Meet Estrella
Estrella is a gorgeous, hard-working mom of 2 boys – Matthew, age 13 and Logan, age 3, married for 16 years to her high school sweetheart. As well as working full-time as the advertising sales manager for Nuvo TV, Estrella also works part-time as an Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot, hosting jewelry trunk shows. As you can imagine, Estrella found herself in a position to which many working mothers can relate, putting her family and career ahead of her health. The end result was a scary realization that she needed to do something about her health, or face serious risk of disease.
Estrella, I know that you’re working really hard on your fitness now. Were you as committed to staying fit and healthy during both your pregnancies?
Prior to having kids, I weighed in at only 110 pounds. I never struggled with my weight back then – I was always a size 1 and even that was big on me. Of course, I worked out 5 times a week, sometimes even twice a day, because you can do that when you don’t have kids! When I fell pregnant with my first child 13 years ago, I gained 80 pounds. I didn’t work out during that pregnancy, because I thought to myself, why should I? I’m having a baby and the baby needs its nutrients. Well, I ate everything. From fast food, cakes and ice cream, to healthy food as well. In my mind, I was eating for two and I just thought as soon as I had the baby I would just lose all the weight. After Matthew was born, it took me 3 years to get the weight off, by working out every single day, eating less and staying away from sweets.
So when I found out I was pregnant again, 10 years later, it was a very healthy pregnancy. I learned my lesson from the first time around and luckily my cravings were for healthy food. Anything fried, fast food, junk food I couldn’t even stand the smell. The baby in my tummy this time was a very healthy eater! I ate plenty of salads, fruit, water and did a lot of walking for exercise. I only gained 25 pounds.
Did you lose the baby weight quicker after your second pregnancy as a result?
Yes, definitely. As soon as the doctor told me it was okay to exercise again I started working out and of course the breast feeding helped plenty. I lost 20 pounds in a matter of 3 months. However, the holiday season came around and I began to eat more. Before I knew it I had gained a lot of weight.
So what’s going on with your fitness now?
It’s 3 years later and I’ve recently had a physical. Per my doctor, I need to lose a total of 60 pounds. I am at a high risk for diabetes and heart disease, because of my weight and because they run in my family. It was such an awakening for me, of what I have done to my body and my health. Now, I am up to working out 3 times a week and I’m working my way up to 5 times. I run on the treadmill, do abdominal exercises and stretch. I’ve also begun to watch what I eat again and I’ve stayed away from soda, one of my biggest vices, for the last 3 months. My goal is to lose 10 pounds by June and continue from there. It’s going to be a long journey, but I can do it! I need to do it for my health and for my family.
How are you fitting in your exercise into your schedule? I know you have a lot on your plate with work and your jewelry trunk shows.
I have to exercise in the morning. It is the only time I can honestly fit it in and if I don’t get it done first thing, I won’t do it later. So I am up at 5am, working out for an hour. My husband is super supportive of me and will wake me up if he needs to! Then at 6am I have breakfast and coffee and usually pick up toys left out the night prior! I wake the boys up at 6:30am and I’m out the door to drop them at school and start my commute by 7:30am. I don’t get home from work until 7pm, when it’s dinner time, bath time for Logan and family time. I am very lucky to have a husband who does all the cooking during the week, since he gets home earlier than me. I take over and do the cooking on the weekend to give him a break. There’s no way I would work out at night.
On the weekends, I am super busy doing general mom stuff, as well as Stella & Dot trunk shows, which I usually do at least 3 weekends a month. I usually don’t work out unless I get a spare half hour or so if Logan goes down for a nap when I’m not in the middle of cooking or cleaning or something. Then I can sneak in a run.
It’s so important to note that you are losing weight for your health rather than for aesthetics. A lot of the time maybe new mothers don’t think about what excess weight can do to your health. I know that’s especially true in your case, since you have a family history of disease.
I was so frightened when I heard my results from the physical. I don’t want to live the rest of my life as a diabetic and that’s the path I was on, especially because Diabetes runs on both sides of my family. I thought about how much I hate needles and not wanting to lose any toes! It also made me think hard about how much I want and need to be there for my boys and their future.
My doctor advised me to cut back on sweets, soda and simple carbs. He also advised me to start walking for an hour every day until I felt comfortable running. I really had no excuse when it came to the exercise. I have a treadmill and an elliptical in my attic! I was just getting lazy.
Now, I can’t fall back into laziness, or use any kind of excuse. I’m not doing this to look good in a swimsuit; I’m doing it because the alternative is scary. My family is the most important thing to me and I can’t imagine putting that at risk, knowing all I need to do is eat better and get my butt up to work out in the mornings.
Thanks so much for sharing your story, Estrella. It’s wonderful that you’re taking control of your health and making sure you’re fit and healthy to be there for your boys. I’m sure they’re very proud of you.
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| Estrella at 17 years old! 110 pounds pre babies. |
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| Estrella pregnant with her eldest, Matthew (L) and with her youngest, Logan (R) |
