Today’s Fit Mama Friday, Elizabeth Burns, is one busy woman. Married for 4 years (their anniversary is this week) to husband Ryan, mama to 13 month old daughter Reese, Elizabeth wears many, many hats. She is a part-time higher education professional (project director on a grant and academic coach/advisor at a community college); the owner of online personal training business (fitlifewithe.com); manages a photography business with her husband and on top of all that, is basically a stay at home mom since she works from home 90% of the time with little additional childcare. Phew! Her biggest issue is fitting in her workouts, so Elizabeth has gotten creative with her time.

Meet Elizabeth.

Let’s go back to pre-baby life – you know, when you actually had free time and sufficient sleep. Were you fit and active back then?

If you were to ask me in college if I was fit, I would have said yes! I played college volleyball my freshman year, stayed active playing in competitive recreational volleyball leagues, ran on a regular basis and took sporadic workout classes. I had always been at a healthy weight, but it wasn’t until I started to analyze my nutrition that I realized what it really meant to “fuel” my body. I used to think that low-fat was the way to go, but realized through reading and research that your body needs fat to fuel everything, not just your workouts. I am a carb lover and have a hard time not wanting to devour anything related to pastries and sweets, but I started to listen to my body and realized it wasn’t as happy when I overloaded my system with too many carbs and not enough protein and fats. Don’t get me wrong, I still consume carbs (you need them!), but I have realized that balance and moderation are two of my best friends when it comes to nutrition. I also started to love cooking my own food because I could control the ingredients and it is very therapeutic for me when I am stressed.

So you were fit and healthy during college – what about once you got married and then got pregnant? Were you still working out on a consistent basis?

I really started to kick my exercise and healthy eating habits into high gear when I was preparing for our wedding. I wanted to look my best at our wedding and on our honeymoon. My workouts were kickboxing, running and Zumba during my engagement. Then, a year later I completed my first sprint triathlon in the fall of 2011, ended up doing another sprint triathlon with my husband in the spring of 2012 and finished a trail half marathon in fall 2012. I felt the best I had ever felt.

When my husband and I found out we were pregnant in the fall of 2012, the first thing I wanted to do was maintain my level of fitness with a fit pregnancy because I realized it would help me stave off a massive weight gain and I knew how much better I physically feel when I exercise. During my pregnancy, I played volleyball competitively (until 30 weeks), TRX, (until 25 weeks), Zumba (until 36 weeks) and did cardio and light weights until a few days before I had Reese. My husband is very active too (loves to run, lift weights and play volleyball), so that made keeping a fit pregnancy so much easier.

You run your own online personal training business, have a part-time job outside of the home, manage a photography business with your husband and still somehow manage to squeeze in being an awesome mama while staying fit as well. How do you do it? Do you have to be incredibly organized? Or is there one area that gets less attention at times?

Ha! Some might think I’m crazy. I do think I’m crazy at times. Juggling it all does take a lot of organization, which is one that I really enjoy. I’m a planner and every Monday I plan out my next week. I love my Erin Condren life planner, which helps me keep everything straight! I try to do blocks of work for each job and prioritize the 2-3 things that have to get done each day.

The most important thing to me is my husband and Reese, so sometimes I have to reassess my responsibilities and scale back. I do my best to be engaged with Reese as much as possible when she is awake, so I get up a few hours before her every day to crank out work and get a head start on the day. Her naps are almost always some of my most productive times. I will also do a few hours of work in the evenings a few times a week when my husband is home from work. Sadly, it leaves little time for “extracurriculars” like watching TV, reading books, shopping etc., but if it’s what I need to do to be home; it is worth the sacrifice. We also are very close to our families and friends, so we try to fit that in as much as possible.

And what about your workouts? With your schedule, it must be tough to find time. How do you make it work?

Before having Reese, I enjoyed and looked forward to long workouts (45-60 min) in classes or at home. Now, I’m lucky if I can fit in 15 minutes! My biggest challenges now is carving out time for myself to focus on my workouts. I stick to my schedule when I do my workouts in the mornings, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do that lately because I have been using the time before Reese wakes up to get a lot of work done. Most of my workouts post-partum are HIIT or tabata. I like them because I get the most “bang for my buck”! I also enjoy playing volleyball, running, daily walks with my family and have a new found love for weight lifting. I typically try to fit in workouts 4-5 times per week.

One year after having Reese, I completed my first post-partum half marathon and broke my PR by 51 minutes. I was shocked and so excited to prove to myself that I CAN be fitter after having a baby! Though, I think I will stick to shorter distances from now on just because that much training is becoming harder and harder for me to fit in.

Please tell me about how you managed to take 51 MINUTES off your half marathon PR! What an amazing achievement! Did you know you were going to smash your record by that much time? How was your training and nutrition different?

My goal from the very beginning of my training was to get my half under 2 hours. My previous PR was 2:52 and I knew I could beat it, but I didn’t know if I would be able to get under 2 hours. I was doing great in my training until I started to avoid the long runs after 8 miles!!! The night before the race, I seriously contemplated just running the 10K because I knew I wasn’t fully prepared. I also knew though that I would be extremely disappointed in myself if I didn’t just try it. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on myself despite my training suffering towards the end! I attribute completing it with a PR to what I ate and being active every day with my little girl.

You mentioned that when you were in college you became more interested in looking at the way you ate in terms of nutrition and fuel and made positive changes. What is your diet like now? 

My diet slowly just keeps getting better and better. I do best when I just keep it simple…focus on whole foods. When I try to track my calories or be really strict, I feel like I overindulge or make myself feel guilty for having a treat. My new motto is eat as many whole foods as possible (fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains) and enjoy a “treat” if I want a treat. It puts less pressure on me to be uber strict and it’s easier to maintain because it truly has become my lifestyle. Also, my family goes right along with this lifestyle and thankfully Ryan has always tasted my concoctions and typically likes them.

What’s the best part of being a fit mama for you?

Being a mom has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. Seeing Reese explore and experience different things for the first time is so much fun. I also love that I can incorporate her in so many of my workouts and she cracks up laughing anytime Ryan or I do a jumping exercise. I want her (and any future children we are blessed with) to think of diet and exercise as a lifestyle, not a chore. I want to be an example to them that it doesn’t have to complicated and can be really fun. She loves watching one of us play volleyball and hopefully soon, we’ll get to play volleyball again soon!

Next up for us, we want to add another little bundle of joy to our family!

 

Elizabeth, you are one amazing Fit Mama Friday! I am still not sure how you fit it all in, but I’m so impressed with your dedication. 🙂

You can connect with Elizabeth on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter, as well as check out her online personal training website and blog, Fit Life With E.

 

Fit Mama Friday – Fit Dad Friday

Every Friday on Fine Fit Day I feature a Fit Mama or a Fit Dad story of how and why a fit and healthy mama or dad ensures fitness is a priority in her or his life. You’ll read about all kinds of parents and their fitness stories. Some are stay-at-home parents, some are single parents, some juggle more than one job on top of parenthood, but they are all committed to a fit and healthy lifestyle. As you’re getting ready for your weekend, I hope you’re inspired to be active after reading about these kick-ass mamas and dads on Fit Mama Friday – Fit Dad Friday!

 

Do you want to be featured on Fit Mama Friday? Or do you know someone you’d like to see featured? Please contact me for details!