Says the girl who always worked hard on maintaining her fitness...

If my body can't be where I want it to be right now, at least my workout lewk can be on fire! Grab this Alo Yoga lewk here.

The human body is pretty amazing. It's been 3 weeks since I delivered my little baby chica and I'm still under doctor's orders to refrain from working out (mega tear). I wanted to take these "before" photos to remember a few things, 1- how important it was that I worked out throughout my pregnancy, ultimately allowing my body to bounce back after birth to a fairly good state, and 2- to see how I can transform back into my good ol' self once I get the nod from the doc to hit the gym again (hopefully around 6 weeks postpartum). 

Most women can start working out two weeks after delivery, but I got diagnosed with something called Diastasis Recti during my pregnancy which means my ab muscles basically split down the center and broke in half as the baby started growing inside. It was a huge bummer and source of depression for me throughout my pregnancy because I knew getting back my pre-baby six pack would be a very difficult endeavor. So what does this mean for my postpartum fitness routine?

2/3 of pregnancies end in Diastasis Recti, but most women don't know it happens until after birth. Mine was pretty severe during pregnancy so it was very obvious that I had it. How'd I know?

When I would lay down and then lift my upper torso in a crunch position, my abs from belly button upward towards my chest would form the shape of a Mohawk in the center, "tenting" as they call it technically. The tenting is a result of the abdominal muscles splitting in half and sort of just floating on each side of your belly. And what's underneath that belly Mohawk? My non-doctor approved guess is your skin, your baby, your belly, etc... all just chilling there with no connected core tying it all together.

Before I go back into abdominal workouts, I need my core to reconnect so I don't continue to separate the muscles even worse. I'm hopeful that I can work around this issue and get my pre-baby body back in no time by working all of the other areas of my body instead. Maybe by the time that happens, this not-so-cute linea nigra pregnancy line on my belly will disappear! At least my very obnoxious pregnancy outtie belly button has RIP'd already. ;)

Only time will tell! 

Photographs taken at home by Sabrina Hill.