Brighton based mum, Jo, from Assist Fertility shares her post-natal journey from being overweight to fit, all before she hits 40.
This is me pregnant, I put on 5 stone.
This is me about 9 months after giving birth to my son, roughly 2 stone over my pre pregnancy weight.
I even wrote a blog about my weight gain.
Seeing these pictures and realising that I wasn’t happy at this size was what initially motivated me to get serious about losing weight.
This is what I did, I changed my diet considerably, bye bye cake and processed products, hello salad and chicken breast!
I also try to be in the gym as often as I can squeeze in, which isn’t a lot given I have a full time job, a husband and a 3 year old son. But what I have found to be effective is short bursts in the gym of mainly weight based exercises. Doing a lot of cardio will only just make you hungry and take up a lot of your time. It’s important, yes, but weight training really is the magic ticket for weight loss. So, I now get to the gym 3 times a week for 45 minutes.
What continues to spur me on is this, I’ve lost 2 stone in a year (big motivation to continue right there!) and I enjoy the “me time”. Just 45 minutes away from the crazy that is my house hold. Bliss!
Plus, Jumping around like a loony and lifting heavy things makes me feel happy! Gotta love those endorphins!
I am also an infertility patient and have filled a lot of my time and mind prior to and after having my IVF son with “baby thoughts”, if I am honest, it had totally taken over my whole life and I had reached a point where I just didn’t want to do that anymore as I was so unhappy. Working out in the gym and seeing the results has helped to take my mind off of it and has overall improved my mood. Winning!
And this is me now. Not perfect but healthier and happier.
Follow Jo’s journey @fitbefore40
Read her blog: Jo’s F Word
