To read Part 2 of “Getting Healthy” click here.
The next key for me to getting healthy was exercise.
I’ve been athletic my whole life. I grew up playing sports with all the neighborhood boys. Started playing competitive soccer when I was 12. And played soccer in highschool. I didn’t start running just for the sake of running until I was 22. I had never consistently run for exercise until I decided I was going to run a marathon. Go big or go home.
And then I had four babies. And only exercised intermittently during and between each pregnancy.
After my fourth baby, I finally felt motivated to lose all the baby weight and get in good shape.
A few factors played into my decision on what type of exercise to do. The only time I have to exercise right now is when my kids are awake. A few of my kids don’t sleep well, so getting up early is out of the question.
Running outside with kids in a stroller seems like a sin to me. Running is my sacred time. My alone time. My “I can do this really hard thing called being a mother” pump up time. Pushing kids in a stroller fetching thrown sippy cups and passing out goldfish just seems wrong.
Running on the treadmill wasn’t an option either for fear something would get thrown at me by a child while running resulting in treadmill burn on my face.
I also wanted something that required no equipment. Cause if momma’s lifting weights, the kids want to lift weights too.
So I decided to do Insanity. If you haven’t heard of Insanity, it’s basically interval training. But it’s 3 minutes of high, intense exercise, and then a 30 second “rest” (you never really get to rest), then another 3 minutes of high, intense exercise. When they say it’s insanity, they aren’t kiddin’. It’s hard. Harder than any form of exercise I’ve ever done in my life. More painful than even the last mile of the marathon I ran.
It hurts. It’s hard. It’s intense. It’s insane.
But.
It got me in the BEST shape of my entire life. It literally changed the shape of my body. Gave me muscle in places I’ve never had muscle before. Toned. Burned fat.
The pain was worth it. Because I have truly never felt better. Ever. I’m in better shape and stronger than ever.
That’s how I got healthy and lost weight. Not running. The comment I usually get is “you’ve been running a lot haven’t you.” Nope. Just did insanity.
It doesn’t have to be insanity. But I think interval training is amazing for the body.
Smart exercise. Not hours and hours of exercise.
Even after I got to the size I felt healthy at, I continued to do insanity. I did it for about a year.
Then I did Focus T-25 5 days a week for exercise. Because it’s only 25 minutes. And I’m just trying to maintain. Not lose weight.
And right now I’m doing P90X3 because I want to get toned. And it’s only 30 minutes. (And I don’t get paid by Beachbody. I promote their products because THEY WORK).
I run on Saturdays when my husband can watch kids. Because running is good for my soul. And I like to listen to music while I run. (Check out my running playlist here)
Sometimes I just run 4 to 7 miles (depending on how much energy/time I have). Other times, I do an interval treadmill workout. You can check that out here.
I never thought I was an exercise to a DVD kind of person. But I love these. And the kids have learned mom can’t talk while doing these. I literally can’t talk. I’ve nearly puked on several occasions.
The TYPE of exercise you do will be critical in losing weight. If you pick the wrong one, you have to exercise for MUCH longer. It is definitely possible to be efficient when exercising. You can burn MORE calories in LESS time if you pick the right kind of exercise.
{Updated to add. You can read my article about using a heart rate monitor so you know exactly how many calories you burn when you exercise}
To read Part 4 of “Getting Healthy. Additional Tips” click here.
Hi Lindsay,
Your posts are super informative and very helpful. Like you, I’ve always been very active and I’ve never really paid attention to calories or what I ate. As I got older and after having children my metabolism began to slow. I gained 50 to 60 pounds with both of my pregnancies. I’ve been exercising regularly and have a much better diet, although not as good as yours. I was wondering what your thoughts are on ones ability to lose the extra tummy skin/roll that still remains after dropping the baby weight. My tummy is no longer a huge muffin 🙂 but the skin on my tummy could use toning. I exercise regularly and have seen love handles disappear and my tummy shrink but I still seem to have a layer of unwanted belly. I do not obsess about it but was curious if this is something that over time could firm up with continued exercise and propoer diet.
Thanks greatly,
Jo
Hey Jo,
Glad they’re helpful. And lest I portray something I’m not, I don’t always eat healthy. I certainly try, but I can down a bag of chips and salsa by myself and I’ll never ever give up white bread (rolls, breadsticks). I love food and can’t give up everything.
That’s a really good question. I still have some excess skin as well and as of yet haven’t figured out how to tone that up. Even after a lot of ab exercises etc. I still have some unwanted skin. I’m not sure after it’s stretched that much if I can get rid of it without surgery (which isn’t an option right now). Wish I had a better option. I think getting as much muscle as possible helps eat up the unwanted fat, but I’m not sure how to get rid of unwanted skin….