Working on My Fitness

Well I'm officially back on the Zumba train and loving it! I've been going to Zumba off and on for several years now. It's an awesome workout. When I wore my HR monitor previously, I would on average burn about 500 calories per class. I have to find that HR thingy... ugh. My house is a wreck. You'd think it'd be spic and span from all this "time off" but I forgot how needy a newborn can be. But I'll take a needy newborn almost any day over a clean house. 

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Besides Zumba, I want to get back into yoga as well. I've also been doing yoga for years, including up until about the last month of pregnancy. I haven't done it in over three months and I'm missing it. I prefer to attend classes at the gym, but with two littles and one hockey-playing hubby, that's not always feasible. Does anyone have any yoga DVDs they recommend? Or any freebies on Netflix or YouTube? 

This year, I want to try weight lifting. I don't want to "hulk up" but I definitely want to tone up. I quickly made it back to my pre-pregnancy weight (yay!) but my clothes just aren't fitting quite right. I think a lifting program can help me get to where I want to be, body-shape-wise. If you have any recommendations on how to create my own program, or about lifting in general, please send them my way! I have done very little lifting in the past. 

PLEASE ignore my icky, un-manicured feet!!!

Before I started this new fitness journey, I wanted to do a little research about mixing it with breastfeeding. I plan to try to make it to a year with Charlee, but I'll be okay with anything longer than six months. Not much came in up in google when I was searching about weight lifting while breastfeeding. I tried reaching out to a couple online mama groups, so we will see. One thing I did keep encountering was plugged ducts from repetitive upper body movements. After talking with my midwife about starting to lift, she basically just said that I was good to go and to be very conscious of my core. She reminded me to keep it tight to support my back. She also told me that squats work just as well, if not better, than kegels! Good to know mamas!

I did find a few good things to remember while working on your fitness goals during breastfeeding from this website: http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/articles/nutrition-exercise-and-weight-loss/4. "Eat anything you want to in moderation, and remember that many mothers lose weight while lactating even without modifying their diet or exercise routine." and "You will usually keep about 3 pounds of extra tissue in your breasts as long as you are nursing, so factor that into your weight loss goals. Enjoy nursing your baby, eat a healthy diet, and you most likely will lose weight while eating more food than you were used to eating before your little one arrived." 

Finally, here is a cool calorie calculator I found that factors in breastfeeding: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/breastfeeding_calorie_calculator.htm. 

Although it would be nice to lose a few pounds, I'm comfortable with my number right now. In the past, I've lost the most weight through counting calories, NOT through exercise. To me, working out is more to shape my body, whereas eating right fuels my body and keeps the weight in check. So for now, I won't be counting cals. If my weight starts creeping up... I might change my mind. 

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Stay tuned! 

What are your fitness goals for 2014? Have you tried weight-lifting? Any advice?