The Best Diet

The baby whale has arrived and I'm officially no longer pregnant! Wooo! Everything is back to normal with my body and life now.  I've also become delusional from lack of sleep and a crying newborn (who I adore). UPDATE: the nickname baby whale has changed to Little P.

Rob and I welcomed our daughter, Pietra Josephine Capizzio into the world on July 21st, 2016 at 7:07 PM. Weighing a tiny 5lbs 15oz and 19 inches long.

It was a scary and stressful day as nothing went according to our birth plan (apparently this is common....then why do they tell you to make a plan!?). I was at the doctor office that morning for my routine 39 week check-up. They found that my blood pressure was high and protein present in my urine. They admitted me to the hospital for further testing (meanwhile I felt absolutely fine, and was CrossFitting the night before). The hospital decided I was showing signs of early Preeclampsia and needed to be induced medically to deliver the baby that day. I was devastated (strong word for someone who is fine and had a beautiful healthy baby...but that's how it felt at the time).

1. About 95% of my birth plan went out the window (natural child birth, no epidural, staying active and mobile during delivery, natural methods of pain management....etc).

2. It meant that my family, friends, and birth coaches could not be there in time (SPOILER ALERT: many of them actually made it for different parts of labor).

3. I was frustrated because (at the time)  it felt like I did something wrong. That all my preparation, staying active and healthy was for nothing...if I was going to have the same issues as someone who did nothing.

In order to focus on fitness, I won't go into the long story of my delivery here (though a humorous story). The one thing that stood out to point out (fitness related) was my pushing phase was short (only 30 minutes) and I had many nurses and the OB doctor comment that they were surprised how strong I was after suffering for hours in pain. I tore a little when pushing because they didn't expect me to push so fast and so hard (as they were verbally coaching me through it). While many things that day seem like a blur, I remember that vividly as it felt like some affirmation that maybe it wasn't all for nothing. Somewhere underneath the anxiety, the weight gain, the failures....I was a stronger person because of it (both physically and mentally).

Back to fitness! Hopefully these posts become less about my pregnancy (sick of baby talk yet?!) and more about my recovery and new goals for 2017.

PAIN: Labor aside, the pain after delivery wasn't as bad as anticipated. I mostly felt very tired, bruised, and sore ....similar to an intense work-out, but throughout my whole body (especially my lower body). I also attribute my quick recovery to staying active.

WEIGHT:  At 39 weeks pregnant (full-term), my last weigh-in the day I delivered was 195 lbs. I gained a total of 45 lbs during my pregnancy. I had not gained any weight the last 3 weeks of being pregnant (I believe that means both Little P and I were "done" with the game). 

BREASTFEEDING: Is simply the best diet known to mankind. Whatever your beliefs are about the whole "Breast is Best" campaign, you should breastfeed if you are simply a vain person who wants to lose weight! After 3 weeks of exclusive breastfeeding, I'm down to 163 lbs, only 13 lbs from my pre-pregnancy starting weight. I'm burning calories like crazy simply feeding the tiny human.

Does that mean I have my body back? No, of course not. I have a lot of toning to do (extra skin, fun) and I'm still wearing maternity clothes because they're just easier right now (think nursing boob access). But man does it feel good to have the extra weight off!

EXERCISE: I started exercising immediately (DISCLAIMER: follow the advice of your medical professional), though the typical suggestion is to wait 6 weeks. For me personally, that felt ridiculous. I also got approval from my OB given how active I was before and during pregnancy.

I started walking in the hospital up and down the halls (thanks to my husband who held my hand, literally...and pushed me to do it, figuratively).

I continued walking and pushing her stroller around our neighborhood, stores, parks, my office, her Daddy's office....for all of week 1 and 2.

The end of week 3 - I decided it was time to run! I've run twice, one mile each (13 minutes, 12:30 minutes). Both which were faster than my pre-fitness times in 2015. WINNING. My training for either a 5k or 10k (September 25th - week 9) has officially begun.

Little P is an eating machine! Helping me burn calories.