Introduction

The past three years of my life have been busy! Not only busy but I truly believe the past three years have shaped me more into who I am today and have led me deeper into my passion.  Today I want to give you all a little of my background, talk hormones a bit and show you what has led me on my current path. Everything I share is in order to support other woman who may be going through similar situations as I have. My passion is in empowering other woman to find confidence in themselves throughout every stage!

Just over two years ago Tanner and I got married 10.10.15. Before we got married I was definitely considered a fitness enthusiast. Exercising nearly every day, hours of cardio mixed in with strength training and HIIT, counting calories and just in an excess state. I believe I was somewhere around 16% body fat, 117 pounds (I'm 5 ft 2 in). I appeared fit and healthy but I was not. I had not had a regular menstrual cycle since high school, before I went on birth control. My body did not know how to produce normal hormone levels on its own and essentially I was making myself infertile. Tanner and I had talked of babies many times and decided that after getting married we would start trying and just see what happened. I knew I had to change.

I made a doctor's appointment and was told I had hypothalamic amenorrhea, I also refer to this as the female athlete triad (you can look both of these up for more info on what they are and I will share a specific post on this in the future). Here is where it gets hard and can feel confusing: every woman's body reacts differently to treating this. Some woman need to be at a higher BMI/ body fat than others, some woman can simply add a muti-vitamin and carbohydrates in and some woman need to change many aspects of their lifestyle. I cut out all cardio training, went to 4 workouts per week that consisted of upper/lower body strength training splits (heavy weights, low reps, long rest breaks). I upped my calories to around 2500 per day (stopped counting) and de-stressed as much as possible! After just 5 weeks I was slightly shocked when my period returned. For me it turned around quickly, but you also have to realize how committed I was and what I did to get there. When my cycle returned I was 120 lbs and around 20% body fat. This was mentally challenging at first. I do feel like in the fitness field we tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have the "perfect" body. To be honest I do still struggle with this at times but constantly remind myself how different all of our bodies are and what healthy truly means.
5 weeks after that period I still had not had another and decided to take a pregnancy test. To both Tanner and my surprise I was already pregnant. Fast forward a few weeks and another big life event...

January 1st, 2016 Tanner and I made a big business and life move and purchased BodyWorks Athletic Club. January 2nd, 2016 was our first business day. This is how we hoped to remember this day but instead this is also the day I miscarried. I couldn't be there and I felt like I couldn't tell anyone why. Tanner was like a crazy man that day, trying to train all of our current clients, greet new members, answer everyone's questions and talk to/ be there for me as much as possible.  So many woman experience miscarriages and I still feel like we're all so silent about them. Every woman deserves to be supported and grieve if she needs to. 

Not even two months later we were blessed with conceiving our boy, Porter. Looking back all of this happened so quickly and we were still blessed with a healthy pregnancy and baby within a year of our marriage. Throughout my first trimester I was scared. I was scared to exercise, scared to go through all of that again. Honestly, I was also so sick that doing anything besides working was difficult. With my education I knew that even with my past, exercising during pregnancy was healthy and I should figure out a routine I was comfortable with and that would help me stay strong in my changing body (and I thought would make me feel less nauseous!). 

First Trimester I did my best to follow a 3 workout prenatal yoga as I felt my energy levels allowed. Second Trimester I added in some pilates and strength training and Third Trimester I followed a similar plan as my Second Trimester. At 37 weeks I decided for my body and pregnancy it was time to go easy until delivery. 

Here is what I wish I knew as a fitness coach: what is safe and what is the most effective. This whole experience led me to wanting to learn more and help other woman feel strong and confident when trying to conceive, in their pregnancy's and throughout the early postpartum stages. Our bodies are changing and I felt as if this stage of a woman's life was under served and under led. It truly is a beautiful time. This is why I chose to educate myself through the Coaching and Training Woman Academy and become a certified pre and post natal coach. It is my number one goal to help woman find the confidence in themselves. My passion in the fitness industry lies with trying to conceive, pregnant and postpartum woman of any stage and on any path.

-Brooke Steinlicht

Pre and Post Natal Coach