my body in 2012

I have to say 2012 was quite the year for changes in the Harness family.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, it was by far the best year of our lives (no joke).  We had Riggs, bought our first home and I even got the exact truck I've wanted since before I could even drive (thank you Steve!). So many good things happened to us, and while there were definitely challenges too, I feel just completely blessed by the year that God gave us.

I've mentioned little things here and there about my fitness goals over the past couple of months, but I decided to dedicate an entire post to the all of the changes my body has gone through in 2012.  And trust me, there have been some crazy changes.

We'll start from the beginning, January 1, 2012 - I was past my due date with Riggs wondering when he was going to decide to come out and meet us.  My belly was big, full of a 9 pound 4 oz baby boy, and I had gained a little wait in the arms, legs and face during my pregnancy.  I didn't feel horrible about my body, but I felt pretty out of shape and not strong at all.

I didn't exercise as much during my pregnancy as I would have like because of the heart condition I developed about half way through.  But to be honest, I wasn't really doing too much before that anyway, other than walking and biking.  I did a little yoga here and there too, but my activity level was probably the lowest it has ever been in my life.

Fast forward to January 12 when I finally gave birth to our little (well actually kind of big lol) baby boy who we were so so in love with.  I couldn't believe how it felt to actually bend over and twist back and forth right after Riggs had vacated my belly.  You moms out there know what I'm talking about, right?!

four hours after giving birth
hopefully this doesn't scare you into never having kids lol

I was actually so happy with how my stomach looked, because it was still quite a bit smaller than it had been about 5 hours before.  It felt so much smaller than it looks in that picture by the way - probably because the consistency was so different!

It didn't take long, however, before I was feeling pretty unhappy about how big my stomach was.  I think it was a week after Riggs was born that I took the following picture and felt so upset over how my belly looked.

You can probably tell from my face how I was feeling at the moment.  Instead of doing anything to change, I wallowed in a little bit of self pity for a month or two, and my stomach did continue to shrink a bit as the weeks went on.  I struggled with horrible sciatica during the first few months after Riggs was born, and I knew it was because I was sitting too much (breastfeeding is so special but it definitely contributed to how much I was on the couch).  I started going on walks every day to get out of the house and because it was the only thing that would ease my sciatic pain.

After we moved into our new home, I knew it was time to get back to the active lifestyle I had led before my pregnancy.  I saw a friend on Facebook had started a program called insanity, and I decided to try it out for myself.  In the past I'd always gotten the majority of my exercise outside, but I needed something I could do during nap times and in-between feedings and I wanted something that would get me back into shape pretty fast.

Insanity was...insane.  You need to go watch the infomercial and see how much the really really inshape people are struggling as they complete the workout and then maybe you'll begin to understand. But I was very dedicated to the program and worked very hard, sticking to the schedule (six days a week for 60 days).  Doing this program was extremely hard and I thought about skipping nearly every single day, but at the same time, it was so addictive.  I LOVED it and the feelings I got every time I finished a workout.  I felt so incredibly accomplished and strong, like I could literally do anything.  I got stronger and stronger as the days wore on, and I completed a second round of the 60 day program after I finished the first.

Now I know that isn't the best picture, and I still have a ways to go to be in the shape that I want to be, but I am so proud of myself for what I've accomplished.  I worked hard and I'm happy to see the changes that my hard work has brought about in my body, especially my stomach.  I'm still a little self-conscious about the consistency of my skin, and I know that it will probably always be a little bit that way, a little soft, but that's okay.

I know a lot of people make New Years resolutions regarding their bodies, and I guess I'm going to be one of those people in 2013, because I'm pretty dang resolved to keep working on being the strongest and best version of myself that I can be.  My goal for 2013 is to complete a half-marathon and to run the entire time.  The longest race I've run is the Twilight 12k and I didn't really train at all for that so I'm not worried about the distance of a half-marathon as much as I am about being at my best during the race.

For those of you who have made some sort of fitness or health goal for 2013, please share in the comments!  I love to hear about other people's goals, I find it very inspiring.

Finally (I promise I'll be done soon - ha) I had to share some pictures I took while shopping at Target yesterday.  I tried on a few things and as I was getting dressed again I realized that I had dressed Riggs nearly exactly the same as my own outfit.  SO WEIRD, but really cute too...