Out of all of the amazing things that my body can do, creating these two beautiful human beings is my greatest achievement. The fact that I carried two 9 pound babies still astounds me!

I was all belly with both babies and gained 28 pounds each pregnancy. And yes, they left marks on my body and my body changed after having children. I got gray hairs, stretched out lady bits and stretch marks. 

I worked out during both pregnancies, and afterward once I was allowed to, I worked even harder. I ate right and drank lots of water and I was able to loose the baby weight within 6 weeks, with the help of breastfeeding. But every body is different. Some women hold onto the weight a bit longer, some women lose it immediately. There is no stress or shame in your post-baby body! Embrace the changes and put in the work to get to your new healthy shape. 

For me, it wasn’t until I found weights that I started to love my body. Really lifting hard and heavy and no longer concentrating on cardio and the scale is where I started to see changes.  Cardio helped me lose weight, but it also ate the muscle I was building and I wasn’t getting the toned look that I was trying to achieve. With the lifting heavy and the moderate cardio, I started to feel confident and at 37 years old, I can say I am in the best shape of my life.

Cardio is still important for our heart health, but now I’m not running till I want to fall down. I finish all of my workouts with 30-45 minutes of walking on the treadmill at 3-3.5 mph.

I still have my flaws, stretch marks and a little extra skin right above my belly button, but these are things that I have learned to focus less on… especially since others say they don’t even notice them until I point them out.

I think that is key. We need to remember that we are our own worst critic.

Are you a mom? Wondering how you can fit in working out? Read my Stop with the excuses post!

Looking to start working out, but not sure what to do? Read Starting a Fitness Journey.

And check out the rest of my Fitness series posts for even more information and motivation.