Hey there!
I'm Crystal
I teach mamas like you how to fit in quick workouts, create healthy meals in less time, and feel energized & confident in your postpartum body.
MY FITNESS JOURNEY DIDN'T START OUT PRETTY
Despite growing up playing competitive sports and being an athlete, I had some dirty little secrets. In my late teens/early twenties I smoked cigarettes, I could barely run 5km without feeling like I was dying, and my idea of a healthy breakfast was a cream cheese bagel and a double-double from Tim Horton's (that's a medium coffee with 2 creams + 2 sugars, for my non-Canadian friends ;) ).
It was also during this time I stopped playing competitive sports to focus on school, gained the dreaded Freshman 15 (ok 20lb), had no energy, and overall felt soooo uncomfortable in my body. I ate out of stress, and I had a lot of negative self-talk, and I was always my own worst critic. I knew something had to change because I was pretty miserable.
But changing everything at once was really overwhelming. Especially since I didn't have a clue about healthy eating, or working out, or changing habits. So I made the conscious decision to start with ONE THING.
I MADE A DECISION THAT MY HEALTH WAS A PRIORITY
It was a non-negotiable decision that I was going to change my habits. That was the first step: changing my belief that my health was an absolute priority.
Once that belief was in me, I started running at the gym 2x/week for 20 minutes. That's it. At first it was a struggle, but I started to feel better and it became so manageable to stay consistent that I knew I was ready to tackle the next bad habit: smoking. I'd relapsed many times before, but because I was starting to feel fitter & better about myself I knew it was finally time to kick it for good. And. I. DID!
The habits started to stack. I started to choose healthier breakfasts, again starting with changing ONE meal. I also discovered weight lifting, and adding this to the weekly regimen helped me start to shape my body. Again, adding 1-2 days of training, everything started to build onto the last habit. I lost the weight, felt energized and amazing in my body, and now these new healthy habits became my lifestyle. My lifestyle centred around 6 workouts/week, a few hours of meal prepping on the weekends and during the week, and I even competed in bodybuilding, and that pushed me to the ultimate limits of what I thought my body and mind were capable of (I was very successful at this btw!). I thought I had it all figured out but...
EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN I BECAME A MOM
Nothing really prepares you as a first-time mom. You know that everything is going to change, but the mental, emotional and physical changes that come with mamahood are intense. My postpartum body felt foreign, so squishy and soft, so stretched, so tired, and my biggest fear was that I would never be able to get my body back or feel confident again.
And while I knew a lot about how to train and eat properly and had a lot of fundamentals under my belt at this point, I had to accept that my schedule and life were not just my own anymore. I had to find a way to MAKE the time and energy I DID have work for me, instead of focusing on everything I didn't have or couldn't control. I had to again shift my mindset to start believing that I could make this work, and that I was worthy of putting that time into myself #ditchthemomguilt
So my training, meal prepping and planning changed A LOT. I was so weak after my c-section and the recovery that it was almost like starting from scratch again with my new body. But I was committed to seeing progress - not just the end result of weight loss. I found ways to workout either in the pockets of time with my little Aiden strapped to me, or to workout efficiently in waaaaay less time. Because I sure as heck didn't have time for 2+hr in the gym 6 days a week anymore!
I started focusing on healthy, simple meals I could make in 30 minutes. Gone were the hours of meal prepping! I also found ways to nourish my body while simplifying my nutrition, so committing to a few easy meals each week, like smoothies, have been a healthy lifesaver for this busy mama! It saves me time, takes a few decisions out of meal planning, and has helped me reach and SUSTAIN my goals #momwin
For me it's never been and never will be, about counting calories or fad dieting. And it's not even about the number on the scale.
It's about how you FEEL. It's about glowing with confidence when you walk into a room. It's about being proud of all that your body is capable of and has accomplished - especially as a mum!
It's about nourishing your body and enjoying any food, without the guilt. It's about building habits that you can sustain, enjoy, and gets you results.
It's about being a role model for our kiddos, and showing them what a balanced, joyful, and healthy lifestyle truly is. It's about creating a loving relationship with yourself, with the foods you eat, and with moving your body.
And more than anything, I want to show other moms, just like YOU, that you CAN rock your postpartum body! I'm so glad you're here, and I can't wait to help you on your journey.
-Crystal xo
