My Postpartum Fitness Journey- Week 2
Can you even believe on Wednesday night our sweet Lillian will be 3 weeks old already!? Time surely is passing before my eyes, and quickly. This picture was taken last Thursday at the two week mark, and here we are on Monday finally getting a chance to update on the progress. #momlife
Motherhood is truly such a blessing, even the sleepless nights and diapers that can clear a room (from such a small, small human...how is it possible?) are all worth it to have such a beautiful creation of God to care for and call your own.
When I took this progress photo, one of the things I immediately noticed was the difference in her already; not me. Immediately I got a bit giddy thinking how cool it will be to witness her growing week by week in each photo. I'm still navigating my nutrition carefully, just trying to eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full and fueling with good, whole, nutritious foods. Breastfeeding is new to me so I want to make sure I'm getting adequate calories for milk production and until I can start and pump and actually see what's there, I'm just giving my body fuel and what feels right.
Having nutritious groceries on had has been critical. Stuck in this Wisconsin snow globe these last few weeks, online grocery ordering through Woodman's has been such a lifesaver not having to go out of the house with a newborn. They do full grocery delivery service, but unfortunately not to the sticks where we live so I have been ordering online, then my rockstar husband can swing and pick it up and bring it home.
Meal prep has also been saving me these last few days with a gassy, fussy baby on our hands (might be due to too quick of a milk let-down, trying to narrow it down). I’ve been able to put her down for a good 6-10 minutes at a time before she wants her mama back to snuggle so it’s just enough time to heat a meal up and get situated again. Ok, I might be exaggerating on the time a bit, but we are stuck like glue together ;).
For each meal I've tried to get a good balance of protein veggies and carbs. For the meal prep I cooked in bulk with the crockpot and oven so it was fairly simple- then I just needed to portion it out.
I had 3-4 of each meal. Ended up with:
👉Venison roast with sweet potato (some with regular potato) and big chunks of carrots, onion, mushrooms, cabbage. 👉Baked chicken drummies & wings with green beans and sweet potato halves. 👉Massively overcooked dry chicken breasts 😩 with California veggie mix and garlic herb quinoa (pictured).
*Don’t forget your boobs in the oven like I did! 😤 (also accidentally hard-boiled eggs for 45 minutes today)...that new mom life I tell ya. 👉Pheasant breasts in a Morel mushroom & onion wine sauce over riced cauliflower that we made last night and have delicious leftovers of! (so so good- thank you Homemade Food Junkie for the delicious recipe!)
We eat a ton of wild game, such as the pheasant and venison above, and try to have as many "field to table" meals as possible to keep our meat as clean as it can be. This week we've also had freshly caught whitefish and perch, and last week made a fantastic meatloaf with bear meat. I'll try and share more of the wild game recipes, but you can always substitute beef, chicken etc. if you don't harvest or have access to your own game. I also can't wait until this summer when we can have a garden again and the chickens start laying their fresh eggs!
I have a love-hate relationship with meal prep though. Just because I love food and I'm always craving or wanting something different every day. All of the prepped meals are really good, but not necessarily what I’m hungry for at the time (rows upon rows of Oreo cookies would be fine...) so I tell myself I’ll heat one of the meals up and eat it, then if I still want whatever I was craving after I can have it. It's a reminder that food is fuel for your body and the best type of medicine, so eat what you need. Usually by the time the meal is gone I get pretty full and want fruit or yogurt or a protein smoothie as a sweet tooth fix instead of Oreos and ice-cream after so it’s been helping!
First thing every morning I start off with a cup of protein coffee to get my body back into an anabolic (fat burning) state. I don't like to eat right away in the morning, so the protein is a key component to get my body out of the catabolic state it's been in all night and revved up and back in action. After changing, feeding, getting the baby ready and the others off to school and work, I don't end up eating anything until usually around 9-10 am so it's crucial to have my little cup of happiness first thing. It's really super super simple. I just pour my coffee, add a splash of unsweetened almond milk to cool it a bit, add 1 scoop of my favorite protein, (sometimes I will also add in a small scoop of collagen powder but I am currently completely out of it!) then mix it with a hand mixer to make it frothy and delicious. I hands down prefer it over Starbucks or any foo-foo sugary coffee drinks.
A few other staples I keep on hand that get me through the day:
I'm all about simple and grab and go these days! -Chopped, sliced and cleaned fruits and veggies (obv)
-Dannon Oikos triple zero yogurt (try the chocolate and salted caramel flavors if you are looking for a sweet treat!) my personal fav is the cherry flavor.
-Good Culture Cottage Cheese single serve containers (with probiotics)
-Level-1 Protein Bars (Peanut Butter for dayyyyssss!)
-Homemade venison jerky -Protein smoothies and shakes or mock ice cream at night
-Almonds (I buy the 100 calorie packs because nuts add up QUICK!)
PS there's like 9 nuts per pack (insert cry emoji).
-Hard boiled eggs with Sriracha sauce
-Homemade energy balls
-Bags and bags of veggie steamers. These days a lot of our fresh veggies have been going bad so I stocked up on frozen and they haven't done me wrong. Side note, check and make sure the veggie is the only ingredient...sometimes they add a ton of crap chemicals and preservatives. Green Beans=Green Beans. That's it.
-Flavored sparkling water or True Lemon packets
-Kombucha
-LOTS AND LOTS OF ICE WATER throughout the day. Currently shooting for 120 oz. I have two 32 oz Nalgene bottles that I try and fill up 2x per day for a total of 128 oz. It's been the easiest way for me to keep track so I linked the water bottles I use incase you want to do the same. Lugging around a gallon and drinking out of that just became too darn cumbersome.
I haven't started my modified postnatal yoga yet, but this week is a new week right!? Seems the downtime I have I either snooze with the babe or try and get some of the house tasks and projects checked off the list slowly. I know I can't exercise yet, but it'll sure feel good to get some stretching and movement in!
Ok, sweet girl is waking up...that's all for now!
Week 3 progress coming soon.
Boom Shakalaka!
Let me know if you have any questions you've been wondering about, or post some of your meal-prep ideas in the comments.
Oh, also, for my Inner Circle girls...I have an exciting surprise coming from Open Fit. :)
Stay Tuned!!
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