Post-Baby Plans and Follow Through Friday

In approximately 5 weeks, I should be giving birth and I can’t help it, but I’m already thinking about getting my body back. I can’t wait to be able to work out again! I know, I could have worked out through this entire pregnancy as I didn’t have any health reasons not to but it was just too painful due to gaining too much weight and/or I was too tired and/or I chose to be lazy. I did the same exact thing my last pregnancy, although doing slightly better on the weight gain, and swore I’d stay more active the second time around and eat healthier, but well, that didn’t happen. So, I’m anxious to get back at it and am already thinking of what my plan will be! I also signed up for my first “post baby” half marathon, Disney’s Princess Half Marathon on February 22, 2015 and have developed my training for that. For once, I actually want to STICK to a training plan and not just “go with it” like I’ve done in my other half marathons.

I also plan to get back into a weekly “Follow Through Friday” post with what I did for the week to help with accountability, which I will be posting my weight (GASP!) and everything I did for the week.  The actual link up I used to participate in doesn’t seem to exist anymore, but I plan to work with another fellow blogger, Jess @ Operation Skinny Jeans, to start a formal link up in the mid to late October time frame.  We’ll be inviting our readers to link up to help stay accountable, especially with the holiday season coming soon; we all know how hard it is to stay on track!

I’m sure I’ll be tweaking my plan once the baby comes and I get into the routine of being a Mommy of 2 (so not ready for that, but so ready at the same time!), but for now this is the plan which is all based on my due date of 10/14/14.*

For the First 6 weeks (while I wait to be cleared by my doctor to do more than just walking and am on maternity leave from work), I plan to walk at least 3 times a week and increase the weekly distance by 10%.

Starting November 24^th, I will begin my Princess Half training plan which is a combination of different training plans I have found. I typically do run/walk intervals and plan to train that way as well. I’ll probably start out with 2/1’s and work up to 3/1’s as that  is my preference, although with taking so much time off from running, we’ll see how that goes. I also know how important strength training is, so I plan to add that in 2 days a week. (P=Pace below, meaning I will run at the pace I’m aiming for during the half, which I THINK I’m going to try for an 11:30 pace for the half)

In addition to the exercise plan, I plan to start using My Fitness Pal to track my eating and in general eat healthier (niseyyd is my username on there if you want to be friends on there). I will stick to a reduced calorie, high protein diet (which won’t be TOO reduced since I plan to breast feed – probably around 1700-1800 calories per day). I will also probably sign up for a DietBet (money really motivates me!) and start using GymPact again as well. All of these tools help me when I’m being serious about my health and fitness and suggest you look into them as well if you need some extra motivation.

I also have a visual inspiration/incentive/motivation board hanging in my closet (this is an old picture of it, it’ll be updated once I have the baby and see where I stand weight wise) and am going to reward myself for meeting my weight loss goals (other than the weight loss, which is of course a reward in itself!).

These will be my rewards, which are not time bound but should happen in a reasonable and healthy time frame if I stick to my above plan. The final goal is time bound as it is on my 30 before 30 list so I need to reach it by my 30^th birthday on November 3^rd and a little over a year is more than enough time to hit it!

170 lbs: Facial

160 lbs: Ottoman for Closet

150 lbs: Vionic Sandals  (Once I hit 150 I know the last 15 lbs will be harder to lose so I added in 5 lb increment rewards)

145 lbs: Sunglasses

140 lbs: Facial

135 lbs: 30^th Birthday Trip (Hubby is surprising me with a 3 week trip, but I have no idea to where!)

*This all assumes I don’t have a C-Section (if I need one, this will all be delayed by 2 weeks as I know from others who have had C-sections, that I won’t be able to do much of anything the first 7-10 days after delivery). I also have this “feeling” I’ll be having the baby early so everything will be adjusted upon delivery and how I feel.