Busy mom of 3 little ones (two of which twins!) making time for my physical and mental health through fitness.

I started my fitness journey about 8 years ago. At 25, I had never closely followed any fitness program. I had no previous knowledge of proper nutrition and goal specific exercise, I mostly stuck with cardio because that is what I remember from my school years (middle school and high school) as a way of “staying in shape” or “being healthy”. Growing up I didn’t have influences in my life to motivate me to want to exercise or stay active other than walking around the neighborhood. One day I looked in the mirror and told myself I wanted to gain muscle while wanting to “stay thin” because in my mind, at the time, that meant healthy.

I began doing T25 workouts for a few months following along with my husband but was quickly discouraged at the fact that I was so tired and not enjoying my workouts (mostly due to the fact that I couldn’t relate to a male trainer). That sort of discouraged me thinking that perhaps I wasn’t ready for this type of lifestyle. I became pregnant with my first born and shortly after birth (2015) I was motivated to get back into “pre-baby” shape. I searched youtube and came across pilates videos that were enjoyable (with a female instructor!) that helped me to actually stick to a routine and I looked forward to my workouts. I then started to follow certain fitness/nutrition accounts on Instagram as motivation to stay on track. That was the first time I came across Massy’s instagram (Mankofit at the time). Although, I didn’t closely follow with the community at the time because I was content with my workout routines.

Fast forward to 2016 when I became pregnant with twins. I wasn’t aware that I was having twins so at the beginning of my pregnancy I continued to be active and followed the same workout routine until about 5 months into my pregnancy when they made me aware that I was carrying twins. The doctor advised me to stop any workouts I was doing due to it being a risk to my pregnancy. Although I was bummed that I wouldn’t be able to continue being as active as I was, my goal was to make sure I delivered my babies safely and healthy.

With my twins birth I had my hands full. I had no time for being active as I had no help other than myself, and at times, my husband (who was mostly busy working to pay our bills and feed our family). I felt a bit defeated after my pregnancies as well. I gave my body a break and decided not to jump directly to pilates after birth. Rather, I couldn’t jump right back in due to mobility restrictions.

I eventually started to incorporate workouts that felt safe for my post baby body by following youtube and instagram videos. Then in time adding weights to my workouts, which lead me to re-discover Massy and follow her more closely on youtube and Instagram.

Here we are in 2022 after many trial and error I am ready to learn more about proper nutrition and working on my form. Excited for what’s ahead!