Some lucky ladies jump back to their pre-baby bodies just a few weeks or months after their pregnancies. Well at 32 years old and four kids later, my body is nowhere close to how it was before kids. My youngest was 1.5 years old, and my stomach looked like I was 3 months pregnant. I shouldn’t say I want my body back because I know my body will never be exactly like it was before kids. What I really wanted was my confidence back. I wore flowy shirts all the time. I hardly wore tight fitted tops. I wore Spanx at times to suck in my stomach and love handles. If I didn’t wear Spanx, I felt like I always had to suck in my stomach.
Well, enough was enough. Life is too short to be self-conscious all the time. I signed up at a gym in the area. This was a BIG deal. I’ve never had a gym membership in my life. I don’t “workout”. I never understood why people would go running or say they enjoyed working out. I did cardio classes or ran about 4-5 times a week at the gym. I was proud of myself for going to the gym and working out, but I was not impressed with my results. I lost a few pounds, but I felt like I was doing a lot of work and not seeing many results.
My twin sister and her family are currently living with us as their house gets built. My brother-in-law, Nick, joined the summer 10-week session at Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping. He had done it before, and I remember him losing weight and gaining muscle in that time frame. His first day was Monday, July 13th. After talking to him and telling him how I lost some weight but felt like it wasn’t shedding as quickly as I wanted, he told me to tag along with him to a Farrell’s workout. I wasn’t sure at first. I didn’t want to be super muscular. I’ve never done kickboxing. Would I be able to commit to this? It was Wednesday, July 15th. I remember walking in there…nervous, intimidated, and clueless. That 45 minutes of kickboxing class was all I needed to believe in what could I be. Not only was Nick there helping me, but various coaches as well. I didn’t feel like the odd ball out. I was welcomed with open arms, but they weren’t going to be easy on me because it was my first day. I’ve never felt so challenged. I’ve never sweated so much during a workout and never felt so great. I signed up for the 10-week session right then…red faced and all. I remember the next day during bands class. The yellow bands were all I could handle. I looked at FIT members thinking I’m never going to pass yellow…maybe I’ll get lucky these next 10 weeks and use the green bands eventually.
After joining Farrell’s I finally figured out what to eat. I always thought I ate healthy, but in reality, I was doing it all wrong. I also finally have control over what I eat. I learned to eat three times more a day than what I was doing and control my sweet tooth by waiting until my “fun day.” What one coach said really stood out to me…”you crave what you eat.” I crave healthy food that I didn’t think I would ever crave in my life.
At around five weeks I started noticing my clothes fitting better. Nine years ago, my husband bought me a couple of pairs of shorts. I’ve kept them hoping I’d fit into them some day. Well, they fit! I couldn’t believe it. This kick-started my motivation even more to my goal and to have that chance to win the $1,000 prize to put towards being a FIT member. I’m now in week 11 at Farrell’s. I’ve pushed my body to finish workouts. I’m now up to the red and blue bands. I’m able to wear tight-fitting tops confidently, have strength, energy, and don’t have to suck my belly in anymore! Buh-bye Spanx! My arms are toned, and my love handles are dwindling! Plus, I look forward to working out! I still have big goals ahead with Farrell’s though and can’t wait to see what my body looks like 12 months from starting! Thanks to FXB, this 32-year-old mother of four is getting the confidence back that I truly needed!
I am a new FIT Member at our Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping Waukee, IA location.
Thanks to Blaine and Niña for supporting Nick and myself in our journey! Here is a pic of us at the Farrell’s party where we celebrated everyone’s 10 week accomplishments.
My final stats:
Week 1 / Week 10
Body Fat%: 28.1% / 26.4%
Pushups: 18 / 67
Situps: 18 / 43
Sit & Reach: 7 / 9.75
Mile Run: 12:54 / 9:07
Chest: 34.25″ / 33″
Waist: 35.5″ / 31.5″
Arm: 11″ / 12″
Thigh: 20″ / 21″
Hips: 37.5″ / 36″
Weight: I set a goal that I wanted to be under 130. My final weigh in was 129.5! I did it all through healthy eating & Farrell’s. Now onto my next goal. 🙂