Dear mothers, your belly is beautiful.

"Family is the center of life, it is the key to eternal happiness"

- L. Tom Perry

As far as I can remember, I have always wanted to become a Mother. Never once did I think about the fact about my body changing. Growing up, I watched a whole bunch of women including my mother and sisters give birth. Never once did I look at them and think about their postpartum bodies. Maybe I was too little to understand, maybe I didn't get it because I wasn't a mother, maybe I didn't notice or maybe I was too busy snuggling babies. Either way, it was never about their bodies. 

Fast forward to when I had Noah. One of the first comments I got, mind you I just birthed a baby, was "wow fatty, let me see your belly". At the time I didn't think much about it, but looking back that bothered me so much. All of a sudden I started stressing, I needed to be back to my fit self instantly! All of a sudden my thoughts shifted and for a time I wasn't myself. My thoughts were consumed with "how can I get my pre-baby belly back??". I remember poking my belly and I am pretty sure my finger touched my back. After a good meltdown, or several... I thought, "Forget about that comment Fatty, you just had a baby...that is freaking amazing."

We live in a world were we are being told to be perfect. To look flawless during and after delivery, to have a videographer and capture every moment of that day, to have Pinterest worthy photos. Because if we don't, we "missed" the point or we aren't keeping up with the Jones'. 

Why why why?

Instead of women being hopeful of one day being able to carry a child, some are too scared to give up their bodies. Scared because they have heard horror stories. 

"You will never be able to hold your pee again. You will never have abs again. Your boobs will hit the floor, etc."

Let me tell you something, forget about all the horror stories you've heard! There's nothing more incredible than holding your baby in your arms. The moment you have longed for, for 9 months, enjoy it to the fullest. There's nothing more special than watching your spouse become a parent. Let that be your focus, not what your body looks like the day after.

Your body may not look the exact same, it will be even better! You carried one/multiple children, that is freaking amazing. You discovered strengths you had no idea even existed. You can now carry a carseat, grocery bags and talk on the phone at the same time. Skills! You can change a diaper in record time with no skid marks down your finger. You can sleep with one eye open, literally. You can prepare a bottle in the dark. You can read a bedtime story by heart. You get countless of kisses and hugs every day. Each day you keep your kids fed, happy and safe.

I can go on and on... because you my dear, YOU ARE AMAZING! 

                                                                  Matching outfits from Flexi Lexi

Your belly is beautiful because it created life. That is hard work.

If you are worrying about getting "back" or you're currently in that phase, my advice to you is- enjoy the journey, and know that your fit self will be back. Be patient with yourself, a lot happens with our bodies during pregnancy, so let your's take the time it needs to adjust back. 

Learn to love yourself in every stage, and you will learn to appreciate what you've done so much more.

xo

Fitness with fatty - post partum journey 2

"Stick to a task 'til it sticks to you, for beginners are many but finishers are few." 

- Thomas S. Monson 

This is one of my top 5 favorite quotes! It applies into so many different elements in life.

My favorite thing about the 21-day challenge is the amazing support from all the participants. I create a private group on Facebook, where I post my videos each day. It is a place to complain about your soreness, to post your victories or to simply say that you did the workout! It can give you a sense of community atmosphere and that you're not alone. 

Do you feel stuck in your fitness routine? Do you fall in this category of being busy, not knowing what to do at the gym or just don't know where to start? Well then I promise this is the perfect thing for you! My 21-day challenge is designed to take about 20-30 min depending on how fast you complete the exercises.  My main goal is by the end of this challenge, for you to adopt a habit for exercising. I want you to look in the mirror and love what you see. I want you to be proud of yourself and for all the hard work you've put in.

Here are some before/afters from some of my participants!

"My 21-day fitness challenge is up today, but my personal fitness challenge is still in full force! I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm happy with how far I've come too! Fatima Dedrickson is doing another 21 day fitness challenge starting February 27th! I highly recommend it! It was convenient, fun, and encouraging! Thanks, Fatty! Looking forward to the next one! 💪🏼#fitnesswithfatty "

"The first is before the January challenge and then before and after this one. The progress is happening slowly, but it's for sure happening!5 months pp and slowly, but surely getting my body back 🙌🏾"

"These challenges were just what I needed to keep me accountable. Fatima's circuits KICK. MY. BUTT. I'm drenching with sweat at the end of each daily workout. Workouts can be done at home so there is NO EXCUSE to not get it done. The workouts last anywhere between 20-30 minutes depending on your fitness level. Every day before doing my workout I had my end goal in mind which is always to beat my "before" photo. No matter what time of day it was I ALWAYS completed the daily workout.

If I can do this SO CAN YOU! It's never too late to live a healthier lifestyle."

Read more about her story h e r e

"So because I am pregnant I wasn't expecting to lose any weight or even get smaller. It may be hard to tell in the picture, but I think these work outs were just what I needed to tighten up a little! I can only imagine that these will be exactly what I need after I get the baby out!! Thank you Fatima! "

"I wasn't convinced I'd see a difference and I'm most happy about my mental improvements (I proved I can take time everyday to work out!!) Now I feel better and can do push-ups on my toes! But I was way pleasantly surprised when I compared my before and after!! "

I am 10 weeks PP and I couldn't be more proud! There's still lots to go, but I sure am glad I decided to do this together with a bunch of amazing people!

