How I Lost Weight and Grew My Hair Longer | Fitness Friday

Getting and staying fit isn't easy. Today, I'm linking up with the gorgeous Ebony of Longing4Length and fiercely fabulous Britt of One&20 to share how lost weight and grew my hair longer. 

Whilst pregnant with my first child, I gained 53 lbs. I remember telling my husband, "I hope that this little girl is 50lbs when she's born." Ha-ha! She wasn't---she was just 8lbs 3oz---and ALL the rest was me. I thought that the weight would just fall off; it didn't. I realized that if I wanted to change, I had to busta move. It took me some time and a lot of trial/error but I found a way to make working out, work with my life. Here's what I did:

Stop with the complaining:
I probably drove my friends mad complaining about how my maternity clothes were too big and my pre-baby clothes were too small. Who was I? Goldilocks? Complaining got me no where and it changed nothing.

Stop with the excuses:
My hubby was deployed soon after our daughter's birth. And being a glorified single mom to a newborn with my other half a gazillion miles away in a war zone was the excuse that rode until the wheels fell off. Yes it was true, but it was still an excuse. Excuses are fun for a little while, but it got me no where and it changed nothing.

Stop with the attitude:
Who you mad at? Take a second to really think about that. I was immensely frustrated about not loosing my baby weight fast enough. I also had no one to be angry with except myself. My attitude towards getting healthier without doing anything to make it happen was delusional and that attitude got me no where and changed nothing.

My life was messy, I didn't have much time, I really didn't know what I was doing, but I knew that I needed to do something. I subscribed to Women's Health magazines to get a little fit-spiration. I started doing their at home 15 minute workouts once a day plus a warm up and stretch. Finally the scale tipped in my favor. I upped my mini workouts to twice a day (once in the morning/once at night) and I'd dropped 10-15 more lbs. Then, I incorporated 20 more minutes of running, a Zumba DVD, or yoga into my daily workouts. One hour a day---in 3 20 minute sessions. My daughter was 9 months when she started to walk and when I was able to comfortably slip into my pre-baby jeans. I lost about 25 lbs in 6 months. No magic diet pill. No starvation. No gym.


Whilst working on my weight loss, I also realized that I needed to find a better way to take care of my hair. I was doing the same complaining, excuse-making, and attituding that I'd done about losing weight. Again, I thought that healthier hair would just "happen" without any effort and, claro que si, it didn't. I had to commit to making a change, putting in the work, and nurturing my hair. A fit body and healthy hair can coincide. I actually find it remarkable that I used to loathe working out for fear of ruining my hair. Now I take pride in pulling it up into a big 'ol messy bun! Plus sweat isn't the enemy, doing nothing is. Strong is totally the new skinny. 

I just love reading about fitness journeys. Share your's with us below! And if you're interested in co-hosting Fitness Friday, shoot me a note teamsavingourstrands@gmail.com.

Besitos!
KLP