In 2013, I had just returned home after my first year in college, on the East coast with no friends or family nearby. My parents had divorced the prior year, and I had decided to transfer schools. I wasn’t in the best place mentally. I was a frequent reader of Lauren Conrad’s blog, still am, and stumbled upon a post featuring Tone It Up. A female founded fitness community with amazing workouts on the beach, a community of inspiring & uplifting women, and nutrition products. I immediately joined and my fitness journey began.
Over the past 8 years as a TIU girl, I have met some of my best friends all across the United States. If you have ever met cofounders Karena Dawn & Katrina Scott, you will know they are the most kind, loving, honest, strong and inspiring woman I have had the pleasure of meeting. They have truly changed my life! I have learned to not feel guilty about eating a snickers if I want one. I learned to feel confident in my own skin. To believe in myself and know my worth. Most importantly, it wasn’t about the number on the scale, it was how I felt when I looked in the mirror. All of this was put to the test when my stomach started to grow.
I always thought that I would be super active my entire pregnancy. It wasn’t anything new and yet it was extremely difficult. I was fortunate enough to not experience morning sickness, but I was extremely exhausted the entire time. I didn’t care about making that clean of food choices, because I was just trying to survive. The weight gain was slow and didn’t really bother me that much, because I was growing a tiny human.
Coming back postpartum has been more difficult than I imaged. Combating it with hormones raging, figuring out motherhood, and all your muscles are now very soft & squishy. I always thought as soon as I could, I would get back into working out and eating lean, clean and green. That didn’t happen and still isn’t how things are. I lost so much muscle while I was pregnant and I swear it’s even harder to gain back now.
1 year postpartum and I do fit into all my clothes pre-baby. I don’t have the muscle tone that I would like, but I am working on it. I have struggled with the fact of starting my fitness journey from the very beginning, but I have realized that’s okay. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the adventure along the way. One advantage to having a contact sidekick is that my arms are more toned than they ever have been. My time to workout is a bit more challenging these days, but I make it work. I am making more conscientious food choices and aiming to drink half my body weight in ounces of water a day. Soon I will share my average day menu and workout routine.
Wherever you are in your fitness journey, I am here to support you, cheer you on and celebrate with you when you reach your goals. We are all in this together! Making time for yourself is hard enough, especially if you have a little one or two or three constantly calling your name. If you ever need an accountability partner, I am always here. And if you ever need some extra motivation, go to #TIUteam on Instagram. Its amazing!!
With love,
xo, kaylee
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