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Fitness

5 Reason To Continue Working Out During Pregnancy

fit mom, pregnancy, pregnancy workout, exercise, pregnancy workout fashion, fitness fashion

Hi friends,

Hope you are having a great week! Since my second trimester hit I’ve been continuing to work out during pregnancy. It has helped me so much physically and mentally with my pregnancy. For two weeks during Christmas and New Years I was feeling under the weather so I didn’t work out and boy did my body feel it. After the first week I was getting horrible back pains. I know it’s normal as our body grows and stretches, but I also knew I could help alleviate it if I went back to my normal exercise routine. After I was feeling better  I started working out again and focusing on lower body workouts and it helped tremendously. Since then my back pain has gone away! You can see the full video of my lower back workouts here. Below I’ve listed my top five reasons on why I continue to workout during pregnancy and how beneficial it is in your pregnancy. Check them out below!

 

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5 Reason To Continue Working Out During Pregnancy

  • Reduce backaches, constipation, bloating and swelling.

  • Boost your mood and energy levels.

  • Help you sleep better.

  • May decrease your risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and cesarean delivery.

  • Promotes healthy weight gain during pregnancy, and help with “bouncing back” after.

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Being pregnant has given me more reasons to continue working out. Thankfully my doctor has given me the ok to continue doing what makes me feel better physically and mentally. I don’t take this healthy pregnancy for granted especially after having two miscarriages. And I will do what it takes to continue keeping my body healthy for myself and my baby. For more pregnancy workout videos and inspiration make sure to follow me on Instagram! Thanks for stopping by!

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fit mom, pregnancy, pregnancy workout, exercise

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Fitness

4 Cable Exercises to Shape Your Booty

Since my journey to getting my muscles back, my butt has always been one of my main concerns.  Lets face it, I am not blessed with natural curves, aka no boobs or butt, however with hard work, the right diet, and the right workouts I know I can grow my butt. One thing I wanted to do different this time around was really focus on my butt muscles and concentrate on those muscles instead of just doing “leg” day. I tend to grow my quads faster than any other muscle in my body, and what I didn’t want was overly exaggerated quads. So with tons of research I found these four workouts to be some of the most effective workouts to exercise your booty on the cable machine. If you watched my previous video 4 Exercises Using The Lat Pull Down Machine, you know I am a big fan of cable exercises. Cable exercises are a great way to workout to target specific muscles and offer a full range of motions. These  4 Cable Exercises to Shape Your Booty are four exercise you will want to incorporate in your routine. Watch the video and read the description below!

Continue reading “4 Cable Exercises to Shape Your Booty”

Family

The Easy Family Meal Prep Plan with HelloFresh

Thank you HelloFresh  for sponsoring this post.  As always all thoughts and opinions are mine alone. Thank you for supporting those who support this blog.

Hello Fresh_meal prep_healthy cooking

Hey guys,

TFIG! This month I’ve stepped it up when it comes to putting my health and fitness goals first. I made a promise to myself that I would not let my work with my blog, and all the social event that come with it get in the way of my fitness goals. So this month I cleared my schedule M-F and set specific times to work on my blog, and making sure to go to the gym first thing in the morning. And let me tell you, it has made a world of difference. Another thing that has really helped me when it comes to my nutrition is HelloFresh. HelloFresh has stream lined my cooking and prepping by giving me healthy, easy alternatives already prepped meals shipped right to my door! And for the whole family too! No more getting tired of the same chicken breast and broccoli all day, HelloFresh has great options including vegetarian options for the whole family. Check out the process that has made this mama’s life easier when it comes to meal prepping healthy meals for the family.

Continue reading “The Easy Family Meal Prep Plan with HelloFresh”

Fitness

5 Minute Daisy Dukes Leg Workout

5 Minute Daisy Dukes Leg Workout

Summer is just around the corner, and that means shorts, dresses, and tan lines. Who doesn’t want nice toned legs and a tan all at the same time?  Last weekend I did a fun 5 minute leg workout outside with my little guy and our pup. It really kicked my butt and I only did one set, but it was nice to sweat outside for a bit and go for a little swim after in our kiddy pool outside. Check out our workout video below. P.S. No pup was harmed in the making of this video. ;P Continue reading “5 Minute Daisy Dukes Leg Workout”

Fitness

8 Daily Activities You Can Do to Stay Fit Without Having to Go the Gym

8 Daily Activities You Can Do to Stay Fit Without Having to Go the Gym

Can you believe it in one month summer will be soon upon us, and I know what you are thinking bikini season! But who has time to go to the gym, juggle a career, work on a blog, and manage time with their family? I know I don’t! Trying to fit in time to go to the gym is nearly impossible. So how do I stay fit and active without going to the gym? You can check out my post pregnancy transformation here. Mom’s this one’s for you, because I get it. I use to be the biggest gym rat before I had Jayden, even worked out during my pregnancy, but after I had Jayden I realized it wouldn’t be that easy for me to go to the gym everyday. So I improvised, and found everyday things I could do in my own home with my little man that helped me shed the baby weight and keep it off. Here are eight daily activities you can do to stay fit without having to go to the gym.

