No more paycheck.
Not only does it have to be in working order on a daily basis, but it has to be in peak physical condition year-round.
Being a professional athlete requires one to dedicate his/her body to the sport. Day after day of skating, lifting weights, doing conditioning exercises, etc. adds up quickly.
When my husband goes to work each day, he burns nearly 2,000 calories.
As you can imagine, as a wife of a professional athlete, you already have to work very hard to not get lost in the shadow of your spouse. Aside from all that, you want to keep up with him in the physical category, too. Or at least I do.... I am very competitive, and I could never sit around and do nothing while my hubby flashes around his hot bod.
Last summer, I was at my peak physical condtion. Toned arms, toned legs, toned stomach, very heart-healthy. I felt great, and I looked great.
However, attempting to have a baby, being pregnant, (then not pregnant), then pregnant again, (then not pregnant again), then attempting to concieve a third time, weighs heavily on your body. Your body doesn't work properly if you're over-active, and obviously losing prenancies and having surgery is very limiting. Not to mention the fact that I have [more than once] fallen into the trap of 'eating my feelings' when I've been sad.
It's extremely frustrating- I really enjoy working out, and I'm normally a very healthy eater. When uncontrollable circumstances affect these activities (well, okay... I'm guilty of the unhealthy eating from time to time...) you can't help but feel a little lost from normal routine. It was like groundhog day: I was exercising less and eating extremely healthy while trying to concieve/being pregnant, then falling into the unhealthy eating habit after learning the pregnancy failed.... then trying to concieve/succeeding again and jumping back on the healthy bandwagon, then failing again and falling into the unhealthy tailspin again.
Then, I realized: all I need to do is re-evaluate and modify. If I have it written out, it will be much easier to follow, and I'll be less-likely to fall into the bad habits again.
My goals are:
- to maintain a weight that is both healthy for me and keeps me in the best possible condtion for concieving. If I need to be 5 pounds heavier off the bat to provide a good cushion for my little one to arrive and stay safe, so be it. A small sacrifice to pay.
- to re-tone my arms. I know the muscle is under there, it's just not wanting to show it's face as much as it used to. I quit most weight-bearing exercise at the start of my 2nd pregnancy in fear of it harming the baby (though knowing it wouldn't), and also after my surgery. Time for the guns to come back out again.
- legs and abs are another story. They concern me more since they are closer to my baby-making parts. I'm okay with them being a little less-toned for now.
- Make sure that every single food/drink I put in my body every day is providing me some sort of nutritional benefit.
- Walking the dog, walking on the treadmill, going for bike rides outside with J, swimming outside in the pool.
- Low weight/high reps with hand weights and resistance bands (same as I did last summer/fall)
- Ab exercises that avoid crunching motions, like plank variations.
- Eating a well-balanced, healthy diet, and avoiding the temptations of all the lovely junk food here in the U.S.... which is simple, once I put my sadness aside. As long as I don't let myself eat my feelings, it's pretty easy to do. We've gotten back in the habit of making balanced, healthy meals from scratch now that I'm willing to spend more time on it again (recipes to come soon! :) ).
- Accepting the fact that my child-bearing/attempting body is just not going to look the same as it did on my wedding day. Not until post-baby, at least... :)
What do you do to keep your health on track? Have any of you recently had to modify eating/exercise habits for any reason? I'd love to hear what works for YOU!
