Hot Mom/Body After Baby Challenge

Hi y'all! It's Lindsay. At the end of June, I put out a feeler on our Facebook page about hosting a "Hot Mom" Challenge, starting in September. This is both accountability for me after having Everett, but also a way to get other moms involved who are self-conscious, having trouble, not feeling how they want to feel, or just wanting to be healthier after having a baby. There was a HUGE response, so I'm definitely moving forward with the challenge!

Below are the details....everything you need to know! You will have until August 31 to sign up to be a part of this.

Hot Mom/Body After Baby CHALLENGE

• Starts September 9th and runs for 90 days, ending December 7th. 
• You must commit to the following:
• Exercise program; both at-home and gym programs will be offered, but you have to commit to an actual program/schedule. 
• 80/20 Clean Eating (Eating clean 80% of the time, with some wiggle room 20% of the time)
• Taking before and after measurements and pictures (You don't have to share them, but I want you to have them to track your success!!)
• In return for your commitment, you will receive:
• Exercise AND nutrition support, guidance, and coaching
• Private Facebook group to share your victories, challenges, concerns, whatever with myself and the other challenge members 
• I will be logging my food on MyFitnessPal (free website/app) and will give access to anyone who wishes to see how and what I eat. I will also gladly monitor and give feedback to anyone else who logs their food.

There is no charge for participating in this challenge. Yep - this is FREE. Only costs will be related to if you need to purchase an exercise program. 

To sign up, please comment below or message us on Facebook your email address. I'll contact you that way and invite you to the private Facebook group. 

We've hosted challenges in the past with great success...challengers always lost weight/inches/sizes, but more importantly, established healthy habits and felt better about themselves!

LET'S DO THIS!!

In Health, 

Lindsay

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Our Birth Story

Disclaimer: Although the title should be enough of a warning, if you aren't into hearing about labor, delivery, babies, or all that is beautiful in general, you should skip this post :)

Sunday, August 4th - 4 days post due date.

      The last week or two of my pregnancy was where I finally started to feel it. I would have days that I was feeling good and could move and go and workout as usual....then I had days where it took all my energy just to go to work and sit at my desk! At my OB visits, my blood pressure was starting to creep up...not pre-eclampisa high, just high for me (I'm usually low, and was especially low in pregnancy). On Sunday, I had spent most of the morning just lying in bed, watching TV. Timothy would check my BP periodically and we were still getting high readings. At the recommendation of our Doula, we called our OB and she recommended we go to the hospital to get evaluated.

     We arrive at the hospital in the early evening, they monitor my blood pressure and take some blood for labs. BP was still kind of high, but what they were most concerned with were my liver enzymes in the blood work. We decided that we would stay overnight at the hospital in the Antepartum Unit and then have our OB break my water in the morning. One of the doctors offered to sweep my membranes, and since I knew my water was going to be broken in the morning, I thought why not!

     It's like when you're a child and it's Christmas Eve - you have trouble sleeping because of the excitement....that's how we were on the Antepartum Unit that night. We even slept in the tiny little hospital bed together to try and soothe the energy. Come 7am - we'd be taken back down to Labor & Delivery and our journey would begin! Obviously, we had some concerns about how my body would respond to having my water broken. We had natural birth preferences, and would've much preferred to go into labor on my own, but that wasn't an option now. I think it's safe to say we were both concerned how it would impact our ability to have a natural birth. Still hopeful and dedicated, but concerned.

Monday, August 5th - the day.

