabby arms and I'm not a fan of the way my legs looked in shorts).  When I work out I feel like I can wear shorts and tank tops and rock it!!

This was me in May 2015 and I loved how toned my arms looked.  My arms get a LOT of work anyways from holding kids and babies....but I began to love lifting weights so much!  Push ups?  Still not a fan at all.

{THREE}

Stomach issues.  I didn't talk a lot about this when I was pregnant on the blog, but with this pregnancy I had some weird stomach issues going on.  Like enough that my OB sent me to a gastroenterologist for a consult and testing.  I went on a probiotic (no big deal) but also saw a HUGE difference when I didn't eat greasy fried food and lots of dairy.  I love both so much- for real.  Give me some chicken wings and fried pickles and a big beer and yep...my kind of night.  End it with a pot hole cookie dough concrete from Sheridan's even better.  But that night and next day- ugh. Not cool on how I felt.  

One of my favorite things is the flexibility in the eating plan.  I like to explore and find something that I love and then usually stick with it.  This has been my go to breakfast these last few weeks (just 2 eggs and then one green container of veggies) and I love it.

Obviously, eating healthier makes me feel better and helps with those stomach issues- so starting now was the perfect time!  Especially still being on maternity leave...I've found once I get in a good habit (21-30 days) it's much easier for me to keep up because I see the positive effects.  I probably wouldn't keep it up if I attempted this right when I went back to work!!  Because yeah, we all know how fun (i.e. Completely CRAZY) life is when you head back to work after leave. Talk about a reality check!

{FOUR}

Am I allowed to say it's FUN?!! Ha.  I decided to start off my post pregnancy work outs with the new country heat work out program from Beachbody and seriously it's SO MUCH FUN.  I'm almost a full 2 weeks in and have done 4 of the routines and I'm obsessed.  I love the music (I'm a country music fan so duh...), but I'm amazed how Autumn made up these dance moves that are like jumping squats that I do and love.  I guess it's amazing how your mind can trick you when you think you're "just" dancing!

But they are 30 minute or less work outs and Mikey seems to be mystified by the videos.  Sometimes he sleeps through them and sometimes he doesn't.  Sometimes I push pause and stop to rock him like 4 times...but I still finish (what I love about working out at home).  Anything more than 30 minutes I just can't do, especially in the long term.  When I go back to work, life is going to be insane (obviously...), so hopefully I can squeeze them in before work.  We will see!  But so far I'm seriously seeing amazing results in such a short amount of time.  From dancing.  And looking ridiculous while doing it.  But having so much fun.  And Mikey gets his tummy time exercises in too!

{FIVE}

And finally- something I never thought I would do.  Ever. But with the amazing results I continue to get with Beachbody programs over the last 4 years of using them and the absolutely amazing community of support and accountability that I've found through the challenge groups...I decided to sign up to be a coach.  

Yep you read that right.  But the funny part is, as much as I built signing up in my mind, it's really not that huge of a deal.  I bought a challenge pack of country heat + vegan chocolate shakeology (since I'm nursing and not eating dairy- it's a good option and this is my first time trying it--- it's delicious!) and paid a $40 fee that I was reimbursed for and that's it.  And now I get a 25% discount and the best part??  I can help people.  Nope. I'm not a fitness expert or nutritionist by ANY means.  But you know what I needed more than anything when I started my fitness and healthy eating journey...support, encouragement, resources, direction and accountability.  That's exactly what my coach provided for me and I'm excited to focus more on working out and eating healthy and hopefully helping and inspiring others along the way.  Because guess what?  I get the excuses.  I get that you are busy.  I get that you're stressed and the LAST thing you want to do is work out or eat healthy.  I am too!  But, at least for me, putting minimal effort into these programs gave me some AMAZING results and best of all even more energy than I had before.

I really have no idea what I'm doing...or where to start.  I am coming from a little different place than lots of the others on my team because I love my job and am in no way looking for this as a way to quit working...just something fun to do that can earn some spending money along the way + encourage others.  So instead of spamming my personal social media feeds, which is not my style, I made a blog (that's how I speak...) and a separate Instagram account.  

If you are at all interested in my own journey, my tips and tricks and {the best part} my week one country heat results - which I promise you will be shocked - check out my blog at www.yourparadisefitness.com and Instagram handle @yourparadisefitness.  I promise I won't be changing what I blog about here (which is pretty much nothing and everything...), so don't you worry 😉 but these are just ways to follow along if you want to!!!  

PS this is really scary for me to post- especially my week one results picture (oh my!)...so don't make fun of me!! I promise I'm not crazy - but I'm excited for my own health journey to continue and hoping to help others get on board with a totally doable way to get healthy too!

Now let's see if I can make some healthy choices on our six hour car ride (that will no doubt turn it at least 8-9 hours with three kids!) to Iowa to visit my grandma.  That's the true test!

Side note- if you haven't noticed from my other posts that Jimmy was out to town all week.  We are all soooo happy to have that guy back that I'm making him promise he will never have to leave again.  Ha!

Happy weekending!!!

Linking up with:

Sept Farm | Oh hey Friday!

A. Liz Adventures | Five on Friday

Momfessionals | Friday Favorites