No pain, no gain

I don't think I've ever mentioned my weight gain on here during my pregnancy. Honestly it was something I was really self-conscious about in the beginning of my pregnancy, because the numbers on the scale seemed to immediately start going up as soon as I learned I was pregnant. At the end of my first trimester, I had already somehow managed to gain 6 pounds, and was even told by my a little too honest doctor that I needed to "practice what I preach." Ouch.

And as much as I loved being pregnant (seriously, I'm one of those weird people that LOVED it), that was my least favorite part- dealing with the weight gain. Vain, I know. But this precious miracle was definitely worth the hurt feelings every time I had to step on that mean scale at the doctor's office!

But some how, I ended up gaining only 24 pounds by the end of my pregnancy. And as of earlier this week, I am down 26! Woo hoo! I definitely think it has a lot to do with breastfeeding, but I also starting being active as soon as I could.

We started going for walks around the neighborhood when he was probably 3 weeks old, and when he was about 9 weeks old, I lost my mind started Cross Fit.

Let me tell you, it was a reality check. I've never felt more out of shape in my life as I did the first week I started seriously working out again. But, I wanted to see that pre-pregnancy number on the scale again, and I wanted to see it like yesterday! Even if it meant enduring some blisters along the way!

While I was pregnant, I set a goal for myself to run a 5K before returning to work. I was still trying to talk myself out of it the night before, but somehow managed to actually get up when my alarm went off early that morning.

So, at 11 weeks post-partum, I finished a 5K. Finished being the key word. It wasn't pretty, and it definitely wasn't my fastest time, but it wasn't my slowest either. There were some walking breaks in there, and there were some evil hills at the end that I didn't know if I was going to be able to crawl up. But I finished.

Now that I've started back to work, it has been really tempting to fall back off the bandwagon, but I'm trying really hard to hold myself accountable. Most days I just want to go home, lay on the couch, and snuggle with Will. And some days I do. But, in the long run, I want to be active and in shape enough to be able to keep up with our kids, and I know the longer I put that off, the harder it will be down the road. Thankfully, I have an encouraging husband who works out with me (sometimes right after me), and a very helpful mother-in-law who volunteers to watch Will while we work out. That helps us tremendously!

Next goal- wedding day weight. I'm not holding my breath for that one though!