Week One of My Cut/Current Life Update

Background and a Life Update:

Hello friends! Long time, no talk!

I have really missed sharing my life on here with you. This blog is a little outlet for me that I need to put more focus into. Mom life is challenging! But I am learning I need to maintain my own hobbies for sanity purposes. So, with that said, let’s share a little life update! It’s a long one, but I think it might be helpful for anyone going through a similar situation (even if you are not a new mom).

 

I’m currently 9.5 months postpartum. I don’t know what kind of time warp parenthood is in, but 9.5 months has FLOWN BY. WHAT?! How is it even possible I almost have a one-year-old? 

Life has been busy since becoming a mom. I’m learning to adjust expectations constantly and everyday I’m getting better at finding myself again and creating attainable routines and a new lifestyle that I enjoy. If you are in the thick of mom life, you got this! It’s hard for sure, but things get so much easier as time goes on and eventually you find some normalcy in this massive life shift you’ve gone through. I’m finally starting to be able to put some effort into myself again now. And that’s what I want to share with you today! 

I’m starting a cut! This will be the first time I have dieted in well over two years! Crazy. The last time I was in a caloric deficit was 2021 prior to successfully getting pregnant. It went really well and I’m confident that had I not gotten pregnant, I would have easily maintained my progress. I did not cut out any food groups or over-restrict. And in fact, I only decreased my calories twice during that time and I ate dessert every. single. night. It had been such a long time since I had dieted, and I saw great success. Now, I am not naive and know that this time will likely be different, but I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to maintain great hormone health, and biofeedback while dieting this time around as well! However, there will be some new challenges I’ll be facing and that’s okay!


For background, I have not been able to workout much at all since having my son. My labor/delivery was a bit of a horror story to be honest and it’s taken me until now to mentally recover (well kind of, I’m still working on it) as well as physically recover. 
 
I’ve been going to pelvic floor PT since February (it’s a life saver! If you’re even considering it, just DO IT. I may share my full experience in another post if that would be helpful!). Unfortunately, I was not advised to exercise most of that time (9+ weeks) due to the level of my issues (not typical, so don’t freak out if you’re pregnant or pp). I ended up gaining close to an additional 8-10 lbs during that time due to very limited activity. Even a 10 min walk was very painful. I was also not paying close attention to nutrition because I was still finishing up breastfeeding and couldn’t cut calories at the risk of losing my supply.

Since then, I have fully stopped breastfeeding and we have been done for over a month now. I feel like a new human being and am ready to set some goals physically. I’ve decided to enter into this deficit with the goal of losing some of the weight I gained both during and post-pregnancy. I try my best not to have any negative feelings toward my body currently, but mostly I’ve been frustrated with the lack of ability to exercise/move the way I love and crave. Of course, I would have liked to lose the ‘baby weight’ sooner, but it is what it is, and I have realized there are no set timelines postpartum and slow progress is likely the most sustainable for me. There is also nothing wrong with my current body and it created an entire human being!!! 

Starting Macros:

Before you look at my current macros, I just want to emphasize that these are very much specific to ME. They will not get you where you want (no matter what your current goals are). Macro needs are based on a variety of factors, such as height/weight, sex, age, activity level, dieting history, hormone health/health conditions, etc. There is A LOT that goes into it! I recommend reaching out to a nutrition coach or Registered Dietitian if you are wanting help with your own nutrition.

 

Current starting cut macros:
1850 kcals
150 g protein
155 g carbs
70 g fat
 
I will note that I’m experimenting with a higher fat/moderate carb protocol because I do have a mild case of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). Current research indicates a lower carb/lower sugar diet may help with insulin resistance, which is a common issue in women with PCOS. If I did not have this issue, I’d likely increase my carbs a bit because let’s be honest, carbs = life. I’m not sure if I will continue this my entire cut, but we’ll see how I respond and if it’s sustainable. I am still doing lots of my own research on how to manage PCOS. My symptoms are very mild/minimal (painful periods/mid-cycle pain, fertility issues, acne), but I do think I could benefit from at least attempting a change in diet.
 
So far, after one week I’ve been about 95% adherent! I am super happy with that, but I know the first week is usually easy because of momentum/motivation, etc. My weight so far is ⬇️ about 2.2 lbs. This is most likely due to water weight fluctuations, but we will go with it!
 
In terms of my current exercise routine, I have been doing 2-3 upper body days, and 1 lower body. Currently only bodyweight for lower body workouts while I work my may back up as this was my biggest pain point during PT and I have only done 2 lower body workouts in over 9 weeks. I am also getting 6,500-10,000 steps depending on the day. Walking has been very beneficial, and I think it is highly underrated in general for overall health as well as fat loss goals.

Changes I'm Making for Week Two:

✨No change to macros! There’s no need to cut more calories when changes are already happening. These macros are sustainable & realistic right now and only mildly challenging. I will likely stay at these macros for a few weeks before assessing whether or not to adjust them. It takes time to see actual change and the goal is to eat as much as possible while losing fat.

✨ Attempt to add very light weights for lower body and see how it goes. Frequency will remain the same for this next week or two while I am still getting back into my routine and figuring out what my body can handle right now.

 

✨ Steps- aim for 7,800-10,000. This will be a minimal increase, but should help with overall activity levels. NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) is one of the best ways to increase your overall caloric expenditure. This accounts for anything that is not exercise-specific movement. Increasing my daily steps will count toward NEAT and therefore help with creating a larger caloric deficit without a big impact to joints or the need to cut more calories. 
 
Keep in mind this is only my personal experience, but I think sometimes hearing how someone handles their nutrition and fitness goals can be helpful if only to inspire and motivate you! I’ll be sharing updates along the way (likely every couple weeks), so stay tuned to see my progress!
 

Questions?! Ask me below! I’m happy to help! 

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