And FREE EASY WORKOUT below to get back in shape after having kids
I have blogged about my feelings and, I guess, difficulty in having another child here. I wouldn’t say that it was an absolute unfavourable experience. But I guess, it wasn’t also easy. It took me a while to really enjoy the new role of being a mother of two.
Aside from the emotional difficulties though, I also think that another downside of having more than one child is the possibility of that belly pooch becoming permanent, especially if you have the same genes as my family. Yes, blame it on the genes haha.
But one of the things that got me through it, I have to admit, is the thought that I’m done with babies. That I have no plans of having another child again. And because of that, I was able to commit myself to getting back into shape. I didn’t have “convincing” excuses anymore like planning to get pregnant again, so might as well lose weight next time. The journey to getting back my postpartum body and becoming a “sexy” momma of not only one, but two kids have begun.
I am proud to say that at 6 months postpartum, my body is back to its pre-pregnancy shape. Yes, I still have some fats here and there, and my breasts are still loaded with milk, but my belly pooch has shrunk considerably. I definitely feel sexier compared to the first month after having my second child. It was hard to accept my weight gain (and how I look now) because with Light before, when I look at the pictures of just two months postpartum, I had already lost most of the pregnancy weight (and I look thinner!!!!). And it was mainly because I was breastfeeding. No exercise. No diets. Just the power of breastfeeding Light. This second pregnancy though… (sigh)
Yes, breastfeeding helps a lot in losing most of the pregnancy weight gain. I love breastfeeding just because of that fact haha. But it won’t last for long. Eventually, as your child starts his solids and drinks less of your milk, those pounds will come back. It’s what happened to me with Light. That’s why now, I committed myself into getting back into shape earlier with exercise and diet, not relying on just the magical powers of breastfeeding. 🙂
But as a SAHM with no help at home, it can be difficult to focus on losing weight. I couldn’t even do a three times a week exercise consistently. And don’t get me started on diet. Food has become my source of comfort and relaxation after a whole day of taking care of a toddler and an infant.
Luckily though, I found help. I found help and a set up that worked for me. So if you are in the same shoes as mine, a SAHM with a toddler and a new baby (who’s challenging to take care of), no household help and is mostly alone with the kids at home, and who’s also a WAHM, then you may find these tips effective, if not, helpful.
Waist Training With Curves Shapewear
I found help with the use of a shapewear. In my first pregnancy, I didn’t take wearing a binder seriously. I regretted it now because it would’ve helped a lot in my getting back into my pre-pregnancy body (and losing the pooch). I lost most of my baby weight immediately after giving birth on my first pregnancy, and waist training would’ve had the greatest effect on my body. The baby pooch would’ve shrunk more, or maybe be totally eliminated already. Because even though I lost most of the weight, the pooch was forever there, even 2 years post pregnancy.
Now on my second pregnancy, I knew it was going to be doubly hard to lose that pooch. So I started waist training. Not only did wearing the waist cincher made my curves more “visible”, it also held those flabby, excess skin in. It didn’t magically removed the pooch, but at least it helped make it tighter compared to my first pregnancy.
Waist training consistently isn’t hard to do in my situation, especially since I’m at home most of the time. It’s the first thing I do when I wake up – wear my Curves Waist Cincher. When I lost most of the baby fats, wearing the waist trainer even when I was out, underneath my clothes, was a must. And boy did it make me look and feel sexy! I wasn’t embarrassed about the bulge anymore. There is no bulge thanks to my waist cincher. 🙂
Exercise
I know though without exercise, losing the pooch and being physically healthy will be impossible. I felt so week after having my second baby. I had a hard time carrying Siris for a long period of time without the help of a carrier. I had body aches all over. So I tried doing 20-30 minutes of home workouts a couple of days a week. I “tried” to workout 2 months postpartum. But having a toddler and a very attached baby made it almost impossible to continue or do workouts consistently. What worked for me was challenging myself with 30 day, 5 minute workouts. 5 MINUTES! All I need everyday is 5 minutes. It was surprisingly easier to get those 5 minutes everyday than setting aside 30 minutes every other day, or a couple of times a week.
Every month or every 30 days I look for quick workouts that can have great impact on my body. The two major workouts I did were (1) planking and (2) squats. For a month I was doing 5 minutes of different kinds of planking everyday. After that 5 minutes of different types of squats everyday, for 30 days. You will be surprised at how just 5 minutes of workout can help you become leaner and lose weight.
I also did combinations of some workouts (30 seconds to 1 minute each), all just around 5 minutes everyday. Here are some exercises that I did.
- Crunches
- Leg Lift
- Russian Twist
- Burpees
Because of exercise I felt my body become tighter. I lost some of my back side fats. My legs got slimmer too (yey to squats!). When you see results, it keeps you motivated to consistently workout.
Diet
Food. Oh food. Sweets are my weakness. I’m also becoming a stress eater. And I’m stressed most of the time hehe. But I know food plays a BIG role when you want to lose weight and get healthy. I’ve been on diets since high school. I already know what works for me and what doesn’t. Right now, I’m not yet ready to fully go on a diet (I have an excuse, I’m still breastfeeding so I need to eat ha! ), but I try to be aware of what I eat, and believe me, it helps just to be aware.
I also started limiting my rice intake (this helped A LOT). I can see my tummy flatten a little compared to when I was eating rice. I believe the two important types of food you can eliminate to lose weight are carbs and sweets. Limit eating these and you will lose weight and feel lighter.
Mommy
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