I have had a very hard time rebuilding my regular exercise habit since moving into our new house in early January. Why is this you ask? Firstly, because I’ve spent most of my time unpacking, painting and generally dealing with the chaos involved in moving. Secondly because for a while there was barely room enough to turn around, let alone get down on the floor for a workout. But things have settled down a bit more now that we’ve been in our house about a month and I’ve been trying very hard to make exercise a priority again.
For those of you who follow my Fit2B journey regularly, here are a few quick statistics. I started taking my measurements and recording my weight in January 2016, when I was 4 months postpartum with baby #3. It had been a difficult pregnancy and a rough delivery. Breastfeeding had been a challenge and I hadn’t had much time to focus on exercise. The baby weight was not easily leaving. In fact it held on harder than with any of my previous children.
A quick caveat here, I give you these numbers so you can see the progress that is possible using tummy safe fitness rather than ripping, shredding and breaking out bodies as many other fitness philosophies recommend. Fit2B works for me, but maybe you’ve found something else that works great for you. If so wonderful. If you haven’t, feel free to follow along with my journey. But remember, these are the numbers for my body, and yours will be different.
January 2016
Weight: 154 lbs
Diastasis measurements: 2-3-1 (for those who are new to this, that means approximately 2 finger widths above the navel, three at the navel and 1 below it.)
Stomach measurements: 36 inches
I was lucky enough to meet Beth Learn in person the following month and while she confirmed my measurements, she also told me my separation was very deep and the muscles very disconnected. That was discouraging news, but I pressed on anyway.
During the following months I worked my way through Fit2B Beginning and incorporated many of the exercises from my past abdominal rehab with The Tummy Team.
August 8, 2016
Weight 145
(Notice I got lazy and didn’t record any other measurements besides weight. This was a mistake on my part, because results are sometimes seen in different kinds of ways.)
Then life got crazy so I created my own workout schedule called Fit2B Quick.
November 13, 2016
Weight: 143 lbs
Diastasis Measurment: 1-2-1
Stomach measurement (at the navel) 36 inches
Hip measurement: 40 inches
Then preparing to move and the busyness of the holiday season took over and I again reverted to the philosophy that something is better than nothing and began my Fit2B Minimal series, which I didn’t even complete thanks to the move.
So where am I now?
February 2017
Weight 140
Stomach measurement (at the navel) 35 inches
Hip measurement: 39 inches
diastasis 1-3-1
I find it weird that things have gotten stronger, but not necessarily much narrower. My middle seems to shrink and expand based on so many factors including hormones. But I am able engaged when I need to, which is very encouraging progress.
Please remember that these are just the numbers for my body. Your journey will be different. Sometimes it takes me more than a day to get through even a single workout depending on how much time I have available and how many interruptions there are. I think it’s more important to build a consistent habit than to push for longer periods of time. I do longer workouts when I’m able, shorter workouts when I’m not.
I’m trying to get back in the habit of keeping better records of my stats. I probably should take pictures too. Because things get muddled in my head. I think I’ve made no progress and let my discouragement weigh me down, but if I look back at the stats (and pictures when I have them) I am sometimes able to see real progress that I’ve forgotten about.
So here I go, on to Fit2B Advancing. My major focus here is to build stronger muscles, continue to close my diastasis and increasing my stamina through healthy cardio. Basically, while I do want to be a healthy weight, I’m more interested in being fit and strong enough for the life I want. That means being able to hold my toddler for long periods of time with good alignment and carry my almost five year old when I need to. As Beth Learn and Kelly Dean (of the Tummy Team) like to say: we weren’t built for exercise, we were built to live life strong.
You can use the coupon code laundryblog to get 30% off of your annual membership. Check it out here.
This post may contain affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
Leave a Comment