My Complete Experiment on How I Fixed My Diastasis Recti

Diastasis Recti. I’ll be honest, until recently I didn’t know much about it, let alone doing anything about it.

135 days ago I decided to start an experiment, and keep a ‘diary’ or journal if you will of everything I’ve done to help fix it that includes exercises, progress photos, and even my personal thoughts and mental state through the process. Other than the exercises stated, I kept up with my normal workout routine.

As you read, keep in mind that I wanted to keep this as real as possible, so there will be changes in ‘tense’ of wording (ie. has/had, feeling/felt, etc.). This is because each section was written at different times.

If you want to watch a video with just the highlights of this experiment, you can click here to go watch the video on my YouTube Channel. Or simply scroll to the bottom of this post.

That said- just follow the bouncing ball, mama. 🙂

READY? LET’S DIVE INTO THIS.

Pre-Experiment Thoughts/Journal:

After I had my little boy, I started looking into diastasis recti and as I’ve gotten my certifications and continued my education, I’ve learned more and more about it.

Wouldn’t you know it? Recently, I discovered that I personally have diastasis recti.

I have lost the weight from my pregnancy, but there has been an area in my lower abdomen that would never “go away”.

And since we’re being 100% honest, I tried to ignore this spot for a long time because I thought that I was just being too vain. And, diastasis recti really never entered my mind.

Take a hint from me, if something bothers you and it is effecting your day to day image of yourself, don’t ignore it, address it face on.

The reason I didn’t think I had it was because, in studying this condition and reading on it, the pictures were always really exaggerated and the place in my lower abdomen is not overly exaggerated. 

Well, last night, I was looking in the mirror, and I noticed that area really was rounded and the thought, “I wonder if diastasis recti is what that is”?

SO I DID THE HOME TEST, WHICH IS THE FOLLOWING:

• Lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat
• Place two fingers on your belly button 
  Lift your neck and head and press down.
• Do you feel a gap? If not, you’re good! If so, keep reading…
• Repeat this test above your belly button and below your belly button. If there is a gap, then that’s the diastasis recti. 

Guess what? I had a gap. A fairly decent sized one too and it was right below my belly button.

What about above my belly button? Nice and tight and abs sewed up.

Below? A gap.

Guess what? I was actually relieved!

Which you’re probably saying, what? You big weirdo, why would you be relieved??

Because I had an answer. And with knowledge, comes power. 

But, how to fix diastasis recti? Let’s dive into a couple of the basics, first.

WHAT IS DIASTASIS RECTI? HERE’S A QUOTE FROM THE MAYO CLINIC

During pregnancy, the growing uterus stretches the muscles in the abdomen. This can cause the two large parallel bands of muscles that meet in the middle of the abdomen (rectus muscles) to become separated by an abnormal distance — a condition called diastasis recti or diastasis recti abdominis.

– Yvonne Butler Tobah, M.D. , Mayo Clinic

Basically, your ab muscles can quite literally split up the middle. Which, sounds super painful, right?

To be honest, I don’t remember the exact moment of this happening. It’s possible that it happened over a period of time during my pregnancy.

HOW DOES IT HAPPEN? HERE’S ANOTHER QUOTE FROM THE SAME MD AT THE MAYO CLINIC:

You might be more likely to develop diastasis recti as a result of pregnancy if you have carried multiples or a large baby to term and are of small stature and fit or are age 35 or older.

– Yvonne Butler Tobah, M.D. , Mayo Clinic

IT’S ABOUT TO GET REAL. READY? 🙂 HERE IS DAYS 1-14.

I normally speak without any fear of judgement, but this process is a little uncomfortable to me.

I can lift heavy, run far, and have great arms and legs, but anytime I’ve been in a two piece bathing suit since giving birth, I’ve been really self conscious.

BUT, THE REASON I’M DOING THIS, IS IN HOPES THAT THIS WILL HELP YOU.

As well as help me continue to remember that my body is just as beautiful post birth as it was pre-birth.

My hope is that it will help you overcome your body image issues for one, and for two, if you have diastasis recti, hopefully help you overcome it.

Well, these past 12ish days have been pretty interesting on this journey.

I’ll say this, when I realized that I had diastasis recti (here on out referred to as DR), I was honestly super relieved to have an answer as to why that one spot on my belly wouldn’t “go away”. It wasn’t fat, it was, well, an injury I guess you could say.

