It is important to have a healthy pregnancy for you and your little baby. And while the weight gain is a natural and necessary part of pregnancy for abigail downs, the additional kilos made a heavy pre-clamp. Her body changed in a way that she hadn’t expected. However, it had a weight loss plan. An unshakable routine and conscious healthy diet was the schedule that she had to make success. So she navigated a pregnancy with high risk and found her way back to the strong, healthy abigail that she always knew.
The statistics
- Profession: Fashion buyers/ buying manager and content creator
- Age: 31
- City: Durban
- Weight before: 81 kg
- Weight to: 58 kg
- Height: 1.65 m
- Secret weapon on weight loss: Progress about perfection. Don’t wait to feel motivated. Simply show, imperfect action is better than none.
Navigate unexpected health challenges
While I was quite delicate and active for most of my 20s, I had several memberships in the gym and have done a lot of running and strength training. I loved programs like Kayla Itsines BBG and even stints at CrossFit. However, the pregnancy complications stop training. I developed a heavy pre -declampsia in front of the terminal, which led to extensive flatulence, edema and a significant increase in weight. The day I born three months earlier at 28 weeks, I weighed about 88 kg. What followed was the toughest months of my life when my son Slade stayed in the hospital.
Unhealthy food selection
My diet became more convenient: rapid carbohydrates, snack bar and emotional food. I often skipped meals, then and concentrated a little on nutrition and a lot on chocolate (pregnancy and desire, right?). Before that, they hadn’t affected me much, even if I had patches of bad habits and in standard carbohydrates. As a vegetarian for seven years, my diet sometimes swung between the extreme – months of strict salads and then sudden binges on simple options such as pizza and pasta. This time, however, the effects were undeniable, which made my return to mindful food and consistent movement all the more important.
Read more: How many carbohydrates should I eat when I try to lose weight?
The way back: make healthy life decisions
The real turning point for me came as soon as Slade was born and in the hospital. I felt in myself that I felt uncomfortable in my own skin – I couldn’t see myself in pictures and the scale made me so annoyed every time I started. I also had such a traumatic pregnancy that I wanted to start a new chapter that felt like the best version of myself so that I could be the best mother and woman for my husband and son.
My immediate goal was to change things. I started advising a diet that helped me to lose the first 8-9 kg. She also encouraged me to go to the gym at least twice a week. During the loss of the weight, it was sometimes physical, it was deeply emotional. I felt completely separated from myself, I was afraid and felt stuck. I knew I had to pour myself back into myself and feel good again. Since I was not used to being overweight, it really influenced me mentally.
Simple tips that made my diet healthier
How can you maintain lifelong fitness?
I increased my protein and water intake a lot! 3l water every day without failure and a lot of protein (whey and animal protein made of white meat, I am not a red carnivore). I now eat more whole food, lots of vegetables and carbohydrates with low GI. I am not limited, but I will remain deliberately and make sure I know what’s in my food. For this reason, I prefer to eat at home. I also stopped drinking alcohol.
Keep your training plan at
The most important thing I learned during my wellness trip is that there are no links. Things take time and you only have to take it one day after. And this consistency is more important than perfection. The mental strength is to appear for yourself, even if it only means going on the treadmill for half an hour. It’s better than nothing.
How to start training when they are not a shape
I go 3- to 4 times a week (at least twice a week strength training), always in the morning, always in the morning. It has become a non -negotiable form of self -care. I always do Pilates and then try to run twice a week. Unfortunately I had hip problems, but I work through it and it seems to be better.
Read more: 10 reasons why you raise weights, but do not lose weight from experts, do not lose weight, do not lose weight
Feel good advantages of weight loss
I feel so much stronger and much more focused when it comes to most things in my life. I am more confident and appear better for myself and my son. My clarity and my emotional well -being have improved drastically.
For me, movement is not negotiable-only becomes part of my lifestyle. I can run much faster than ever before, they raise much more heavier weights and are generally so much fitter. I dropped several sizes and my measurements are a clear indicator of weight loss.
Read more: 10 non-food rewards for weight loss of experts
Three practical tips for juggling motherhood, career and family
1. Prioritize yourself and protect your peace
Discipline, routine and protection of my peace is of crucial importance, and my point of contact is to say that my strategies are. I have found that boundaries are the most important things that you can do with a busy career as a mother or someone.
2. Use your support system
I am lucky enough to have an extremely supportive husband who is always there for my son and me. Without his constant support, I really couldn’t have achieved what I have from him who did the school run so that I can have this 5 o’clock/6 o’clock fitness sessions to give me time for self-sufficiency on Saturday morning and coffee.
3 .. hug strategic planning
Confession: I am a chronic planner with tons of tasks and mini-chalges that I have set for myself. My week has to be planned to a certain extent, and I love to be challenged to stay motivated (like a 10 km-pro-day step challenge or the 75-day soft challenge, which was definitely my hardest!). If you are organized the evening before and pack your fitness strips, plan your meals for a weekend, but do not fail.
