1. Frustration
During my pregnancy I had trouble with pre-eclampsia, resulting in being ordered to rest up, I wasn’t even allowed to go for walks! I ended up having to have a cesarean. I remember on my second day in hospital being over the moon when I managed to shower myself without help, and again later that day when I walked to the door of the next room along the corridor. I also remember the sense of frustration at not being able to do a lot of small things on my own, things like getting in and out of bed. This frustration was my first motivator to get back in shape as quickly as possible.
2. Time Out
Over the following weeks as I slowly became able to move more freely I got excited each time I could walk further up the street or each time I did something else without help. By my 6 week checkup I was keen to get the all clear to get back into the gym and start working on getting my body back. I’ve always been an active person; I’ve always played sports and spent many hours a week at the gym. I’ve always been an active person; I’ve always played sports and spent many hours a week at the gym. My gym sessions have always been my time out to myself and I was missing this aspect of my workouts.
3. Health
At the 6 week checkup I got an extra stab of motivation. My obstetrician made it very clear to me that it would be very unwise to get pregnant again without loosing all the extra weight I had put on during pregnancy, and it would be better to loose some additional weight to reduce the chance of having the same complications in the next pregnancy. I set myself a goal to loose the 18 extra kg I was carrying from pregnancy as well as an additional 10 kg. I knew that I was in for a lot of hard work, as even though I have always been a very active and fit person, I have also always been slightly overweight.
4. Siblings
My final motivator is my desire to give my child a sibling. I grew up with a brother and sister and want my child to also have a sibling. Every time I feel like pigging out on chocolate or skipping a workout, I remind myself that I am doing this for my baby to be able to have a sibling.
