My Postpartum Weight Loss Journey

Well hello again!!  It feels like it’s been a lifetime since I’ve posted here, but I just have to do a quick update and share as I start a whole new journey…..through motherhood & postpartum weight loss. Let’s start by chatting about motherhood a bit. 

My sweet baby boy, Elijah, joined us on March 28^th and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. He’s a super smiley baby, he loves to eat and he’s been sleeping through the night since he was about 5 or 6 weeks old.  He’s already 12 weeks tomorrow and will officially be 3 months next Wednesday.  It’s crazy how much he’s grown and changed already.  I seriously wish I could slow down time!!

 

My maternity leave was packed with a lot: traveling, the loss of my little brother, surgery for my mom and all the changes that a new baby naturally brings.  To tell you I feel like a completely different person, would be an understatement.  I am LOVING being a mommy.  I mean, I always felt called to be a mom, but I could never understand exactly how incredible, emotional and fulfilling it would be until now. 

Easy?! No way...breastfeeding was super hard in the beginning, hearing him cry was devastating, letting him sleep in his own crib was hard.  There are so many hard moments, but, boy oh boy, is every single one of them worth it!!  I share a TON of pics of him on my Instagram, so if you’d like to see more, be sure to follow me there: @itsmyevolution.

Now that we’ve chatted about that, let’s get to the reason I’m back to blogging.  (However often that may be…Mom life is unpredictable!). I gained 54lbs with my pregnancy.  The first 25lbs fell off pretty easily without me changing my diet or anything.  The remaining 29lbs are much more stubborn and, in all honesty, I wasn’t ready to give up all the indulgences of pregnancy and any sleep to eat healthier or fit in much needed exercise until this weekend. 

You see, it was my hubby’s very first Father’s Day so I made him & Eli matching shirts so I had someone at church take a family picture of us and when I saw it (the picture on the right, above) I wanted to run, hide and cry.  I felt awful…I hadn’t felt that bad about the way I looked since I originally started my weight loss journey back in 2011.  Since 2012 I had simply been maintaining my results until pregnancy hit of course.  Then I threw healthy eating out the window and ate whatever I craved at the moment.

I don’t want to feel that way again! I don’t want to let myself get stuck in a rut! I don’t want to have a bad body image that in any way affects my child (or future kiddos).  I want to be proud of how hard I work to get fit. I want to eat healthy. I want to get back in shape. I’m ready to commit and I hope you’ll follow along!!

Step 1: I’ve got the fridge stocked with healthy options and I’ve got a plan.  So here goes….

The Plan:

-Use the FatSecret App to track my food intake & weight.

-Use an app to track my water intake.

-Workout 5 days per week.

-Check in here on the blog once per week with an update to keep me extra accountable.

That about sums it up, a simple plan to loose those last 29lbs & maybe a few more.

Starting Weight: 174lbs

Goal Weight/Pre-pregnancy Weight: 145lbs

Thanks for following along & I’ll be back with an update next week. 

Nesting Mode's In Full Effect

The nesting bug has hit harder than I EVER thought it would.  I've never been a neat freak...I've always liked to organize, but I hated general house cleaning.  My hubby has always been super sweet and took on the majority of the housework from loading the dish washer to doing laundry.  Well, recently the cleaning bug has hit me hard and not just cleaning, but I have this intense desire to make everything in the house as perfect as I can before baby arrives....

For the hubby and I that meant scheduling lots of home upgrades, upping our organization skills, cleaning out the clutter and amping up my cleaning schedule.  Today I want to share a little bit about how our

We started by picking out a new paint color for our master bedroom and bathroom.  It's the only room that had yet to be painted and I absolutely hated the ugly brown color we'd been living with.  We chose a light, navy blue color and I am LOVING it!!

Here's how it transformed the space from dull to bold.  Checkout our master bedroom:

And here's the master bathroom:

(Since this pic we've also replaced the light bulbs so they're all lit & even brighter. lol)

After the paint, we decided the tackle removing the carpet from all the bedrooms, but that quickly snowballed when our love for dark wood exploded....so we ended up getting ALL the floors in the house (minus the tiled bathroom and tiled entryway) done in a darker color and new white quarter round as well. I think it's made a huge difference in the look of our home. 

The bedrooms went from horrible carpet that was original to the house to having a fresh new look....thank goodness!!  I don't know about you, but I HATE carpet...with pets and allergies it was nothing but trouble.

A peak at part of the living room:

And here's our dining area. We still want to replace the light fixture in here with a fun globe shaped chandelier and we're also having the kitchen cabinets painted white soon. 

While the wood floors were being done, we also upgraded our kitchen appliances (the dishwasher, stove and microwave).  Check out how much of a difference it's made in the look of the kitchen...and then just imagine how it will be when our cabinets are white...AHHH!!!

So that's where we're at now.  

Here are a list of projects still left to do:

-Replacing a portion of our fence

-Having the cabinets painted white

-Updating all the door knobs to an oil rubbed bronze color

-Saying goodbye to our mailbox on the wooden post and getting a brick mailbox

-Patch a few nail holes in the laundry room & kitchen

-Touch up a few paint spots in the baby room

Here are some extras we'd like to do if time allows:

-Add new light fixtures/fans in the living room and bedrooms

-Add a chandelier above the dining room table

Have you done any home upgrades lately?  If not, what's one of your dream projects you'd like to have done?  Or are you nesting like crazy too?  Let's chat about it in the comments!!  

