Week 1 - postpartum -- my journey back to excellent physical fitness

A week has past since our beautiful baby girl was born.  On one hand, I can’t believe it’s already been a week since she was born, and yet, on the other hand, I cannot believe I’m holding a little human being who is 7 days old….absolutely amazing!  For her birth, I was able to have my second fully natural, drug-free delivery; something that was extremely important to me.  And although I know that all women can do this, I truly believe that my training in the martial arts (bringing  me mental and emotional focus and control) along with my continued exercise throughout my pregnancy (which kept my body fit and strong), allowed me to have the natural childbirth with more ease.  In fact, this time around, my husband, midwife, doula, and I told jokes and stories until the last critical moments; it was truly a joyous experience.
Okay, so where are we at for the first week?

Total pregnancy weight gain: 35 lbs.

Weight loss after first week: 15 lbs.

Being that new moms really aren’t supposed to do much of anything for at least the first 2 weeks postpartum (our internal bodies need time to heal), I do not have any type of exercise routine started yet.  In fact, I probably won’t have one started for until after week 6 (once my fabulous midwife gives me the a-okay).  However, as my body heals, I will be able to walk, play with my son, and move more and more…slowly strengthening my body back up.

 What I’m going to be looking for in myself during the months ahead is getting back the full-body muscle tone I had before the pregnancy.  I also will be counting down the pant sizes as my hips and body return to their pre-pregnancy state.  I know many people are all about counting the pounds, but to me, there is so much change that my body will continue to go through over the next week (hello milk!), that I think muscle tone and clothing size will be a more accurate judge of getting back to where I want to be physically (back to pre-pregnancy shape).  For those of you out there wanting to lose weight, I would encourage you to try this method as well.  Checking your weight daily can be discouraging…instead, look for a looser waist in your pants or increased definition in your arms or core; then weight in every few weeks to see where you’re at.

 

Until next week…