Is it possible to get your pre-baby body back after pregnancy? Maybe it’s possible to get your body back after one pregnancy, but what about after multiple pregnancies? Read this fit mom featured blog by Khristine, mother to 3 daughters. Khristine’s story and body transformation after 3 pregnancies is truly inspiring.

My name is Khristine, and I blog over at BeautyAndTheBrute.com. It’s a fitness and beauty blog that I share with my husband.  I’m a 26-year-old mother of 3 girls: ages 6 Years old, 4 Years old, and last, our newest bundle of joy, just turned 4 months old.  I’m currently a LVN going back to school for my BSN. I’m a fitness junkie and beauty/makeup addict at heart.  I love all aspects of fitness and love trying new things … from weightlifting, to yoga. I love switching it up and pushing my body to its limits!

I actually was not always a fitness junkie. In fact, I am relatively new to fitness. I have only been weightlifting for about 2 years (on and off).  Before this, I was your typical girl who tried the latest yo-yo diets and always wanted the easy way out. I would be happy with crash dieting for special occasions (like to fit into a dress for a wedding etc) … but found that to be too exhausting on my body. I was never really happy with how my body looked after pregnancy, and hated how I couldn’t keep up with my children. Luckily for me – my husband introduced me to the fitness lifestyle and showed me the way to health and wellness.

After my first two pregnancies, I didn’t even think about exercising to help get my pre-baby body back. And unfortunately, I got hit with postpartum depression. PPD hit HARD after my 2nd pregnancy – where it nearly cost me my life. (I did experience a mild case of PPD after my 1st, but wasn’t nearly as bad as after my 2nd pregnancy). I’m so thankful that I had the support of my husband and family to really get me through such hard times that I don’t ever want to relive or wish on anyone.  But I’m proud to say that I’m 4 months out from my 3rd pregnancy and have not experienced PPD one bit! I exercised during my whole pregnancy and at 6 weeks postpartum, entered an online body transformation contest on BodyBuilding.com (to try to motivate me to lose weight and get my pre-baby body back – and the Grand Prize of $10k didn’t sound too bad either).

After delivering my 3rd daughter and having to take “before” pictures, it really opened my eyes to what pregnancy did to my body.  I had gained so much weight and was unrecognizable (and really was not happy with my body), so I set out on a journey to get healthier, not only for me – but for my children. I wanted to set a good example for my girls and show them that you need to take care of yourself in order to take care of others.

So with that said, I’d like to share my 3 month progress pictures. The before pictures were taken 6 weeks after I had my 3rd daughter (I was breastfeeding at the time, which probably also added to the weight gain). The pictures were taken in April and the end date of my challenge was on July 22. For my “before” picture I was 154 lbs.  My “after” picture I was 131.8 lbs and I took into consideration that due to my intense weight lifting, I’ve gained lean muscle (which I’m very proud of!).

I want to share my journey with as many women as possible.  I know a lot of moms who think it’s impossible to get your pre-baby body back after pregnancy.  Some women are blessed to be able to lose the baby weight and snap back to pre-pregnancy, but for others like myself – It’s really a journey.  We all need to remember that during pregnancy, It took 9 months to gain weight, and it’s going to take some time to get it off! But consistency is key when trying to reach your goal.A lot of women ask me, how did I do it? I honestly just changed my eating habits (meaning I would eat healthy foods, and wouldn’t eat a bunch of fast food all day), I watched my calories and stayed in a caloric deficit (used an awesome calorie tracking system called MyFitnessPal – It’s FREE!) and did intense training. I loved seeing results every week during my 12 week challenge.  Just knowing that my hard work was showing, pushed me to work harder, especially because I had just delivered my 3rd baby.

I have shown great perseverance and dedication throughout this challenge even through the stressors of being a wife, mother, and nursing student.  I have inspired my family and friends to live a healthier lifestyle (or at least start).  This challenge has given me the confidence I needed. This is definitely not the end of my transformation.  I still want to achieve my lean, sexy body, and in the future possibly become a personal trainer.  I also would like to step on stage and compete in a bikini competition someday.

For more information about Khristine and her transformation, visit her blog at www.BeautyandtheBrute.com, www.facebook.com/beautyandthebrute, www.twitter.com/beautyandbrute, and www.youtube.com/beautyandthebrute.