     We made it down to L&D around 7:30am. Shortly after, our Doula arrived! Because of my positive Group B Strep diagnosis (something I carry that doesn't harm me, but can make newborns sick), I was given my first of two rounds of antibiotics while we waited for the OB to come in and break my water. Around 8am, they broke my water. That was strange - I wasn't sure what it would feel like, but it literally is more uncomfortable to have a pap smear, haha! Super quick and easy. Oh, right before the water breaking, our nurse (who was absolutely FABULOUS) offered to sweep my membranes again, and we said sure, it couldn't hurt. After all that was done, Timothy, our Doula, and I hit the stairs. I was 3-4 cm dilated and 75% effaced, and now that my water was broken, we wanted to get in as much activity as possible to encourage the baby getting into position. We did the stairs for about 15 minutes, having to stop during contractions and get on all fours while our Doula or Timothy rubbed my lower back - the people in the stairwell looked at us like we were crazy, which made us all laugh. :) Afterwards, we walked outside very briefly (it was a gorgeous day!) and then I wanted to head back to L&D.

     Contractions steadily increased throughout the morning, both in frequency and in intensity. It was clear I was going to be one of those women with back labor. I felt all the pain of a contraction right in my lower back! We tried multiple positions (standing, on all fours, draped over the yoga ball, head down/butt up, lying on my side, etc.) but what felt the best was sitting backwards on the toilet, holding the grip bar and just rocking back and forth.

     I made it to 8-9 cm dilated and 100% effaced quickly, but was starting to feel stuck. Turns out, Baby E was OP (Occiput Posterior position) with his head turned toward my right hip....that definitely explained the lower back pain! Our nurse, Karen, said that another nurse on the unit, Martha, was excellent at manipulating babies and we could bring her in and see what she could do....we said absolutely! In the mean time, our nurse called the OB to say "Go ahead and see your next appointment, then you should head this way." Martha did about 20 minutes worth of manipulating (and I'll spare you the details, but whoa that is intense!!!) and then she gives a look at our nurse Karen, and Karen calls our OB and says "Umm, you need to get up here now!" With the manipulating, he dropped into position immediately and it was pushing time!!

     45 minutes....pushed 12-15 times, and then they say "Reach down and get your baby!" I reach down and pull out my beautiful baby boy onto my chest. He is wide-eyed and quiet, just looking up at his mom and dad!! August 5, 2013 at 2:50pm, Everett was born weighing 8 lbs, 13 oz and 21 inches long.

So we did it!! Despite having to have my water broken for me, we had our natural birth! No pain medication, no epidurals, no episiotomy/surgical interventions....it was amazing! Less than 7 hours, only having to push a dozen or so times....I don't think we could've asked for better! And the staff were so freaking awesome. Of course, our OB and our Doula were well-familiar with our natural birth preferences, but our nurses that day were totally on point with everything and we never had to ask. Pain medication wasn't offered, warm compresses/stretching techniques done to avoid tearing, letting me move whenever I wanted, keeping the room quiet and dark, etc, etc. Their support, without questioning, was huge for us. Although our Doula was more than capable of advocating if we needed, we didn't because the nursing staff was already game with everything. AWESOME.

Our little man is now 2 weeks old. He is so strong (holding his head up on his own at 2 days old), and a total boys-boy with his grown man farts and burps! :) We are in love with him and found a new love in each other. Labor and delivery was just as awesome an experience as my pregnancy was....I couldn't have asked for better!

In Health,

Lindsay

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Last Baby Farrar Update Before Delivery!

Hi guys - Lindsay here!

While we try to keep the focus of our blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube pages (dang, that's a lot of social media!) on healthy living - we can't help but sneak in pregnancy updates from time to time. Quite simply, it is our life right now, but if you don't like the baby stuff, you can keep it moving :)

For our last blog update, we were at 6 months. Now, we are quickly approaching 9 months - we are currently 33 weeks pregnant! The last couple of months have gone well - nothing really changed too drastically from the last update. Just more OB appointments (aka get weighed, pee in a cup, vitals taken, measure the belly, listen to the heartbeat, see you next time), more growing in the belly/lots and lots of baby movement, more accumulating the necessities (car seats, stroller, glider, etc.).

