Last week was fitness week on my Instagram page, and as promised on a few of my feed post, I’m sharing what’s happening with my postpartum fitness journey and the changes I’ve been making for my own personal health and wellness.

The journey to a healthy, happier me is has been long and I feel like after having a baby, that journey has shifted and changed exponentially. One big reality I’ve had to deal with over the past 8 months has been that I cannot spend as much time as I use to on workouts, additionally, meal prep includes meal prepping for 3 people now that Charlee is eating solids pretty regularly. Lastly, with COVID, I’ve really been making an effort to prioritize mental health above all else. So below is detailed list of things I’m doing that have been slowly transforming my health and wellness journey postpartum also, some truth that I’m still just trying to figure things out.

Current 2021 Postpartum Plan

Workouts Postpartum

I try to workout a minimum of 3 days a week. Workouts are usually 30 minutes long and consists of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and if time allows, 30-40 minutes of high intensity cardio (Running, Biking, Power Walking, Kickboxing, Thai Kickboxing). I alternate between these cardio activities so I don’t get bored.

On days where I have no time to workout, I just make sure to move a lot throughout the day, alternating between sitting and standing at home. Since I work from home, I’ve made an effort to leave my computer every hour on the hour to walk on my home treadmill for 15 minutes and sometimes, I schedule virtual walking meetings. My motto these days is just to keep moving.

Nutrition Postpartum

I’ve always been pretty conscious about what I eat. I’ve been on a pescatarian lifestyle for over a decade, only reverting back to poultry for the latter part of my pregnancy and transitioning back to a pescatarian lifestyle at around 3 months postpartum. For the most part, my diet consists of lots of leafy greens, fish or shellfish 2-3 times a week, low carb intake, coffee and water (mostly water because coffee drys you out) and small portions of fruit. I’m working on incorporating more protein and fiber into my diet and have increased my intake of beans, legumes and lentils and want to add a bit more variety to my vegetables during the week. So far, this has worked for me, but with a few minor adjustments and more consistency, I think I will start seeing more results on the outside, but on the inside, my digestive health has been amazing and my skin is not drying out as fast like it use to. I don’t really do restrictions, I eat what I want when I want, but have a conscious attitude about what I’m eating. All that said, if I want a cookie, I eat a cookie, if I want fast food, I eat fast food. I don’t calorie count or worry about gaining weight. I want to maintain a healthy relationship with food, and the best way I know to do that is to lay off the restrictions and eat certain foods in moderation. This approach has worked for me and my mental health. I just want to feel good and not have to worry about food and weight gain, that’s really it.

Mental Health Postpartum

I’ve been shopping for a therapists. There are a lot things that I have spent a lifetime avoiding, trauma from childhood, behaviors that stem from that and unhealthy coping mechanisms that I’m not to proud to say I’ve picked up over my lifetime and it’s time I start taking responsibility for my actions and begin the healing process. I don’t want to just do this for myself, I owe it to my daughter to heal. I think motherhood has allowed me to see areas where I personally need to heal and improve, and if I want to be the best mom I can be, I need to begin to address issues that I’ve put band aids on for so long.

On the flip side of things, I’ve been taking short breaks throughout the day practicing my breathing. Mindfulness is critical to health and well being. Taking these mini breaks has helped me to collect my thoughts, rest my mind and reboot. I’ve realized I’m not a machine and I need recharging and my brain needs consistent breaks throughout the day to function at full capacity so these shorts breaks have been so helpful and have changed the way I approach work and even blogging.

So one thing I need to work on is sleep. My sleep has always been pretty poor. I have insomnia and it’s been like this since college. To be honest, I don’t really have a plan on how to fix this as of yet, but I’m dancing around with the idea of sleep medication. I will try a few things before I consider medication as an option. So far I’ve set a bedtime for myself, I keep the lights dim when it’s time for bed, and have eliminated television and audiobooks after a certain time. I think the last thing I’ll more than likely begin implementing is making my last meal before 7:30PM. Lastly, I’ve been pretty good about having no caffeine past 2PM. Not sure what will come of this plan as all of this is forever evolving to be conducive with my current lifestyle, but I’m trying things until something works. This is really how I’ve always approached a lot of things in life and while it may not be ideal for most, it’s been working for me and I’m doing my best, so there you have it.

So happy to have finally shared this update with you.

I hope you’ve found it helpful. I’m sure everything health and wellness wise will change 10 months or even 1 year postpartum, but for now, this is where I’m at. There is most certainly room for improvement and growth, but the journey to a healthy, happier me is so rewarding.

Till next time friends.

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie