By Liana Jacob
MEET the hot mum who shed her pregnancy weight after getting hooked on lifting weights and lost more than two-stone in just four-months and now has an impressive six-pack.
Stay-at-home-mum, Hope Kriegel (23), from Iowa, USA, always loved her body but admitted that before her pregnancy and despite her naturally slim frame, her body was unhealthy and weak, due to a lifestyle of no exercise and eating what she wanted.
It wasn’t until she experienced the joy of giving birth to her son in March 2015 and seeing how her body changed, that she started to realise the importance of looking after it.
Before falling pregnant, Hope was a slim 8st 13Ibs and hit her highest weight post-pregnancy when she was 10st 6Ibs and after jumping straight into lifting weights is a lean 9st 2Ibs and a UK size four.
“Prior to my pregnancy, I was under-weight and was not at my healthiest. I wanted to push my body to new limits and see everything that it was capable of,” Hope said.
“Before I lost the weight I was more confident than I had ever been before. I know that doesn’t sound like your typical story but I was genuinely happy with my body.
“But pregnancy completely changed the way I view my body. I finally saw what amazing things the human body can do and I wanted to see what else my body could achieve, so I decided to start weight lifting.
“I watched my body change during pregnancy and then I watched it change even more during the following months and I really wanted to see what else I could do.
“I was always tall and lean and wanted to see what I would look like with more muscle mass.”
Before her pregnancy, Hope never thought about exercising.
“My exercise routine and diet fluctuate quite frequently. I go through stages of cutting weight, maintaining my weight and I go through bulking periods where I try to gain ten to twenty pounds in several months,” she said.
“During all the phases, I still eat as healthy as I can. I enjoy eating healthy and stick to an eighty percent clean food to twenty percent cheat food ratio.
“I want to be flexible enough to still eat that piece of chocolate cake and not feel guilty afterwards. I’ve found that this is the best diet for myself.
“Six weeks after giving birth I decided to get a gym membership. I knew nothing about weight lifting but jumped right into it and saw amazing results.
“I didn’t do any cardio when I started and just lifted weights five to six days a week for approximately an hour.
“My fitness journey has changed my life by connecting me with so many amazing women from all over the world through social media.
“I am still just as in love with my body as I was after giving birth. I have loved being able to increase my strength and put on muscle in the last few years.
“I have completely transformed my body and I no longer feel weak. I feel strong, confident, and willing to take on any obstacle that may stand in my way.
“I actually didn’t have any issues losing weight. For me gaining weight is the hardest. I must eat a lot of calories when I am trying to gain weight.
“It can be hard to eat that much every day for months while continuing to eat healthy. Everyone seems to be curious with how I have gained ten pounds but look leaner than I did previously.
“I get asked almost every day how I achieved my defined core also and that just comes down to the time that I have put into the gym and my diet for the last two-and-a-half-years.
“I would tell them to start with cleaning up their diet and then go forward from there. Diet is equally as important as exercise and it can be hard to tackle both of those right away.”
For more information visit: https://www.instagram.com/hopemariefit/