Continue reading “8 Daily Activities You Can Do to Stay Fit Without Having to Go the Gym”

Family

DIY Themed Baby Shower – Ahoy! It’s a Boy!

Ahoy!

I can’t believe it’s already a year since we had our baby shower and now in a couple of days we will be having Jayden’s first birthday party. Time sure does fly. I wanted to share some pictures of our beautiful Nautical baby shower we had last year. Our family and friends did a great job throwing us our shower. Continue reading “DIY Themed Baby Shower – Ahoy! It’s a Boy!”

Fitness

How I lost All My Pregnancy Weight

Lately I have had some of my friends ask me about my secret to loosing all my pregnancy weight. So how did I do it? How did I loose all 35lbs of my pregnancy weight? Well first let me give you a little background of myself before I got pregnant.

Three years ago I moved to Florida to pursue my career. I was unhealthy, I drank, I ate whatever I want, partied till the light of day, and was in the worse shape of my life. Moving to Florida gave me a wake up call, and I decided to pursue a healthier lifestyle. I gave up drinking, eating out, and even entered myself in a bodybuilding competition. I was probably the fittest I had ever been in my life.

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Continue reading “How I lost All My Pregnancy Weight”

Family

How to Save Money by Making Your Own Baby Food

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Like most mom’s I want the best for my child, especially when it comes to what I am feeding him. I’m a big advocate in making baby food, not only because of the health benefits with less preservatives, but also because you save tons of money by doing so. An individual container of baby food cost at least $1.50. If you feed your baby 3 times a day for a whole month it would cost you roughly $126. But making your own baby food would save you at least $100 a month. Below I will show you how I make baby food in bulk for the week, using the products below. Consult your pediatrician to make sure your child is ready for whole foods.  We started when Jayden was 4 months after getting the ok from our doctor.

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Ingredients:

I am a big fan of frozen veggies and fruits. They have a great selection of ready to steam veggies from peas, to broccoli, to mix blends that make great baby food. I like to blend veggies and fruit together for taste. Apples and bananas are easy fruits to blend and works well with veggies. It’s honestly personal preference and what your baby likes. Usually for every bag of veggies I mix two apples.

Directions:

1. Set out bag of veggies and let it thaw out.

2. Once thawed out blend veggies and fruit separately (I use a Nutribullet for all my blending needs)

3. Combine in large tupperware

The smaller tupperware is how I measure out how much to prepare for each meal. I fill 75mml of blended baby food and warm up in microwave or bottle warmer. I mix the food with a scoop of formula and two spoonful of rice cereal for a thicker consistency. The rice cereal is optional, but I like it because it is filling . One bag of veggies usually last him a week.

So for all you Mom’s who want to save money, save time, and give your baby the best, try it out, and let me know what you think! And if you love this simple and easy tip share it with a friend!

<3 Dawn

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Fitness

Be Comfortable in Your Own Shell


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This month I partnered up with DesignR to promote a positive self image and encourage a happy healthy lifestyle with clothing made for the active style conscious woman on the go. Their motto “Embrace the Turtle”, and “Be comfortable in your own shell,” really speaks to the idea that getting fit is not a race. Everyone’s journey is different, and fitness looks different on everyone. It is not a quick fix. It doesn’t happen over night. It is a every day choice to be healthy and happy and loving yourself every step of the way. Fitness is a way of life.

There are so many benefits to making fitness a priority in your life, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. As a wife and mother, here are my top 5 reasons why I make fitness a part of my life:

1. It lowers my stress levels. As Ell Woods put it,  “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands.” I know my husband can appreciate this lol.

2. It is something I do for myself. After a long busy day of working and taking care of my family, it’s nice to take 30 minutes for myself to workout. It gives me time to myself where I can wind down and do something to improve myself.

3. It pushes me mentally to be stronger. There are many times where my body wants to give up, but my mental strength has pushed my body where I never thought it could.

4. It strengthens my faith. When all else fails and I feel like giving up, my faith has been the number one factor to keep me going. Believing in something greater than myself has helped me in my fitness journey.

5. And last but not least it gives me confidence in myself. All the factors above contribute to added confidence in my life. I can look in the mirror and know I can make a difference. I have all the right tools God gave me to improve myself daily.