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, I HAVE HAD TO PUSH MYSELF A BIT IN WAYS I HAVEN’T HAD TO BEFORE.

What I mean by that is, that this process is super hard for me from a mental perspective. I am hyper aware of the way my body looks and sometimes I am harder on myself and the way I look physically than I should be.

It’s true, there’s nothing cute about my post workout selfies!

Before I had my sweet baby boy, my abs were one of the things I was the most proud of, and in all honesty, since I’ve had him, I’ve had a hard time being a two piece bathing suit.

I’ve still worn one, but I wasn’t as confident as I had been. This process has humbled me and made me realize that I’m not only doing this for me, but if it can help you, then that’s all the better.

Taking pictures of my belly in what is considered an unflattering way to show the realness of overcoming this injury, is not exactly the most comfortable thing!

 

THIS PROCESS HAS PUSHED ME TO GET OUTSIDE MY COMFORT ZONE TO BE OF HELP TO MAMAS THAT WANT TO TRY TO OVERCOME THIS INJURY NATURALLY.

Remember, I’m not a doc, I’m simply a trainer and coach doing an experiment on myself and sharing my results. Sometimes DR needs surgery to be fixed, it’s up to you and your doc to decide what’s best for you.

LET’S START OFF WITH MY PROGRESS THROUGH THE PAST TWO WEEKS AND THEN WE’LL DIVE INTO WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING.

This is me on day one of starting this experiment and on day 12.

You’ll notice that there is already more of a flatness to my stomach like those muscles are “sewing” themselves back up.

I can definitely tell a difference in my ab strength in this process just 12 days in.

NOW THAT YOU’VE SEEN MY PROGRESS, LET’S DIVE INTO WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON THE PAST 2 WEEKS.

First thing I did to start this experiment, so that I could start as close to the solution as I could, was think about those muscles, how they operate, what they are supposed to be able to do, etc.

Then I went through exercises in  my head that would target those muscles and here’s what I came up with to start:

• Heel drops
• Bird Dogs
• Supine Hip Abduction with Band

3 Things I’ve found that are specific to my experiment with DR:

1. Slow and controlled is better – this means that with every single rep on these exercises, my focus is not on just getting to my target number of reps, it is focusing in on those muscles and going nice and slow to keep them engaged. Going quicker caused me to let go of those muscles more easily.
2. Twisting exercises did nothing to target that lower part of the belly – what I mean is, an exercise like a Russian twist, I could not feel in my lower abdomen. Those I could feel in my obliques and my upper core. Which means I will not be including any twisting exercises in this experiment
3. This is not going to happen overnight –as with all things health and fitness, there is no quick fix. Even if you made the decision to go to your doctor and have him or her perform surgery to fix your abdominal wall, you would still have the time of prepping for surgery, the surgery, and the recovery time. It takes time. So, this process of working to fix it naturally will take time and effort. Not only that, I will need to continue to put things into my workout routine moving forward that will continue to strengthen and form those core muscles.

LET’S START WITH HEEL DROPS

Here is an example of what a heel drop looks like. Legs straight, feet flat, legs together, and lower your heels to the ground while keeping your core pulled in and together.

Remember, work on pulling your abdominal muscles towards each other and not just “sucking in” towards your back.

Only lower your heels as far as your abs will let you before they release from the braced position.

Once they release, the exercise, in my opinion and experience, is considered mute. It will not have done you any good. So, take it right up to the edge of those muscles releasing, and then pull your legs back up.

 

NEXT UP – BIRD DOGS

This exercise looks very unassuming, but when done properly, I assure you that you will feel it all through your abs.

Get down on the floor on all fours and put a mat underneath your knees for comfort.

Make sure that your shoulders are directly over your arms and hands and your back is flat and not arch or dipped.

Engage your core by “buttoning up” your abdominal muscles just like we talked about for heel drops. Then take your right arm and reach it straight out in front of you while simultaneously reaching your left leg out behind you (pictured below). Reach that hand for the wall in front of you and push your leg away from you towards the opposite wall.

Hold for just a few seconds while breathing through this.

Then come back to starting position and repeat on the opposite side, left arm/right leg.

Like I said, this exercise is very unassuming and doesn’t look like much, but it will surprise you at how you can feel it through your abs.

