5 Ways I’m Building a Healtheir Lifestyle

If you follow along on Instagram or read this post, then you’ve heard me talk about the journey I’m on with my body right now. Being postpartum is tricky because you’re so grateful to your body for what it just did (grow a human!) and for what it continues to do if you breastfeed. But if you’re like me, you also want some version of your old self back.

I’m really excited and anxious about the next several months since I’m going to be diving headfirst into fitness and wellness but I’m also very nervous. I don’t want y’all to think it’s all I care about but I want to share my journey with you. And really it’s more about just building a healthy lifestyle in general that the whole family can be apart of. Orvil and I are both working really hard to show the kids healthy habits and I thought it could be helpful to share that with y’all.

Our family is not perfect and I’m not saying this is the only way to be “healthy”, but this is how we’ve started our health journey these last few weeks and I wanted to share it here. If you have any recommendations for us, please share! We’d love to know what you’re doing with your family to keep everyone well!

Movement that works for me

Sometimes IG helps motivate me and sometimes it makes me feel guilty that I’m not doing crazy exercises like everyone else seems to be. Instead, I’m trying to embrace what works for me. For a good workout, Orvil and I both love The Mirror and then I’ve also been using an app called Openfit that has tons of great, approachable workouts – I prefer the strength and HIIT.

I’m working on keeping the mindset that this process is going to be one day at a time and that I’m not going to start out super strong and fast.

Finding balance with food

Food is tricky for me because Orvil loves to cook (check out his YouTube series here) and I love to eat what he makes, LOL! I don’t want to necessarily do a crash diet because I don’t think any weight I lose from that will stay off, but I also know I need to prioritize healthier, leaner foods to see progress. For me, this means finding a balance between living my life with my family but still making greens and lean meat a daily priority. Like everything else, this isn’t going to be perfect, but I’d rather find a sustainable routine than do something crazy and drastic only to regain all the weight later.

Getting the whole family involved

Orvil and I are working to get the whole family involved in getting healthier. We want to set good examples for the kids and have being active be a normal part of their routine. You might have seen we went on a hike last weekend and we also go on tons of family walks. The kids don’t even realize these things are “exercise”, which is exactly what we want! I also am getting back to having my dance parties with Harper, and let me tell you, those are a workout!

Positive self-talk

I can be really critical of myself and say some not-so-nice things about my body, but I’ve been learning lately that that kind of behavior really doesn’t help anybody. It doesn’t make me feel any better, that’s for sure. And more than anything, I would NEVER want Harper or Birdie talking about their bodies that way, so why should I? I want to lead by example and show my daughters how important it is to love yourself no matter what. Kids are listening and watching everything we do, especially at Harper’s age.

I think it can help to have some kind of mantra or affirmation to repeat to yourself every time you want to say something negative. So if I’m looking in the mirror and want to say something bad about how my stomach is looking, I’m trying to replace that negative comment with something kind and appreciative like, “I’m so grateful my stomach could carry Birdie to full term”. Might sound silly but it does a lot for my mindset!

Not waiting for things to be “perfect”

Right after I gave birth I latched onto this idea that I had to wait to do certain things until my body was “perfect” or back to “normal” again. Well, life goes on and I’m not going to sit on the sidelines because I feel uncomfortable with my weight and body right now. This is easier some days than others, but if you’re like me and waiting for the “right time”, don’t! Take the family photos, don’t hide from the camera and live life with your family!

I really want to start sharing more of these thoughts with y’all, so I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful to anyone going through struggles with their weight – postpartum or not!