We love hearing about your transformations. We believe that sharing is caring. The beautiful Pretty Casual shares her tips and tricks for staying and looking beautiful post baby!
4 Tips to Get Motivated For a Better Body
Ever since having two kids in the last five years, it has been difficult to find motivation to get my pre-baby body back. I don’t just mean a skinnier body, but a stronger, healthier one. Not too long ago, the only weights I could lift were my kids, and cardio? Forget it. I wouldn’t even run out to get the mail. After nursing my baby boy for 18 months, I decided it was time to make a change. I started from the inside out.
Clean-er Eating
My husband decided to try out a Paleo diet during the month of August, and I knew that he would be the most successful if I did it with him. While I found the Paleo diet to be a bit extreme for my taste, I did a modified version. In the end, I avoided carbs, sweets, junk snacks and fast food. I ate a ton of roasted veggies, fruit, fish, chicken, yogurt and the occasional bowl of popcorn. I still enjoyed my coffee in the morning and drank tea all throughout the day.
I challenged myself for one month and didn’t realize what my true results were until I started eating foods like pizza, cereal and chips again. My body felt sluggish and bloated. So now I only eat those on occasion and make much healthier choices a majority of the time. Anytime I feel a craving come on between meals, I first make a cup of tea (green, black, chai, berry, or detox tea) and it usually prevents me from giving in to snacking.
If cutting out carbs all together is just not going to happen for you, I suggest trying to only having carbs with one meal per day. For example, eggs with tomatoes or spinach and a little bit of cheese and some turkey bacon for breakfast. Then for lunch, enjoy a serving of pasta or a stacked sandwich. Lastly for dinner, salmon with a heaping pile of your favorite roasted veggies or a giant arugula salad and balsamic vinaigrette.
Detox Teas
To give my body a boost, I started drinking detox teas. Not the type that causes you to have to be near a bathroom all day. But all natural, non-harsh, non-laxative detox teas that cleanse and detoxify, reduce bloating and may also boost your metabolism. Not all detox teas are created equal. Do your research and find what will work best for you. Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns. Two that I have tried can be found on Instagram, @thinteadetoxtea and @ilovesuperfoodtea.
New Active Wear for women
If you are like me, you still have the same leggings, sports bras, and tank tops you’ve had for years and years. Give your workout wardrobe (or lack there of) an update and get yourself some new active wear! Nubyen’s Second Skin Active Wear is so comfortable and stylish. It’s made with what they call, “breathable S3 technology” (silhouette sculpting seams), which basically hugs all the right places and flatters your figure. Who doesn’t want that? What I like best about Nubyen’s Second Skin, is that you can get high quality active wear without breaking your budget. What you would normally spend on some other brands, would cost you three times as much. Plus, you can use my code PRETTY15, to save 15% on your order. You’re welcome. Like wearing that new dress for a night out, or that new suit to the office, or new pair of shoes to the gym - new active wear will give you a confidence boost and that extra motivation towards achieving your better body.
At-Home Workouts with an App
I remember the days long before having children, when I could go to the gym at any hour of the day and not worry about how long I have to sweat. Those days only happen a few times a year now. My daughter has never liked going to the “kids club” while I worked out. I have even tried bribing her. Don’t judge. I started using the “Perfect Workout” app on my phone for at-home workouts. It has straight-forward, easy to follow workouts that you can do anywhere. You can do the workouts at home, at the park, and even with your kids. You can modify the length of each exercise and resting time. You can also select a basic full body workout (free) or pay a little bit more and have a huge variety of workouts to choose from. I try to do a couple of short workouts throughout the day, so by the end of the day I’ll have worked out for anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour. All the while, my kids are happy and I’m happy. I also feel good about being a positive influence on my children when they join my workouts.
Whether you embrace all of these tips or take on just a couple, do it for you! Start now.
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