Here’s a quick tip –

If you are unable to keep your core engaged raising both your arm and your leg at the same time, then don’t sweat it. Do your arm only, then your leg only, and repeat for all of your limbs.

Once you get the hang of that, work up to doing both your arm and your leg at the same time, even if it’s just for a few reps at a time; then, as you get stronger increase your reps.

SUPINE HIP ABDUCTION WITH BAND

Now, this one might have you wondering what it has to do with DR and I’ll admit that this exercise was truly an experiment.

Allow me to quickly explain my thinking, mama.

The supine hip abduction with band works on the glute and the outer parts of your legs and hips. Which are sister muscles to the lower abdominal wall. If my hips and glutes (which are highly effected during pregnancy from stretching out and a growing baby), are strong, then that would inadvertently effect my lower abdomen.

I think I’m onto something because as you saw from my progress picture, there is progress being made.

For this exercise, sit down and put a band around your legs, right above your knees at the curve of your quad muscle. Then, lie flat on your back, engage your core, and press your legs out against the band and back in.

That’s it. That’s the extent of that exercise.

NOW, YOU’RE PROBABLY WONDERING ABOUT SETS AND REPS, RIGHT?

Personally, I have been changing it up to see what works best. I’ve done 4×10, 3×12, 5×8, etc.

Here’s what I have concluded that is specific to this experiment:

Your rep number and set will depend on the strength of your abs and the ability to do the movements well and efficiently.

Example: on the heel drops, if you can do 6 solid heel drops, but you start to lose form on that seventh rep, then do several sets of 6.

As you feel yourself getting stronger, increase your reps and lower your sets.

Example: 3×12, 3×15, 2×20. Once you reach a 2×20, I would say that we could increase difficulty of exercises, which will be talked about in post three.

OVERCOMING DIASTASIS RECTI: DAYS 15-28

It’s officially day 28 of my experiment and it’s been a bit of a roller coaster.

The emotions that go into this are quite something. I’ve always been an emotionally sensitive person, but to be honest with you, I have never been as emotional as I have been since I had my son 3 years ago.

I’m pretty sure it’s the hormone changes and your outlook on life completely changes once you have kiddos, which I know you know what I am talking about.

ALRIGHT – REAL TALK. READY?

I hadn’t been doing my DR exercises everyday like I did for the first two weeks. In fact, I did them about four or five days each week and that was it.

DAYS 14-28 WERE CRAZY HARD FROM A MENTAL PERSPECTIVE.

Ready for more real talk? I struggle with depression. In fact, when I went through postpartum depression, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through. I didn’t want medicine (not that there’s anything wrong with medicine should you and your doc decide that’s what is right for you), I wanted to overcome it naturally, if I could.

While I did get over the worst of it, I still have highs and lows. Ebs and flows of the mental status.  How do I personally do it? Lots of weight lifting, running, and a whole lot of Jesus.

This is where I found myself for about a week since my last update. Days 14 through about day 23 were really tough. I mean REALLY tough.

There were days that I had a hard time getting out of bed let alone doing my workouts, but I did because I have a family and clients depending on me. I finally snapped out of that dark week about day 23 or 24 and was back on track in the mindset area again.

With all that said, I was really scared to take my progress picture yesterday because I was afraid that not doing the DR exercises everyday would set me behind.

I was wrong.

Take a look at this progress pic. On the left is day one, and on the right is day 28. I was stunned when I put them side by side. It really did throw me for a loop because I wasn’t expecting there to be such a difference with the decrease in the amount of exercising I did.

There is a specific different right below my belly button, which is where my muscles had separated. This is real progress and I’m thrilled that what I’ve been experimenting with is working.

SO WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING?

If you’ll remember, at the beginning of this entire process, the first thing I did was think about those muscles, how they operate, what they are supposed to be able to do, etc.

Then I went through exercises in my head that would target those muscles and here’s what I came up with to start which is what I did for days 1-13:

• Heel drops
• Bird Dogs
• Supine Hip Abduction with Band

EXERCISES FOR DAYS 14-28:

• Heel Drops: increased reps and added in an 10# hand weight
• Bird Dogs: increased reps
• Plank Toe Taps with band: low reps as my abdominals wouldn’t hold strong for more than about 6 reps
• Cross Body Mountain Climbers: I can do about 10 solid reps on each leg.

