Happy Monday, friends! I’ve been wanting to share a postpartum fitness update for awhile now, and I think I’ve finally mustered up the courage. (Nevermind, I haven’t. See you tomorrow.)

Fine, I’ll stay and share some pretty revealing photos. And by revealing I mean embarrassing. 

If you followed along while I was pregnant, you know that I didn’t exactly deprive myself of, well…anything. I let myself indulge. I ate pizza in a parking lot while I was waiting to pick up my girl (true story) and had Pop Tarts on my nightstand. I blame the crazy morning sickness that lasted all day, every single day until the 2nd trimester. 

(Side note: I know morning sickness makes most people lose weight, or at least maintain. Not me. Literally the ONLY time I didn’t feel like throwing up was when I was ingesting food. Immediately before and after? Yak city.)

You guys. All of that not depriving myself led to a 50 pound weight gain. 50 POUNDS.

I had gained about 40 pounds with my first girl, and it was all gone by the time she was 3 months old. This time around? Not so much. It was different. It wasn’t melting off. It wouldn’t leave. 

Determined to feel like myself again, I put my head down and went to work.

Now, a year later, I feel strong and healthier than I ever have in my whole life. I don’t have the secret because…there isn’t one. There’s sweat and early morning gym sessions when the rest of the world is sleeping and eating right and taking care of my body. 

But, there ARE certain steps I’ve taken that have no doubt helped me get into the best shape of my life. And since I feel like mamas have to stick together and we have to share what we’ve learned along the way, here’s what helped me lose that stubborn baby weight….

XO

(PS – I’ll be sharing a 3 day food diary blog post soon, complete with meal ideas and recipes! Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss it! Click here to sign up! xo)

HERE’S HOW I DID IT.

WRITE IT DOWN.  I am a huge planner and have found if it’s not written down, I probably am not going to do it. So, every Sunday I plan out my workouts for the week and write them in my planner. In pen. 

WORK OUT 5-6 DAYS A WEEK.  I know. Breaking news, right? I know it’s been proven that losing weight is something like 80% diet and 20% working out, but here’s what I’ve found: when I work out, I want to eat better. So if I start my day with an intense workout, not only do I feel better all day long, but I take better care of myself, too. 

HIIT TREADMILL WORKOUTS.  This is what really burns the fat. I try to fit in 3 HIIT treadmill workouts a week, When I can’t make it to my classes, I do this workout at home. 

LIGHT WEIGHTS.  I love a good strength workout and my workout isn’t complete without some sort of strength routine. Other than yoga, this is my favorite at-home workout DVD. Also, I never use more than 8 pound weights and try to stay with 5 pounds for most arm exercises. This isn’t science based and is totally just my personal preference, but I’ve found that light weights keep me strong, but lean. 

INTERMITTENT FASTING.  OK, before you skip this one because “fasting” sounds scary, stick with me for a second. I started incorporating intermittent fasting at the beginning of this year, and it might be the biggest factor in losing the last couple of stubborn pounds. I don’t follow a super strict schedule, but generally each day I eat for 10 hours and fast for 14 hours. (It’s commonly referred to as 14/10 intermittent fasting.) So, every day, I am done eating by 7pm. (Yes, this means we eat an early-bird dinner.) The next day, I don’t eat anything until 9am. (I do break the rules a little bit, because I have coffee pretty much as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning.) I won’t get into the science behind why fasting is so good for you, but you can read all about it here. This is what I’ll say: it’s MUCH easier than it seems and the results are pretty damn great. 

VERY LITTLE DAIRY.  I first cut out dairy when my first daughter had an intolerance and I was breastfeeding. Much to my surprise, after a couple of days without dairy, I didn’t miss it one bit. And, not only that, but I felt SO much better without it. 

A WHOLE LOT OF VEGGIES.  Like I said: there’s no secret here. Thankfully, I love eating my veggies and eat a giant salad for dinner 2 to 3 times a week. 

DARK CHOCOLATE EVERY DAY.  Because c’mon. We’ve gotta live, right? I will never ever ever give up dark chocolate. I believe in it. You know, all that sciencey antioxidant stuff. 😉

Find more postpartum fitness updates here!