tbt to July

Redd and mama get one last picture with nana :)

Since I'm counting down the minutes until I'm in Salt Lake with my fam again I thought I'd do a tbt to my last visit. Plus a little story to tell you all about an exciting accomplishment

In this pic I'm 7 weeks post emergency C-section and healing from the physical and emotion trauma of having HELLP Syndrome {again} and severe Preeclampsia, in Utah on a stop over during our move from Portland to San Antonio. I was getting ready for a full day of flying by MYSELF with my newborn AND my dog to a new city where my husband worked crazy long hours as a resident. You could say I was just barely keeping it together.

The joy of finally being Redd's mama and knowing my little angel RJ was cheering me on helped me keep going when all I wanted to do was be in bed snuggling my tiny guy.

My body hurt. It didn't feel like mine. Crazy hormones going on. The extra weight I not only gained during pregnancy but after from all the ice cream I ate to try and numb the pain of moving away from the place that had all my memories with my first babe. 25 lbs gained during pregnancy and 20 more after.

I gave myself a few more weeks to heal and a whole lot of grace as I started trying to be healthy and active again mid August. Realizing how out of shape my body was and that exercises I had done during my 3rd trimester were WAY too difficult for me now was TOUGH! But I didn't feel despair. After RJ I tried lots of diets, tricks, fads to try and lose the weight from pregnancy and grief. It took me months of trying and failing before I found something that worked. This time I had the solution I just had to put in the time and dedication to see it through.

17 weeks ago I really kicked off my post-pregnancy weight loss journey. For 7 of those weeks {6 weeks/2 round of 21 Day Fix and 1 week of Hammer and Chisel} I have been completely on point. No cheats. 6 workouts a week. For the other 10 weeks I was mindful of what I ate but enjoyed plenty of treats and worked out 3 or 4 times a week.

This week after 7 days of Hammer and Chisel I lost 5 1/2 pounds AND I hit the 30 lbs weight loss mark!!!! AND I feel amazing!! My body is working it's way back to healthy because I'm making myself a priority I have a tribe of incredible women cheering me on and a fool proof program to follow.

Before you comment that I look beautiful in this picture and no matter what weight I am----I know that ;) what I am celebrating tonight is the commitment I made to make my health a priority, which wasn't always the easy choice I am not saying I was ugly 30 lbs heavier or that I had less value. I see a tired, stressed but very happy and beautiful new mama. My body has fought some incredible battles to have babies and I love it!

The last 17 weeks have been about feeling healthy, having the energy to enjoy my life and getting my strength and endurance back. Yes, I still want to lose those other 15 pounds and fit into more of my pre baby clothes but that will come. I'm celebrating the progress not perfection and loving myself every step of the way!!!

xo,

Alyssa