MORE ON THE EXERCISES IN A MINUTE.

Here are the 3 things I found out on Days 14-28:

1. Mixing up tempos make a difference. On days 1-13, I focused on slow and controlled. Days 14-28, I mixed up the tempo. This means that on my heel drops I’d do 4 counts on the lowering motion, and one quick pull back up to the top. Then I would do 2 counts down and 2 counts up. Mixing it up changed the intensity.
2. Plank toe Taps are harder than they look. I could do a regular plank with no issue, even with an injured abdominal muscle wall. But when I added in the step out while in a plank position… That changed everything. To be honest, I couldn’t do  more than 6 reps at a time.
3. Less is more. The exercises didn’t have to be done everyday and still make great progress. Less is definitely more in this instance.

NOW, LET’S GO OVER THE EXERCISES I DID THESE PAST FEW WEEKS.

Overcoming Diasatsis Recti Exercises – Heel Drops

[If you didn’t read my blurb on heel drops the first time, here it is again.]

Here is an example of what a heel drop looks like. Legs straight, feel flat, legs together, and lower your heels to the ground while keeping your core pulled in and together.

Remember, work on pulling your abdominal muscles towards each other and not just “sucking in” towards your back.

Only lower your heels as far as your abs will let you before they release from the braced position.

Once they release, the exercise, in my opinion and experience, is considered mute. It will not have done you any good. So, take it right up to the edge of those muscles releasing, and then pull your legs back up.

This round, I switched up the tempo and some days I did 4 seconds down and one quick pull to the top and other days I did 2 counts down and 2 counts to the top.

Overcoming Diastasis Recti Exercises – Bird Dogs

[If you didn’t read my blurb on bird dogs the first time, here it is again.]

This exercise looks very unassuming, but when done properly, I assure you that you will feel it all through your abs.

Get down on the floor on all fours and put a mat underneath your knees for comfort. Make sure that your shoulders are directly over your arms and hands and your back is flat and not arch or dipped.

Engage your core by “buttoning up” your abdominal muscles just like we talked about for heel drops. Then take your right arm and reach it straight out in front of you while simultaneously reaching your left leg out behind you (pictured below). Reach that hand for the wall in front of you and push your leg away from you towards the opposite wall.

Hold for just a few seconds while breathing through this. Then come back to starting position and repeat on the opposite side, left arm/right leg.

Like I said, this exercise is very unassuming and doesn’t look like much, but it will surprise you at how you can feel it through your abs.

HERE’S A QUICK TIP –

If you are unable to keep your core engaged raising both your arm and your leg at the same time, then don’t sweat it. Do you arm only, then your leg only, and repeat for all of your limbs.

Once you get the hang of that, work up to doing both your arm and your leg at the same time, even if it’s just for a few reps at a time and as you get stronger increase your reps.

Overcoming Diastasis Recti Exercises – Plank Toe Taps

Band is around your ankles Come up into a plank position and step your foot out then back to center, then the other foot out and back to center. Keep your core in nice and tight.

As soon as you feel your abdominal muscles give way, then drop to your knees and rest, then go again.

If your abs are not being held solid, then the exercise, in my opinion, is considered mute. (These will also target your glutes!)

Overcoming Diastasis Recti Exercises – Cross Body Mountain Climbers

Putting something under the feet that will slide across the floor, come into a plank position.

Engage the core and pull the knee up to the opposite side of the chest by sliding the foot across the floor.

Return that foot to starting position and repeat with the opposite foot.

This one is crazy hard! I did ten reps each leg before my abs gave way. My goal is to increase that the next two weeks.

WHAT ABOUT REPS AND SETS?

The first few weeks I changed it up with different reps and sets. This time, I really focused on form and changing up the tempo, which meant changing up the reps because I wasn’t able to do as many on some.

While on others, I was able to do more.

I was able to not only increase reps on heel drops, I was able to add in a weight. For bird dogs, I was able to increase reps which is awesome, and for mountain climbers and toe taps, my reps were lower.

Like I said,

Days 14-28 were hard with the mental stuff I was working through, and to be honest, I debated on including it in this blog post, but I am sharing because I truly believe that being honest and letting other mama’s that struggle with these thoughts that they’re not alone!

Failure means that you’re trying and you’ve simply found a way that didn’t work.