My Goodness, How A Year Can Change You

A little over a year ago, I said goodbye to this little piece of the internet to spread my wings and try something new.  2016 was a HUGE year...I started and closed my very own business, I tried new things, had about a million new experiences and completely evolved.  Going into 2016 I was the smallest size I'd ever been, felt confident in my own skin, had found my groove in marriage and was just loving life....

In February when my hubby and I had a joint birthday party, we announced that we wanted to expand our little family and have a baby.  Honestly, I thought it would take a long time, I wasn't sure we would follow through yet...there was a lot of unknown.  Thankfully God's always got a plan and as our marriage mantra says "Everything always works out" (To check out the verse than inspired our mantra, look at Romans 8:28).

Well, just about 5 months later I felt off so i got a pregnancy test and took it before my hubby got home...Then when it was positive I started running around the house like a mad woman and scrambled together a cute way to tell my hubby before he got home in about 30 minutes.  So I made this cute little sign with PicMonkey, printed it off.  When he got home, I made him close his eyes and then dropped the bomb:

After that moment, everything in my little world seemed to change...I honestly thought I would always be someone who felt a little weak, felt content and settled in, and was happy gliding along, which is in no way a bad thing.  I was happy, content and living life.  So as my bump grew, so did my desire to better myself, continue building up our relationship and long for the most for my precious baby.

So now I'm 8 month's pregnant and Elijah's arrival is right around the corner.  Where does that leave me?  Well...

Feeling stronger than ever (seriously thought I was a weakling and would be barely functioning at this point in my pregnancy), nesting like crazy (think home repairs, painting and more), feeling more connected to and in love with my husband than I ever thought possible and feeling much less self centered and more focused on how we're going to bring Elijah into the world and continue building our family while following God's plan.  Prayer and Bible study have become our new evening routine before bed and we've FINALLY found a church we love and feel called to serve in.  

2017 has so much in store that I can't bear to keep it to myself, which is why I'm here...I'm ready to get back into the blogging groove. I wanna share all these amazing times, the good stuff and bad, with y'all and I hope you'll come along for the ride. From following along with our home repairs, my new journey into motherhood and much more.  My goal is to start with 1 blogpost per week and take it from there.....so let's do this!

Ohhh and to see what else, I'm up too, be sure to follow me on Instagram!

We've Moved, Won't You Join Us?

That's right, I've moved the blog over to wordpress and I'm LOVING it.  Why?  Because it's allowing me to give you all the fun that It's My Evolution has to offer in one little piece of the internet.  

To keep sharing in the It's My Evolution journey through out 2016 and beyond, head over to the NEW website and give us a follow. 

Kendra Taylor

Start 2016 feeling good, looking good & doing good!

Ready to bust into 2016 with a vengeance?  I know I sure am!!  

How was you 2015?  Here's a few things I did that I'm pretty happy about...

-Started the It's My Evolution thrifty subscription box

-Lots about 20lbs

-Completed my first 30 Day juice reboot

-Connected with other local bloggers through Dallas Blogger Collective (now closed) and the Dallas Fitness Ambassadors

-Started working with a business coach

And a few not so fun moments....struggling with my health for the 1st 1/2 of the year, trying to find balance (it's a journey!) and seeing a few family members struggle with their health as well.

I'm sure this year has had it's ups and downs for you too....but my question to you is this:  What are you going to do to make 2016 your best year yet??

I'd like to invite you to partner with me to help you make the most of 2016.....to help you feel good, look good and truly do good.  

On January 11th, I'm kicking off a 6 week eCourse that will be jam packed with info to help you get on track and stay on track throughout the year.  The eCourse will include: 

-Nutrition Guidance

-Meal planning

-Accountability

-Tons of juicing tips for beginners

-Fashion tips 

-Motivation

and MUCH MORE!

This eCourse is something completely new and I can't wait to share it with all of you.  If you're interested, you can email me at itsmyevolution@gmail.com or schedule a time to chat with me HERE on Equity Scheduling.

Merry Christmas from It's My Evolution

Merry Christmas y'all!  

I hope you have a fabulous day with your family and friends as you celebrate the reason for this wonderful season, the birth of Jesus Christ.  Of course, we all love the presents (and there's nothing wrong with that), the parades and all the parties, but the best gift we've ever received is something to be celebrated with joy all year round. I hope your joy extends throughout the rest of this year and your whole life through.

My OOTD Featuring HeartfeltTX Tshirts

HeartFeltTx, created by Sarah Huggins, is an adorable etsy store full of vegan friendly, Texas loving t-shirts. They're seriously the softest tees you will ever own! Sarah's tshirt line is inspired by her love for the south and passion for sustainable, responsible living...plus she's a local Texas gal and shopping local is totally a WIN in my book! ;-)  

Plus, $1 of every purchase is donated to the International Justice Mission, a global organization that works to end slavery and human trafficking in the U.S and abroad.   So that gave me about a million and one reasons to love her brand before even laying hands on my tee! ;-)

Trust me, this Veggie Lovers Baseball Tee did NOT disappoint!  It's adorable, cozy and so easy to style.  I wore it out to do last minute Christmas shopping and it was the perfect mix of comfy and cute! 

Oh and funny story...while I was out shopping I got hit on by a guy who asked if I grew my own produce and wanted to chat with me about sustainable living...so apparently this tee's a conversation starter to. HAHAHA

Don't forget to check out the HeartfeltTX shop on Etsy HERE.  

Which one of the tees is your fav?  Share in the comments below. :-)

**This is a sponsored post, but, as usual, all the opinions are my own & I only share what I truly love with all of you.**