Why preparing for postpartum starts in pregnancy — strength, nutrition, and mindset foundations that matter.
There’s something no one really prepares you for the first time around.
It’s not just the sleep deprivation, or the hormones. It’s the feeling of starting from zero inside your own body.
After my first pregnancy, I remember sitting on the couch holding my newborn and feeling like I didn’t even have the strength to stand up without bracing myself. I was completely depleted.
As someone that has grown up as an athlete, worked out consistently post varsity days, and stayed very active as an adult, the loss of strength was shocking to me. i remember thinking to myself, if I hadn’t spent the year before learning the foundations through a 1:1 coaching program (For Her Kind) — intentional strength training, structured nutrition, and a healthier mindset around movement — I would have been very very nervous.
But I wasn’t! I was calm. Because I understood something I didn’t understand before:
Postpartum isn’t the time to experiment. It’s the time to return to your foundations.
The Shift From Reaction to Preparation
In a past version of me, I would have gone into postpartum the way so many women do — reacting.
Going balls to the wall, restricting food, overtraining, buying and trying all the programs, chasing a weight loss before even thinking about the strength part. Quite honestly ~ spiraling ~
I would have focused on aesthetics because that felt measurable. But when you’re starting from ground zero (especially in a brand new chapter like motherhood), aesthetics are the least helpful metric.
What matters is capacity.
Can you get up off the couch comfortably? Can you carry your baby without your back flaring up? Can your core and pelvic floor handle daily life before you ask them to handle more?
That’s where foundations matter! these aren’t just silly little things that go away after a a week or so. They could be something that sticks with you for a very long time.
Strength Training as Labor & Postpartum Prep
There’s a narrative that pregnancy equals fragility. Yes, we modify and we deeply respect the changing anatomy, and of course we prioritize safety.
But strength training during pregnancy — when done intentionally — supports muscular endurance, pelvic stability, and resilience. Research consistently shows that maintaining strength during pregnancy improves physical function and can support more efficient labor, particularly during the pushing phase. It also supports faster functional recovery postpartum because you’re not rebuilding from nothing.
this is why I’m preparing differently for labour and postpartum. Here’s what I’m doing:
Three days a week.
Forty-five minutes each
Simple lifts.
Controlled tempo.
Breath awareness.
Intentional progression.
Nothing extreme. Just staying consistent so my body has a baseline to come back to!
Nutrition: Not Restriction — Capacity
The other foundation that changed everything was nutrition. During pregnancy and postpartum, your body isn’t trying to get smaller. It’s trying to:
grow tissue
recover tissue
regulate hormones
stabilize blood sugar
support sleep cycles (even broken ones)
maintain muscle mass
Under-eating during these seasons increases fatigue, disrupts recovery, and can worsen stress responses.
When you understand foundational nutrition — protein targets, balanced meals, fiber, micronutrients — you remove panic from the equation.
You stop asking, “How do I lose this weight?”
And start asking, “How do I support this body?”
One of my biggest tips is learning your protein target for the day (the baseline protein your body needs to have each day to be properly fueled). Put your body weight, your height and your lifestyle / activity levels into chat GPT and ask it for your daily protein intake. Check out what your calories and fiber should be while you’re at it - this is a game changer when you actually see how much you’re needing vs consuming.
Once you have that down, build out 2-3 go to / staple meals for breaky, lunch and dinner. These are fast, enjoyable meals that are nutrient dense (hitting your fuel needs in order to actually feel sane on a day to day basis !!) and stick to those when life gets busy.
Ironically, when strength and nutrition are prioritized, aesthetics tend to follow — but they’re no longer the driver. This is exactly how I lost 50lbs in my first pregnancy.
Mindset: Calm Over Chaos!
There was a psychological shift for me that made a huge difference in my overall lifestyle that I want to keep momentum with through next postpartum. The first time, I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t really know how to trust my body, and I didn’t understand what rebuilding required. That uncertainty can feel so overwhelming - especially while trying to overcome it all alone!
This time, I know what starting from zero feels like so I’m taking the knowledge that I have and making the most of it. yes absolutely postpartum will be another “harder” chapter that I’ll have to work at but because I know the process, I’m not afraid of it. That’s the power understanding of foundations.
When you understand:
how to scale workouts
how to rebuild strength gradually
how to fuel your body with goals in mind
how to measure progress beyond the scale
Postpartum stops feeling like chaos and starts feeling methodical! It just simply comes down to consistency and patience.
Why This Pregnancy Is Different
This pregnancy, I’m prioritizing strength and movement not for aesthetics — but because I remember how vulnerable it feels to start from scratch.
I remember being pulled off the couch because I didn’t have the strength to stand up smoothly while holding my baby.
I don’t say that dramatically, it’s what was happening lol I was afraid to admit that before but it’s a little funny now when I think about it. You just went through the craziest experience of your life, you’re allowed to feel whatever way you need too, to get through 🤪
BUT I don’t want to enter postpartum hoping I’ll figure it out this time, I want to enter postpartum knowing I already have the tools.
Three workouts a week. Forty-five minutes. Nutrition targets that fit my real life. Movement that builds capacity. That’s it!
Simple. Sustainable. Repeatable.
The Real Goal
The goal isn’t to avoid starting from zero. Postpartum will always require rebuilding. That’s natural. The goal is to enter it grounded.
not chasing an unrealistic standard in a certain amount of time. i want to feel steady. And what I’ve learnt is when you’ve build the foundations, you don’t need extremes, you need consistency.
And that’s something I’m deeply grateful For Her Kind taught me before I needed it most. If you’re navigating pregnancy or thinking about postpartum, I can’t emphasize enough how powerful foundations are (and having support to guide you through!). The FHK 1:1 coaching is where I learned mine — simple, structured, sustainable and always there with incredible support from likeminded women.