EXPERIMENT PROGRESS DAYS 29-44

In days 29-44, my depression was much better. However, I am currently training for a half marathon, and my left calf muscle and my left hamstring have been having trouble with Charley horses.

If you’re not sure what a Charley Horse is, it is basically a severe muscle cramp. Girl, I am talking it feels like your muscle detaches itself from your bones and it rolls up into a ball.

WELL, IT REALLY DOESN’T DETACH ITSELF, OBVIOUSLY BUT THAT’S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!

This means that I took a five day full rest from working out, running and everything that involved my legs because I needed to focus on getting that leg better.

BELOW IS MY PROGRESS PIC FROM DAY 1 TO DAY 44.

My progress is getting there, but it has slowed down a bit and I am a bit bloated in this picture due to hormones and having taken this picture after having a few meals that day. Day one pic was taken before breakfast.

I did my DR exercises 4 days a week. I got rid of just heel drops and I added in heel drops with overhead reach with a weight, I did cross body mountain climbers, and I did plank step outs.

THOSE WERE THE THREE EXERCISES THAT I DID THESE TWO WEEKS.

The reps that I did were 5 rounds of 8 because with these exercises either being new to the mix or I advanced them based on my progress, that was the number of reps I could do with solid form.

To be honest, with the five day hiatus, I feel like I took a step backwards, but I have to remind myself that sometimes we take a step backwards to be able to take 2-3 steps forward.

LET’S BREAKDOWN THE EXERCISES I DID:

Overcoming Diastasis Recti Exercises – Heel Drop with OH Reach:

Lying flat on my back, I would raise my legs straight up over my head and keeping the bottoms of my feet flat, I would lower my legs and reach up overhead with the weight or the ball at the same time.

I couldn’t go as far down with this one because my muscles would give if I went any lower.

It was super important that my muscles didn’t give and if that meant that I had less range of motion, then, that is what it meant and I was okay with that.

The weight that I used or the ball, I kept nice and light because the opposite (and at the same time) motion made things pretty difficult.

NEXT UP, I DID CROSS BODY MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS WHICH I INTRODUCED RIGHT AT THE END OF THE LAST ROUND.

A cross body MC is bringing the knee up towards the chest, but crossing the foot under the body and under that planked leg. It really grabs those obliques and lower muscles and made a huge difference in my soreness factor.

I was able to up the reps to between 15-20 reps at a time which was a positive for sure.

LAST EXERCISE THAT I DID THESE FEW WEEKS WAS THE PLANK STEP OUT.

Getting in a full plank, I would step one foot out nice and wide, then I’d bring that back to center, then repeat with the opposite leg.

This one is killer and I was only able to do between 6-8 reps per leg.

With being on my stomach, it can make keeping that core from puckering quite a challenge as well. This is also why I kept the reps nice and low. There is the option of using a band around the ankles as well.

This journey so far has been quite a trip.

One of the things that I have really learned over the past several weeks is to listen to my body.

Fatigue has been a real struggle for me and sometimes having to rest like I did for those several days was a very hard pill for me to swallow!

I’m super competitive, and not really with other people, but mainly with myself because I always feel like I could have done better. Which, may or may not be the case.

WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT THIS PROCESS SO FAR FOR ME IS THAT IT REALLY HASN’T BEEN TOO TERRIBLY SLOW IN REGARDS TO THE GAINS.

Do I think this could work for everyone? While I would love to think that, I’m not sure, honestly, because this experiment has not been fully scientific, it has been based off of my knowledge that I have from my current education and I’ve done it on myself. There isn’t anything to compare it to.

HOWEVER, I DO THINK THAT IT WOULDN’T HURT A MAMA TO TRY THIS PROCESS SHOULD SHE LIKE TO GIVE IT A GO.

Because, as long as you’re cleared to workout by your doc, these exercises are right in line with things that would be considered “normal”. They’re nothing crazy or super out of the ordinary.

PROGRESS UPDATE DAYS 45-51

It’s been 51 days since I started this experiment and it has absolutely flown by. 51 days ago, I started an experiment on myself to see if I could overcome diastasis recti naturally.

This experiment started with some research through medical journals and papers put out by MDs to see if this was even possible.

While there is some conflicting information on whether or not is it possible to naturally help those muscles sew themselves back together, I wanted to give it a try to see if I could help those muscles heal in my lower abdomen.

