October Q&A
photo by Christie Graham for Vitruvi
I love answering all of your questions that come in, and want to make sure that I have a place that they live so you can reference the info later.
1) Did you calorie count when trying to lose baby weight?
My approach to the “baby weight” is the following:
1) Stay healthy while pregnant. Stay active, fuel your body with healthy carbs, fruits, vegetables, protein etc. Obviously you have cravings but try to find healthy substitutes because it makes the after process a lot easier.
2) For the first 3 months (and really year), your focus is recovering and getting used to your new life. It isn’t about losing weight. Be kind to yourself, this is a very fragile time.
3) When I was ready to “get back to myself,” I did 30 days of pilates (you can find my workouts here) and ate mostly recipes from my ebook, cutting back on gluten, dairy, alcohol and sugar and amping up veggies and WATER!
I don’t count calories. I eat a lot and it doesn’t work for me! I focus on eating 3-4 meals a day with protein, fat, fiber and greens…and I enjoy myself on the weekend!
2) What has your strategy been for making One Wednesday successful? Congrats btw
Thank you so much! While I am so happy with how One Wednesday has grown over the last two years, I do feel there is so much more opportunity for us to expand. We’ve made decisions for One Wednesday mainly from our gut (mine and my co-founder, Joni’s). We’ve said yes to many opportunities and tried to engage with our community. Since I love working on it, I naturally share it on my own community as well, weaving our product into my day to day which is imperative to sharing how One Wednesday can help elevate your life. I’ve never been afraid to reach out to influencers to gift them, and I share our product with the people I love and they have helped us spread the word (I’ve always been a relationship person). We have always focused on beautiful photography (thanks Christie!) which I think has really helped bring our brand story to life. Hiring someone for both PR and Social has been a game changer as well!
3) Favorite denim!
Oh, great question! I wear a lot of Frame because my bestie used to run their Marketing. I also love these denim cut offs because I’m tall. I just ordered this on trend pair. I love white denim year round. And you can’t go wrong these classic Levi’s.
4) What’s your fav self care ritual?
Hands down, my morning routine. 30 minute workout, 5 minute meditation. I wish I had more time but this one just takes the cake for me! Bonus: walking, listening to music, collagen coffee, a glass of wine by the fire & my skincare routine.
5) Your tips for time management throughout a hectic day as a mom, business owner, etc.!
I feel like I should write a whole post on this but my main takeaways are below:
1) Wake up before my kids so I can get my workout & meditation in. I also listen to the news while i get ready (do my skincare and put on mascara lol) and make my collagen coffee. I do a quick scan of emails and insta to make sure there’s nothing burning before putting down my phone to hang with my kids before the day begins.
2) Ask for help. I couldn’t do what I do without asking for help. I was so much more hesitant after baby #1 but with Charlie I ask for help basically constantly whether it be from our nanny three days a week, my mom, my mother in law and my sisters in law. I can’t do it alone and I don’t try to anymore.
3) LISTS! I have a “Life List” where I write down everything I’m working on long term for myself, travel, my business and my brand. Then, I have a daily to do list to help myself stay productive and keep things moving along and I try to check that off daily.
4) I live and die by my calendar. Every single thing is in there. On my calendar, out of my brain is my motto!
5) I use the reminders list on my phone so that when I remember something random like picking up dry cleaning I can get that out of my head and reminded at a time that is more convenient like when I’m not with my kids!
6) Do you ever feel sadness about not having a girl? Pregnant with my 2nd son and feeling 😭
Congratulations!!
I don’t! When we did our “reveal” (to ourselves haha), I thought I would be sad if it turned out that our 2nd was a boy but I wasn’t at all. I love being a boy mom, and it is so special seeing their relationship develop. Also, I think there’s something kind of cool about being surrounded by boys. My bestie has girls so I’ve been able to take Gigi for a manicure, etc and plan to do that when my sister/cousin has a baby because I’m convinced she’ll have girls too! Also, once your son is here, I doubt you’ll give it a second thought! Healthy baby, happy baby ❤️
7) Do you always do guided meditations? What’s the best way to get started with it?
No, I try to mostly do unguided. But when I start losing my ability to commit, I go back to guided. I love Michele Kambolis for guided meditations on insight timer which is free. Give yourself five minutes a day and commit to it, I promise it’s worth it! Also, taking a course is very helpful.
8) How’s Charlie doing? Everything okay now? x
Thank you so much for asking this question. It’s been 6 months since Charlie’s surgery and procedure and he is doing so well. We have a big appointment coming up to check everything out so keep your fingers crossed that it all goes well! But, yes, he is a “normal” baby that had open heart surgery to fix his heart. His scar is hardly even showing anymore which kind of makes me sad. As for me, I’m still processing everything we went through. I still get sad sometimes. I am working through it and am lucky to have a supportive team around me to help me do that. I am in love with our Charlie bear.
9) How do you stay motivated and consistent with your morning routine?
I would generally say that I am quite a disciplined and consistent person. I am fairly motivated as well but that sometimes wanes and when it does I try to remember that it ebbs and flows. No one is motivated 100% of the time. The way that I keep going and getting up every morning is by focusing on how I feel when I do it. Without fail, if I think about my day, one of my favorite parts is always my morning routine. My workout, my meditation, my collagen coffee. Each of those things makes me feel so good and without them, I feel it. I let loose a bit on the weekends but I still try to get something in throughout the day. On the (very rare) occasion where I sleep in or for some reason I don’t wake up, I feel completely off-kilter which is a good reminder and motivation to stick to what makes me feel my best!
10) What were your favourite prenatal workouts? And how did you manage first tri anxiety?
Congratulations! I’m sorry you’re feeling this way. First of all, my favorite prenatal workouts were my pilates flows and walks. Most of them are prenatal friendly because I filmed them when I was pregnant or post-partum. I had anxiety throughout my entire pregnancy because I had miscarried before I got pregnant with Charlie and then once I found out about his heart condition, I was living in a state of perpetual fear for what was to come. It was also at the height of the pandemic. Here is what I did:
Meditated every morning, unguided for 30 minutes. I took Michele’s course above to learn how to do this and I truly believe it was what got me through this time.
Filled myself up with yummy delicious and nourishing foods that made me happy. This meant foods like: Healthy Rolled Tacos, Eggplant Lasagna, Chili, etc.
I watched a show with my husband every night. It seems ridiculously simple but we got through a lot of amazing shows together and I would look forward to this nightly ritual once the kids were asleep.
I continued to move my body, even when I didn’t feel like it. I always felt better after.
I was also lucky enough to work with a therapist to get through this time. If you are dealing with crippling anxiety, I highly recommend seeking professional help as all the “self-care” in the world won’t be enough to give you what you need to thrive right now. If you need to DM me, I am here ❤️
11) What is your favourite OW product?
This is such a tough one! I would say it’s seasonal for me. In the summer, I was obsessed with the Denim Waffle Throw XL but right now it is the Seasonal Stripe. I wear my Robe every morning, and use our Towels daily. If you’ve never used a Turkish towel, they will change your life. I am most proud of our kids collection because it benefits BC Children’s where Charlie had his surgery.