I’ve known Whitney for years, since I was an instructor at Barry’s and she used to take classes there. She has always been an impressive athlete and runner, but that is nothing compared to what she has accomplished recently! Whitney started one-on-one training with me about eight weeks after having given birth to her beautiful baby girl – Emery – and, in about six months, she lost all of  her baby weight – 43lbs!!  With sit-ups – she started over from pretty much from scratch (she couldn’t even do one sit-up when we started), but she has made truly astounding strides. She has run two half-marathons since giving birth and has gotten back to being in incredible shape!!  Stay tuned – she’s headed for a half marathon PR in October!  Annnnd she JUST PR’d a 5k and took first in her age group!!!! GO GIRL.

Whitney, it has been a true privilege to help you do all the amazing things you’ve done. Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey! I’ve asked Whitney a series of questions, and I’ve included her answers below. You can’t help but be inspired by this incredible woman!

Tell me about you, what you do, who you are, and what you’re passionate about?

I am 34 years old, and my husband and I just became parents to a sweet little girl last fall. I was born and raised in Knoxville, I attended the University of Georgia for my undergraduate degree, I returned to Knoxville for law school, and then I moved to Nashville in 2008. I am currently in-house counsel for a healthcare supply chain and total cost management solutions company.

What were your goals after the baby and what are your goals going forward?

I was lucky enough to be able to work out pretty frequently while I was pregnant, up until around 32 weeks, but exercise definitely took a backseat those last 4-5 weeks– I was so tired, hot, and swollen! My main goal was to lose the weight in as much time as it took me to gain it… I think new moms put too much pressure on themselves to lose the baby weight really fast, but you have to remember that it took 9 months to gain it. So my aim was to get it off in 9 months as well. I worked hard and lost the 43 lbs I gained (yes, that’s a lot) in about 6 months. My goals going forward are to get my running paces back up to pre-baby…and then some. I want to train smart, listen to my body, and slow down when I need to.

What did you do to focus in and lose the baby weight?  

I started doing intervals of run/walk around 8 weeks postpartum, and I also ordered a fit splint band for extra support when I began running again. I added in spin classes for lower impact cardio. 1:1 weight training sessions helped build back lost muscle, too. The last 10 lbs were definitely the hardest to lose. I also cut dairy due to a potential milk protein allergy, and that honestly helped me lose a lot of weight pretty quickly. You have to eat pretty healthy when you can’t have cream, cheese, or butter 😦

Tell me about your first half marathon after baby!

I ran the Tom King half marathon about 5 and a half months postpartum without too many expectations. I started out slow the first half and then, tried picking it up a bit to see how I felt. My only goal was to beat my finish time at the 2016 Country Music half marathon when I was 17 weeks pregnant, and I did!

How has personal training helped you?

Having mild ab separation, I couldn’t do a lot of core exercises up until very recently. And even though I was very active for almost all of my pregnancy, it was really hard to get back to any kind of fitness level I was used to. I knew it would be too frustrating and intimidating to try group classes and have to ask for modifications over and over. Luckily, Megan was offering a really great special right when I was cleared to work out again, so I jumped on it 🙂 I think it’s also so incredibly beneficial that Megan is also a runner, so all of our workouts compliment my mileage and make me stronger. I know she’s never going to give me a workout that will negatively impact the quality of a run the following day, or spend an entire session overtraining my legs.

What advice would you give new mommies on getting back to it?

Give yourself some slack! You just carried a baby for 9 months and gave birth. You’re basically a superhero, so who cares if it takes some time to lose the baby weight.

If nothing else, becoming a mother has made me very efficient. I am waking up at times that I never thought I would voluntarily set an alarm for, in order to get my runs completed and still spend time with my family before I have to go to work. It makes for very long days, but you gotta make it work however you can if you want it bad enough!