I passed the gestational diabetes test - which I was overly-worked up about, mostly due to getting some flack from my OB/nurse about my weight gain. It's not outrageous at all, and in their words, they "didn't know where I was putting it" because the belly and baby measure right on target and I look great, but the fact that it was seemingly an issue to them always upset me. I don't know why - I've always been a girl who weighed way more than people would've thought (Yes, you can be a size 2 and weigh 145-150 pounds) - but because they would push the "you don't want to have a big baby" button on me, I would get so emotional. Here lately, since I am so close to the end, I've tried to be more intentional about letting the weight comments roll off me. So long as he continues to measure on track, my blood pressure continues to be perfect (usually 110/70), SO WHAT!!!!

We were able to get a 3D/4D ultrasound done - and that was amazing!! Both the technician and myself thought Baby had Timothy's cheeks, nose, and chin! He was a smilely little thing too - and when he would smile, he'd scrunch up his nose - now that's a trait from me!! :) Oh, and he was very clearly still a boy, lol.

Cute scrunched up nose when smiling!!

We finished our 12-week Bradley Method birth class - and while going to and from Richmond so late on Sunday nights was a pain, we really did learn SO much. I think both of us feel prepared and confident with regard to labor and are dedicated to doing all that we can to bring Baby into this world naturally. Being that we are giving birth in a hospital with an OB, we decided to hire a Doula. While my OB has agreed to all my birth preferences, there is no guarantee that she will be the one in the practice to actually deliver me when it is time, so a Doula will be one consistent figure and advocate in the process, no matter what.

It's funny - once I hit 32 weeks, I finally began to feel pregnant. Took long enough, huh?  :) Don't get me wrong, I am by no means uncomfortable or dying to get this over with, but I am starting to notice certain changes that make me go "Yep, I really am pregnant". For example, it now takes me 1-2 days to recover between workouts. I'll do TurboFire or P90X or a longer Crossfit WOD and feel great, but then I'll need at least 1 day of rest before working out at that intensity again. That being said - yes, I'm still doing intense workouts because it feels good to me. I've tried prenatal Pilates and other more gentle workouts, and they just don't do it for me. What feels good to me and what works for my body is my usual workouts, just modified as needed! (Disclaimer: Always work with your OB to find what's appropriate for you)

Sleeping is still pretty good, eating is always good (lol). Baby is head-down and I have Braxton Hicks contractions daily, lasting about 40 seconds, several times throughout the day. Mine are not painful, rather my belly just tightens up and gets rock hard on all sides. I've had a few folks tell me they don't think I'll go all the way to 40 weeks. Timothy is betting I'll go in early July, and a couple co-workers have bet that I'll go mid-July. My due date is July 31st - what do you think???

Some preggers selfies :)

You'll remember, it took us a long time to get here, so we are just blissfully happy and excited!! The next Baby blog post will be after he's arrived!!! Stay tuned!

In Health,

Lindsay

Pick Up Heavy Stuff, Put It Back Down, Repeat

It's hard to believe, but even in the age of Crossfit obsession and with ALL the research and knowledge out there on the benefits and overall necessity of weightlifting, women STILL avoid lifting, especially lifting heavy.

Based on what we hear, see, and read, it seems like there are a couple of factors at play here. One is that women, more so than men, are obsessed with burning calories. It's all about how high I can get the "Calories Burned" number on the treadmill or elliptical. What they don't realize is that while cardio can give you a high calorie burn, when you build muscle, you burn 24/7 instead of just during your workout. Also, people who do chronic cardio (what we fondly call cardio whores) end up not just burning calories, but burning already limited muscle mass as well. Bad News Bears.

More "reasoning" we get from women is that they don't want to lift too often or too heavy because they don't want to bulk up, they just want the lean, toned look. We debunk your reasoning here with simple genetics. Men have lots of testosterone, thus when they lift heavy things, they get big, beautiful muscles. Women, however, have very little testosterone, thus when they lift heavy things, their figures get leaner, and tighter. Trust that the only way you'll "bulk up" or get huge from weightlifting is from eating too much simultaneously....or taking hormones. Plus, your purse probably weighs at least 10 pounds, and that toddler you're toting around is a good 25 - so please, stop with the 2 to 5 pound weights.

