Hey Nerds!

[Lt. SLIder]

I had a baby four months ago and am ready to get in BETTER shape than before I was pregnant.

Before my pregnancy, I was quite active. I was kickboxing 2-4 days a week, Tae Kwon Do twice a week, and occasionally yoga. I also liked to switch things up by trying P90x DVDs and some of Jillian Michaels' workouts as well. I ate well most of the time and had discovered I felt a lot better when I avoided gluten, so I cut it out of my diet about 90% for about 3 years. My biggest dietary weaknesses were dark chocolate and red wine. I looked pretty good, but never had definition like i wanted. Once I got pregnant, I had horrible morning sickness for about 7 weeks which kept me from my workouts and I ended up canceling my membership at my martial arts center. Once I started feeling better I kind of let loose with my eating habits. I found, oddly, that gluten didn't seem to bother me anymore and was pretty excited about it. I also ate a LOT of ice cream. Eventually I took up walking regularly and did some exercises at home recommended by my childbirth instructor.

In the end I had gained 40 lbs. At my six week check up I had lost 20 and was pretty excited to see the others fall away! Unfortunately I had some difficulty with breastfeeding and was dealing with a rigorous pumping/feeding schedule that took up most of my time and also needed medication, the most common side effect of which is weight gain. I've since been able to give up the pumping and am almost completely off the medication. I have not lost any weight since the initial 20 lbs.

I'm not "overweight", but my body fat percentage is definitely higher than it should be and I'm ready to be more fit and have more energy!

Over the past couple of weeks I have started trying out the Beginner Body Weight workout and have been alternating with a HIIT workout. I hold my daughter when I do squats and lunges for extra weight and to keep her entertained and do pushups (on my knees for now) over her. I like the idea of introducing her to exercise early on and being a good fitness role model. I have also researched the paleo diet and have transitioned to eating about 80% paleo. I don't want to mess with my milk production so I'm not willing to quite go all the way (oats, brown rice, barley, etc are good for milk).

I would love a sidekick and am excited to be a part of such an awesome group of ass kickers!

[Laureleye]

I love the beginners body weight workout.  Are you planning to join the 6-week challenge starting on Monday?.  I expect the information sheet to be posted later today, but you can look at the info sheet for the last one to get the idea and be thinking about what you want to accomplish over the next 6 weeks.