My Relationship with Exercise

{after completing the Melissa Wood Health Method water workout}

Health and exercise has looked different in many phases of my life:

+ I was a competitive dancer in middle school and early high school. I battled an eating disorder and ultimately quit dance my sophomore year. Although I overcame anorexia and exercise bulimia, I still struggled with negative self-image.

+ In college, I pretty much did cardio exclusively: logging hours on the elliptical and the occasional spin class. But you can't outrun a bad diet and I was not fueling my body with nutritional food. Think: pizza, pasta, fried food and alcohol.

+ While living in California, I began eating cleaner and started adding weight-training and yoga into my cardio-focused routine and really started seeing a change in my physique. Although I no longer owned a scale because I would get obsessed with the number, I dropped almost 20 pounds over 9 months and felt amazing.

+ Before our wedding, I was motivated to reach my ideal goal, so I started a Paleo diet and ramped up my at-home weight-training to 3 days a week, ran 3-4 miles a couple days a week and one day of yoga. I felt so confident when I walked down the aisle.

+ During my pregnancy, I continued to eat healthy but stopped the strict Paleo diet, and was walking almost every day, up until the day I gave birth. At 6 weeks postpartum, I was back to me pre-pregnancy weight but my body composition was totally different. I lost a lot of muscle, my midsection was wider and I felt low-energy (also thanks to not sleeping with a newborn!).

+ The first year with Jack, exercise took a backseat other than walking with the stroller twice a week. 

When 2020 started and I turned 30, I knew I needed to make myself a priority for my mental state more than anything. I wanted to find a new routine that I could stick to and fit into my already hectic day as a working mother. In early February, based on a recommendation on Cupcakes and Cashmere, I downloaded the Melissa Wood Health app and started the 7-day free trial. I was hooked after day one. The MWH Method is a low-impact pilates and yoga based workout with classes ranging from 10-45 minutes, and focus on everything from total body, arms & abs, lower body and booty, etc. She also offers a treadmill series, water aerobics, pre- and post-natal exercises and guided meditation.

It's been 7 months since I started MWH and I feel better than ever. I aim to complete a 20-30 minute class (sometimes two shorter classes) Monday-Friday every morning before work. I wake up, make the bed, pour myself an iced-coffee and pick which class I want to do that day. The low-impact and meditative approach is ideal for the morning, minutes after I've gotten out of bed, instead of a crazy HIIT workout, dripping sweat right after opening my eyes.

I'm seeing such a difference in my body, which I did not expect with the short videos and simple moves that are deceivingly hard and burn in the best way possible. I'm also still walking as much as possible: two long walks on the weekend (over 3 miles each day) and going for a 15-minute walk on my lunch break a few days a week. I've lost inches all over my body, toned my legs, arms, and even Greg commented on my abs showing through! Melissa has coined the term "long lean lines" and it could not be more true. I feel that her workouts enhance my natural curves. I still don't like to weigh myself but base my progress on how my clothes are fitting and how I'm feeling. My posture, which has always been horrible especially with a desk-job, is getting better, as I'm more mindful of my body alignment throughout the day.

When it comes to nutrition, I'm making healthy choices, but not restricting any major food groups. It's essentially a Mediterranean diet - focused on plant-based meals with plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains, light meat (seafood and chicken), a little dairy, and limiting processed foods, sweets, alcohol and red meat. I also like the 80/20 rule of eating clean 80% of the time and leaving the other 20% to enjoy life - ideally in the form of cookies and red wine.

I spent so much of my life hating my body and focusing on my "flaws," but have finally found peace in the body I'm in. After growing a human, birthing my baby and nursing him for a year and a half, I look at my body in a different way - as Jack's first home, as his nourishment and comfort. I now celebrate  my body for what it is, rather than tear it apart for what it's not. I care more about being healthy and strong instead of skinny. 

I'm loving the new balance I've found through Melissa Wood Health - I feel stronger, centered mentally, less anxious, more present, and overall healthier. It is so attainable (I workout at home every day), affordable ($9.99 a month!), and I can fit it into my schedule with ease (whether it's early AM before Jack wakes up, during his nap time, etc). I'm continuing my mission to move every day, even if that means squeezing in just 10-minutes, I feel so much better. The mental shift after carving out some time for me, in turn allows me to show up better in my roles as a wife, mother, employee, daughter and friend.

*This post is in no way sponsored, I'm just sharing the program that has truly transformed my life in many facets.