Losing The Baby Weight Part 4

Here we are starting the month of March, making it a full 2 months of me trying to lose the baby weight. Periodically I have been writing about the task (see post 1, 2, 3) in an effort to motivate myself and maybe someone else out there. For last two months, I have been actively working out and counting calories...with the exception of one week. I took off a week about a couple weeks ago. We were doing a ton of work on the house and my husband was off work, so by the time meals came around we were too exhausted to cook so we ordered a ton of Jimmy Johns and Chinese food :( So not good for the diet, but probably good for my sanity.

So how is the progress going?? Well, I gained a total of 50 pounds during the pregnancy. By January, when I started the quest for weight loss, I still had 30 pounds to lose. As of this point and time, I am proud to say I have lost over half of my goal weight in 2 month. That means I have lost 16 pounds since January 2nd, and have just 14 more to go! Super excited!

The current weight I am at is the weight I was in college. Like many other college students, I didn't eat very healthy and I never exercised! Exercise really does make losing the weight go much faster. I mean it's been proven with calorie control, you really don't need to exercise but I personal have grown to love exercise. It is a great way to relieve stress, give you more energy, and just makes me feel so much better. Before I had the baby I could easily spend 1-2 hours at the gym doing cardio and lifting weights. However, once you have a baby you time is limited! I don't know if you have ever tried to workout with a baby, but it's no easy task. He will usually give me about 30 minutes of time for cardio, but beyond that is hit or miss depending on his mood.

In an effort to workout longer, I have found a few exercises that I can do with my baby and wanted to share. It's great interaction with your baby and despite his face in a few of these pics he usually has a good time and laughs at me. These pictures were taken about a month ago, so as he gets bigger it makes the exercise more difficult. Before you try any of these exercises though, makes sure that the baby's neck is strong enough.

Baby Around The World

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes out slightly, holding your baby in both hands in front of you, arms straight down.
2. Keeping arms and back straight, slowly squat while moving your baby toward the ground. (So the baby should be in the center, towards the ground.)
3. Move arms in a sweeping clockwise motion. Make 12 circles.
4. Return to start and repeat in the opposite direction. Do three more sets.

Baby Squat
1. Start by holding your baby close to your chest.
2. Stand with your feet turned outwards and proceed to squat down with your knees pointing outward like your feet.
3. Do not let your knees go past your toes.
4. Return to the starting position and repeat 20 times for 3 reps.

Baby Chest Press

1. Start by lying on your back and holding your baby on your chest.
2. Proceed to press your baby up over your chest until your arms are extended.
3. Return to the starting position and repeat 12-20 times for three reps.

Baby Crunches
1. Start by lying on your back and holding your baby on your stomach with your legs supporting your baby.
2. Proceed to crunch up towards your baby and then return to the starting position.
3. Repeat for as many you can do.

Baby Lifts
1. Lie flat on your back on a mat with your knees bent, hands behind your head, and legs supporting your baby. Feet should be hip distance apart.
2. Slowly raise your pelvis up toward the ceiling to a point where your body will be at a about a 40-45 degree angle relative to the floor.
3. At the top of the movement, be sure to really flex your butt for one second — try and make it a long second.
4. Now slowly return to the start position to complete one.
I do 60 reps of these for 3 sets. Also, sometimes I just like to hold the up position to the count of 60.

Baby Lunges
1. Hold your baby close to your chest and stand up straight.
2. Proceed to lunge down until your knee almost touches the floor.
3. Make sure your front knee doesn't go over your ankle.
4. Stand back up to the starting position and complete the same reps with the other leg.
I usually do 12 reps for three sets.

I usually combine all of these toning exercises with 30-45 minutes of cardio.

~Beth