'Here's the exact routine I used to lose weight and build muscle after having 4 kids'
Shortly after I graduated college at 22, I married my husband and decided that I wanted to be a mum. We started trying to get pregnant, but experienced fertility issues over the next few years, including multiple miscarriages. So, I was put on a lot of hormone medications. Due to the medications, I didn’t feel like myself physically or mentally—I experienced symptoms such as irritability, moodiness, and weight gain.
Finally, we tried intrauterine insemination (IUI), and got pregnant with triplets when I was 26. Unfortunately, we lost one of the triplets early in the pregnancy, but I eventually delivered healthy twin boys. After their birth, we started trying for more children right when the doctor confirmed it was safe. It only took two months before we got pregnant with our daughter, who arrived in 2017. And I delivered my fourth and final baby, another son, in 2018.
Throughout my seemingly back-to-back pregnancies, I continued gaining weight because I wasn’t working out. In fact, I gained 70 pounds (32kg) during my first pregnancy because it was high risk, and I was put on bed rest and ate to help manage my emotions. The weight gain affected my mental health negatively: I remember looking in the mirror but not recognising myself, and I didn’t feel comfortable taking my clothes off in front of my husband.
At the end of 2018, I was looking in the mirror at 31 and knew that I had to get back to where I felt good about myself again. I realised that my struggles—physical and mental—reflected in my relationships with my husband and kids. I knew I had to show up for myself so I could be a better mum and wife.
So, I started waking up at 4 a.m. to do at-home workouts.
I wanted to make a dramatic habit change to transform my health and life. This served as my me-time before my kids woke up, and it helped me build consistency. I strength trained six days a week and did cardio three days per week, and I also started counting macros to put myself in a calorie deficit.
I started losing weight, but I became obsessed with my too-intense workouts, coupled with eating less. I developed an unhealthy relationship with the scale.
Eventually, I realised I needed to undo these problematic habits and I considered how I’d feel if my daughter was in my position. I thought, What would I do if I saw her doing this when she is older? It would kill me. That’s when my mindset totally changed.
At 35, I started chasing becoming strong—instead of a number on the scale.
Now, at 38, my routine is all about consistency.
I usually work out four to five times a week for 45 minutes to an hour after bringing the kids to school. I do three days of lower-body training and two days of upper-body work. My goal with weightlifting is to build muscle, so I use resistance machines, dumbbells, and barbells. I don’t do cardio anymore, but I’m constantly on my feet every day as a mum of four. This routine has helped me put on a great deal of muscle.
These three factors helped me start training for the *right* reasons.
1. I stopped procrastinating and just started.
It was easy to put off my fitness journey because of how busy my schedule was as a mum and wife, but I knew I had to start committing to myself through working out. I told myself that I deserved to treat my body well and become stronger, even if it was for just 30 minutes a day. Everything else I did throughout the day was for other people, and this time was just for me. I was exhausted when I started this new routine, but I stuck to it because I wanted to become stronger.
2. I invested in home gym equipment.
Getting to the gym is a journey on its own when you have little kids. My schedule can be unpredictable, and I like having equipment on hand if (and when) something comes up and I’m unable to get to the gym. It’s helped my fitness journey immensely.
3. I see food as fuel.
Instead of eating as little as I can, I use food to make my workouts better. I eat a pretty good balance of protein, carbs, and fat, aiming to consume 155 grams of protein, 345 grams of carbs, and 69 grams of fat per day. I also stick to the 80/20 rule, which works best for me since I get to eat fun treats with my kids. Some of my meals include quesadillas, rice bowls with shrimp and veggies, pasta with ground beef, and oatmeal with fruit.
While overtraining my body and undereating wasn’t healthy for me, I’m still thankful for that time before I discovered healthier habits, because it helped me kickstart my strength journey. Ever since I started training to become stronger, rather than smaller, I ended up with a body I’m happy to have—I’m doing less and eating more, and I'm so much happier.
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