A healthy lifestyle is a happy lifestyle. And fitness has helped me become a better person, a better wife, and a better mother.

Don’t forget to check out the details of my outfit below, and make sure to stop by DesignR and checkout all their cute and comfy active wear!

<3 Dawn

top: DesignR/ capri: BKE Sport/sports bra: New Balance/ shoes: Nike (similar style)/ water bottle: Design R

P.S. The capris I am wearing are reversible and on sale! Check out the colorful print on the other side in my previous post here.

IMG_0146(This post was sponsored by DesignR)

 

Fitness

The “Mom” Diet

I know some of you are wondering how I lost the baby weight so fast, and honestly I can credit a majority of it to my “Mom Diet.” So what is the “Mom Diet”? I know I’ve mentioned it a couple times in my previous post so I wanted to explain it you. I never knew about it until I became a mom. It’s an exclusive diet only mothers would know about, and only mothers can relate to.

I remember the first week I was home with my baby I was exclusively breast feeding. It was one of the hardest and yet most rewarding thing I had ever done. But it was also one of the factors that contributed to my “mom diet”. They say when you breast feed you will loose your post baby weight faster. I did’t realize why until now. I remember every 3 hours breast feeding my baby with no breaks in between. I felt like a cow at a certain point because it was literally all I did for days. I rarely got any sleep, and nor did I have time to eat. I was too tired and too stressed to even think about eating. All I could think about was my baby eating and being happy.  My nutrition was no longer a priority in my life.

I decided being a stay at home mom was not giving me the life balance I wanted. I needed to make myself a priority as well so I decided to go back to work part time where I could continue to pursue my passions yet be able to be there for Jayden. I was really thankful to work for a company that allowed me to make my schedule and prioritize my family first.

After I started supplementing with formula and started to work part time my diet improved. I ate better at work, where I had a designated break time to enjoy my meals with no interruption. It was one of the perks of going to work. But at home the only consistent thing I was eating was my protein shake and protein peanut butter cups, still not enough nutrients or calories to keep and build my muscle. I had lost all 35lbs of my baby weight in less than 4 months.  With the “Mom diet” I was loosing weight the unhealthy way. It wasn’t fat I was loosing but muscles.

Currently right now, I am no longer breast feeding. I still have days where I am so exhausted from staying up all night with the baby that I forget to eat all day. I never thought I would ever have a problem with eating, but it has become more of an after thought than a daily routine some days. My mindset has changed when it comes to eating. I have to remind myself daily my nutrition is important. It is hard for me when all I can think about is my baby, but I know in the long run I have to prioritize my health for me to be the best mom I can be. My friend recommended me to check out a website talking about  in a healthy way. After having a read, I realized just how important it was for me to get my diet and nutrition back on track before I end up making myself ill!

The “Mom Diet” is not as glamorous as it may seem, and I would not condone it for any mother. Ask for help, take time for yourself, and know you are enough. Don’t feel guilty for wanting to make your health a priority. Don’t feel guilty if you take ten minutes to eat while your baby entertains himself. Yes he might cry for a bit because he just wants to be held, but he will understand eventually. Don’t feel bad if you can’t juggle it all by yourself. It takes a village to raise a child. Being a mom is a selfless job, and we would give more than an arm and a leg just to make our children happy. But if we don’t put or health first, we will end up just giving bones. We are more than just a mom, we are someone’s daughter, wife, sister, friend, coworker, ect. If we want to be the best mother we can be then we have to make ourselves a priority. Our health matters for our children’s sake. I know this is a common sentiment as well, I have a friend who regularly goes to the gym and she says it really helps her keep fit enough to keep up with her children.

<3 Dawn

P.S. Capturing my little man and his little attitude. He did not want mommy to put him down at all this day.
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Fitness

Helluva Life – Mommy and Me Workout video

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Hey guys I wanted to share my first ever “Mommy and Me” workout video with ya’ll. This is a fun little video we did outside showing a couple of exercises you can do with with your baby. Jayden loves working out with me. He is at the stage where he is curious about everything and wants to be a part of everything mommy does. Not only is it a great bonding activity with the baby, but it actually helps him sleep through the night. Try it out and let me know what ya’ll think!

3 sets, 1 minute each exercise followed with 1 minute jumping jacks and 1 minute burpees.

  • 1 min hip thrust
  • 1 min crunches
  • 1 min leg raises
  • 1 min scissor kicks
  • 1 min jumping jacks
  • 1 min burpees
  • 1 minute rest

workout time: 21 minutes

https://youtu.be/RsCj5W9jSwA

<3 Dawn

 

P.S. Stay tuned to the end for bloopers! Atticus our family dog wanted to be part of the video too!

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