My next challenge starts February 27th! Do you want to be apart of an amazing support system, or find a love for working out? No equipment is mandatory, but you can use dumbbells for more resistance! 

This is not a personal training program or another program thats out there. This is me, sharing my love for fitness with others.

Leave your email in the comments and lets get fit together!

xo

The struggle is real!

We are PREGNANT!!!!

PC: Cecilia Harvard

We are so excited and let's be real a little terrified haha! I've always said, I want all our kids to be fairly close in age. Ready or not, here we come!! This pregnancy has gone by so fast, can you believe I'm 18 weeks already?? How did that even happen!?
I have been feeling great, at the end of the day I'm always exhausted and staying passed 9PM is a struggle, but other than that this pregnancy has been kind to me so far. That first trimester was brutal, I didn't even know I could be that type of exhausted. My poor husband had to drag me out of bed every morning because I was in denial it was already morning. Chasing after 2 kiddos is hard work, I don't even know how I'm gonna be able to chase after 3 one day.
I have been exercising just like I used to, this baby is a lot lower than my first two were so there are a lot more visits to the bathroom.
Before I got pregnant with Noah, I had just finished my collegiate track and field career and I was in my best shape yet. A month after he was born, I was back on the track trying to get back in shape. I thought to myself "people do this all the time, so I can do it too". It was hard work. The first 2 months, I wanted to quit every single day. Only 10 months after having Noah, there I was on the starting line, representing my swedish club. I was in the best shape I had ever been, better than pre-baby. I ran personal bests in all my events, all of that after having a baby.
Why do people tell you "once you have a baby, your body can't do such and such"? That's false, YOU can do whatever the heck you want, but you have to put the work in.

Success doesn't happen because you never fail. 
Success happens because you never quit.

17 weeks pregnant here

I get comments like "I wish I had your genes". I want people to know how hard I've worked to get back and stay in shape. I made a promise to myself to stay active through my pregnancies, because I knew my postpartum body would thank me later. Not only my postpartum body, but my state of mind as well. Hard things are never easy to do at first, but they get easier with time. It takes a lot of discipline and dedication, and if I can do it so can YOU.

I wish society didn't make women feel guilty because of us wanting to take care of ourselves. That once you have kids, it is all about them. Don't get me wrong, it is pretty much all about them but don't forget about you. It is hard to see your body go through changes and not having any control over them.I've had to once again, prepare myself for these changes. Being mentally healthy is just as important as physical health.
Exercising is a part of my lifestyle, and it doesn't look the same for everyone. If you love to walk, then walk and if you love zumba then do zumba. Find something that you love and stick with it. The truth is, if you compare yourself with others or other peoples physique you will never learn to appreciate your own. You won't be able to appreciate your progress. Whether you are pregnant or not, healthy doesn't mean a salad. Healthy isn't a measure of weight. Being healthy involves your mind, spirit and heart just as much as it involves your body. Each persons version of healthy iix different. Sweets don't make you unhealthy but sadness will. One day at a time my friends!

xo

Life lately!

I recently realized that I hadn't blogged in a week or so and that I haven't filled you guys in on our lives in Arizona!

First of all, we lucked out big time with our neighborhood. We love it so much, even if we are inside most of the time ;) The thought of us not living in Utah is still weird! Moving was hard, harder than I thought it would be. I was lucky to have my mom here for 3 weeks, which made the transition a whole lot easier. Being a mother of two, has been crazy but also crazy fun! With all the major changes, this was going to be our lives for the next 2 years. I'm so grateful for my Mother and all her help but once she left, I felt lost.

I didn't quite understand how hard it was going to be. How much I was going to miss  Ben and having him around. I knew without doubt that he was going to do well in school, even though the workload was nothing he was used to. All of a sudden our time became really precious to me. Don't get me wrong, it was precious before as well, but now it was different. 

I'm sure that these feelings are similar to those with spouses that are gone a lot and you can relate. I'm beyond proud and grateful for how he has handled it all. We were told that the first 8 weeks were going to be the hardest, and I'm so glad that no matter what he has put us first. 

I get asked if being a mother of two is hard? I honestly think that having one was harder, what's hard for me is living in this heat. Not being able to go out whenever we want because my toddler has some crazy energy has been hard. This is the transition that has been the hardest for me, I've had to truly dig deep, say lots and lots of prayers and be oh so patient. Luckily, I've made some really good friends that have kids Noah's age. He gets to interact and play with other kids while I get some adult interaction, and it makes the time fly by. As bad as it sound, I've had days were we've just watched shows/movies all day until daddy comes home. I'm not perfect, and still trying to figure out this parenthood! Movies are like a drug, keeps Noah nice and calm and I get to relax a little haha.

On another note, I've got some exciting news that I have been working on concerning fitness. I'm super excited about it, and hoping that things will work out. I will announce it in a little bit! In the meantime here's my "dirty 50" I did this morning :)

50 crunches

45 Jumping jacks (fast)

40 forward lunges

200m run

35 leg tuck- abs

30 squats

25 walk with stroller

100m run

20 bench push ups

15 deep squats (ace down)

10 single leg squat

5 push ups with clap

100m sprint!

xo