It has been quite a ride and it has not been easy at all. In fact, it’s been quite hard, both mentally and physically.

This experiment has been hard from the physical perspective because those abdominal muscles are so weak that it makes the abdominal exercises extremely hard.

HOWEVER, OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST 51 DAYS, I HAVE REALLY MADE SOME GREAT STRIDES IN STRENGTH OF MY ABDOMEN.

I did some thinking on this and I really think that a lot of it had to do with the fact that my picture was not taken in the morning, I had two meals in my belly, and I was a bit hormonal at the time which caused some bloat.

Also, this is why I’m doing a progress pic so quickly at day 51 (just did a progress pic at day 44). Because I’m no longer hormonal and I had no meals in my belly.

HERE IS MY PROGRESS PIC FOR DAY 51:

You’ll notice that there is a marked difference from day one to day 51. Each picture was taken in the morning time before I had breakfast or a lot of water.

If you’ll look closely at this picture, you’ll see that you can see the outline of my abdominal muscles and then some baby abs and the extreme beginnings of a 6 pack.

Not only that, when I lie on my back and do the DR test, the gap in my lower abdomen is not as wide.

This tells me that I am either well on my way to healing those muscles or simply strengthening those muscles has helped flatten them.

 DO I THINK THEY WILL EVER BE FULLY SEWN BACK TOGETHER ON THEIR OWN?

To be honest? I really don’t know. I’m not a doctor or a scientist, I’m just a trainer and coach who decided to do an experiment on herself to see if I could even make a difference in the injury.

And, I believe I have made a difference in that injury. At the very least, my abdominal strength has a marked improvement.

Here’s what I do think – I do think that if a mama decided she wanted to try the same experiment on herself that I did, and follow what I did, then, as long as she is cleared for exercise from her doc, I don’t see what it would hurt.

If you do decide to dive into this and you want to try what I’ve done, then you will need to realize that this process is going to be slow and it is going to be a hard process.

JUST LIKE ANYTHING ELSE WORTH HAVING, YOU MUST WORK FOR IT AND BE PATIENT.

I do believe that DR can be improved (maybe not cured, but definitely improved) with specific exercises to the affected area.

DO I THINK THAT IT CAN BE FULLY FIXED NATURALLY?

I’m not entirely sure. Because, again, I’m not an MD and this wasn’t a fully scientific experiment/study. This was just something I wanted to try on myself.

My Diastasis Recti improved immensely over these past weeks. I do believe that the gap in my muscles is smaller and that it might continue to improve as I keep these exercises and the others I’ve done in my routine.

I KNOW THAT ABDOMINALS IS ONE AREA THAT MAMAS FEEL REALLY CONSCIOUS ABOUT.

It’s where we carried our littles for 9 months and our bodies take quite a beating during this process.

As hard as it is, I really want you to work on seeing yourself as beautiful.

Yes, even while you’re unhappy with how your abdominals and body looks. Really look at yourself in the mirror and work to see beauty that is staring back at you.

YOU’RE STRONG AND YOU ARE TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH AND LIFE AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS WORTH CELEBRATING.

I’ve found that with my clients, those that are looking to lose weight, focusing on other goals other than just weight loss has really helped them overcome and work through body image issues and feel beautiful.

Believe me when I say I can feel you in regard to being self-conscious about the way your body looks.

It has been a real struggle for me to share these pictures with you because my abs were once my pride and I’d run in a sports bra, or I’d have no worries walking around in a swim suit.

Because they don’t look the same as they used to has been a really hard thing to overcome. But you know what?

IT’S COMING ALONG.

LET’S FAST FORWARD 84 DAYS… HERE IS MY STOMACH ON DAY 135:

CRAZY, RIGHT?

It’s called progress. And you’ll notice that says day one hundred and thirty five. Not day 30. Not day 90. Day 135.

Remember, reaching fitness goals takes time, effort and commitment and I’m thrilled with the results of this experiment.

No, my body doesn’t look the same, but I’m stronger than I ever have been and my son is healthy and strong. And, my husband likes the way I look so that’s what matters, right? 

I hope this experiment has helped you, mama.

YOU’RE AN INCREDIBLE WOMAN! YOU’VE GOT THIS. Be sure to pin for later!