Live Well

Disclosure: Diary of a First Time Mom is teaming up with UnitedHealthcare’s® Generations of Wellness® program to encourage others to live well and pass it on. Although I received some form of compensation, all opinions remain my own.

Recently, I took a trip to Carnegie Science Center with my little explorer. She gravitated towards Space Place, a section that teaches kids what it’s like to be an astronaut. We designed and launched rockets, dropped payload parachutes and conducted stimulated hands-on experiments. Then, we stepped on a scale. The scale converted our weight on several planets and the moon. I weighed 25 pounds–as an astronaut!

I quickly hopped off and looked around to ensure there weren’t any handsome single dads peering over my shoulder at the earthly calculations. Then, I silently listed all of the reasons why I gained weight after having a baby and after I stopped breastfeeding.This year, I underwent surgery. I also have a demanding job and a demanding daughter. And unlike Jay Z who swears 30 is the new 20, I’m not a spring chicken! He has enough money to buy the fountain of youth and keep up with his gorgeous wife Beyoncé. Me–well, my check only cashes in a sip.

2

Pre-baby, when I went up a dress size, I went on a mission to lose weight and eat right. As a television host in the Cayman Islands, I organized a workplace health and wellness competition and landed on the moon–well, more like the second place spot. I woke up before the sun came up and attended boot camp. I went to yoga, water aerobics, zumba, spinning and karate classes. I ate salads at lunch and drank water at happy hour.

Pre-Baby Workout

Post-baby, I lost my motivation. Maybe it fell into one of those deep, dark craters on the moon. Fortunately, I found a new website Live Well Pass It On. The website is connected to UnitedHealthcare’s® Generations of Wellness® program. The site provides culturally relevant health information to help African Americans enhance their quality of life. There are lots of fitness tips for new moms too! What’s more, it offers members new ways to improve their health outcomes through educational campaigns. When you log on to the Live Well Pass It On website, you can take a health and wellness quiz and enter to win weekly $25 gift cards or monthly grand prizes. In April, you can score a Ninja Ultima Blender. Before I became a boot camp drop out, I used to make protein smoothies in the morning before I jogged or swam.

Those activities worked up an appetite. Thankfully, Celebrity Chef Marvin Woods dishes about how to cook with soul and serves up downloadable recipes on the Live Well website.

Maybe this is just what I need to jumpstart my fitness and diet program. The weather is warming up, and I want to fit my clothes this summer!

Hey DFTM Family–How are you getting in shape now that you’re a mom? What healthy and yummy recipes are you whipping up at home?

About The Author

Vlog Mom/DFTM Creator

Not long ago, Heather Hopson hosted a television show in the Cayman Islands. Today, she's back home writing a different kind of story as a new mom. In her 15 years working as a professional journalist, this by far is her best assignment! Growing up, she dreamed of becoming Oprah Winfrey. She was the features editor for her school’s newspaper and a teen talk show host for her city’s most popular radio station. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University. After graduation, she worked as a television producer and reporter at CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates throughout the U.S. Instead of heading to Chicago to join Ms. Winfrey on her set, she bought a plane ticket to the Cayman Islands instead. She arrived five days before a category five hurricane! She lived in paradise for seven years, hosted an award-winning television show and traveled the globe with a government delegation. She also served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters and spearheaded a Send a Kid to Camp campaign. Then, she relocated to Washington, D.C. to obtain a teaching certification and instruct 8th grade reading at a high needs middle school. She later returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to raise her daughter Caitlynn, now 4-years-old. During her 10-month-stint as a stay-at-home mom, Caitlynn inspired her to create this blog, and Diary of a First Time Mom was born on Mother’s Day 2012. Two years later, she expanded the family to include 20+ writers. Currently, Heather serves as the communications director at Allies for Children. In addition, she is the owner of Motor Mouth Multimedia, which ranked #49 in Startup Nation’s Home-Based 100 Competition sponsored by Discover Card and Sam’s Club. Recently, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments selected Heather to receive an Emerging Black Artist award to develop Diary of a First Time Mom.

One Response

  1. Christine St.Vil

    I’m definitely finding it harder to maintain a workout schedule the older I get. But I’m also finding that my metabolism is nowhere what it used to be so I have no choice but to find time to do it. lol

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.