If you could change anything about your postpartum self, what would it be?
I imagine a lot of minds just flashed to that number on the scale that hasn’t quite gotten back to where it once was- or maybe that ring around the midsection that no matter how hard you work doesn’t quite go away. Perhaps the boobs that aren’t quite as perky as they were before nursing multiple babes.
I’m right there with you all and I guarantee that mom you think looks like she has it all together or is “so fit” after having babies also has something she wishes she could change. But the one thing that didn’t come to mind when I thought of starting an 8 week Body-Back program with Fit4Mom- Boise? My mind.
According to the Fit4Mom-Boise website “Body Back® is a 60-minute, results-based workout designed to help you reach your full physical potential and reconnect to your inner strength.”
What that blurb doesn’t tell you? That while your body is making physical changes your mind is changing leaps and bounds. And for me personally, in ways I didn’t really think were needing to change. For example, sometime during the 2nd or 3rd week our instructor asked us to share one of the biggest reasons doing this program was important to us. One mom said she didn’t want to be the mom that just stuck her kids in front of the TV and wanted to model healthy choices. Another mom said she needed to figure out how to take time for herself again after having 3 babies back to back to back. I shared how joining Glean + Co two years ago has opened up my creative spirit again and allowed me to get back to doing the photography I love….but doing so has left me feeling guilty about leaving my kids to go to the gym since I’ve already left them to work. I’m distracted by wanting to get work done when my kids want to play. I’m on my phone. A lot. And overall the days just go by too fast to get everything done.
Body Back challenged me every week to think about what my problems were and then what tiny thing I could do to move my body a little bit more or eat just a little bit healthier. Suddenly I found myself taking all 3 of my kids and my dog for a hike in the foothills on Friday mornings. The first time we did it I was nervous- was my 3 year old going to need to be carried half way through? Was I going to get us all lost? Was the dog going to run off when I called if I let her off the leash? None of those things happened. Instead we had a beautiful, fun morning together and we all got some much needed exercise. It became a weekly tradition that I looked forward to (and that I’m missing now that it’s so cold!). I added RX Bars to the snacks in my car so that instead of grabbing a handful of my kid’s goldfish I had a healthy alternative when there just wasn’t time to have breakfast before school drop-off. I started going to the gym for just an hour on Tuesday mornings when it’s just the baby and I. Sometimes I only worked out for 30 minutes and spent the other 30 minutes taking a long shower and blow drying my hair. But the biggest difference these little changes made? Taking that time allowed me to be a better mom. I wasn’t on my phone sending emails while we were hiking, I was engaging with my kids. After that hour at the gym I was able to give the baby so much more focused attention because I didn’t have that do list running through my head (with the first item being “SHOWER.”)
The ultimate thing that Body-Back taught me? Little differences make a difference, so don’t discount them!
In the 2 weeks since my 8 week program has been over I’ve definitely struggled with staying on track. I have all the excuses in the world, and a lot of them are valid! (It’s the holidays, we’re going out of town, it’s cold, I’m inundated with Christmas card orders, it’s football season, etc etc etc) But the thing I’m not making excuses about anymore? That things are out of my control. I can choose what to do with my time. I can find balance. And that ring around my waist? It’s ok if that stays there a little while. I can feel good about where I’m at right now and know that this season of life will be over before I know it. It’s ok to just make little changes to slowly improve because those little differences matter.
Check out my body back results! Try it for yourself- Sign up for the Winter BodyBack session by Dec 31st and get $30 off! I promise you you’ll make some amazing changes….they just might not be the kind of changes you think you need.
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