Look - you like to run? No problem. Love Zumba or TurboFire? Fantastic. We aren't saying don't do these things. What we are saying is that cardio should not be your only means of working out, ladies. You have got to weight-train. It keeps your body fat percentage in check, supports a healthy metabolism, helps you fight injury and illness, helps support good bone density, and damn it, you just look better with muscle!!

Still not convinced?? Here's how being intentional with weightlifting and building muscle changed Lindsay's physique:

Too much cardio

After 1 year of regular, heavy lifting

After 2 years of weightlifting!

As always, we'd love to hear from you! Feel free to leave your feedback in the comments below, on our Facebook page, tweet us, or message us on YouTube!

In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay

6 Months Pregnant!

It really is the strangest thing - most times, it feels like this pregnancy is flying by way too fast, but when we think about, we've been pregnant since October, which feels like a pretty long time! :) It's probably mostly due to the fact that this pregnancy has been blessedly easy, and it was easy for me to forget I was pregnant up until most recently (i.e., the belly popped and the little guy is very, very active!!).

A little update about what's been going on in the last couple of months:

• We found out "Nugget" is a BOY!!We had the Anatomy Scan at 20/21 weeks, and he was such an ornery cuss!! He had his back to us, would occasionally look over his shoulder and show his face, but wasn't showing us the goods! After some coaxing and prodding, the tech was able to get a view looking up between his legs and IT'S A BOY!! We are so excited!!! Part of me occasionally frets about what if the tech was wrong and it was really a foot or something (even though the logical part of me is pretty darn certain that's clearly boy parts! lol

• We moved - 3 minutes up the road, but a move nonetheless! While we enjoyed the tiny, old farm cottage we were renting, it was tiny and old, and generally not a safe environment for a baby to be crawling around in. The current house we are renting is much more baby-friendly and we are settling in nicely!
  
• Around 22 weeks or so, the belly POPPED in a big way! This is when I could look at myself and be like "Yep, that doesn't look like I just ate too much anymore, that's clearly a baby in there!!"

Little bump at 20 weeks

POW! 4 weeks later, hello pregnant belly!

• Still not having any truly negative symptoms of pregnancy!! I pulled an ab muscle around 19 weeks and that was uncomfortable/slightly painful, but after taking it easy (i.e., no workouts) for a week, I was back to normal! Still no sickness.....I can feel my body adjusting and changing, but none of it is uncomfortable. I'm okay with my big belly, but these big ol' boobs are a whole other animal!! They are huge, which makes me self-conscious at times, but I tell myself that it is hopefully a sign that I'll be able to breastfeed and that's an amazing positive! :)
  
• Nutrition is pretty normal. I was an eater pre-pregnancy and I'm still an eater now!! :) My food choices haven't really changed much at all. I was fretting over the scale in the early 2nd trimester, but I've stopped weighing myself at home (only gets done at my OB appointments now) and I feel MUCH better.
  
• Working out has been fun!! I have been regularly working out 6 days a week and it makes me feel strong and like I'm prepping my body for labor!! Crossfit, jogging, TurboFire, etc. - doing all the things I did pre-pregnancy, just modifying as needed (most of the modifying is just working around the belly now!)
  
•  Our birth class began last week! We are taking a 12-week course on the Bradley Method, which is a birthing class focused on natural birth that is very partner-centered. I knew I wanted to attempt a natural birth, and the Bradley class fit best because Timothy and I do everything together, so to have him be such an intricate part of this birthing process was a no-brainer!! When people find out I'm attempting a natural birth, there is sometimes some flack, but I like to remind folks that I know and trust my body, and if plans change and I get an epidural or have to have a c-section, that I am prepared for that as well. I'm not naive, I know enough to know that stuff happens and it's best to be prepared for it all :)
  

Okay, that covers most of it!! Hope you enjoyed this update. We honestly couldn't be happier and soak up every precious experience with this baby - we are so blessed to finally have this experience we've wanted for so long and we just can't help ourselves in sharing the excitement :)

In Health,

Lindsay (and Timothy in spirit)
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More Time!!

