Note from the Badass CEO: I have never met Maria, but she is an inspiration! Chris, Badass Fitness VP, talked to her recently about how she went from nearly 200 pounds post-baby to her current 125 pounds of strength and lean muscle. Chris shares the "interview" in full below, but first I want to give a huge #fistbump to Maria for embracing such a healthy, and EFFECTIVE, approach to finding her figure - and her confidence - after giving birth. I have not had children, and probably won't ever, but I have so much admiration and respect for moms who are out there living their Badass Journeys while juggling those adorable Bad Donkeys!!! You all are rockstars in my book!
My favorite nuggets of wisdom from Maria:
- "Quitting is NOT an option and no one can make you lose weight. You have to get up, get out there, and do it."
- "These stretch marks aren’t scars to be ashamed of, they are tiger’s stripes. I am strong, and beautiful. I earned them." #PREACH, Maria!!
- "One thing I definitely learned was to change my relationship with food. It is fuel, and it is good."
Chris, take it away.....
As a guy working in the fitness world there are quite a few things I don’t understand and CANNOT even pretend to wrap my head around. The biggest one: post-pregnancy weight loss. So when I was looking recently at my Facebook feed, and saw a picture of my friend Maria McCorkle who had a baby last year, I had to talk to her. Here's our "interview," which has a lot of information - and inspiration - for other moms and moms-to-be out there!
When did you have your baby?
Conor was born May 11th of 2011. I was admitted to the hospital at 196 lbs (pictured, left, at 177 lbs).
The doctors had told me to expect to be around 165. To put it into perspective, I was 134 lbs at 2 months into the pregnancy. Early on in the pregnancy I was put on limited exercise due to family medical history, and in the 3rd trimester I was diagnosed with preeclampsia, all of which led to me gaining more weight than expected.
What exercises were you doing prior?
Running. A lot. One of the hardest things when I started exercising again was getting back to running. It felt like I was starting from scratch since I was unable to do much of anything during the pregnancy. When did you start working out again? What helped drop the weight? Well, I attempted to start on Weight Watchers in June, but due to complications with Connor’s health, was unable to start that and exercise until August. Between May and August I MAYBE lost 5-6 lbs. I can’t tell you how many times I looked in the mirror and thought I wasn’t going to be able to get my body back. It was tough. Although I don’t do Weight Watchers anymore, one thing I definitely learned was to change my relationship with food. It is fuel, and it is good. I went with something that I have seen work, not a fad. And I made sure I was bringing in enough calories in order to lose weight. Amazed to this day when I see people trying to lose weight AND workout and only consuming 1,000 a day. I was eating 1,500-2,000 net and I’m currently 125 lbs.
Wow, what has motivated you? I mean, you worked full time, are now a full time law school student, and your husband (Blake, whom I went to high school with) is a firefighter. Where do you find the time? I made it. We made it. When you are a parent, you can’t wallow in your own self pity. Yes, I had postpostpartum depression. It is real, and it sucks. But when I started exercising again, I was able to get off the medication that they prescribed for me. I was able to smell the air, see the sky, run without headphones- these are sensations, experiences, beauties, that my battle with depression and PPD kept me from. I am too grateful to give it up now. Blake has seen this and has been very supportive. If that means running with me in the evening when he gets home from the station, or just watching Conor while I go for a run, I could not have done this without the support of him and his parents. We have actually turned workout nights into date nights.
Do you have any advice for new or soon to be mothers?
Quitting is NOT an option and no one can make you lose weight. You have to get up, get out there, and do it. For me, I am a high risk if we want to have another child. I am getting in the best shape I can to ensure if we do, it is a safer pregnancy. I have also come to terms with my body. These stretch marks aren’t scars to be ashamed of, they are tiger’s stripes. I am strong, and beautiful. I earned them. And transfer those bad days to a harder workout.
There is always someone out there who is going through the same struggle as you; some are just different than others. Maria told me that my #360to30 journey inspired her, but here's the deal: She’s an even bigger inspiration for me.