Long gone are the days where my diet consisted of heavy, carby foods such as pasta, pizza and garlic bread and those pesky foods that are soooo yummy but so high in fat and sugar like sweets, ice cream, milkshakes, etc. I used to LOVE eating them, I was such a foodie - I still am a foodie, I just know how to balance my diet and eat things in moderation. I think the time that I started eating healthier was half way through my first pregnancy. I'd always been thin and toned and probably let that cloud my mind in thinking that giving into pregnancy cravings wouldn't cause me to put on weight. But it did. I put on about about 50lbs in my first pregnancy, basically because I ate what I wanted and not what my body really needed. During my second pregnancy I was more wary, I exercised every now and again and I ended up only gaining about 35lbs. Apparently a normal weight gain during pregnancy is between 15-35lbs so I think my little changes helped a lot the second time around.
Now that my younger daughter Olivia is 4 months old and able to be fed by my partner I've started going to my local gym. This is not only great for me health-wise but it's also something that I can do that's just for me. When I'm not at the gym I'm with my girls 100% of the time, so 4 days a week off I go to have some me-time. Would I rather go to a spa or to get my nails done? Of course.. but the gym is already giving me so much confidence, even without seeing major results yet. As I'm a newbie to the gym I stick to the basic machines and I'm guessing that when I get more confident I'll be able to do a lot more. Currently I spend about 50 minutes 4 times a week at the gym which is fine for me - I do 25 minutes on the stationary bike on the cardio setting (80% of max heart rate), 15 minutes walking on the treadmill at a speed of 3.5 mph on an incline of 7% and then I use a few of the weight machines, mainly focusing on arms and legs. This is what works for me, though I won't do this forever - it's good for your body to experience a change in routine or it becomes used to it and you won't get the best results. Personally, I'm aiming for fat-loss and toning, as I still haven't lost all my baby weight and being pregnant for 2 years has made my old body a thing of the past!
Nutritionally speaking a lot has changed. I've started using an app called MyFitnessPal which helps me with my macros (a.k.a. macronutrients - carbs, fat and protein), mine right now are 113g protein, 203g carbs and 60g fat per day. I'm struggling a bit with my carbs as I tend to reach for breakfast biscuits if I'm tired or on the go and they can get quite carby (and sugary!) so I often go over. I'm also struggling with my protein as during my second pregnancy I hated the taste of chicken. I'm trying to incorporate it back into my diet now though. During the week my diet consists of eggs on seeded bread toast or french toast with coconut and cinnamon for breakfast, sweet potato wedges and a haddock fish cake or a salad for lunch, then spaghetti bolognese (lean beef mince and wholewheat spaghetti), homemade turkey burgers and veg or haddock fillets and veg. I'm currently on the lookout for some healthy and balanced lunch ideas that I'll probably make in advance as my days can get pretty busy! I also have a protein shake after I go to the gym. I use the Optimum Health Ultimate Whey Protein in the flavour 'Vanilla Ice Cream' from Discount Supplements and I mix it with 300ml of almond milk, 1 banana and 2tsp of peanut butter. After I've finished with my current protein I'm going to get a diet protein powder, as it's less carbs and sugar! I'm also looking into buying Creatine and BCAA's and that sort of thing now I'm not breastfeeding so if anyone has suggestions please let me know.
homemade quinoa pizza with homemade tomato pizza sauce, mushrooms, olives, sweet peppers and cheese.
protein oatmeal with frozen raspberries, chopped banana topped with cinnamon and a tbsp of peanut butter.
One of the most fun parts of being more active for me personally is buying activewear! I've looked through a few shops and so far I like Sports Direct, H&M, Primark and Matalan. The workout vests from Primark are amazing and only £4-6 and I recently bought a small gym holdall from Sports Direct that is perfect for what I need. Also, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the gym leggings from H&M, I will definitely be buying another pair. Wearing cute activewear to the gym alongside making an amazing playlist on my phone has really made the gym enjoyable for me. I can't wait to continue with my healthy lifestyle and see how my body changes.
grey and blue workout vests by Atmosphere at Primark & Nike holdall from Sports Direct.
Nike training shoes from Sports Direct and yoga mat from Amazon.
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