We hear it daily, in a variety of settings, referring to a variety of things, but it all has to do with not having enough time.

Limited/no time is the #1 excuse folks use when trying to explain their lack of commitment to their health and  fitness. Truth is, we all have the same 24 hours in a day and you don't find the time, you MAKE the time for things that are important to you. That being said, if you want to make your health and fitness important to you, here are some things that you might find helpful to maximize the use of your precious time!

1. Use the days you have more "unscheduled time" to make it easier on all the other days!!

• We are specifically referring to meal and workout prep here! Prepping your meals or your meal staples (veggies, fruits, meats) in one day makes it that much easier on all the other days. If you aren't following a specific program, also map out all your workouts. This prep work takes out the guessing and makes it less likely you'll deviate from the plan!

2.  Make your workouts count....get the most bang for your buck!

• Be smart when it comes to your workout choices - choose programs and/or individual workouts that will give you the greatest outcome in the least amount of time. Some of our favorites are Insanity, TurboFire, Crossfit, and ZWOWs. 

3. If you must have variety in your foods, map out your meals a week in advance and grocery shop accordingly!

•  Once the shopping is done, see tip #1 :-)

 
To be completely open and honest, the tips only really work when YOU have DECIDED that this is going to be a priority for you. Once you've had the mindset change, it all falls into place fairly easily...then you get into a routine, and that routine becomes habit, and before you know it, this is just how you live!!

In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay
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Best Tools for Getting Started

Only 6 years ago - we were here. Happy as all-get-out and madly in love, but seriously out of shape.

It was clear a change was needed, and Timothy began his journey with Lindsay following suit shortly after. Years of being consistent, truly making a lifestyle change, have us here. Still happy as all-get-out and madly in love, but in shape and healthy too!

There are some key tools/advice that assisted in our transformations, and that's what we'd like to share with y'all today:

• Tracking/logging your food
• Back in the day, SparkPeople was the only online option so that's what we used. It's still a great community (and still free!) but we find MyFitnessPal (also online and free!) to be a better site. Regardless of how you do it, tracking your food is HUGE, especially when you are first starting out on your journey. It is incredibly enlightening to see what serving sizes really are!
• Having a workout program that has a schedule
• Whether you will be using a gym, running or biking, joining a Crossfit box, or using workout DVDs at home - choose a program that has a schedule. When you are starting out, if left to your own devices to come up with a workout every day, it is exponentially more likely that you will "fall off the wagon". If you have a schedule and your workouts are planned for you, every day for 90+ days, this helps keep you on track and takes out the guessing-game!
  
  
• Batch-cooking food and kitchen gadgets 
•  This is probably our biggest tip: batch cook your food!! Once a week (either Saturday or Sunday), to this day, we batch cook our food staples for the week (meat, veggies, etc.). By doing this, all your meals are ready to go, all you have to do is reheat! Also during this time, you can measure out your servings - a food scale and/or Bento-box style lunchboxes are perfect for this! This one tip can take the headache out of eating healthy and keeps you on track with your nutritional goals.
• Learn as much as possible
• Follow health & fitness gurus on social media, read more about fitness and nutrition, follow Fit with Farrar's blog and Facebook page :) Surrounding yourself with this information helps you stay motivated and focused, but also helps you to become more educated on these areas....and the more you know, the better!

These four things made a WORLD of difference in our lives and have allowed us to maintain a healthy lifestyle for 5 years now, so we highly recommend them to you!

If you have a good tip, tool, or piece of advice to share, please leave it in a comment below - we'd love to hear from you!

In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay
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