Here is our guest blog by Laura Boutwell, a former governess and now a happy and fit mummy to a little sweet girl. Laura kindly shares her story on how she regained her pre-pregnancy figure and found a way to make a career that fits in perfectly with being a full-time mummy and wife.

Laura’s Instagram – @Lauraboutwellfitness

Laura’s Facebook Page – Laura Boutwell Fitness

Who are you and what do you do? Such a simple question, or is it?

I’m a mum, a full-time mum to a 23 month old little girl, Hallie Bear or HB, who keeps me very busy. I’m a wife and I have the usual housework or errands to fit in each day.

Oh and sometimes due to my husband travelling abroad for business I’m a Mum doing it alone too. Sorry I forgot to mention I’m Laura.

Who else does that? Doesn’t know who they are anymore because they are so busy being a mum and a wife?

Let’s skip back to life before I was a mum. I was so fortunate to travel the world with my career. I was a dancer/install director. I worked for various big companies across the UK and America, dancing on cruises or in hotels around the world for over 10 years.

I loved travel so much that when an opportunity came up for me to travel even more and teach English to private families going wherever they went I jumped at the chance. No matter where I travelled in the world I was always very active! In my free time you’d find me dancing, in the gym, hiking, biking, I loved looking after my body and staying fit and healthy.

Even during pregnancy, I continued to be fit and active, even teaching dance shows up until l I was 4 months pregnant on cruise ships.  After having my daughter HB I was lucky that I lost my baby weight quickly. I do think my fitness prior to pregnancy was a big help in allowing me to shift the excess baby weight.

I was so proud of my body for creating and protecting my daughter, bringing her into this world, However my body wasn’t the same, I lost the baby weight, “Woohoo!” some might say, but with it I lost all my muscle, stamina, confidence and over the past year I had lost the love for myself. 

Life changed dramatically. I gave up my career dancing and traveling the world. I mean, I gave it up to have the best role ever as a mummy. I love being a mummy so much, but there is a big part of me that still misses my old job.

I put 110% into being a mummy and love it, yes it’s tough, but those baby smiles, cuddles and infectious laughs make any tough moment disappear in a second.

Finding a new balance in the home is hard, mum, wife, cleaning, baby needs, it’s a constant juggle.

I was so happy being a mummy but I didn’t realise until my daughter was one I had forgotten who I was. Me, Laura.

Not the mummy version of me, not the wife version of me, BUT ME!

I wasn’t happy in my body, I had no energy, no me time, and honestly I didn’t like not having anything that was just for me anymore, the way my job was for me. I’d lost my ‘sparkle’.

January 2019 I told myself this year was for me. I decided to sign up for home workouts. I promised myself I would find 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week for ME. Within days I couldn’t believe the difference in how I felt, I had more energy. My overall mood was more positive. Within an hour of waking up and sorting HB I couldn’t wait to work out and get my day going to such a good start.

If you are wondering where HB was…RIGHT BESIDE ME. She loved jumping around next to me, sitting on me during sit ups and dancing in front of the laptop too.

Within 10 days I could feel a difference in my body, toning up my muscles, my stamina increased, my posture went back to how it used to be and my confidence was coming back.

30 minutes a day dedicated to ME, released stress, cleared my mind, energised and strengthened my body. I loved how good I felt after each workout. I still got everything I needed done and I did it with more patience, I felt lighter and I had my ’sparkle’ back.

I couldn’t believe how many people messaged me within two weeks having seen my workout posts on from social media asking me what workouts I was doing. I had heard about becoming a coach for the workouts and so I decided to jump in, take a chance on myself and go for it.

Best decision I could have made for me.

Not only do I now workout out most days, look after my own body, mind and live a much healthier lifestyle, now I get to help others get started in their own journey to a healthier life. Helping them get started with workouts, a healthy nutrition plan and achieve their own personal goals. 

As part of my online fit club, I have women and men, aged from 22 -70, all doing different programs to achieve their own goals and messaging me to say there are losing weight, toning up and can’t believe how good they feel. 

Its like a dream come true, I get to be a full time mummy, be with HB all day everyday and STILL BE ME. Being fit and active, helping others, motivating and support them to achieve their goals and knowing that I am educating and inspiring my own daughter to be active too.

The benefits of being active and eating healthy are endless but it’s even better when you can add finding yourself, loving yourself and still being a full-time mummy to that list!

Are you interested in sharing your experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood? If so please reach out, we are passionate about removing stigma around the reality of parenthood, health and wellbeing. In sharing your story you may just encourage another to do the same.

For some new Mummy self care tips check out our blog post here. 

For more information on navigating new motherhood and postpartum please click here.